Month: April 2026

David Pace

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – One of the most impactful U.S. energy initiatives in decades, a federal proposal to construct a Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus, received an application from Idaho on March 31.

“Nuclear power presents an opportunity for Idaho families to continue receiving affordable, clean energy far into the future, and I support the growth of Idaho’s nuclear industry,” Governor Little said. “I hope the Department of Energy will recognize Idaho’s historic nuclear leadership and its strong candidacy for this initiative.”

Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke and state Senator Dave Lent, (R)-Idaho Falls, and a Trump administration official have spent the last two days touring Idaho National Laboratory, meeting with venture-capitalist investors and hearing from experts about the laboratory’s capabilities.

“I feel strongly this is our game to win,” Lent said. “If we can stand up a strong response back and willingness to step up, this is really a chance for us again to lead – be the national leader in nuclear for the next 50 to 60 years.”

You can watch our full interview on the Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus with state Senator Dave Lent below.

Lent is one of two Idaho legislators serving on the newly-created Idaho Advanced Nuclear Energy Task Force.

The 20-person task force is led by Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke and Idaho National Laboratory Director John Wagner.

The Department of Energy solicited Requests For Information (RFIs) for the Nuclear Innovation Campus in January.

“Securing this designation would bolster Idaho’s economy, expand access to reliable baseload power, and position the state at the forefront of next-generation nuclear technologies,” according to a release from the Idaho Office of Energy and Mineral Resources.

The state faces competition from Utah, Texas, and other states vying for the same designation, Lent said.

The DOE’s original proposal asks for states interested in hosting “integrated, full‑cycle nuclear ecosystems that could colocate and support the entire nuclear value chain while exploring durable pathways for managing used nuclear materials in a safe, secure, and fiscally responsible manner.”

“These campuses must support functions such as fuel fabrication, enrichment, reprocessing used nuclear fuel, and disposition of waste, and could additionally support functions such as advanced reactor deployment, power generation, advanced manufacturing, and co‑located data centers,” the request continues.

The Idaho National Laboratory already features much of the infrastructure and programs required to implement a national Nuclear Innovation Campus, Lent explained.

“At the INL, we already do most of this stuff already and have for many years and have developed many of the technologies that are used throughout the world,” he said.

Currently, Idaho National Laboratory employs 9,000 to 10,000 individuals, he said, in addition to the secondary work its activities generate throughout the region and state.

“There’s a potential there to come close to doubling that workforce – if some of this work were to come through as it’s being described by the Department of Energy,” Lent said.

Eastern Idaho is uniquely situated to launch the next renaissance in advanced nuclear technology.

“Idaho is prepared to continue our tradition of nuclear excellence and build on the foundation that has already made our state great,” Little said.

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Seth Ratliff

UPDATE:

The memorial and plaque dedication honoring William “Bill” F. Bacon on Friday, April 17, 2026, from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., has been moved to the Racehorse Room at the Shoshone-Bannock Casino Hotel to better accommodate attendees. All other details will remain the same.

ORIGINAL:

FORT HALL, Idaho (KIFI) — The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes will gather this Friday to pay tribute to the life and enduring impact of William “Bill” F. Bacon, a longtime Tribal Judge and General Counsel described as a “tireless advocate” for Indigenous rights.

Judge Bacon passed away on March 26 following a tragic car accident along I-15 near Pocatello. In the weeks since, Tribal leadership and community members have continued to reflect on a career defined by “dedicated service, steady leadership, and meaningful contributions to the Tribes and the community.”

RELATED: “Tireless advocate” for Shoshone-Bannock Tribes identified as victim in fatal I-15 semi-truck crash

Memorial Service Details

Tribal leadership has organized a formal memorial and plaque dedication ceremony to ensure Bacon’s contributions are permanently recognized. According to a Shosone-Bannock Tribes Facebook post, the open-house-style event will be held indoors at the Tribal Business Center Council Chambers on Friday, April 17, 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

“The memorial will bring together Tribal leadership, family, friends, and community members to reflect on his life and lasting impact,” states the post.

The program will include an opening prayer, reflections, recognition of Bacon’s family, an honor song, and the plaque dedication. Light refreshments will follow the ceremony.

Because seating within the Council Chambers is limited the event will be held in an open house format, and attendees are welcome to come and go throughout the program. For more information, click HERE.

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Par Kermani

POCATELLO, IDAHO (KIFI) — When someone in Bannock County dials 911, the first person they talk to isn’t a police officer, firefighter, or paramedic. It’s a dispatcher like April Neal, who has spent nearly a decade on the other end of the line.

Neal, a 911 dispatcher for the Pocatello Police Department, says one of the biggest misconceptions about her job is that dispatchers are “just secretaries.”

