Month: May 2026

Hadley Bodell

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – For the last 27 years, Pocatello has been home to a unique memorial for fallen soldiers – the Field of Heroes. At the soccer fields at Century High School, exactly 7,086 markers stand in perfect lines to honor fallen veterans since 9/11.

Melissa Hartman, Bannock County Veteran’s Services Coordinator, calls it a “one-of-a-kind tribute” for the community. Markers are crosses or Stars of David, each one with an individual’s name, branch of service, and operation they were conducting when they passed.

The Volunteers who Make it Happen

It takes a lot of volunteers to set up the memorial each year, the process spanning four days before the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend when activities kick off.

“Our volunteers come from everywhere throughout the community,” Hartman said. “We wouldn’t be able to do this without the civil engineering survey crews; they get the lines perfect. It’s pretty intricate and specific.”

“The volunteers are the ones to make it happen,” said John Rogers, Vietnam veteran and founder of the Field of Heroes. “They turn up automatically each year. The first year, we had to explain everything, but now they come out and want to do it, and it’s spectacular to see their input into doing it.”

She said some days they’re out on the fields from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. setting up the memorial. Visitors may notice a section with larger crosses, which are reserved to honor Idaho military members.

“I tell everybody it’s kind of like a family barbecue. We’re here for four days and enjoy each other, the community comes out, we all have a good time,” Hartman said.

Field of Heroes Events/Activities

The mood at the field changes on Friday, May 22, with the Dedication Ceremony. A member of the clergy and several local churches come to perform the ceremony, where the field will officially become a memorial site and a reverent place of honor for the soldiers.

The weekend is filled with other activities for families in the community to enjoy. “We believe it’s important to teach our young children about what freedom really means and what the cost of freedom is,” Hartman said. “Memorial Day is a wonderful time to teach them that.”

She added they don’t want the Field of Heroes to be a somber walk through the crosses. Instead, activities like the Youth Program at 6 p.m. on Friday, organized by middle and high school students in the district, make the weekend fun for families.

The “Liberty Snack Shack” will be open all weekend for food, which Hartman says adds to the family barbecue feel of the weekend.

Schedule of Activities

Friday, May 22

10 a.m. Dedication Ceremony

6 p.m. Youth Ceremony

Saturday, May 23

9 a.m. Run to Remember

12-2 p.m. Children’s Activities

2 p.m. USO Show

3:30 p.m. Stasia Acrobats

Sunday, May 24

5 p.m. Concert – Shawn Barnby

8 p.m. Candlelight Vigil

Monday, May 25th

5:15 p.m. POW*MIA Thunder Run Tribute

5:30 p.m. Closing Ceremony

History of the Field of Heroes

John Rogers is a Vietnam veteran who began the Field of Heroes almost three decades ago. Rogers realized that some veterans would never come home and get their Yellow Ribbons. Specifically, Idahoan casualties needed a place to be honored.

“I did the first one at Irvin Junior High School football field, and we had it on Veteran’s Day, and it was so popular the whole community came out to see it,” Rogers said.

Now, Rogers said the soccer fields at Century High School provide “space for them all,” meaning the over seven thousand honored soldiers.

“They’re buried all over the country,” Hartman added. “But once a year, these guys can come here and pay their respects to their buddies that they served on the battlefield with, and they can have some closure and time with them, to honor them the way they want to.”

To give veterans and community members a chance to honor fallen veterans, with emphasis on Idaho casualties and an individual marker for each soldier passed since 9/11, is the reason organizers continue the legacy of the Field of Heroes every year.

Hartman said she’s been offered to make a permanent monument before, but that it wouldn’t have the same effect.

“It really loses something because what the field of heroes is, is the building of it,” she said. “It’s our community coming together as one. It’s to honor the price of freedom.”

Rogers says what’s most important is that it’s a unique opportunity for the community and beyond. “We’re the only ones in the world to have anything like this. And for little tiny Pocatello to have something like that when you have bigger cities and everything else, we’re doing it here,” he said.

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Par Kermani

ISLAND PARK, Idaho (KIFI)— The installation of a new traffic signal in Island Park is being delayed until later this year.

Originally planned to be complete by the end of May, the foundations for the signal structure were poured last fall using a manufacturer’s template designed to ensure the poles and bolts fit correctly. Earlier this week, crews discovered the fit was incorrect, forcing work to stop.

RELATED: Island Park’s first traffic signal: Installation begins at U.S. 20 and Yale-Kilgore

According to ITD, modifications now need to be made before installation can continue, and it estimates it will take about one month for new components to be fabricated and delivered before crews can resume work on the signal.

