Author: KIFI

CNN Newsource

Originally Published: 30 JAN 26 13:05 ET

By Mythili Gubbi

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    SANDY, Utah (KSTU) — People from all over jumped into freezing cold water on Thursday, to help raise money for Special Olympics Utah.

The polar plunge at the America First Field in Sandy was one of four events to help make inclusive sports more accessible for athletes. They called in ‘Freezin for a Reason.’

“People are willing to jump into cold water to support the mission of Special Olympics, we’re raising funds and awareness,” said Scott Weaver, President and CEO of Special Olympics Utah.

Christine and Dan do something every year to celebrate their anniversary. This year, they participated in the polar plunge.

“It’s wonderful, I used to work with people with special needs, and it’s a great cause, dear to my heart,” said Christine.

Different organizations participated too, including Real Salt Lake and Utah Royals.

“It means a lot,” said Kyle Schroeder, with Real Salt Lake and Utah Royals. “It’s not only just the funds, but the commitment to show that year round, we are here for you and we are supporting you, we’re making sure that you guys are taken care of.”

It was personal for Alicia Patrick and her son, Phoenix. “Special Olympics means so much to us,” said Patrick. “My son is autistic and they give him joy, belonging, community, friendship and they just mean everything to us.”

“We offer 17 sports, over 120 events throughout the year, all of that is free of charge to our athletes, so the funds raised here help to support the mission and the day-to-day activities offered by Special Olympics Utah,” said Weaver.

“We raise money so that everybody can feel the same joy that he gets to feel everyday,” said Patrick.

The goal is to raise $75,000. They are at about $63,000 and have two more Polar Plunge events to help meet that goal. The one in Ogden is on February 7, and there is another in Cedar City on February 21.

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Ryan Suppe

Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on January 29, 2026

By: Ryan Suppe

BOISE, Idaho — One day after legislative budget-writers asked state superintendent Debbie Critchfield to plan for cuts to public schools, the first-term Republican delivered her response: No. 

“I will not be recommending further cuts to the public schools budget,” Critchfield wrote in a Thursday letter to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee’s co-chairs. “The public schools budget is more than numbers on a spreadsheet. It represents every one of our students, classrooms, teachers and communities.”

Her letter follows two memos this week from Sen. C. Scott Grow and Rep. Josh Tanner, the Eagle Republicans who head JFAC. Their memos asked state agency directors to deliver plans for budget cuts up to 2%, in addition to the 3% cuts that Gov. Brad Little made through an executive order last year. 

The first memo, sent to agency directors Monday, mirrored the governor’s executive order, which exempted K-12. But the second memo, delivered Wednesday, reversed the exemption. It added the $2.7 billion public school system and the Division of Medicaid to the list of agencies that should deliver plans to JFAC. 

Grow and Tanner asked Critchfield to send them “budget reduction plans” at 1% and 2% for the current fiscal year and next fiscal year, as the co-chairs consider “options to balance the statewide budget.”

“We’re just making sure we have all the cards actually laid out,” Tanner told Idaho Education News Thursday afternoon.

He did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday evening on Critchfield’s reply.

In her response, Critchfield wrote that the public school budget is already “in line with the state’s fiscal reality.” Heading into the session, the superintendent reduced her budget request by $50 million, pulling back a block grant proposal that would’ve addressed about half of the state’s special education funding gap. 

Critchfield’s budget also incorporated projected enrollment decreases, which would cut K-12 funding by $22 million this fiscal year and $42 million next fiscal year. Otherwise, the budget Critchfield delivered to lawmakers is flat — essentially a cut when factoring in inflation, she wrote. 

These revisions “fulfilled the assignment,” Critchfield told EdNews by phone Thursday. She also noted that she supports Little’s budget recommendations, which include cuts to virtual schools while keeping “classroom funding” whole. 

“Both of those things will get them to a balanced budget,” she said. “You can balance the budget without coming in mid-year and making cuts to public ed.”

