Category: kifi-local-news

Seth Ratliff

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) — A federal court has definitively dismissed a lawsuit challenging Idaho’s abortion laws, concluding that the claims lacked legal merit and could not be corrected.

The challenge came from The Satanic Temple, a national non-theistic religious and political activist organization using the figure of Satan as a symbol of rebellion. TST’s lawsuit claimed that Idaho’s abortion restrictions, enacted following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health ruling, violated the U.S. Constitution and federal religious freedom statutes. The group argued that the restrictions constituted a “taking” of pregnant women’s wombs, amounted to slavery in violation of the Thirteenth Amendment, and infringed upon the religious freedom of its members.

Legal History and Final Ruling

U.S. District Judge David C. Nye initially dismissed the case in 2024, questioning the group’s legal standing and describing TST’s arguments as “absurd” and “outlandish.”

TST appealed this decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Ninth Circuit agreed that TST lacked legal standing but remanded the case back to Judge Nye, asking for clarification on whether any amendment to the complaint could rectify the legal shortcomings.

On Monday, November 10th, Judge Nye issued his final response, dismissing the case with prejudice, meaning the plaintiffs cannot file the same claim again.

“No amendment could change the Court’s holding because the Court’s reasoning was based on the sheer unworkability of TST’s arguments as applied to the constitutional context,” wrote Judge Nye in his ruling. “TST’s efforts to shoehorn its disagreements with Idaho’s abortion statutes into constitutional claims rang of the classic phrase “trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.” It simply does not work.”

State Reaction

Attorney General Raúl Labrador applauded the decision, hailing it as a significant legal victory for the state.

“Idaho’s pro-life laws protect both mothers and unborn children, and this decision confirms those protections are constitutionally sound,” said Attorney General Labrador. “The Satanic Temple’s attempt to manufacture constitutional violations out of disagreement with Idaho’s values has been rejected at every level. We’ve defended Idaho’s laws through every stage of this litigation, and we will continue protecting the right of Idaho’s elected representatives to defend life.”

60-Satanic-Temple-Decision-and-OrderDownload

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LocalNews8-Newsroom

 

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints launched its worldwide “Light the World Giving Machine” initiative on Wednesday and said this year’s event it’s bigger than ever.

The kiosks will be in 126 cities across 21 countries with first-time stops in places like South America, Japan, and Italy.

The Church covers all the costs so that 100 percent of every donation goes right to the charities. Since 2017, the initiative has raised nearly 50 million dollars worldwide.

East Idaho will see its own machines this holiday season allowing residents to “purchase” donations for local and international charities. You’ll have three chances to check them out.

Pocatello/Chubbuck will kick off the season on Saturday, November 15 at 11 a.m. at the ICCU headquarters.  It’s located at 4400 Central Way in Chubbuck. It will be open through November 30. 

The machines then will be in Rexburg at the Hemming Village in Rexburg, December 1st through the 14th. The Hemming Village is located at 160 W 2nd S.

The final stop will be in Idaho Falls at the Grand Teton Mall, December 15th through January 1st, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. 

 

Below are a list of local charities benefiting from the Giving Machines. 

Pocatello-ICCU Headquarters:</strong> November 15—30, Hours: 10 AM to 9 PM

Aid for Friends

Bright Tomorrows Child Advocacy Center

South Eastern Idaho Community Action Agency (SEICAA)

United Way Southeastern Idaho

Bannock Youth Foundation

Rexburg-Hemming Village: December 1—14, Hours: 10 AM to 9 PM

Eastern Idaho Community Action Partnership (EICAP)

Family Crisis Center

Idaho Falls Humanitarian Center

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Idaho

Idaho Falls Rescue Mission

Idaho Falls-Grand Teton Mall: December 15—January 1, Hours: 10 AM to 9 PM

Eastern Idaho Community Action Partnership (EICAP)

Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center

Idaho Falls Rescue Mission

The Village

Community Food Basket, Idaho Falls

Friends In Service Here (FISH)

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Phillip Willis

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)—On this day in 1892, the Allegheny Athletic Association was desperate to beat its rival, the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, so they secretly paid $500 to a former Yale star, William “Pudge” Heffelfinger to play just one game.

Adjusted for inflation, that is over $17,000 dollars in today’s money.

Heffelfinger earned his keep, scooping up a fumble and running it 35 yards for the only touchdown of the game.

The payment was hidden in the team’s ledger as a “Game Performance Bonus”, something historians only found decades later.

