Category: kifi-local-news

Sean Dolan

Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on March 26, 2026

By: Sean Dolan

BOISE, Idaho — Slapping an “of Idaho” onto the end of a political action committee’s name doesn’t necessarily mean the money it spends comes from within the Gem State. 

The Citizens Alliance of Idaho PAC on Wednesday reported a $400,000 contribution from Citizens Alliance Political Action Committee Inc., a super PAC based in Fairfax, Va., just outside of Washington, D.C.

That’s on top of a $50,000 donation the super PAC made last month to the Idaho PAC, for a total of $450,000 this year.

The only other itemized contributions the Citizens Alliance of Idaho PAC has reported this year are $100 donations from Jilene Burger of Idaho Falls — a Republican running against Rep. Marco Erickson, R-Idaho Falls, in May — and Robert Shillingstad of Hayden.

According to the Citizens Alliance of Idaho PAC’s website, the group wants to bring honesty and integrity to state politics by getting legislators to sign “The Citizens Alliance of Idaho Pledge.”

Forty-two have signed on, including Republican Reps. Cornel Rasor, Heather Scott, Dale Hawkins, Vito Barbieri, Jordan Redman, Joe Alfieri, Elaine Price and Republican Sens. Phil Hart, Doug Okuniewicz, Ben Toews and Carl Bjerke.

A screenshot from Idaho Sunshine shows that nearly all of the Citizens Alliance of Idaho PAC’s contributions this year come from out-of-state companies. (Photo courtesy of the Idaho secretary of state’s website)

According to the PAC’s website, legislators who sign the pledge agree to vote in support of:

The right to self defense

Individual medical freedom

Election integrity

Expanding education freedom

The right to due process

The pledge was inspired by the Idaho State Constitution and the U.S. Constitution, the website states. A video on the site provides more information.

“Talk is cheap and so are political promises, hidden agendas and special interests,” a narrator says over a video clip of a cowboy wrangling livestock. “That’s why we created the Citizens Alliance of Idaho pledge, affirming the values Idahoans have been livin’ by for over a hundred years.”

Who’s funding the super PAC?

As the Citizens Alliance super PAC is a national committee, the Federal Election Commission provides data on its funding and spending.

For the two-year period of 2025 and 2026, the super PAC reported $1.79 million in donations.

Of that, $1.29 million came from one business, POM of Pennsylvania LLC, which is associated with Pace-O-Matic, Inc., a business that describes itself as the “nation’s leading developer of skills games.”

There is a debate over whether the “skill games” that Pace-O-Matic produces are gambling devices, according to a November story from the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, part of the nonprofit States Newsroom, which also owns the Idaho Capital Sun.

In the 2025-26 filing period, two Idaho residents contributed to the Citizens Alliance super PAC.

Eagle resident Dan McKnight contributed $2,500 and Camp Hill resident Lynn Bradescu donated $1,000. Bradescu is a conservative realtor who ran for Boise City Council last year, as BoiseDev reported. That $3,500 from Idaho residents accounts for 0.2% of the super PAC’s funding in 2025.

During the 2024 election cycle, the super PAC donated $435,000 to the Citizens Alliance of Idaho PAC. The Idaho PAC spent $67,107 on independent expenditures to support or oppose legislative candidates in 2024 and reported $446,961 in expenditures that year to Mobilize the Message LLC, based in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

“If anything, the only special interests represented by the Pledge are the citizens of Idaho,” the Citizens Alliance of Idaho’s website states.

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Ryan Suppe

By: Ryan Suppe and Kevin Richert

Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on March 27, 2026

The Senate Education Committee on Friday rejected eleventh-hour amendments to a bill cutting state funding for the Idaho Digital Learning Alliance (IDLA) and advanced the legislation unchanged.

House Bill 940 now goes to the full Senate. The House passed the bill on a 48-22 vote Wednesday. 

The bill would cut about half of IDLA’s $26 million budget through a number of policy changes. It would eliminate the virtual course platform’s elementary programs and cut state funding for driver’s education. It would also prohibit “custom sections,” courses taken by students who are all from a single district, unless the district can’t find a teacher for the course.  

On Thursday, Sens. Codi Galloway, R-Boise, and Cindy Carlson, R-Riggins, proposed significant changes to the bill, including one that would have lowered the threshold for IDLA courses to qualify as a custom section. 

Senate Education members voted Thursday to hold the bill until Friday giving them more time to consider the proposed amendments. “I appreciate being able to have the extra time to look at this,”  Sen. Kevin Cook, R-Idaho Falls, said Friday before making a successful motion to send the bill to the Senate floor as is. 

Three school district superintendents, IDLA’s superintendent, the Idaho Association of School Administrators (IASA) and the Idaho School Boards Association spoke against the amendments. 