Click here to read Critchfield’s response to JFAC.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield speaks at a Jan. 21 JFAC meeting. (Sean Dolan/EdNews)

A 2% cut to public schools would amount to $55.1 million. 

This would feel like “going backwards” after the state’s K-12 investments in recent years, Critchfield said. And it would be felt in classrooms, particularly in the middle of a budget year. 

About 87% of public school spending is tied to teacher contracts, Critchfield said, and operational costs are rising — costs of fuel, utilities, food, classroom materials and other necessities to operate a school. 

“I know that it may sound dramatic, but … in order to break contracts, you go and declare emergencies,” she said. “It really does have impacts all the way around.”

Other state agency directors have until noon Friday to deliver their plans to JFAC.

Critchfield’s refusal to comply doesn’t mean public schools are safe. The Legislature can still cut K-12 spending. 

But the governor could also stand in the way. Lori Wolff, Little’s budget chief, said Thursday that the Republican governor’s budget plan shows there’s “a way to balance this budget without touching K-12.”

“That’s the roadmap,” she added. 

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Danielle Mullenix

We jump into the weekend with warm conditions, low clouds, and light snow showers through portions of Saturday. On Friday morning, patchy dense fog and ice are likely, with a low in the lower 20s. High pressure will bring in above-average temperatures, with cloud coverage riding in from the Northwest Pacific.

For Friday afternoon, our forecast remains mostly cloudy and a low risk of snow. Most of the snow flurries and showers will be east of the Snake River Plain. Temperatures will peak in the upper 30’s for the Snake River Plain, with a light north wind. Moisture from the high-pressure system moving inland toward us will mainly be in the form of cloud coverage, thus increasing the likelihood of a flurry mix for the weekend. Lightly scattered snow could develop later into Friday afternoon and spread across the Western Wyoming border.

Will see temperatures continue to climb into above-average numbers throughout the weekend. High pressure will dominate the forecast moving into the first week of February. A weak shortwave will arrive on Monday, bringing a dip into cooler temperatures and a slight chance of snow flurries in mountainous areas at the start of the week.

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David Pace

MOSCOW, Idaho (KIFI) – Christian nationalism is proving to be a hot topic in Idaho.

Following The City Club of Idaho Falls’ forum on Christian nationalism Tuesday, Local News 8 reporter David Pace reached out to Idaho Pastor Doug Wilson to see if he feels the ideas presented there accurately represent his faith.

You can listen to the full, unedited interview below.

Much of Tuesday’s community forum focused on Christ Church, a Moscow-based congregation of 1,300 people that is part of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC).

“If they said, are you a Christian nationalist? I would say yes, depending on what you mean. So if you mean someone who wants an authoritarian dictatorship and missile parades and dictators with mirrored sunglasses, no, I’m not a Christian nationalist,” Wilson said. “If you’re asking whether or not I believe that America should return to her Christian roots, I would say yes.”

The faith has risen in prominence as U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth attends an affiliated church.

“One aspect of Christian theology applied to politics would be the necessity of limited government,” Wilson said. “So the first thing that would happen is that I’d want to defund 90 percent of it [the government].”

Wilson said he does support the separation of church and state – meaning that he does not believe in a state-sponsored church.

“One of the principal objections that the Christian nationalists have to the existing government is that it’s aspiring to be God. It’s aspiring to deity,” he said. “They want to film you at every traffic stop. They wanted to film you at every intersection. hey want to record every keystroke. They want to listen to every conversation – they’re aspiring to omniscience. They want to be God.”

“I’m fond of telling people, ‘If there is no God above the state, the state becomes God,” he continued. “And I don’t want the state to be God.”

His church believes in “planting churches, training ministers, planting Christian schools and teaching civics to kids.”

Today, there are more than 400 Association of Classical and Christian Schools patterned after Christ Church’s Logos School in Moscow, he said.

Wilson is a proponent of household voting – where each household has one vote, which is how his church operates.

While he has been criticized that this disenfranchises women, he clarified that single women and women who are heads of households do vote in this system and in his congregation.

