Category: kifi-local-news

Curtis Jackson

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — A man who pleaded guilty to being an accessory to a murder was sentenced on Monday.  William Burton, 62, will serve five years, two years fixed, followed by three years indeterminate, meaning he could be eligible for parole.

Burton was riding in a vehicle with Randy Larkin and Gerald Hamlin on May 13, 2022, the night Pelton was killed. Pelton’s body was later discovered at the Clark Hill Rest Area, along US 26 east of Ririe.

William Burton, Curtsey of Bonneville County Prosecutor’s Office

According to testimony presented in court, Larkin shot Pelton during a dispute over drugs.

Prosecutors said Burton, who was sitting in the back seat and was intoxicated at the time of the shooting, withheld critical information from investigators when questioned about what happened.

Larkin was convicted of second-degree murder in November 2024 and is serving a life sentence.

Hamlin pleaded guilty in July 2024 to accessory charges and concealing evidence. Hamlin was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison and was placed in Idaho’s rider program.

Court documents also identified Kelly Hincks as being involved in the case. Hincks died in January 2024 before any charges were filed against him.

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Seth Ratliff

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) — Firefighters are making “steady and consistent” progress on the Big Rock Fire, as crews achieve 85% containment. Today’s update marks the final daily briefing from the Big Rock Type 3 Incident Management Team as command is returned to the U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS) Great Basin Unit 3.

The fire has burned 2,142 acres of brush in the Heise area over the past week. Firefighters faced steep, rugged terrain, hazardous vegetation, and hot, windy weather conditions during suppression efforts.

“The progress made on the Big Rock Fire reflects the dedication and professionalism of firefighters and support personnel…” the USWFS stated in a news release. “Their commitment to safety and operational excellence substantially reduced fire potential while protecting the residences, resources, and facilities of the Heise area and businesses.”

Reopenings and Remaining Closures

Despite the burn area, none of the nearby homes, local landmarks, or recreation areas were lost. Monday, the Heise Hot Springs pools are scheduled to reopen for regular business hours.

However, several road and recreational closures remain in place to protect public and firefighter safety while efforts to mop up remaining hot spots and strengthen containment lines continue.

For the time being, Heise Road east of 7N Ranch and River Road, both east of Kelly Canyon and west of the Heise Bridge, will remain closed. Camping closures for Kelly Island Campground, Wolf Flats, Warm Springs, and all dispersed sites along River Road will remain in effect through Sunday, August 16. The Cress Creek Nature Trail, Stinking Springs Trail, and all hiking and biking trails in the Kelly Canyon and Heise areas will also remain closed.

Residents and visitors are asked to avoid closed areas and follow all first responder instructions.

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Seth Ratliff

BINGHAM COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) — The Idaho State Police is investigating a fiery two-vehicle crash that happened Saturday afternoon west of Blackfoot.

The crash happened around 4:20 p.m. at the intersection of US Highway 26 and N 700 W, just west of Blackfoot, Idaho.

ISP says a 2018 Nissan Titan, driven by a 26-year-old man and his 24-year-old female passenger from Blackfoot, Idaho, was traveling southbound on N 700 W. At the same time, an 18-year-old Blackfoot woman was driving east on US26 in a 2010 Ford F150.

Investigators say the Nissan failed to yield at the intersection and collided with the Ford. The impact caused the Ford to strike a power pole, and the truck and the surrounding area caught fire.

Fortunately, ISP says everyone invovled was wearing their seatbelts, and there were no injuries reported.

Traffic was heavily impacted following the crash. The eastbound lanes of U.S. 26 were blocked for nearly 90 minutes, while the westbound right lane remained closed for approximately four hours while emergency crews worked to contain the blaze and secure the scene.

Multiple agencies assisted in the investigation, including the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, Blackfoot Police Department, Blackfoot Fire Department, Aberdeen Fire Department, Fort Hall Fire Department, Firth Fire Department, the Bureau of Land Management, and Idaho Power.

This crash remains under investigation by the Idaho State Police.

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Hadley Bodell

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – The Heise Fire continues to burn 20 miles northeast of Idaho Falls, burning a total of 2142 sparked by a lightning strike. As of Sunday, August 9, the fire has reached 72% containment.

The fireline along Heise Road from the Bridge to the Y has been fully contained with much of the dozer line already repaired as of Saturday evening. Fire activity is now described by BLM as “minimal,” however crews continue to put out heat and smoldering materials in the area.

Crews have also secured the South Snake River Road and Heise Road, removing hazard snags and extinguishing remaining hotspots. Firefighters have expanded the perimeters around houses where smoldering material was threatening the structures.

Now, crews are focusing on repairing dozer lines and other damages brought on by the continual repression strategies used since July 31.

The lines on the hills north of Kelly Canyon, Little Kelly and 7N Ranch have been reinforced and widened. The road closures have been lifted from the Heise Bridge to east of the 7N Ranch RV park.

Roads remaining closed include Heise Road east of 7N ranch, Kelly Canyon, and River Road both east of Kelly Canyon and West of the Heise Bridge remain closed. Fire suppression activities are ongoing in those areas. BLM is continuing to ask that people avoid those areas and follow responder instructions.

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News Team

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – Cars and Coffee is a weekly car show that has brought out hundreds of visitors every Sunday in Pocatello. Since its founding in 2019, the event provides a space for locals to share their 4-wheeled passion projects with others.

In the first years, the car show was at Wall to Wall in Pocatello, but outgrew that parking lot and moved across the street to the Key Bank. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Originally hosting only 20 cars, founder Carl Hocker said the event now draws more than 120 vehicles, including tractors and motorcycles. They also have The Picnic Basket food truck for snacks and drinks at each car show. Participants walk between the rows of vehicles to see the various makes and models, which Hocker said draws significant interest from the public, with people sometimes walking in from the sidewalk or stopping on their drive down Yellowstone.

