Author: KIFI

Danielle Mullenix

Eastern Idaho (KIFI) – The DSPs Doing Good Organization, part of the DSP, will provide free Thanksgiving meals to aid direct support professionals on November 25th-26th during the holiday season.

This initiative aims to alleviate holiday stress for those professionals and is part of the organization’s ongoing commitment to assist both DSPs and the individuals they serve—adults with developmental, aging, and/or intellectual disabilities—here in Eastern Idaho.

The DSP’s Doing Good organization is in the process of supplying and operating temporary food pantries in Idaho Falls, Meridian, and Twin Falls.

A Direct Support Professional (DSP) provides in-person support for adults with disabilities in a wide range of daily activities. DSPs work around the clock—24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Their responsibilities include offering emotional support, physical assistance, and help with personal care tasks.

The DSPs Doing Good Organization was created to provide in-person training and resources made by people with direct support professional experience.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, November 25-26, services will be available from 9 AM to 5 PM. For those who require a different time, they are encouraged to reach out for assistance.

Three convenient locations are available: Idaho Falls at 548 Lomax St., Meridian at 1850 N. Lakes Place, and Twin Falls at 141 Shoshone St. N.

For more information about the DSPs Doing Good organization, click here.

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News Team

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) — The Pocatello Police Department is asking the public to remain calm and not be alarmed by a large law enforcement and emergency services presence at Hawthorne Middle School today, Tuesday, November 25, 2025. PPD says it will be using the building for a training exercise while students are away for the Thanksgiving holiday, and there is absolutely no threat to the public.

The PPD, School Resource Officers, and Pocatello Emergency Services are utilizing the empty school building while students are away to conduct an Active Shooter Training. In an email to the public, the department states, “Please be aware that an increased police presence will be in the area as part of this planned exercise.”

The training is set to last from 7:30 am to 4:00 pm. 

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Maile Sipraseuth

IDAHO Falls, Idaho (KIFI)– As families gather around the table each Thanksgiving, kitchens across the country become the site of a surprising holiday hazard: cooking fires. In 2023 alone, Thanksgiving Day saw more than 1,400 home cooking fires—almost 388 percent higher than a typical day.

Local News 8 stopped by the Idaho Falls Fire Station to speak with Fire Marshal Jim Newton about kitchen fire safety.

Starting off with the star of Thanksgiving dinner: deep fried turkey. While delicious, it can be extremely dangerous if you’re not careful.

“So when you’re cooking the turkey, a lot of common mistakes with deep frying a turkey is that they don’t allow the turkey to thaw out all the way. So it’s partially frozen or fully frozen. That introduces water, hot oil, and then that can cause the oil to overflow, which cause it can cause a fire. also not turning the flame off. So if you’re going to deep fry a turkey before you drop the turkey in, turn the flame off, drop the turkey, and then you can light the flame back up again. So if oil does overload, it doesn’t hit that open flame and catch fire,” Newton said, “If you’re going to deep fried turkey, make sure it’s ten feet away from any structure or any kind of, combustible source.”

Studies show that Thanksgiving day has significantly higher home cooking fires than an average day.

“Statistically speaking, it is three times more likely that a cooking fire will happen during Thanksgiving holidays,” Newton said.

According to NFPA, Thanksgiving Day saw an estimated 1,446 home cooking fires in 2023, roughly 388 percent higher than the average day.

Newton emphasized that it matters where the deep frying takes place.

“Don’t cook it on a wood deck, don’t cook it inside on carpet. You know, make sure that you’re outside and you have proper extinguishing materials, such as a fire extinguisher. Don’t use water on oil. Same goes for in the kitchen as for outside, just don’t use water on oil,” Newton said.

If you want a safer alternative to deep fried turkey, Newton suggested to singing an infrared fryer with propane, smoked turkey, having it professionally prepared or using the oven.

The Idaho Falls Fire Department sent out a press release with tips on how to stay safe in the kitchen during the holidays:

Never leave cooking unattended. Stay in the kitchen, set a timer, and minimize distractions. A single pan of oil can reach 700°F in minutes and ignite.

Keep children and pets at least three feet away from the stove. Turn pot handles inward to prevent spills and burns.

Handle grease fires safely. Never use water. Turn off the heat and slide a lid over the pan or use baking soda to smother small fires.

Keep your kitchen clean. Grease buildup on stovetops, ovens, and range hoods is highly flammable. Wipe surfaces after cooking and deep-clean monthly.