Wilson addressed controversy and criticism of his teachings on race, marriage and family relations, and said these are often misquoted or taken out of context.

He said he does not, however, apologize for the teachings of the Bible.

You can view our full unedited interview above.

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Par Kermani

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) — Health officials are reporting five probable measles cases in Canyon County, all within a single unvaccinated household, as they work to prevent the virus from spreading in local schools and the wider community.

Lakshmi Venugopal, an epidemiologist with Southwest District Health, said the cases are being treated as measles based on the patients’ symptoms and their recent travel history, even though lab confirmation is pending.

“We have had five probable cases of measles here in Canyon County,” she said. “Given their clinical history and history of exposure to measles during travel, it’s considered to be measles.”

The family’s exposure occurred during out-of-state travel over the winter break. Because measles can take up to 21 days after exposure to cause symptoms, the children began showing signs of illness after returning to Idaho.

Two of the children attended school in Caldwell while infectious — one at Vallivue Middle School on Jan. 9 and another at Vallivue High School on Jan. 20. Southwest District Health has been working with school officials to notify parents of potentially exposed students and to monitor for symptoms.

“We are closely monitoring all the children in these two schools,” Venugopal said. “If anybody shows symptoms, we’ll be working with them to make sure they are getting connected with a provider, getting testing if needed, and getting recommendations on how long they should stay home before going back to school.”

Statewide, Idaho has recorded 21 measles cases across six counties, including the Canyon County cluster. Boundary County has reported the highest number of cases since August 2025 with six. Eastern Idaho has reported measles cases this year from Madison County; however, due to the time it takes for symptoms to fully manifest, they have not yet been confirmed.

Ian Troesoyer, a nurse practitioner and epidemiologist for Southeastern Idaho Public Health, said Idaho is at a crossroads.

“Idaho is dead last in the nation for measles vaccination coverage for kindergarteners, which means we’re at one of the highest risks for one of the most vulnerable populations,” Troesoyer said. “Measles is the most contagious illness we know of.”

With Idaho’s low vaccination rate, he warned that eastern Idaho may be more vulnerable to a significant outbreak than other regions.

“We are worried about measles cases in our own state and from adjoining states coming into our district,” he said. “People from southeastern Idaho and eastern Idaho are going down to Salt Lake all the time. What is happening in Utah could easily show up here.”

According to Troesoyer, even a small number of cases could strain the capacity of the state’s pediatric hospitals.

“If your kid is not vaccinated and they get exposed to measles, they are very likely going to get it, and then there’s like a one-in-five chance they could be hospitalized,” he said. “Now that we know there’s measles circulating in Idaho, I would strongly encourage you to consider getting them vaccinated.”

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Seth Ratliff

 ALPINE, Idaho (KIFI) — A 74-year-old pilot walked away with only minor injuries Thursday afternoon after his aircraft clipped the ground and flipped into the snowy lake bed of the Palisades Reservoir.

At approximately 2:30 PM, the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office received a call reporting a small, single-engine plane overturned in the reservoir lake bed, roughly a quarter-mile from the Alpine Airport.

Emergency responders from multiple agencies, including Alpine Search and Rescue, Star Valley Fire and Ambulance, rushed to the area.

As they arrived on the scene, the deputies made contact with the pilot and sole occupant, a 74-year-old man from Alpine, Wyoming. The man explained that while flying low past the end of the runway, a wing caught the ground during a turn. The momentum forced the plane to somersault, eventually coming to rest on its roof in the deep snow.

The Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office notified the FAA and NTSB of the incident, who are investigating the crash.

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Seth Ratliff

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) — A new legislative push in the Idaho Statehouse could strip 13 cities of their ability to enforce local anti-discrimination ordinances that protect residents based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

House Bill 557, introduced earlier this week, seeks to establish the “Uniformity in Local Antidiscrimination Ordinances Act.” Sponsored by Rep. Bruce Skaug (R-Nampa) and written by the conservative Idaho Family Policy Center, the bill would prohibit cities and counties from enacting civil rights protections that exceed those currently recognized under state law.

