Category: kifi-local-news

News Release

The following is a news release from Yellowstone National Park:

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, WY – Yellowstone National Park’s winter season begins Monday, Dec. 15. Annually from mid-December until mid-March, visitors can travel most of the park’s roads from the West, South, East and North entrances by approved commercially guided snowmobiles and snowcoaches and via the non-commercially guided snowmobile access program.

Currently, the accumulation of snowfall on roads varies across the park. This means that visitors will be able to travel in the park, however, the type of transportation used on park roads by commercially guided snowmobile or snowcoach tour companies will depend on road conditions. Throughout the winter season, park staff will work closely with all operators and provide updates as conditions change.  

Winter travel ends in mid-March when plowing crews begin to clear a winter’s worth of snow. Roads will start to re-open to automobiles beginning in mid-April.

Top Things to Know in Winter

Most Park Roads are Closed to Automobiles

The only roads open year-round are between the North Entrance in Gardiner, Montana, and the Northeast Entrance in Cooke City/Silver Gate, Montana (via Mammoth Hot Springs, Tower Junction and Lamar Valley). Anticipate possible road closures due to quickly changing weather and dangerous driving conditions. Check the road status map before you arrive. Drive cautiously and give plenty of space to snowplows. Do not stop, stand, or walk in the road. Use a turnout if you need to stop for any reason.

Want to See Old Faithful?

Park partners, concessioners and authorized businesses offer a variety of guided tours throughout the park during the winter months.

Services are Limited

Most facilities are closed during winter. Check winter operating dates to see which visitor centers, stores, restaurants, lodges and warming huts are open.

Camping and Lodging

Old Faithful Snow Lodge and Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel are open during winter. Make reservations as far in advance as possible. Lodging is also available in nearby communities. There is limited first-come, first-served camping available at the Mammoth Campground.

Prepare for Winter Conditions

Winter temperatures range from zero to 20°F (-20°C to -5°C) throughout the day. Sub-zero temperatures are common, especially at night and at higher elevations. Check current weather conditions, pack proper clothing and equipment and review winter safety tips.

Do Not Approach or Feed Wildlife

Animals have the right of way. Expect to encounter bison and other wildlife on park roads. Slow down or pull over until they pass or move off the road. Stay 100 yards (91 m) from bears, wolves, and cougars and 25 yards (23 m) from all other wildlife. The safest way to view wildlife is through a telephoto lens, a spotting scope or a pair of binoculars. Store food properly and be aware that in some areas, ravens have learned to unzip backpacks to obtain contents.

Stay on Boardwalks

People have been severely injured or killed by breaking through thin ground in thermal basins or falling into hot springs. Exercise caution and wear traction aids over footwear when navigating snowy or icy boardwalks.

Enhance Your Experience

Download the free National Park Service App (and offline content) before you arrive.

Connectivity is Limited

You will likely not receive calls or texts, even in the few areas you have cell reception.

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Curtis Jackson

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – Idaho State Police is investigating a semi crash that happened early Wednesday morning on I-15 near the Northgate exit.

Police said at about 2:30 a.m., a semi hit a stationary traffic control vehicle equipped with a crash attenuator. The collision tore open the trailer wall and spilled some cargo on the road. The traffic control truck was severely damaged.

ISP said due to the damage and the condition of the load, the right northbound lane of I-15 and Northgate exit 73 off-ramp are closed and could be closed until Wednesday afternoon.

This was the second traffic-control vehicle struck at the same spot in less than 24 hours.

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David Pace

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — The artificial intelligence arms race is on — and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) researchers are helping support the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Genesis Mission to create the world’s most intelligent, scientific instrument ever constructed.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright visited INL on Monday and spoke about the powerful combination of artificial intelligence and nuclear power.

“AI is this tool talked about when I was in college, but now it’s coming to fruition. It can massively enhance the productivity of each and every one of us,” Wright said. “It’s not going to replace us. It’s going to make all of us just massively more productive.

Announced in an executive order by President Donald Trump on November 24, the Genesis Mission will “connect the world’s best supercomputers, AI systems, and next-generation quantum systems,” according to a DOE press release.

The project will connect federal scientific datasets, “the world’s largest collection of such datasets,” with AI systems “to train scientific foundation models and create AI agents to test new hypotheses, automate research workflows, and accelerate scientific breakthroughs,” the executive order states.