Andy Grover, IASA’s executive director, said districts lean on IDLA’s custom sections to fulfill graduation requirements — including recent courses that the Legislature required without providing additional funding to hire new teachers. 

“Somehow, we have teachers out there that just do nothing during the day,” Grover said. “That almost never works, and we have to look to IDLA to meet those needs.”

HB 940 defines a  “custom section” as an IDLA course in which 100% of enrolled students come from the same school district. One of Galloway’s proposed amendments would have brought the threshold down to 50% for districts with fewer than 1,500 students and 25% for districts with 1,500 or more students. The state wouldn’t have funded IDLA enrollments for students from the same district beyond these percentages. 

IDLA Superintendent Jeff Simmons said Friday that custom sections have been “sold to legislators as an abuse” of the platform’s funding model, but they’re “typically being used to fill gaps that schools are unable to meet.” 

“Many of these gaps were created by this Legislature as new graduation requirements such as middle school career exploration and digital literacy,” Simmons said. 

Another amendment, proposed by Carlson, would have made IDLA’s state budget “subject to appropriation,” and would have prohibited the platform from drawing on a public school stabilization fund when enrollment increases mid-year. 

The budget-setting Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee already included similar language in IDLA’s appropriation next fiscal year, but the amendment to HB 940 would have made it permanent — effectively capping the platform’s enrollment unless the Legislature agreed to increase it. 

“The appropriation bill that many of you haven’t seen has intent language that sets aside code and makes policy,” said Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise. “This would be policy made by the germane committee.”

Ward-Engelking supported advancing HB 940, without the amendments, but “I do worry about the cuts,” she said. “I hope that we can still provide all these services to our students.”

Carlson said the amendments would have made the bill better. Carlson also said she was surprised that superintendents who testified Friday were on board with advancing the bill, as long as it didn’t have amendments. “I’m surprised that they are not screaming about this bill.”

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News Team

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — Chubbuck’s new Raising Cane’s is set to open next Tuesday on the corner of Yellowstone Avenue and Bullock Street. While the wait is nearly over for local “Caniacs,” city officials are warning that the highly anticipated arrival of Raising Cane’s will bring a massive influx of traffic.

The new restaurant is expected to draw crowds so large that the Chubbuck Police Department and the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) have implemented a specialized traffic management plan.

“We are excited to welcome Raising Cane’s to our community and anticipate increased traffic volumes during the grand opening. While we cannot predict exact customer behaviors, our Public Works and Police Departments are prepared to assist Raising Cane’s in mitigating impacts, and we ask everyone to please be patient during this period,” Mayor Burch said on Facebook.

To prevent gridlock on one of the city’s busiest streets, agencies are coordinating a strict flow pattern. If you are planning to attend the grand opening or are driving nearby, take note of these temporary restrictions:

No Left Turns: Drivers cannot turn left into the Raising Cane’s parking lot from Bullock Street.

Right-In Only: Access from Bullock Street will be restricted to right-turns only.

Preferred Route: Officials are urging fans to access the restaurant via Hurley Drive rather than turning directly from US-91.

Clear Zones: Motorists are strictly prohibited from blocking intersections or letting lines back up onto the highway.

City officials noted on Facebook that Raising Cane’s has a “devoted fan base that tends to show up in a big way,” and they expect Tuesday to be no exception. Whether you’re hunting for a Box Combo or just trying to get to work, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

Allow extra time while traveling on US-91 near Bullock Street, especially during daytime hours.

Be mindful of intersections and keep them clear so traffic can continue flowing.

Follow all posted traffic control signs.

Use Idaho 511 for any traffic updates.

Raising Cane’s is scheduled to open Tuesday, March 31. Crews will be monitoring traffic throughout the week to keep things running smoothly.

Heads Up “Caniacs”: New Location in Idaho Falls

“Caniacs” in East Idaho have more to look forward to. Representatives for Raising Cane’s and the City of Idaho Falls have confirmed that a second East Idaho location is officially on the way.

Construction has already begun in the Best Buy parking lot (west side of 25th Street). Crews are currently digging the foundation, and full-scale building construction is expected to launch next month. Once completed, the new restaurant will be located at 22-36 S 25th East, giving Idaho Falls residents their own “One Love” fix closer to home.

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Seth Ratliff

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) — Governor Brad Little has signed Senate Bill 1250 into law, officially blocking the release of crime scene photos of the victims of the 2022 University of Idaho murders and similar future tragedies.

The legislation aims to close a loophole in public records requests that could have allowed sensitive images of the deceased to become public. The bill, which unanimously passed the Idaho House and Senate, was championed by the family of Kaylee Goncalves, one of the four students killed in the November 2022 attack.