Sources for this Story:

ProFootballResearchers.com — Football Chronology II

ProFootballResearchers.com — Five Hundred Reasons, Football’s First Pro: 1892

ProFootballOF.com — 1892 – Pudge Heffelfinger Becomes the First Person to be Paid to Play Football

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Maile Sipraseuth

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)– After seeing a growing need in her community, Amanda Rynes decided to take action. With local food banks stretched thin and many families struggling after SNAP benefits were paused, Rynes started a small front-yard table to provide food and essentials.

“The need was obvious in the community. The local food banks have been posting a lot about how they’re really strapped right now, and that they have a lot of people with the SNAP benefits paused, having a lot of food insecurity. And then I saw the same thing happening all over the country. And so I was really inspired by other people in places that are doing the same thing,” Rynes said.

Rynes says the community support has been extraordinary and donations have been making the table possible. She admits there have been tough moments, especially seeing local children struggling with food insecurity.

“There’s been times it’s been really hard. It’s challenging to see kids coming up and knowing that there’s food insecurity for a lot of local children. But it’s also been really incredible and (I’m) really grateful that moms are willing to come out. I’ve had a lot of people reach out, they’re embarrassed to need help, and I’m just grateful that they’re willing to stop by,” Rynes said.

One person stopped by after seeing Rynes’ post on Facebook for the table, grateful.

“This is awesome. This will really help out the community. It’s special. I wish more people would do something like this,” they said.

Rynes would like to thank the community for making the food table possible.

“It’s been really impactful and kind of a faith in humanity restorer, seeing how the local community really came out to support our little table,” Rynes said.

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Maile Sipraseuth

VICTOR, Idaho (KIFI)– Victor city leaders are moving ahead with plans to build a $35 million wastewater treatment plant, ending a long-standing agreement with the city of Driggs using its wastewater treatment facility. The move has sparked debate among residents, some of whom say the city isn’t being transparent about the true costs, along with concerns about environmental issues.

Controversy stirred up in March, when the city of Victor decided to end its wastewater use agreement with the city of Driggs.

Victor is now proposing to build its own wastewater treatment plant, a project estimated to cost $35 million, to be repaid over a term of “years”.

City officials argue that continuing to use the Driggs facility would ultimately cost about the same as building a new plant. But some residents aren’t convinced, saying the long-term expenses and environmental impacts need a closer look.

One Victor resident said in public comment email, “It is irresponsible of you to subject the residents of Victor with this level of debt. I do not think your (the city’s) analysis looks at the total cost of ownership over the lifetime of the plant.”

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Stephanie Lucas

IDAHO FALLS, IDAHO (KIFI) – You can get your questions about Idaho’s Parental Choice tax credit answered Wednesday night at a town hall meeting in Idaho Falls.

 Idaho State Representative Wendy Horman and some guests will be on hand to explain the program, which allows parents to apply for a tax credit of up to $5,000 for each eligible student, for expenses like tutoring, homeschooling, private school, and transportation.

Students with a qualifying disability are eligible for up to $7,500.

Wednesday’s meeting will be at the Holiday Inn on 3005 South Fork Boulevard in Idaho Falls from 6:30 to 8:00 pm.

A meeting in Pocatello will be held on Thursday, November 13th, from 6:30 to 8:00 pm at the Hampton Inn on 151 Vista Drive.

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Seth Ratliff

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — A delegation of Idaho state representatives, city leaders, and farmers is traveling to Washington, D.C. next week, hoping to secure crucial federal funding for new water storage projects, including the potential rebuilding of the Teton Dam, in an effort to combat the state’s ongoing water troubles.

The need for Federal Support

The trip comes on the heels of Senate Joint Memorial 101, a measure that strongly encourages state and federal officials to explore and fund water storage projects across the Gem State and reverse the rapid decline of the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer.

On Monday, Nov. 17, the group of nearly 20 Idahoans, including State Senator Kevin Cook and State Representative Ben Fuhriman, plans to meet with Idaho’s Congressional delegation—Congressmen Mike Simpson and Russ Fulcher, along with Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch—to discuss the need for federal support for new water storage infrastructure.

Senator Cook emphasized that while SJM 101 unanimously passed the Idaho House and Senate earlier this year, it lacks teeth without federal support. “There’s no law. It is a strong encouragement to the state and federal officials to do something,” Cook stated, stressing how crucial support from Idaho’s representatives is. He explains the memorial specifically asks officials to utilize existing plans for reservoirs and dams and “get moving forward… because we can’t exist where we’re at.”

Looking back at the 2024 Curtailment

Curtailment Order, 2024

The move is fueled by the 2024 curtailment crisis that threatened Idaho’s agricultural industry. While farmers, supported by Idaho Governor Brad Little and Lt. Governor Scott Bedke, spearheaded a new water use agreement—requiring groundwater users to supply 205,000 acre-feet of recharge for the aquifer— Cook says it pales in comparison to the estimated 1.4 to 2 million acre-feet of water that leaves the state during spring runoff.