Nuclear AI applications in Idaho

Secretary Wright highlighted the lab’s initiatives harnessing artificial intelligence in nuclear operations.

“Also learned today about the use of artificial intelligence to not only run existing reactors today better, but to develop a system that can design a reactor, that can operate a reactor, that can optimize a reactor, that can comment on the fuel cycle and the future progress, future pathway of where those fuels might go, and also enable the rapid monitoring licensing of a nuclear reactor,” Wright said.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and INL Director John Wagner tour the Materials and Fuels Complex at Idaho National Laboratory on Monday.

During his tour, Secretary Wright was briefed on how Idaho National Laboratory is supporting the Genesis Mission with its advanced AI and digital engineering capabilities.

“Project Genesis is a really exciting mission that unites all of our 17 laboratories and many industry partners that many have heard of — think of Amazon, Microsoft and Nvidia — together to build a unique scientific platform that connects all of our data, all of our AI technologies together to realize new scientific discoveries, to realize new developments for national security, and to solve problems for energy innovation,” said INL Director of Scientific Computing and AI Chris Ritter.

Idaho Governor Brad Little emphasized that the AI boom is fueling tech companies’ interest in small modular reactors.

“The demands, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence, is just going to require, pick your number — a 12, 20, 25 percent increase in energy, ” Little said.

Nuclear is a natural fit for tech companies with the resources required to invest in advanced reactor technology.

“What’s fantastic about nuclear technology is the high energy density, small amount of land, small amount of fuel, large amount of energy, weather independent,” Wright said. “It doesn’t matter if the sun is shining, or the wind is blowing, or what the weather is — you can get reliable, dependable power.”

Across the United States, the ambitious Genesis Mission project aims to “double the impact of U.S. scientific research and engineering in one decade,” the release states.

INL will continue to lead the way in AI research, Ritter said, finding new applications for advanced fission and nuclear energy.

INL Director John Wager, U.S. Representative Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Governor Brad Little (left to right) stand next to the DOME microreactor test bed at INL on Monday.

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Hadley Bodell

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – The Friends of the Marshall Public Library are excited to open their Holiday Store on the first floor of the Marshall Public Library in Pocatello. The store features discounted books, games, movies, stocking stuffers and more.

The Holiday Store is open throughout the month of December during the library’s winter hours: Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

All the proceeds go directly towards funding the Friends of the Marshall Public Library to help keep their programs and projects running. The store can help local people find meaningful gifts on a budget this holiday season. Items start as low as 25 cents and most are $5 or less. The store also has several antique collectible items at discounted prices.

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Hadley Bodell

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – Dr. Robert Wagner hosted his faculty and staff today at the alumni center on the Idaho State University Pocatello campus to celebrate the successful fall semester.

The annual event is an opportunity for the staff to interact with colleagues from across the campus. All faculty and staff were welcome to attend, including professors from all ISU colleges and ISU services like the career center. Guests enjoyed a catered meal and desserts.

President Wagner bragged about the success ISU has seen this fall, telling Local News 8 that enrollment for both graduate and undergraduate students is the highest since 2011. He also mentioned the student performances and historic success by ISU athletic teams this semester. He says the faculty and staff are the ones who truly make the university shine.

“We all share the same mission in Idaho State University. That’s to serve our students, to serve the communities that we are in,” said Wagner. “And when we get together like this, we really sense and feel that shared purpose. It’s such a great time to be a Bengal, and there’s much that we can celebrate.”

The president will also be hosting holiday parties in the coming week at the ISU Idaho Falls campus and the Meridian campus.

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Curtis Jackson

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)—Idaho State Police is marking its ninth year of the “10 counties of Christmas.” It’s a charity drive to provide holiday meals across ten counties.

Troopers partner with local businesses to help families in need.

The program delivered 53 bags of food in its first year.

This year, they’re on track for 731.

“And all of us have come together to be able to put these meals together, that we go to our very remote areas here in our District six, and we cover ten counties and we deliver those meals for about the next two weeks,” said ISP District 6 Captain Chris Weadick.

Donations are easy. You can buy a meal kit at the ISP table at the front of Broulim’s in Idaho Falls. 