Be prepared with alarms and an extinguisher. Test smoke alarms monthly. Keep a Class K or A/B/C fire extinguisher accessible and remember PASS: Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep.

Maintain a clear cooking area and avoid electrical overloads. Keep towels, paper, and bags away from burners. Don’t overload outlets or use multiple high-wattage appliances on the same circuit.

Plan and practice your escape route. Every home should have two exits per room and a designated outdoor meeting spot. Practice twice a year, including at night.

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Seth Ratliff

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) — The Pocatello police department is celebrating another successful year of “Give the Cops a Bird.” The community turned out strong for the 7th annual Thanksgiving holiday food drive.

This year, donations added up to $4165, 71 turkeys, and 96 pounds of food — all going to the Idaho foodbank to help those in need.

In a post on Facebook, Pocatello Police officers said they couldn’t have done this without the support of the amazing community.

“Your generosity, energy, and kindness make this event what it has become today,” stated the post. “We are truly grateful to each and every one of you who donated and made a difference this holiday season.”

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Seth Ratliff

ELMORE COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) — The final election results for Elmore County have been certified and will remain unchanged, even after an intensive hand recount introduced 373 ballots that were initially omitted from the election night tally.

Last week, the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office confirmed a discrepancy of nearly between the number of physical ballots cast and the initial count. The Elmore County Clerk had discovered 373 votes were missing from the original tally, triggering a full hand count —with Secretary of State Phil McGrane, 17 staff members, the Elmore County Prosecuting Attorney, and the Elmore County Sheriff on site to ensure an independent review.

“I appreciate the level of detail and openness that went into today’s count,” said Elmore County Clerk Shelley Essl. “Through this process, we have ensured that every Elmore County ballot was counted and reported.”

Despite the mix-up, none of the race outcomes changed. Secretary of State McGrane says the recount was about making sure voters have confidence that their votes count.

“In order for our elections to work, voters must have confidence that their votes will count,” said Secretary of State McGrane. “Today we demonstrated our commitment to ensuring just that. I’m proud of my team and grateful to Elmore County for partnering with us as we’ve worked to correct this error and investigate what went wrong on election day.”

The Elmore County Board of Commissioners will review and certify the new results by tomorrow morning. Following this, the Secretary of State and the Elmore County Clerk will request a judicial review before December 2 in accordance with Idaho law.

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Chris Nestman

In a push to speed up the approval and development of geothermal energy, Idaho Congressman Russ Fulcher (R) sponsored a bill to ease the regulatory burden on exploring potential geothermal sites.

“[The] biggest obstacle thus far has been just simply not getting permission or not getting access to where the resources are. And so that’s what this legislation is geared to try to do, is just make it available,” said Fulcher.

The bill, H.R. 5576, provides a new regulatory exclusion for geothermal exploration activities on federal land.

Currently, any geothermal exploration requires an Environmental Assessment (EA) that may take up to 10 months to get completed, with no guarantee the application will even get approved. Oil and gas wells do not need an EA for exploration, if land has already been approved for drilling. Fulcher’s bill would align geothermal exploration with oil and gas which he says will greatly speed up the process.

“So we think we’ve got a real win win situation here. We’ve got a great source of energy that’s a dependable baseload. It’s cheap, it’s clean, it takes a very small footprint that it disturbs on the land surface,” said Fulcher. “And and it’s just a great energy source at a time when our energy demands are really skyrocketing.”

Fulcher said Idaho in particular could benefit as we are one of the most prime states for geothermal exploration. He also said he doesn’t think other environmental concerns will hold up the development of geothermal plants as much compared to other sources of power like nuclear or coal.

The bill still has to make its way through the house, but Fulcher says he believes it has enough support on both sides of the isle to get the approval. If it does pass the house, it will then move onto the Senate. If it passes the Senate, then it moves to President Trump’s desk. Fulcher says he believes the President will support and sign the bill.

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Maile Sipraseuth

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)– Antares Industries celebrated its expansion to Idaho with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the Rogers building Monday morning.

A leading developer of advanced micro nuclear reactors from California, Antares Industries, is building an office in downtown Idaho Falls. This decision comes after the company has worked extensively with the Idaho National Laboratory.

“Earlier this year, we established a $40 million partnership agreement with Idaho National Lab. And we decided, given how much we’re investing here, it’s time to have a permanent presence here in Idaho Falls,” Jordan Bramble, the CEO and Co-founder of Antares, said.

The event not only captured the collaboration between INL, the United States Department of Energy, and Antares, but also highlighted the growing nuclear energy market in Idaho.

