Month: October 2026

CHUBBUCK, Idaho (KIFI) – It’s the dream to love what you do; it’s an achievement to make a difference in people’s lives every day while doing it. Children’s Librarian Amanda Bowden has become a pillar of community, growth and learning at the Portneuf District Library. Last week, Bowden was honored for her dedication to her work and the Pocatello/Chubbuck community with the Librarian of the Year Award from the Idaho Library Association.

Leaders at the Portneuf Library said this news wouldn’t come as a shock to those who know and love Bowden, known at the library as Miss Amanda. “Her commitment to her vocation shines through in everything she does, from knowing the names of her tiniest storytime visitors to creating inclusive events like the annual Eggcessible Easter Egg Hunt to ensure the Portneuf Library is a space for everyone,” The Portneuf Library said in a press release statement.

Miss Amanda serves over 400 preschool-aged children in the Pocatello/Chubbuck community, hosting storytimes and participating in library programs. To her, the real honor is getting to serve the children and foster a young love of reading.

“My boss nominated me and a couple of my colleagues wrote letters of support, I didn’t even know I was receiving the award until I got the email saying I had won,” Bowden said. “It’s kind of overwhelming, I don’t think there’s anything crazy special about what I do on a daily basis.”

On a daily basis, Miss Amanda coordinates storytime at the library and hosts Music and Movement classes. The children’s room is set up with different play spaces, aimed to help kids socialize with each other and learn through play.

“Watching kids gain that love for reading and be able to escape into a book, find adventure in a book,” she said. “I love my job, and I have great colleagues and great support from the community.”

Bowden traveled to Boise for the Idaho Library Association’s award ceremony, where she was recognized by hundreds of librarians around the state. She said the experience was slightly overwhelming, knowing she was surrounded by so many qualified colleagues, and yet, she was the one with the award.

“But really, it’s about serving the little kids who come into the library and helping them learn to love books and just have fun while they’re here.”

– Miss Amanda

“Every librarian works so hard, they’re all so creative and involved in their communities,” she said. “I was in such great company and so honored.”

Bowden said the Pocatello/Chubbuck community is a special place to work, giving her the opportunity to make connections with every child who walks into the library. The library website has a calendar of events, including Miss Amanda’s storytimes for children below kindergarten age. The Portneuf Library also has after school activities and tween and teen programs, which you can learn more about on their website portneuflibrary.org.

“I’d lik to thank my directors over the years who have supported me and my crazy ideas and adventures here,” Bowden said. “My family for constantly supporting me and then the kids more than anything. They make this all worth it.”

BLACKFOOT, Idaho (KIFI) – Students at Moreland Elementary School are celebrating Halloween a little differently. Their P.E. teacher, Julie Hudson, decorates the gym every year to make it look like a pirate ship. This has been a 15-year tradition that she doesn’t plan on stopping any time soon.

“This is my 15th year doing the pirate ship,” Hudson said. “I do it because it’s something that the kids can remember when they get older. I’ll see random kids as they’re older and they say, ‘I remember doing that. I wish I could do it again.'”

The ship is set up across the gym floor with five different routes for kids to ride their scooters through. Hudson had a little help setting up this year, but this masterpiece usually takes her nearly 72 hours to put together every year.

“One of my great friends built some wooden platforms in the middle, so it’s helped to be more stable. Her and her husband helped me, and teachers helped me put stuff up, and my daughter helped me,” Hudson explained.

Her creation encourages students to be physically active while also giving them a chance to express their creativity and make lasting memories.

“I had a PE teacher when I was in seventh grade named Phil Lucky,” Hudson recalled. “He was an awesome PE teacher, and he did stuff with the pirate ships, kind of like this, with the parachute. He was just a great teacher. He was a big influence on a lot of kids. So if I can just be a good influence on the kids, and I like to be creative and do different things with them, so it’s fun.”

Giving her students a lasting memory and a reason to get active is why Coach Julie Hudson does this every year.