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Maile Sipraseuth

SHOSHONE, Idaho (KIFI)– Shoshone Ice Cave is looking for donations after their bridge collapsed in September, leaving multiple visitors injured.

“We have been working diligently to remove our old walkway, and working with some great engineers to design a new replacement walkway. This will be a great upgrade for all of our future tourists, but with such a major unforeseen upgrade for the Shoshone Ice Cave it does have a major expense aswell,” the Shoshone Ice Cave Facebook post said.

In September, Local News 8 interviewed two of the victims of the bridge collapse. One of the victim’s fathers had to be airlifted from the scene to the hospital after suffering from six fractured ribs and a collapsed lung.

“My first reaction… I was in shock,” said Jacqueline García, one of the victims in the collapse, “I was worried about my daughter because I knew I had her with me. And I was worried about handing her to my husband.”

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Michael Coats

Unseasonably warm conditions will continue across the region this week, keeping daytime highs well above normal for December. While temperatures remain mild, we should brace for windy conditions that will persist through Friday. Rain and snow chances will shift north tonight and into Wednesday, leaving most of our area dry but under mostly cloudy skies.

For Tuesday night, expect a slight chance of rain before early morning hours. Skies will stay mostly cloudy, and temperatures will dip to around 40°. Winds from the south-southwest will range near 20 mph, with gusts approaching 35 mph.

On Wednesday, a brief chance of light rain is possible before mid-morning, but otherwise, the day will remain mostly cloudy. Highs will reach about 55°, and southwest winds will stay strong at 25 mph, with gusts near 35 mph. Wednesday night will stay cloudy with lows around 40° and continued breezy winds near 20 mph.

Looking ahead, Thursday brings a mix of clouds and sun with highs near 50°. Winds will ease slightly but remain noticeable at around 15 mph, gusting to 30 mph. Thursday night will be mostly cloudy with lows near 35°. By Friday, expect partly sunny skies and highs close to 50°, keeping the mild trend intact as we head into the weekend.

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Curtis Jackson

The following is a news release from the City of Pocatello.

POCATELLO, Idaho – Beginning today, December 9, portions of the Monte Vista to Pocatello Creek Road Pathway will be temporarily closed as crews complete the final phase of construction on the new multi-use pathway. The closure is necessary to perform erosion and sediment control improvements, specifically addressing water runoff from I-15 into the pathway.

This work is expected to limit public access for several days, with crews aiming to complete enhancements as quickly as possible. The City anticipates minimal disruption to the community, and the pathway will reopen once the final improvements are finished.

The pathway project is nearing substantial completion. Construction has included excavation and backfill, asphalt and concrete paving, installation of retaining walls, storm drainage systems, and a new rectangular rapid flashing beacon with ADA-accessible ramps to improve safety and connectivity on the south side of Monte Vista Drive.

Once completed, the pathway will operate independently of vehicle traffic, greatly improving safety and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists. It is designed to connect to Pocatello’s existing pathway network and enhance mobility between nearby residential neighborhoods and surrounding commercial areas.

Funding for the project is provided through a Transportation Alternatives Program Grant, administered by the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council. The required 7.34% local match is being fully funded by community nonprofit partners, including the Portneuf Health Trust and the Portneuf Greenway Foundation, resulting in no financial burden to the City of Pocatello for construction.

For additional information on City of Pocatello projects, visit projects.pocatello.gov.

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Ariel Jensen

REXBURG, Idaho (KIFI) – The cold season is a difficult time for many people, especially senior citizens. Winter weather brings joint pain, illnesses, depression, and more.

“They seem to stay more isolated, and they deal with depression,” says Melissa Hope, Executive Director of the Madison County Senior Citizen Center. “They don’t go out because it’s cold. So it is very easy for seniors to become depressed, isolated, and they don’t take care of themselves as well because they’re not out.”

Hope says this is an important time to check on your neighbors. She says just last week, a senior volunteer fell and was calling for help for over 45 minutes before someone noticed.

Hope says the holidays are an excellent time to volunteer at the Senior Center as well. They need help from the community to provide meals and a checkup for the isolated seniors in Madison County. Right now, the number of seniors needing help is up, and donations are down.

For more information on how to help, visit here.

 

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