“Infrastructure construction means meeting and overcoming challenges every day,” District Engineer Jason Minzghor said. “We’re grateful for good partners and crews with the expertise to find and execute solutions.”

Traffic along U.S. Highway 20 through Island Park will continue to flow normally, with no construction planned in the coming weeks. ITD said it will provide updates once work resumes and additional traffic impacts are expected.

Drivers can find statewide traffic impacts and construction updates on the Idaho 511 app or at Idaho 511 online.

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Par Kermani

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) — A legal challenge against Idaho’s school privacy law has officially come to an end after plaintiffs agreed to dismiss both their district court case and Ninth Circuit appeal.

According to a statement issued by Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, the lawsuit, Sexuality and Gender Alliance v. Critchfield, challenged Senate Bill 1100, a 2023 Idaho law requiring students in K-12 public schools to use bathrooms, locker rooms, showers, and overnight accommodations that correspond with their biological sex.

The law also requires schools to provide single-occupancy accommodations for students who prefer not to use shared facilities.

Shortly after the bill was passed in 2023, a student and the Sexuality and Gender Alliance filed suit, arguing the law violated the Equal Protection Clause, Title IX, and privacy rights.

In October 2023, U.S. District Judge David Nye denied a request for a preliminary injunction, siding with arguments from the Idaho Attorney General’s Office. The plaintiffs later appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which found the law did not violate the Equal Protection Clause or Title IX and ruled that protecting students’ bodily privacy is a legitimate government interest.

The plaintiffs have now agreed to dismiss the case entirely.

“From the district court to the Ninth Circuit, we defended Idaho’s right to protect students’ privacy in bathrooms and locker rooms,” Labrador said in a statement. “Idaho families can be confident that this law is fully in effect and will remain so.”

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News Team

EDITOR’S NOTE: In a previous version of this story, Local News 8 shared a phone number from an individual claiming to have set up a support account for the Thornton Mercantile. We have since learned that this account is fraudulent. We are urging all viewers not to contact that number or attempt to send funds through it. Please be advised that Local News 8 has not verified any independent accounts for this cause. If you are considering making a donation, we urge you to consult your own financial advisers and proceed with caution.

REXBURG, Idaho (KIFI) — Eight structures and their contents are a total loss after an outdoor cooking fire grew into a massive blaze at the old Thornton Merc south of Rexburg Wednesday night.

The owner of the Thornton Merc, a community gathering place and grill, lost both her home and business in the flames.

The blaze was caused by a cookout gone awry.

“A family was back in this area having a hot dog roast,” said Madison Fire Department Chief Corey Child. “When they started the fire, the fire quickly spread to cotton from the cottonwood trees. And with the bit of wind blowing, it quickly spread to multiple structures.”

The fire devastated three residences, including a double-wide and single-wide trailer behind the mercantile.

It also destroyed the historic Thornton post office.

Local News 8 spoke with another woman who lost everything she owned in the blaze.

Her grandfather, whose last name was Thornton, built the post office.

Through tears, she said that other neighbors lost their homes, business and all their possessions.

According to the Madison Fire Department, the fire began around 6:16 p.m. near 4856 S. Yellowstone Hwy., in the Thornton area south of Rexburg.

RELATED: Thornton fire contained, evacuation lifted after five buildings destroyed

When they arrived on scene, fire crews found multiple buildings on fire. Quickly working to protect the surrounding homes and structures, the firefighters immediately evacuated the nearby Wind Willows RV Park.

In a massive effort, firefighters from the Central Fire District, South Fremont Fire District, and North Fremont Fire District and Idaho Falls Fire Department, along with Deputies from the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, provided aid to the Madison firefighters.

As the group battled to contain the fire, evacuated RV park residents sheltered at a nearby LDS Stake Center. The local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), the Red Cross, and Chaplains of Idaho provided on-site resources and assistance to the displaced families.

Throughout the night, 44 personnel working at the scene were able to contain the fire, according to an official update Thursday morning.

Despite the loss of the eight structures, the Madison Fire Department has confirmed that, fortunately, no one was injured.

However, Deputy Chief Troyce Miskin warns this incident is a sign of a challenging summer ahead.

“We’re sad any time these types of things happen. This is going to be a very dangerous fire season for us. We’ve already had numerous structure fires this spring. We just ask people to exercise extreme caution when using fire in any manner,” said Troyce Miskin, Deputy Chief of Madison Fire Department.

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