“This change will help protect grieving families from the additional pain of having sensitive photos released that should remain private,” wrote Governor Little on Facebook. “I applaud Alivea and the Goncalves family for their incredible advocacy in the face of immense tragedy.”

According to the bill’s statement of purpose, the law explicitly prevents images of deceased crime victims from being disclosed through public records requests. The Goncalves family applauded the passage in an interview with NewsNation.

“It was long overdue, not personally for this case, but just for victims of rights in general in Idaho and, you know, other states,” Kaylee’s sister, Alivea Goncalves, told NewsNation Thursday.

The new law will take effect on July 1, 2026.

Unsettling Kohbergher DMV Footage Surfaces

Kohberger Caught in Casual Conversation With DMV Worker About Murders He Committed (Storyful)

The signing of the bill coincides with the release of security footage involving confessed killer Bryan Kohberger, who pleaded guilty in June 2025 to the murders of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin.

The video, captured on November 18, 2022—just five days after the murders—shows Kohberger at a Pullman, Washington, DMV office. He was there to switch his white Hyundai Elantra’s registration from Pennsylvania to Washington plates, after investigators say his car was spotted driving past the victim’s King Rd. home multiple times on November 15th.

The nearly 15-minute video, sent to Storyful by the Washington State Department of Licensing, shows Kohberger speaking with a local DMV employee. After telling Kohberger how safe she typically feels in Washington, the employee brings up to the local impact of the killings.

“I really like it though; I like how small, quiet, and I would say safe [it is],” the employee tells Kohberger. “But the whole Moscow thing kind of makes it feel a little less [safe].”

Kohberger remains “stony-faced,” offering brief responses as the clerk unknowingly discusses the very crime he had committed just days before.

Kohberger was arrested over a month later, at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania. He was later sentenced to life in prison on July 23, 2025, as part of his plea deal to avoid the death penalty.

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Kaeden Lincoln

By: Kaeden Lincoln

Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on March 26, 2026

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed a bill instructing the Idaho Department of Education to develop a statewide framework for integrating generative artificial intelligence (AI) into classrooms.

The framework will serve teachers just as much, if not more, than students, said State Superintendent Debbie Critchfield.

Critchfield once asked a classroom of fourth graders if they use AI every day. All of them raised their hands, she told reporters after the bill signing ceremony.

“The surprised group in the room were the adults,” Critchfield said. The framework the Idaho Department of Education develops, she said, should “force adults to catch up with kids.”

Before Little signed Senate Bill 1227, the state had no guidelines for AI use in schools. The law is open-ended so it can adapt over time.

“We didn’t tie down the bill,” said Sen. Kevin Cook, R-Idaho Falls. Cook, a software engineer, sponsored the bill in the Senate.

The law requires the framework to be “human-centered,” transparent and safe.

By “generative AI,” the bill means chiefly text, image and video generation, according to the bill’s own definition.

It excludes AI models that “have the primary goal of classifying data, such as those in automated vehicles.”

“You can make the argument that the AI genie is out of the bottle,” Little said. “Nobody’s putting that genie back in the bottle.”

Little referred to Moore’s Law, an observation made by former Intel leader Gordon Moore in 1965, which essentially proposed that semiconductors, the computer component that enables AI to “think,” would shrink to half their size every two years.

“Everybody thought it wasn’t going to happen,” Little said of Moore’s Law, “and it just continued to happen.”

Idaho Governor Brad Little after signing an AI education bill on March 26, 2026 at the Idaho Capitol. (Kaeden Lincoln/IdahoEdNews)

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Danielle Mullenix

We are expecting a warm-up into the weekend across Eastern Idaho and Western Wyoming, with possible record highs climbing back into the 70s by Sunday. Friday will start with a light breeze and cooler air, but turn into blue skies by the afternoon. This will be followed by another cold front on Monday, which should bring some scattered showers to the region. This is accompanied by another complete pattern change with the pattern turning cooler and wetter for the second half of next week.

We start Friday morning with high clouds drifting through southeastern Idaho. High temperatures today will range from the upper 50s across the central mountains and eastern highlands to the low 60s across most of the Snake River Plain and Magic Valley. Highest wind gusts will be around 15-20mph. Partially cloudy conditions for the bulk of the region, with blue skies spilling into the afternoon hours. Lows will settle back down into the lower 40s and 30s overnight.

Quiet weather will be the continuous throughline for our weekend forecast, with winds decreasing each day and temperatures rising. High temperatures for Saturday begin climbing back up into the 60s and 70s fairly quickly, with dry weather remaining consistent. Sunday temperatures remain in the upper 60s and low 70s with wind gusts climbing back up into the 25-35 mph range.

The next cold front will arrive by Monday afternoon, so expect to dress for cooler, wetter weather by the top of next week.