Ending the “Tangled Web” of Local Laws

Idaho State Rep. Bruce Skaug

If passed, the legislation would make local ordinances that currently offer protections for LGBTQ+ individuals that do not exist at the state level unenforceable.

During the bill’s introduction to the House Local Government Committee, Rep. Skaug argued that a patchwork of local rules creates a “tangled web of red tape” for business owners, forcing them to participate in events that violate their sincerely held religious beliefs, such as same-sex wedding ceremonies and Pride festivals.

“We’ve all heard the stories of the bakers, photographers, and wedding venues being forced to participate in ceremonies that violate their sincerely held religious beliefs,” Skaug told lawmakers. “These conflicting local ordinances threaten our religious freedoms.”

Skaug’s statements echo a release by Blaine Conzatti, President of Idaho Family Policy Center, touting the legislation as a victory for religious freedom.

“No small business owner should ever be forced to choose between violating their sincerely held religious beliefs or leaving the marketplace altogether. But local antidiscrimination ordinances are frequently weaponized against small business owners—especially wedding vendors or those offering creative design services,” stated Conzatti. “We call on the Idaho Legislature to rein in these rogue local governments by ensuring that these local antidiscrimination ordinances align with state law.”

Under the bill, businesses, property owners, and residents would have the legal standing to sue local governments over “unauthorized” ordinances. The Idaho Attorney General could also seek injunctive relief against any city or county violating the act.

The Conflict Over “Local Control”

While proponents frame the bill as a win for religious freedom and regulatory consistency, opponents blasted it as an overreach of state power.

The committee voted 14-2 to move the bill forward, with the two dissenting Democratic members expressing concern over state overreach. Rep. Steve Berch (D-Bosie) was vocally unsupportive of the bill.

“I just find that this legislation is just irreconcilable with the principle that government is best when it’s closest to the people.” Representative Berch told the assembled lawmakers. “Different communities are different, and this basically is saying that a majority of 105 legislators get to decide how every community needs to govern over its citizens.”

Mistie DelliCarpini-Tolman, Idaho State Director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, echoed this sentiment in a statement to the Idaho Capital Sun, noting that the bill blocks locally elected officials from fulfilling the mandates of their voters.

“In places across Idaho, locally elected officials are ready and willing to stop discrimination, and this bill blocks them from doing exactly that, what voters elected them to do,” Tolman said. “That isn’t small government. It’s a uniform denial of basic protections that tells LGBTQ+ Idahoans and other marginalized residents that their safety and dignity don’t matter.”

A 15-Year Stalemate

The bill comes after more than 15 years of failed efforts by Idaho lawmakers to add LGBTQ+ discrimination protections to state law, as reported by the Idaho Capital Sun. Current state law prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin.

Skaug argued that the Idaho Legislature has already established a comprehensive anti-discrimination framework for the state, and local government should not independently meddle with that framework.

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Seth Ratliff

TETON COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) — A coordinated, multi-agency narcotics investigation culminated in the arrest of two Teton County men and the seizure of a large cache of drugs, weapons, and cash.

On January 27, around 11:30 AM, Teton County Sheriff’s deputies—supported by federal and state partners—simultaneously executed search warrants at two separate homes. The suspects, identified as Jacob Alan Mitchell and Blaine Creigh Baldwin, were taken into custody without incident.

Both men have been charged with a string of serious charges, including; Felony drug trafficking of marijuana, felony possession of controlled substances with the intent to deliver, felony possession of drug paraphernalia with the intent to deliver, and felony possession of controlled substances.

The Teton County Sheriff’s Office emphasized that the operation was the result of an extensive joint investigation, with the goal of preserving the evidence of a large narcotics trafficking operation. Beyond the narcotics, investigators uncovered drug paraphernalia, multiple firearms, and a significant amount of U.S. currency. Police also seized digital evidence from both homes.

While the primary seizures have been made, the Sheriff’s Office emphasized that the investigation remains active and ongoing.