Originally Published: 27 OCT 26 15:59 ET

By KSTU Staff

Click here for updates on this story

    SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah (KSTU) — A Utah cold case tied to notorious serial killer Ted Bundy has been solved.

Fifty-two years to the day her body was found, detectives are closing the investigation into the murder of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith. DNA evidence identified Bundy as the killer, investigators revealed Tuesday.

Smith’s body was found by hunters in a wooded area bordering Salt Lake and Summit counties on Oct. 27, 1974. The investigation into her murder has remained open since that day, until now.

A recent break in a Utah County cold case is being attributed to the resolution. Investigators say the same DNA profile used to identify Bundy as the killer of Laura Ann Aime was used to solve Smith’s murder.

Developments in that case brought the Smith investigation back to the surface and helped resolve the decades-old mystery, Summit County Sheriff Kacey Bates said.

Tuesday’s announcement was hinted at by Utah County investigators in April, when they announced the closure of the Aime cold case, which was tied to Bundy. At the time, a UCSO detective said the DNA profile used to link Bundy to the murder had been shared with other departments, with the hope that it could lead to closing more cases.

Bundy, who is confirmed to have killed and assaulted women across Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah and Florida between 1974 and 1978, confessed to 28 murders but is believed to be responsible for hundreds of deaths.

He was executed by electric chair in Florida in 1989.

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By Sahana Patel. Originally posted 12:09 AM, Oct 27, 2026.

MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho (KIVI) — Mountain Home neighbors are raising concerns about a proposed data center, but the project faces a major obstacle: the city’s current zoning regulations don’t allow it.

The proposal from Weitz & Co. outlines plans for four three-story data center buildings at the Bennett Ranch Industrial Campus, totaling approximately 3.4 million square feet. The development would also include power generation, backup power systems and cooling infrastructure.

Despite the scale of the plans, the project remains just a proposal, with no formal application submitted to the city.

In a letter addressed to company owner Dan Weitz, Mayor Rich Sykes said, “On October 20, 2026, [Weitz] dropped off at Mountain Home city hall three copies of what appears to be a proposal,” but has not submitted a land-use application, conditional use permit or building permit.

“It makes me feel a whole lot better knowing that it’s just an idea right now and not something that has been approved and stamped and is going through,” Mountain Home neighbor Christine May said.

RELATED | Thousands of acres of public land south of Boise eyed for new data center

Still, the size of the proposal and its potential impact have some neighbors worried.

The developer said, in their project overview documents, its closed-loop cooling system would be designed for minimal water consumption, and an agreement dating back to 2005 would allow the site to connect to the city’s water system.

But the proposal doesn’t spell out what that agreement allows.

“All the money in the world will not buy you a glass of water if there isn’t any, and we have to think about that,” Mountain Home neighbor Lizabeth Braun said.

Some neighbors question whether a project this size belongs here at all.

“I just don’t think they need to be here in Mountain Home. They can try elsewhere,” Mountain Home neighbor Evan Peterson said.

“I just think that there’s a lot of reasons why we shouldn’t have a data center in the middle of town surrounded by houses,” May said.

Months before this proposal showed up at City Hall, Councilman Scott Harjo went to the Planning and Zoning Commission, raising concerns about data centers, including their potential water use.

“I’d like to have an answer for that before they come knocking, quite frankly,” Harjo said.

Now, someone has come knocking.

The mayor’s letter said the city has been working since early July to define and categorize data centers in its zoning code. Right now, the city said, “Data center is neither a permitted nor conditional use in any zone in the City,” meaning they’re currently prohibited under city code.

READ MORE | Inside Meta’s new Kuna data center built for AI

But some neighbors aren’t convinced it’ll stay that way.

“Just judging by their previous reactions to things, I think it probably stands a pretty good chance of getting approved,” Braun said. “It’s scary when you think about it.”

“I don’t want to see them get walked over. I don’t want to see us as a community get walked over,” Peterson said.

The city said no formal application has been submitted, but the developer can still work with staff and pursue approval once the proper zoning rules are in place.

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