Author: KIFI

Ariel Jensen

REXBURG, Idaho (KIFI)– June 5th, 2025, marks the 49th anniversary of the Teton Dam flood. The collapse of the dam greatly impacted Madison and other nearby counties.

Locals who were around during the flood tell Local News 8 they remember that day vividly.

The failure of the dam impacted several towns, killed 11 people, drowned over 15,000 head of livestock, and damaged over 2 billion dollars of property in the area.

One local tells us she was 15 when she lived through the flooding and says it is important to remember this day. 

“First of all, to make sure it doesn’t happen again. And then the gratitude for all those people who just came by busload every day to try and help us out. It was unbelievable,” said Catherine Stanton of Rexburg.

The Teton Flood Museum in Rexburg is currently closed for renovations.

If you would like to show your support for that day, there will be a Teton Dam marathon this Saturday at Smith Park.

For more information on the marathon, visit HERE.

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Sam Ross

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) — A vacant seat in the Pocatello City Council has officially been filled.

Dakota Bates was sworn in as a council member at a meeting tonight.Bates was recommended by Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad over 17 other applicants up for seat number 4.

The position was left vacant after City Councilman Josh Mansfield resigned in early May.

Bates will sit on the city council for the unexpired term through December.

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News Team

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — It looked more like a chilly Black Friday morning than a mild June evening in front of the Best Buy in Idaho Falls last night, as dozens of eager shoppers lined up for the release of the highly anticipated new Nintendo Switch console.

The console officially dropped Wednesday night, June 4, 2025, drawing crowds hours before the doors opened. Some dedicated fans reported waiting up to four hours in line to get their hands on the new system.

Best Buy staff managed the excited crowd by allowing smaller groups into the store at a time, ensuring a smooth process. Happy customers soon emerged, clutching their new consoles.

Among them was Steven from Idaho Falls, who shared his excitement: “I’m looking forward to its performance capabilities, and I’m also looking forward to playing this game, which came out, Mario Kart World. And I’m looking forward to any future titles that are released for this game system!”

The original Switch console was released in 2017. 

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CNN Newsource

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN

New York (CNN) — Michaels is jumping into the void left by the collapse of Joann, announcing Thursday that it’s buying the fabric retailer’s private label and drastically expanding its sewing selection.

In a press release, Michaels said that searches on its website for the word “fabric” have jumped nearly 80% over the past year and “sewing” has increased by about 40%, prompting the retailer to make a “significant investment” in the category in hopes of attracting Joann’s fans.

In response, Michaels is adding 600 products across several categories, including sewing and quilting supplies, fabric and yarn as well as sewing machines. So far, 680 of its 1,300 stores have received the increased selection, with plans for 280 more locations by the end of the year.

Shoppers will also begin to see products from Joann’s fan-favorite “Big Twist” yarn and fabric private label as part of the deal. The lineup is being “developed as part of Michaels portfolio of brands and will be available in-stores and online later this year,” the company said.

“This acquisition allows us to better serve both new and existing customers, respond to rising demand across categories, and build on our momentum as the destination for creating and celebrating in North America,” said Michaels CEO David Boone in a release.

Michaels also bought Joann’s intellectual property, including its name, although no specific plans were announced for that. Joann’s 800 brick-and-mortar stores have all closed over the past few months.

This isn’t the first time Michaels is taking advantage of the collapse of a rival. In April, the closure of about 700 Party City stores prompted Michaels to expand its selection of balloons and other celebration-themed supplies.

Despite the expansion into new categories, financial consulting firm Debtwire said that it added Michaels to its “Retail Distressed Watchlist” because of the toll on tariffs, since 75% of its suppliers are from China. However, Michaels is privately held and doesn’t give people a full look at its financials.

“Purchasing the Joann intellectual property and private label brands is an inexpensive way for Michaels to expand its product line, as there were probably not many other buyers interested in those assets,” Tim Hynes, head of credit research for Debtwire, told CNN.