All parties are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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Seth Ratliff

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — Idaho Falls resident Josh Hartfield is heading home with a lot more horsepower than he started with. The local farmer recently claimed the second top prize in the Idaho Lottery’s Bucks n’ Trucks Scratch game, walking away with a fully loaded Ford F-150 Tremor and $10,000 in cash.

While many players rely on pure luck, Hartfield takes a more calculated approach. While traveling through Northern Idaho for work, he stopped at the Super Store in Post Falls specifically to hunt for games nearing their end. Little did he know he’d leave the lucky winner of a new set of wheels.

“I do my research on the Scratch games, especially when games are close to selling out. If there’s a Scratch game that looks like it’s about to end, I’ll stop at places along the way and buy a few at a time,” said Hatfield.  “I was looking for tickets on the game $200,000 Cash Spectacular. But I also knew that Bucks n’ Trucks was close to ending as well. When I saw them, I got a handful.”

Hartfield was originally scouting for $200,000 Cash Spectacular tickets, but his research led him to Bucks n’ Trucks, which was also on the verge of ending. At the time of his purchase, the game was 99.43% sold out.

“I have fun playing, trying to find the last tickets on a game, trying to help it get sold out, and maybe win, too,” added Hatfield.

With Hartfield claiming this final top prize, the Bucks n’ Trucks game has officially ended. However, Idaho Lottery Officials say one more truck remains up for grabs for those who didn’t find a winning ticket in the wild.

Players have until February 19, 2026, at 11:59 pm MT to enter any non-winning tickets into the Idaho Lottery’s VIP Club for a chance to win the third and final Ford F-150 Tremor.  The second-chance truck winner will be announced by February 26, 2026, at 3:00 pm MT.

For more information, click HERE. According to the Idaho Lottery website, lottery dividends benefit public education, with every play benefiting Idaho’s schools, students, and property taxpayers.

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CNN Newsource

Originally Published: 29 JAN 26 17:00 ET

By Shelby Lofton

Click here for updates on this story

    TOOELE (KSL) — A fire destroyed a Tooele couple’s home and took the life of one of their pets Friday night.

It happened about 6 p.m.

“We were actually just getting ready to eat a roast,” homeowner Brittany Johnson said. “Our fire alarms started to go off, which sometimes they randomly do that anyway, which is a little inconvenient, but, if we shower, hot water is running too long, they just kind of go off and do their own thing.”

She said they didn’t rush to get up because their smoke alarms have a history of being sensitive.

Johnson said she tried to fan the smoke alarm, but it didn’t work. That’s when they rounded up their cats and five dogs.

“We felt an insane explosion,” Johnson said. “I lost my hearing for probably about two minutes. Everything was very muffled. I remember my husband screaming my name.”

Smoke was coming from their swamp cooler.

They ran outside to safety with their pets.

Johnson said several fire trucks came to her house, and she remembers they spent 12 hours looking over every corner of her home.

“There was for sure a very large explosion,” she said. “Personally, my guess is faulty wiring, but investigators from insurance should be coming out sometime this week.”

Firefighters haven’t shared the official cause.

They did find one of the Johnsons’ pets inside, border collie-Aussie mix, Kenzie. Johnson said she died from smoke inhalation.

“I’m pretty sure she did come out when we were out, when we were trying to gather all of the animals out,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, she was kind of skittish, and she actually had, ironically, in that room that we saw the flames firsthand, she actually had a little closet area that she would go and hide.”

The Johnsons said Brittany’s clothing, furniture and so much more is destroyed. It could be nine to 12 months before they’re back home.

“Just to see everything that you’ve built, the first quarter of our lives is just, it’s gone,” Johnson said.

They’re intent on staying in Tooele, where they run Coffee Barn and where they have a community.

“There has been multiple businesses, even some of our competitors have come out and donated a proceeds of their sales to us,” Johnson said. “We’ve never felt alone in this, not once.”

The Johnsons’ family members set up a GoFundMe* to help them with expenses.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KSL verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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