Kailey Galaviz
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – Summer can be a lawless time for kids; staying up late, sleeping in and raiding the pantry can really throw off a good routine.
Lauren Stoia, leadership coach and author of ‘Your Power Within,’ has some suggestions to help parents get their children started on the right foot.
Click play to watch.
News Team
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) — The Idaho Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a Pocatello family trust in a long-running land dispute. 2 trusts from the Rupp family sued the city of Pocatello, Mayor Brian Blad, and several developers over the Northgate Parkway project.
A lower court had dismissed the case, granting judgment to the city and developers.
But the high court reversed that decision, saying the district court failed to properly analyze the motions and didn’t allow the trusts to argue in opposition. The case now heads back to the district court.
News Team
REXBURG, Idaho (KIFI) — Starting Monday, August 28, at 7:30 AM, the City of Rexburg will begin a major upgrade to its phone system. This important project will continue throughout the week and may cause temporary disruptions to city phone lines.
The main City Hall line will be the first to be upgraded and may be down for up to an hour. The city’s IT team will then continue to work on other phone lines across various city facilities.
“If you need to reach us during this time, please be patient; we’ll be back online quickly,” states the city in a Facebook post.
During the upgrade, residents are advised to use alternative contact methods. You can still reach the City of Rexburg by email or through the contact form on the official city website.
Sam Ross
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI)– The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church is hosting its popular Greek Festival on Saturday, August 23.
The event is a Pocatello tradition spanning decades, and the largest cultural celebration in the whole state of Idaho. The festival will feature music, traditional Greek dancing, and plenty of Greek food made by dozens of volunteers over hundreds of hours.
“The most delicious food you’ll ever taste: roasted lamb, we have beautiful loukaniko… We have shish kebabs this year, pastitsio, spanakopita, tiropita, Greek salads, and of course, everyone’s favorite gyros… we have over 12,000 pieces of pastry,” said Father Constantine Zozos, parish priest. “…And we invite everybody for this wonderful family affair where we share our heritage, we share our faith as well.”
Along with the food and festivities, the Greek Orthodox Church will also host several tours of the historic chapel throughout the day on Saturday. Father Zozos said they are expecting around 6,000 visitors at this year’s Greek Festival.
Admission to the festival is free; a menu of food items and prices will be available at the festival. Proceeds from food sales will support the upkeep of the Church’s chapel, a national historic site, and go to support non-profit organizations in the Pocatello area.
The Greek Festival will go from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church at 518 N. 5th Ave. in Pocatello.
Noah Farley
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) — Three cases of measles have already been found in Idaho, reminding people to be up to date with their vaccinations.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare says some people might not realize they need vaccines throughout their lives. Childhood immunizations can wear off over time, so even adults need to stay up to date on their vaccinations. Health and Welfare recommends adults with heath conditions, healthcare workers, and pregnant women get vaccinated.
If someone catches measles, it has a chance of getting worse.
“Measles sort of like wipes out your immune system, and then you’re really vulnerable to like a viral or bacterial pneumonia after the fact,” said Southeastern Idaho Public Health Nurse Practitioner, Ian Troesoyer.
Some of Idaho’s neighboring states have strict policies on going back to school after measles. For example, if unvaccinated students in Washington state are exposed to measles, the Spokane school district will keep them out of school for three weeks.
The policy differs in east Idaho. There technically is no measles policy, so Idaho school districts 91 and 93 say they will follow CDC guidelines.
“If a student or an employee were to contract measles, they would be sent home at the first sign of the measles,” said D-91 Superintendent Karla LaOrange. “They would remain home until they were fever free without medication for 24 hours, and then they would be welcome to return.”
LaOrange says she had measles when she was five years old, and she still remembers the pain she felt.
“I was really quite sick. I remember it seemed like it was quite a long time. It was probably the typical four or five days,” LaOrange said. “But I do remember having a really high fever and that my mom had to work really hard to keep my fever down. And so we don’t want our students to experience that, if at all possible.”
Be on the lookout for measles symptoms like fever, coughing, runny nose, and a rash spreading over the body.
There are several places to be vaccinated or get immunization records. You can contact your healthcare provider or local public health district to ask questions or schedule an appointment.
Seth Ratliff
EAST IDAHO (KIFI) — Attorney General Raúl Labrador announced today that investigators with his Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit have arrested three men in East Idaho this week for alleged sexual exploitation of children.
The individuals arrested and their respective charges are as follows:
Nathan Selig, 43: Charged with six counts of possession of child sexual abuse material.
Rusty Harris, 55: Charged with ten counts of possession of child exploitive material.
Matthew Dudley, 38: Charged with ten counts of possession of child sexual abuse material.
The Attorney General’s ICAC Unit also assisted the Meridian Police Department with a fourth, separate arrest.
“The professional dedication and investigative excellence our ICAC team showed this week proves we’ve built Idaho’s strongest defense against those who target children in our state,” stated Attorney General Labrador in a release. “I’m grateful to every officer and agent who assisted in these arrests, your partnership makes Idaho families safer, working together to protect our the most vulnerable from exploitation.”
The arrests were made through collaborative efforts with multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Pocatello Police Department, Madison County Sheriff’s Office, Idaho Falls Police Department, Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations.
Anyone with information about the exploitation of children is encouraged to contact local police, the Attorney General’s ICAC Unit at 208-947-8700, or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678.
For more information and resources on online child safety, parents, educators, and law enforcement officials can visit ICACIdaho.org.
News Team
VICTOR, Idaho (KIFI) —A family has lost “all their belongings” after a fire destroyed their home on the 10000 block of Colter’s Run Trail, east of Victor, late last night.
