Month: April 2026

Megan Lavin

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — One in four girls lacks access to period supplies, leading many to miss school, sports, and social activities every month. The Idaho Period Project is working to change that reality, providing free period supplies to women and girls all over the state.

Since starting in January 2022, the non-profit has donated more than 750,000+ period products to approximately 1,500 girls across 13 counties in eastern Idaho. Locally, the organization recently wrapped up a series of “packing parties,” where volunteers assembled donations into ready-to-use kits for those who cannot afford period products.

Right now, the non-profit is gearing up for the summer months, for students to take these kits home, since they won’t have access to the school dispensers during the summer. They’re hosting a gala fundraiser coming up on April 25th.

Eagle Rock Middle School Counselor Addie Priest says of the project and it’s impact, “The Idaho Period Project is amazing!”

If you’d like to participate in the gala, donate, or learn more, check out their website: idahoperiodproject.org.

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Kaelyn Blessinger

MADISON COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) — The Madison County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a series of disturbing incidents involving a man accused of exposing himself to drivers along Highway 20.

Detectives believe the suspect is specifically targeting lone female drivers and are calling on the community for help to find him.

According to an MCSO Facebook post, the suspect is described as a white male in his 30s to 50s driving a sedan with Idaho plates.

“The reason for us wanting to post this on Facebook and to get the word out there was just we think there’s a lot more people out there that might have information about who this individual is or potentially could be victims of, you know, this, this lewd act,” said Detective Christian Teague, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office PIO.

Based on these reports, investigators believe there may be additional victims who have not yet come forward. The MCSO is urging anyone with information to come forward.

“So we’re just wanting to make sure that if you have information about the vehicle or who this person might be or, if you’re a victim or if this happened to you, to reach out to the sheriff’s office,” said Detective Teague.

If you have seen this vehicle or have been a victim of this behavior, contact the Madison County Sheriff’s Office Detectives at 208-372-5001, or click HERE for more information.

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Seth Ratliff

Ford Motor Company is recalling more than 420,000 vehicles due to a defect with the windshield wiper arms.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warns that the windshield wiper arms may break, potentially leaving drivers blinded during a storm.

The recall includes certain Ford Super Duty trucks, Expeditions, and Lincoln Navigators from model years 2021 to 2023. Ford has confirmed that all licensed dealers will inspect and replace the wiper arms as necessary, free of charge.

Owners are expected to receive notification letters starting next week, around April 13, 2026.

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Seth Ratliff

JACKSON, Wyoming (KIFI) — Grand Teton National Park is starting prescribed burns today, April 9th, just east of the Jackson Hole airport. Around 196 acres will be burned as part of the larger 4,000-acre Hayfields Restoration Management Area.

The primary goal of the burn is to remove non-native vegetation, paving the way for the return of native rangeland species. This ecological “reset” is a collaborative effort between fire managers and park ecologists.

“Removing non-native vegetation will also benefit wildlife, such as bison, elk, pronghorn, sage grouse, and songbirds, and will reduce fuels near historic park structures in case of a wildfire,” states the NPS in a news release.

The fire will be along Mormon Row between Gros Ventre and Antelope Flats roads. The NPS may see smoke in the area during the day today. While the burn is expected to be completed in a single day, the NPS warns visitors that smoke will be most visible during the afternoon and may settle in low-lying areas as temperatures drop in the evening.

No areas of the park are expected to be closed, but staff may briefly pause traffic to allow fire crews to work safely along the roadway. Drivers are urged to slow down and watch for fire personnel and equipment. Prescribed fire signs will be posted along all adjacent roads.

For more information, visit tetonfires.com. 

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David Pace

ARCO, Idaho (KIFI) – As Artemis II prepares to splash down in the Pacific Ocean Friday – achieving speeds of 25,000 miles per hour during re-entry – it’s time to look back on America’s previous successful lunar landings, and the Idaho connection that helped make them possible. 

With the eyes of the world glued to the Artemis Mission and its trip around the moon, Craters of the Moon National Monument has a historic role – serving as a training ground for astronauts here in eastern Idaho.

Apollo 14 enters Idaho’s orbit

“Apollo is fundamental for us being able to reach for the stars,” said Shannon Kobs Nawotniak, a NASA-funded Researcher and Idaho State University (ISU) Geosciences Department Chair. “Before Apollo, that was sort of an imaginary concept. The idea that we could actually send people to the moon – that was a fairy tale, and Apollo took that from fairy tale to reality.”

In the late 1960s, crews for the Apollo 14 mission arrived at Craters of the Moon, eager to learn from one of Earth’s most lunar-like lava landscapes.

“In 1969, that’s when the four astronauts came out,” said Craters of the Moon Chief of Interpretation and Education Michael Irving. “So August of 1969, they came out and did their training in geology here.”

The astronauts Alan Shepard, Joe Engle, Eugene Cernan, and Edgar Mitchell belonged to Apollo 14’s primary and backup crews.

“These gentlemen had to be experts, more or less, in volcanic geology in order to help bring back the most valuable information that they could,” Irving said.  

But first, the astronauts, who were military pilots and not trained scientists, needed to learn more about geology.

At Craters of the Moon, the four explorers were taught how to identify valuable geologic specimens on their future space voyages.

“The Apollo missions were really about, could we actually bring people up and bring them down?” Kobs Nawotniak said. “There was science that was achieved; it was important, but it wasn’t driven by science.”

The astronauts also visited locations in Hawai’i and Iceland for their training.

Destination – The Moon

It was the golden age of space travel. 

“Alan Shepard was the first American and the second human to ever go to space,” Irving said. “So he was then involved with a number of space flights and activities in between his first launch and there. But he was able to go up on Apollo 14.”

Apollo 14 launched from Kennedy Space Center on January 31, 1971.

The astronauts’ geology training at Craters of the Moon paid off.

Apollo 14 was the third manned space mission to land on the moon.  

Commander Shepard became the first man to golf on the moon.

He also collected a 19-pound moon rock named “Big Bertha.” Scientists later discovered it contained a 4-billion-year-old meteorite that had come from the Earth, making the discovery the oldest known Earth rock in the galaxy. 

In total, Shepherd and Mitchell brought home 95 pounds of moon rocks back to Earth.

Later in Apollo 17, the last man to walk on the moon, Eugene Cernan, also received his training at Craters of the Moon.

Cernan commanded the Apollo 17 mission. He and fellow astronaut Harrison Schmitt brought home 4.5-billion-year-old specimens formed deep in the Moon’s crust.

“It’s the exact same material that is erupting here [in Idaho] as we have forming the moon,” Kobs Nawotniak said. “So it gives us really, really fantastic comparisons.”

Researchers from NASA and Idaho State University continue to push the boundaries of space exploration right here on Earth.

“You can crawl through lava tubes here at Craters of the Moon. They’re going to give you an experience just like the ones that we have up on the moon,” Kobs Nawotniak said. “The scoria cones that we have here, we’ve actually got some features that are like that on the moon. We’ve got lava flow fields on the moon that look like the ones that we have here.”

For future space explorers, a world as far away as the moon can sometimes land in your own backyard.

“If you want to be part of this Artemis mission, this Artemis expedition, Artemis future, you need to come to Craters of the Moon and experience Artemis and the moon right here in Idaho, because it is an unparalleled resource,” Kobs Nawotniak said.

The Apollo 14 Lunar Module lands on the Moon in February 1971.

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