“Idaho is really the birthplace of American nuclear energy, and we believe it’s also going to be the home of the rebirth of American nuclear energy,” Bramble said.

Representative Mike Simpson, along with representatives from INL and the U.S. Department of Energy, made their remarks before the ribbon-cutting.

“It really feels like we’ve become one team,” Bramble said.

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Seth Ratliff

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — A 60-year-old Idaho Falls man was arrested Sunday evening after a drunken disturbance in the parking lot of Boozers/Shari’s off Broadway in Idaho Falls escalated into a brief police standoff.

Police say a man, identified through court records as Danny Oswalt, 60, was allegedly seen blocking a trucker in a truck with his car, refusing to let the trucker leave, and appeared to be trying to start a fight.

The incident took place around 7:00 PM. The Idaho Falls Police said in a Facebook post that Oswalt tried to flee and drove a short distance through the parking lot as their officers arrived on scene. The officers boxed Oswalt in with patrol vehicles and attempted to instruct him to exit the vehicle.

Police say Oswalt refused to leave the vehicle, and after speaking with the man over the phone, it was clear the 60-year-old was intoxicated and should not be driving.

Eventually, police say Oswalt suddenly got out of his car, saying he was going to make the officers shoot him. According to the post, he refused to follow commands and began digging in his pockets. IFPD says an officer used a less-lethal tool: a 40 mm launcher that fires a blue, ping-pong-sized foam projectile, which officers refer to as a “Smurf round.”

The officer fired three rounds, striking Oswalt all three times. The projectiles incapacitated him long enough for officers to safely and quickly approach and detain him. A further search of his vehicle uncovered multiple open containers of alcohol.

Oswalt was transported to a local hospital for medical clearance before being booked into the Bonneville County Jail. He faces charges of False Imprisonment, DUI, Eluding, Possession of an Open Container, and Resisting and Obstructing.

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Seth Ratliff

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — Two men are now in custody after crashing into an Idaho Falls neighborhood while fleeing a traffic stop early Monday morning, November 24, 2025.

The incident began around 12:30 a.m. when a Bonneville County Sheriff’s Deputy spotted two vehicles street racing near the intersection of 25th E. and 1st St.

When the Deputy attempted to initiate a traffic stop, one of the vehicles immediately turned onto Mesa St. and sped away. The Deputy followed the vehicle down the dead-end street, where they found the vehicle had lost control and crashed into a tree in the front yard of a home.

As more Deputies arrived on the scene, they found and detained the two men as they attempting to exit the wrecked vehicle. The driver was identified as 18-year-old Augustine Perez Jr., who was placed under arrest for Felony Eluding a Peace Officer. The passenger was identified as 20-year-old Terrin Malik Hopwood, who police discovered was in possession of several THC Vapes.

In the subsequent investigation, Deputies found an AR-15 rifle inside the vehicle and determined that Hopwood had allegedly tossed a 9mm handgun into the front yard of the home just moments before the Deputy pulled up. Deputies also found several THC vape devices underneath the vehicle.

Both Perez and Hopwood were transported to a local hospital for medical clearance due to minor injuries from the crash. They were then booked into the Bonneville County Jail. During the booking process at the jail, Perez was officially booked on a Felony Charge of Eluding, and Hopwood was booked for Misdemeanor Possession of Marijuana.

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Seth Ratliff

IDAHO (KIFI) — Ahead of the Thanksgiving travel surge, the Idaho State Police is increasing patrols on the Gem State’s roadways, reminding drivers to slow down, buckle up, and drive sober during one of the busiest travel holidays of the year.

AAA of Idaho predicts an astonishing 81.8 million Americans will travel for the holiday, including 478,000 Idahoans. With record numbers of drivers expected to hit the road, motorists can expect the largest presence of law enforcement on the day before Thanksgiving, which ISP projects to be the heaviest travel day.

“Thanksgiving weekend can often turn deadly as it combines heavy traffic with winter weather, and that means drivers need to slow down and give themselves extra time,” Lieutenant Tyler Barrett said. “We just want everyone to get to their destinations safely and return home safely, which is why this operation focuses on visibility and enforcement of driving behaviors that put lives at risk.”

ISP is set to partner with local sheriff’s offices to limit and prevent accidents, focusing on distracted and impaired drivers.

ISP reminds drivers to:

Drive sober or don’t drive at all.

Buckle up — every trip, every seat.

Watch your speed and increase following distance.

Put the phone down and avoid distractions.

Slow down and move over for emergency and tow vehicles, as required by Idaho law.

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