Drawing on his experience growing up on a farm in Utah, Cook stressed how important it is to capture, use, and save all the water you can.

“When we had drought and the water was really not good, the snowpack was low. We just had this little stream coming down the river. And so we worked very, very hard to capture every drop,” said Cook.

Potentially Rebuilding the Teton Dam

One of the main proposals of SJM 101 is the reconstruction of the Teton Dam, nearly 50 years after its catastrophic failure in 1976. The original collapse killed 11 people and an estimated 16,000 livestock, devastating parts of Madison and Fremont counties and further south.

Teton Dam failure, 1976 (KIFI)

Rexburg Mayor Jerry Merrill, who is set to join the delegation on its trip to D.C., is a vocal advocate for the rebuild, pointing to the area’s massive population growth. Since the dam collapsed in 1976, the population of Rexburg alone has grown from around 3,000-4,000 to over 40,000.

Mayor Merrill tells us that if the dam was needed for water storage 50 years ago, that need has only become more obvious today.

“We still need water storage. We still need more recreation areas. We need flood control. We need power generation,” Mayor Merrill said. He acknowledged the community’s lingering “trepidation” but assured that any rebuild would prioritize safety: “We, of course, want to be sensitive to that and address that and make sure that… the engineering is done correctly and the construction is done correctly.”

Ahead of the D.C. trip, the delegation is collecting signatures from Idahoans, petitioning their federal representatives to actively support and fund the proposed storage projects. For more information or to sign the petition, click HERE.

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Curtis Jackson

LEMHI COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI)—The Lemhi County Sheriff’s office said a woman died following a boating accident on the Salmon River on Monday. November 10, 2025.

According to a Lemhi County Sheriff’s news release, Arlen Obrien, 76, and Judy Obrien, 75, of Carmen, were fishing when their drift boat lodged on some rocks. While trying to get the boat off the rocks, they fell overboard. It’s estimated they were in the water for nearly 10 minutes before reaching the riverbank.

The sheriff’s office received a call around 4:23 p.m. about the accident and was told CPR was being performed on the female victim. They were located approximately three miles upstream from the Tower Creek boat launch.

The Sheriff’s office said Judy was unresponsive when emergency responders arrived and continued life-saving measures. She was pronounced dead after arriving at Steele Memorial Medical Center. They said she died from accidental drowning.

Neither of them was wearing a lifejacket. The boat was recovered on Tuesday by the Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office and Salmon Search and Rescue.

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Seth Ratliff

LEMHI COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) — Authorities in Lemhi County have launched an investigation into a suspicious death after an out-of-state fisherman discovered human remains along the Salmon River Road earlier this week.

The Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office received the report on Monday, November 10th, around 1:10 p.m.

According to a news release, the fisherman, who was feeling cold after fishing in the rugged Salmon River Canyon, spotted the remains while climbing up a hillside to warm up. The man then led deputies to a rural portion of the roadway.

Deputies located the remains approximately 60 yards up the hillside, situated along the side of a brushy, rocky ravine. The remains reportedly appeared to have been exposed to the elements for several years.

In addition to the remains, deputies located several key pieces of evidence nearby, including a firearm and a handwritten note. The contents of the note have not been released by the LCSO as the investigation is active and ongoing.

The remains and all collected evidence were initially transported to the Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office before the remains were released to the Lemhi County Coroner.

The identity of the deceased is not confirmed at this time and is pending further investigation, including forensic analysis.

The Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office is actively investigating this incident and stressed that further details will be released to the public as soon as more information becomes available.

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Seth Ratliff

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — Last week, the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children task force arrested two Idaho men in separate cases for alleged sexual exploitation of a child, Attorney General Raúl Labrador announced today.

On Wednesday, November 5th, 2025, 46-year-old John McGraw of Idaho Falls was charged with 10 counts of possession of child sexual exploitation material. The Idaho Falls Police Department, Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, Madison County Sheriff’s Office, and the Pocatello Police Department assisted the ICAC Unit with the arrest. 

The following day, the ICAC Unit, with the assistance of the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, arrested 61-year-old Lesley Marcum of Nampa. Marcum has been charged with 5 counts of possession of child sexual exploitation material.

“Two more arrests—from Idaho Falls to Nampa—prove our statewide partnerships are working,” said Attorney General Labrador. “These coordinated efforts to remove threats from our communities are protecting Idaho families. The ICAC Unit and our partner agencies will not stop fighting to keep Idaho’s children safe from exploitation.”

The AG’s office encourages anyone with information regarding the exploitation of children 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.

Parents, educators, and law enforcement officials who wish to find more information and helpful resources, click HERE.

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