Teton County Fire and Rescue crews were dispatched around 9:15 PM and arrived to find the home fully engulfed in flames. The residents had already evacuated safely, but the intense fire threatened to spread to nearby vegetation and other homes.
Courtesy: Teton County Fire & Rescue
Fire crews immediately focused on protecting the neighboring properties, according to a TCFR release. Due to the fire’s size and the risk of it spreading into the wildland, nine neighboring agencies were called in to assist. Together, they worked to suppress the fire and contain it to the original property, successfully preventing any further losses.
In a press release, TCFR Fire Chief Mike Maltaverne extended his gratitude to the other departments. “We offer a huge thank you to our neighboring agencies that left their communities to come and assist us in protecting ours,” he said. He also acknowledged the family’s loss, stating, “We sincerely send out our thoughts and prayers to those affected.”
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
Sam Ross
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI)– The Bannock County Veterans Memorial Association is asking people to help them make the final push to reach their donation goal for repairs to the 100-year-old Memorial Building by the end of August.
In March, an anonymous non-profit organization donated $100,000 to the Bannock County Veterans Memorial Building to fund repairs after flooding destroyed the building’s ballroom and lower-level walls and left the veterans with a $300,000 bill.
The organization also promised they would send another $100,000 if the veterans could match the funds in donations by August 29. Currently, the Veterans Memorial Association stands only $36,000 away from its goal.
From now until the August 29 deadline, the non-profit organization will double any donations made to the veterans in an effort to make the most of the eleventh hour.
“Between now and next Friday, anybody who makes a donation to help with that, your donation will be doubled; so if you donate two bucks, it’ll become four, if it’s 200, it’ll be 400, if you can give us a thousand, your donation will be turned into $2,000,” said Bud Smalley, a veteran of the US Marine Corps and member of the Marine Corps League and Bannock County Veterans Memorial Association. “This is our last push, and I’m sure we can make it.”
Before the December 2024 flooding shut down the Bannock County Veterans Memorial Building, it was used to host regular veteran meetings and get-togethers and rented out for parties, weddings, and funerals. The building was also the site of Bannock County Judge Rick Carnaroli’s ‘Veterans Court’, which helps veterans in trouble with the law find restitution and rehabilitation options besides prison time.
For more information on the Bannock County Veterans Memorial Building, or to make a donation, you can visit their website at www.bc-vma.org.
Sam Ross
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI)– The Pocatello-Chubbuck Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Appreciation BBQ lunch on Friday to thank the hundreds of area businesses that make up the chamber.
“We’re a big membership organization, so we want to make sure they know we appreciate them,” said Matt Hunter, president and CEO of the Pocatello-Chubbuck Chamber of Commerce. “And it’s another opportunity for our members to get to know each other, to meet each other, to see each other; it’s almost like a networking event, but it’s also an appreciation lunch so we get a lot of folks out here.”
Currently, the Pocatello-Chubbuck Chamber of Commerce is made up of over 800 local businesses and organizations.
For more information on the Pocatello-Chubbuck Chamber of Commerce and its members, you can visit their website at www.pocatelloidaho.com.
News Team
By Celeste Springer, KRDO
PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — In a bizarre turn of events, 13 Investigates has uncovered that the Pueblo County Coroner is accused of hiding bodies in a secret room of his privately-owned funeral home, Davis Mortuary.
According to records by the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), Brian Cotter’s funeral home was due for an inspection on Wednesday. When inspectors arrived, they noted “a strong odor of decomposition.”
Later, inspectors said they noticed a door was hidden by a cardboard display. When they went to remove the display, inspectors say Cotter asked them not to go inside, according to DORA’s records.
Inspectors did not follow Cotter’s request; when they entered, they said they found bodies in various stages of decomposition.
“Mr. Cotter stated that the bodies were awaiting cremation and admitted that some bodies had been in the room for approximately fifteen years,” suspension records say.Additionally, Cotter allegedly told inspectors that he “may” have given family members of the deceased fake cremated remains.
Inspectors allege that Cotter failed to take action to embalm, refrigerate, cremate, bury, or entomb human remains within 24 hours.
According to the lead agency, the Colorado Bureau of Investigations (CBI), officials have set up a victim assistance line/tip line, which families can reach at (719)257-3359. Families also email the CBI at CBITIPS@state.co.us.
According to suspension records, Davis Mortuary is ordered to cease operations, pending proceedings.
Who is Brian Cotter?
According to Pueblo County, Brian Cotter has over 20 years of experience working with the Pueblo County Coroner’s Office. He was first elected in 2014, with his current term slated to sunset in 2027.
Davis Mortuary is a privately owned funeral home with Cotter listed as the appointed designee, according to DORA records.
The funeral home has been in operation for over 100 years and was purchased by Brian and Chris Cotter back in 1989, according to their website.
“The Cotter brothers brought with them to the Davis Mortuary the ‘old school’ ways of caring for families in need, which they learned from their father, who owned and operated several funeral homes in Kansas, Nebraska, and Southern Colorado,” reads the website.
Striking similarities
Those living in Southern Colorado are likely to notice similarities between these allegations and those in a separate case out of Penrose, Colorado.
There, funeral home owners Carie and Jon Hallford were accused of allowing close to 200 bodies to stack up at their funeral home, Return to Nature.
KRDO 13 Investigates was first to break the story. Our coverage helped contribute to the drafting of new legislation providing oversight in the funeral home industry.
To read all our reports on that case, click here.
For all of our latest reports on the Davis Mortuary case, click here.