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Dylan Carder

REXBURG, Idaho (KIFI) – The Rexburg Area Chamber of Commerce is celebrating a century of helping business grow in the area. Thursday night, the chamber held its annual Farmer Merchant Banquet at Madison High School.

Around 500 people filled the gym to celebrate the milestone and raise money for future chamber events. The event honored some of the outstanding businesses and leaders in the Rexburg and Sugar City area with prizes and awards.

This year’s banquet also celebrated the Chamber’s 100th anniversary. Chamber Chairman of the Board, JC Weber says it is “a big deal for any organization to make it 100 years.” The Rexburg Area Chamber of Commerce was formed in 1926 on Main Street where the Key Bank is today.

With 100 years under its belt, Weber believes the future of the Chamber will be “bigger and better.”

“We have continual growth. We are so excited to see the growth in all of those that are coming to this area.” Weber reports the Chamber is seeing record membership this year.

Weber is a lifelong resident of Rexburg. He says his business has seen the benefits of Chamber membership.

“When I bought the Circle of Love from by parents six years ago, they said the number one thing you need to do is be part of the Chamber of Commerce. You only get out of something as much as you are willing to put in.”

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David Pace

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – Heise Hot Springs opened its summer pool this week for Spring Break, and kids are soaking in the sun and welcoming the warm weather.

“We noticed a lot of schools are out, so we’ve opened it up from 12 to 8 P.M. every day,” said Heise Hot Springs General Manager Sam Wilson. “Then that includes our water slide. It’s free all week too. So everyone come and have fun!”

The resort expects the crowds to continue on Friday and Saturday.

“I’m just here for Spring Break, and I really like the slide because it’s just fun. It’s really long to go on,” said Jalaine Jagielski, a swimmer at Heise.

Gabe Radford agrees with her assessment.

“I think the slide’s probably the funnest part about it,” he said.

His cousin Jackson Karraker likes the big pool.

“I think that Heise, like, you just get to have fun. You don’t have to do certain things,” he said. “I mean, you do, but, like, it’s just pretty fun, I guess.”

Kaizlee Brooke is a major fan of the resort.

“We can go on the diving board, and the slide is really here,” she said. “Why I’m here is because Spring Break is out for my school. It’s just really fun, and it’s one of my favorite places to go swimming.”

Her sister Mayleigh Brooke  enjoys the hot pool next door as well.

“My favorite part about Heise Hot Spring is the slide, the extra extra pools, the other pools, the diving board and meeting new friends that you don’t know,” she said.

The summer pool features 95-degree water. It will also be open most Saturdays throughout April and May.

For those who prefer putting to swimming, the golf course is ready for business as well.

On Memorial Day weekend, the Heise’s resort officially opens full-time – adding the zip line, camping, snack bar and pizza to the mix.

For more up-to-date information on pool availability, you can visit Heise’s Facebook page.

Cousins Jackson Karraker and Gabe Radford make a splash at Heise Hot Springs.

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Fox13

Originally Published: 26 MAR 26 14:15 ET

By Spencer Burt

Click here for updates on this story

    GRAND COUNTY, Utah (KSTU) — It just couldn’t moooooo-ve.

Multiple police agencies and local volunteers stepped up Wednesday to save a cow whose lack of fear got the best of it.

The animal stepped into a cattle guard and got stuck, according to the Grand County Sheriff’s Office. Cattle guards are metal grates that act as a barrier when a road goes through a fence on open range land. Cows and other hoofed animals tend to avoid the guards because the spaces between the bars are just wide enough for their hoof or foot to get stuck, while small enough to allow cars and trucks to drive over them.

However, the cow in question ignored that and apparently stepped on the grate with reckless abandon, falling in.

Sheriff’s deputies worked with Utah Highway Patrol and the Bureau of Land Management to rescue the stuck cow. Some ranchers even volunteered to help.

The crew took an excavator and attached a heavy-duty chain to its bucket. That chain was then connected to some towing straps and a long piece of cloth, which they roped around the animal to lift it out.

“Situations like this don’t always have a positive outcome, so we’re grateful this one ended well,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a social media post.

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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Kaelyn Blessinger

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho —To remove sand and debris from roadways, the City of Idaho Falls Street Division will begin sweeping residential streets on Monday, March 30.

The sweeping schedule is divided into zones, with each zone anticipated to be completed in one day. A map of the zones will be updated with upcoming dates as the sweeping begins and can be found here.

Residents are encouraged to move cars and trucks from the street on their scheduled sweeping day to help crews complete their work efficiently.

Once residential roads are cleared, they will move to larger roads and freeways. Then the sweeping will fall into a routine of scheduled street sweeping until October.

The first zones to be swept are zones B12 and B13, from 1st street to 17th street, between Holmes Avenue and St Clair Road.

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