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Noah Farley

STANLEY, Idaho (KIFI) — There have already been around 50 earthquakes northwest of Stanley since the latter end of May, including a magnitude 4.0 earthquake on Wednesday at 4:58 p.m.

The earthquakes are happening near the Sawtooth Fault, which is south of the focal point of the magnitude 6.5 earthquake that happened in March 2020.

Custer County Emergency Management says you can prepare for an earthquake by having a 72-hour kit and creating a family plan to get to a safe place. You can also prepare your home by bracing your furniture and anchoring your shelves to the wall to keep them from falling.

If you’re outside during an earthquake, emergency crews say to move to an open field and stay away from trees, buildings, and utility poles.

More information on how to prepare for an earthquake can be found here.

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CNN Newsource

By Alex Cabrero

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HEBER, Utah (KSL, KSL TV) — At three miles an hour, the world slows down. Trees seem taller. Mountains feel grander. The horizon stretches a little farther. And for Patricia Petrina, that’s the whole point.

“You’re moving through a country which is this gorgeous, gorgeous place,” said Petrina, gently stroking the muzzle of one of her horses. “You just have a lot of time to appreciate everything.”

This isn’t just a scenic ride, though.

Petrina is currently riding from the Mexican border to the Canadian border on horseback.

It’s a nearly 3,000-mile journey she’s been dreaming about and planning for the past four years.

She left Arizona in early March and hopes to reach Montana by September, near Glacier National Park.

With her are her four horses and her loyal dog, Piglet.

“We’re an oddity. We’re a bit of a circus,” she said with a smile while taking a break near Strawberry Reservoir during the Utah portion of her trip. “You just don’t see four horses and a dog running through town very often.”

It’s not a race, though.

Instead, it is a test of grit, determination and a little bit of soul searching.

Even though she’s by herself most of the time, Petrina has support.

Her family and friends track her using a GPS device and send supplies to post offices along her route.

Her family and friends can even see her journey as she updates her Instagram page.

She’s also prepared for whatever she might encounter. That includes carrying protection for her own safety, and if ever needed, to care for her animals in the most humane way possible if one of them gets hurt in the backcountry.

The ride hasn’t been easy. However, she’s doing it.

“Yeah, uhh… I would say it’s like 80-20 whether I enjoy this trip or not. It’s a lot of work,” she said with a laugh.

Even though there are plenty of difficult days, it’s the overall trip that is bringing her satisfaction.

As a kid, she remembers watching a documentary about a couple who hiked the Pacific Coast Trail.

Growing up in Northern Idaho, and loving horses, she decided she wanted to do something big one day like what those hikers were doing.

“Spending all that time with your horses, it’s very like an old-western,” she said. “You get to live how the cowboys lived and that’s pretty cool, too.”

So why do it? It’s the questions people ask her the most when they meet. So far, she hasn’t been able to answer that question as well as she would like. For her, it’s more of a feeling.

“It’s doing hard things and knowing that you can and pushing through hard stuff,” she said. “I mean, why watch and read about it when you can go do it yourself.”

It’s an adventure she will remember the rest of her life. Even if it’s one she said she’ll never do again.

“Absolutely. I don’t know if I’ll ever need to repeat it,” she said with another laugh.

Petrina recently graduated from nursing school and figured before starting her career, she could take some time to do a journey like this.

It gives her plenty of time to find her “why?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “I’m hoping I’ll find out why I did it maybe at the end or somewhere along the way. But so far, it’s just the experience, I guess.”

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Seth Ratliff

MOSCOW/PROVO, UTAH (KIFI) — The Russian government has blacklisted Brigham Young University (BYU), designating the American institution as an “undesirable” organization. This move, which carries potential criminal charges for anyone affiliated with the university, was first reported Tuesday by the independent Russian newspaper The Moscow Times.

Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office and the Justice Ministry added BYU and Germany’s Körber Foundation to the “undesirable” list without public explanation. Official entries on the Russian Justice Ministry’s website confirm that both institutions were formally blacklisted on April 29.

The designation could pose concerns for BYU’s academic programs, particularly its Russian Major, which, according to the university’s website, has historically included study abroad and international internship opportunities within Russia. KUTV in Utah reports that BYU has not yet issued a statement on how this blacklisting will impact these programs moving forward.

It’s unclear if the designation would affect BYU-Idaho as well. According to the school’s website, the university does offer a Russian minor, unlike their sister school does not list international internships or study abroad opportunities associated with the program. Local News 8 has reached out to BYU-I for clarification.

“Under Russian law, individuals found to be affiliated with ‘undesirable’ organizations face up to four years in prison,” The Moscow Times notes.

Since its adoption in 2015, Russia’s “undesirable organizations” law has been used to blacklist nearly 230 entities, according to reports.

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Phillip Willis

BLACKFOOT, Idaho (KIFI) — Ten teenagers, all members of the 4-H club, chose a yearling mustang to train over the next couple months.

Wednesday was pick up day, and the group will have until August 29th to train the wild horses, at which point they will participate in a compete in an In-Hand Trail Challenge at the Eastern Idaho State Fair. The horses will then be put up for adoption on August 30th.

Among other things, the horses must be able to stay calm when touched by strangers, led around a corral, and haltered.

The trainers chose their preferred mustang based on how they responded to the stress of the new environment. They looked for which ones took a moment to think about a situation and which ones were more prone to act quickly. They also chose based on physical characteristics such as the color of the coats, the look in their eyes and even the size of their hoofs.

“They’re going to take one of these young wild horses home this summer and train it, and bring it back to the state fair and show it in an in-hand trail class, and then we will offer it for adoption on the first Saturday of the fair,” says Juley Smith, a representative for the Bureau of Land Management.

The University of Idaho extension of the 4-H Youth Development Club and Bureau of Land Management Idaho Wild Horse and Burro Program have partnered on the project since 2009, and more that 400 wild horses have been placed into private care. The Bureau of Land Management says the program has saved $6 million in caring costs for unadopted wild horses.

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Ariel Jensen

REXBURG, Idaho (KIFI) — Two BYUI students are being recognized for their video production skills and have been nominated for an award similar to the Emmys.

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, also known as NATAS  offers the Student Production Awards for college students.

This is organized by the same company who do the Emmys.

We caught up with one of the students nominated for the NATAS, Tim Boyce. He is being recognized for his editing on the project he pitched, called Gathering at Devotion.

He calls it his love letter to the school.

“Gathering Devotion, it was a poetic documentary that was attempting to show how unique this university, BYU-Idaho, is,” said Boyce. “And so it was all kind of about showing the fun, the busy hustle and bustle of student life, the homework, the rushing around. And to completely contrast that with devotion, we have here. To show that the university takes a break and encourages students to do so.”

Boyce tells us his project was a group effort, but he is honored to be recognized.

Check out his video here.

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Curtis Jackson

PHOENIX (KIFI) – Sixteen jurors were selected for the murder conspiracy trial of Lori Vallow Daybell on Wednesday.

The process was delayed twice, as Lori claimed she was sick.

The jury consists of eight men and eight women sworn in on Wednesday afternoon. The 16 jurors include four alternate jurors.

Opening statements are scheduled to begin Thursday morning.

Lori Vallow Daybell is facing murder conspiracy for the attempted murder of her niece’s ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux.

Vallow Daybell was convicted in May of conspiring to kill her former husband. She is also convicted of killing her children, Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow, in Idaho.

Police say Vallow Daybell’s brother shot at Boudreaux outside his home in Gilbert in October 2019. Boudreaux was not hit but the bullet shattered his car’s window.

To see previous stories on this case, you can check out our Vallow-Daybell Coverage here.

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