“A lot of people think that we’re just secretaries, but we multitask constantly,” Neal said. “We are taking calls. We are dispatching out medical for the entire county of Bannock County, and we also dispatch police for the city of Pocatello. We are constantly doing something and entering paperwork into the NCIC database.”

Neal has been a dispatcher for 10 years. She works 12-hour day shifts, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., helping manage everything from life‑threatening emergencies to parking problems and utility questions.

“We deal with everything under the sun,” Neal said.

On a typical weekday, Neal estimates she and her fellow dispatchers handle around 100 calls each.

Not every call is a true emergency. Some are transfers to records or detectives. Others are for city services, like paying a utility bill. But all of them must be answered and routed correctly, while genuine emergencies are entered into the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system and prioritized in real time.

The center is staffed with a minimum of three dispatchers per shift — one for police, one for 911/medical, and one for the non-emergency line. That’s the minimum, Neal says, not necessarily the ideal.

“We definitely need more dispatchers,” she said. “If a big incident occurs, then it’s really difficult when there are only two call takers on the floor. The more dispatchers, the easier the incident can complete itself.”

During fire season, dispatchers often receive a flood of calls about the same incident.

“We’ll answer the phone, ‘911, are you calling about the West Bench fire?’” she said. “If they don’t have any new information and nobody is hurt, we tell them we have help on the way and move to the next call so we can get to someone who might be in dire straits.”

Neal says dispatchers are frequently exposed to callers’ worst moments, and that can take a toll.

She keeps the details of the most traumatic calls private out of concern for victims and their families, but says some still stay with her.

To cope, Neal focuses on separating work from home.

“One of the things I do is I go home, and I go for a walk if it’s been an extremely stressful day,” Neal said. “I have other outside activities that I do, I still pitch softballs, or I officiate volleyball. It’s separate from what I do day in and day out, to help realize that there are good people, there are good things out in the world.”

Becoming a dispatcher in Pocatello is not a simple process. Neal says training takes about 27 weeks, depending on how quickly a trainee progresses.

“Roughly, it can you can go quicker or longer, just depends on how you are accelerating with the program.” Neal said, “So we are trained with the computer system, with paperwork, and then we’re trained in call taking EMD, which is emergency medical dispatch, which we are the only Police Department in Idaho that is certified. And then we’re trained in the police. Police is the hardest discipline, because, obviously, officers are officer safety is the biggest issue, and making sure that they’re safe and knowing where their locations are and making sure we check on them constantly and do whatever quests they they need us to do to complete the investigation.

“We have to ask certain questions, and it depends on what the chief complaint is,” Neal said. “We ask those specific questions to make sure we get the correct amount of units to the person in trouble.”

Often, Neal never meets the people whose lives she may have helped save, but she hears about outcomes through officers and paramedics.

“I do hear feedback … that we saved them or they were able to be transported to the hospital where they received the help they needed and survived their injuries,” she said. “That’s what keeps me coming back to the job. I love helping people.”

From Neal’s perspective, the most important thing people can know before they dial 911 is their location.

“That is the first and foremost question that a dispatcher will ask you,” Neal said. “Just answer the questions that the dispatcher asks you directly. We are getting help there. It’s not delaying.”

Neal says she tries to treat every caller as if she were speaking to a friend or a family member.

“That gives me the drive to come to my job every single day,” she said. “I just want to make sure that I get help to the public the best that I can, and to make sure all my officers go home.”

As communities across the nation mark National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, Neal wants people to remember the unseen voices who answer the phone when someone dials 911.

“Dispatchers, any emergency telecommunication officers, they are the first responders, and they do not get enough credit,” Neal said. “If anybody’s looking for a career and likes to help serve their community, help people, then a 911 dispatcher is a good career for someone to apply for.”

She also had a message for her colleagues across Idaho and the country.

“I just want to say thank you to all the 911 dispatchers out there,” Neal said. “The police department and every agency couldn’t do what they do without serving the public the way that dispatchers do. They’re amazing.”

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Seth Ratliff

MINIDOKA COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) — A late morning semi-truck crash in Heyburn snarled I-84 traffic near Heyburn on Tuesday.

According to the Idaho State Police, the crash took place at 11:59 a.m. near mile marker 211. A 33-year-old man was driving eastbound in a 1995 Freightliner when he hit a concrete barrier blocking the eastbound lane of travel.

Fortunately, police say the driver was wearing a seatbelt and was not injured. Construction crews made an emergency lane on the right shoulder to move traffic through the area.

As of 5 p.m., ISP says the lanes are still blocked.

ISP were assisted at the scene by the Idaho Department of Transportation, the Minidoka County Sheriff’s Office, and the Heyburn Fire Department. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

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