Henry Pope is a car owner who built his own GTO and attends the gathering each week to interact with other enthusiasts. “Really good atmosphere, really good people, family oriented, great place to come, bring the kids out, look at cool old cars. The kids love it,” Pope said.

The environment encourages car lovers to unite and reunite, sometimes bringing together friends who haven’t seen each other in a decade. Car owners often allow children to sit in their vehicles for photos and take pride in explaining their car’s origins.

“We stick them in the driver’s seat, get photographs of them in their cars and stuff like that,” Pope said. “It’s just a great way to get out in the community and spend a few hours on your Sunday.”

Many participants have observed a growing interest in “old iron” vehicles among the younger population in the Pocatello area. The group also uses their vehicles for community service, including hosting drive-bys for local children’s birthday parties. Members stated they participate to give the community something to enjoy.

Hocker says the best part is seeing the spark in little kids’ eyes when they see a cool car they’ve never seen before.

“I was once a 5 year old kid looking at a car going wow, that’s what I want,” he said. “Here we are 50 years later I got a Corvette. I mean, never give up your dream, kids.”

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Kaelyn Blessinger

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)– Today is National Book Lovers Day, an unofficial holiday all about reading.

From exploring the various pieces of literature to appreciating the joys of books, the holiday gives everyone a chance to participate in their summer reading.

Despite the joy books can bring, The National Endowment for the Arts reports daily reading for pleasure has seen a significant, long-term decline. Falling more the 40% over the past two decades.

Felix Radford, the customer relations expert at Winnie & Mo’s, believes the problem isn’t a lack of interest in reading, but the pressure people put on themselves to read the “correct” books.

“I feel like sometimes when people want to get back into reading, they’re like trying to read like classics or things that they feel like they should read. But like, I feel like it’s totally okay to just read things that like, are really basically appealing. Like just read the read the things that appeal to you on a really basic level,” Felix said. “Don’t try to be strict on yourself. On what counts as reading. Read a graphic novel. Read manga. It all counts. Read audiobooks. Audiobooks count. I would say be easy on yourself and just read what you want to read.”

A memory that can stick with all our bookworms is that first book that really opened your eyes to the wonderful world of reading. Like Whitney, the co-owner of Winnie & Mo’s, who discovered this love as a young girl. “I really loved goosebumps as a kid and I remember reading that in first grade. I love that feeling of feeling like I was immersed in that scary world. And that was the first thing I remember really loving to read.”

Through Winnie & Mo’s, she and her team hope to create that same sense of discovery for other readers and build a supportive reading community for local bookworms.

“There is definitely a lot of people who come and sit at the counter and then are just like, naturally gravitate towards chatting with me or other people at the counter that I think probably don’t get a chance to chat as often as other people,” Felix said.

Finding that reading community can be a little intimidating, but there can be many opportunities around you!

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Hadley Bodell

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – Around noon on Sunday, August 9, employees evacuated the Cafe Rio in Pocatello when a small structure fire broke out on the side of the building. Emergency crews including Pocatello Fire and ambulances rushed to the scene.

Employees stated they smelled smoke inside the restaurant but could not see any flames. Fire crews arrived and found a section of the wall on the side entrance of the building in a blaze. Firefighters quickly put out the fire and contained it to a small area of the structure.

Pocatello Fire said they do not know the cause of the fire, but ruled out electrical. They said it could have been a variety of things, down to a flick of a cigarette butt in the direction of the Cafe Rio.

Within a half hour, emergency crews contained the fire and employees were let into the building to resume work. The Cafe Rio will remain open for their normal business hours as they work to clean up the fire residue and damages to the section of the building. The doors to the restuarant are also open with large fans blowing to air out the smoke smell.

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Hadley Bodell

CHUBBUCK, Idaho (KIFI) – The “Chubbuck Days” celebration is back for the weekend in Chubbuck, a summer bash filled with family fun, movies and parades for the community. The celebrations kick off Friday August 7, with the family movie night at Stuart Park.

Simplot is sponsoring the movie night, which begins at dusk (approx. 9 p.m.) and will be the movie “Hoppers,” with free fries available for attendees. Saturday, August 8 will begin with the Chubbuck Days Parade, featuring 50 float entries.

“The parade starts at 10 a.m. and it goes down Hawthorne and Chubbuck roads,” said Kami Berger, Public Works Operations Manager for the City of Chubbuck. “The festival kicks off here at Cotant Park at 11 a.m.”

Parade map, City of Chubbuck

The festival at Cotant Park will go until 3 p.m. and feature over 65 local vendors, food trucks, and bounce houses. There is also a car show and a free watermelon feed. The police department will also have a dunk tank to dunk an officer and Mayor Burch as well as the city council will be present.

“The Pocatello City Council and County Commissioners and the ISU President Wagner will all join in the parade with us,” Berger said. “We’ll have lots of different local businesses here and food vendors like Dippin’ Dots ice cream and snow cones.”

The Chubbuck Days celebration has been going since 1960, with only one year off for COVID, making this the 65th annual event. This year is also special because it jointly celebrates AMERICA250.

Berger said city staff will have department booths at the festival so employees can engage with residents and answer any questions from the community.

“If you want to talk about your utility bill or find out about our 2027 budget, we will be here to answer those questions,” she said. “Even with these increasing temperatures, I think it’s something fun to do and get out of the house, see your neighbors and friends and a lot of businesses you might not even know about.”

This is Mayor Rodney Burch’s first Chubbuck Days celebration, and Berger said he’s focused on representing the entire Portneuf Valley. Burch is committed to showing the partnerships Chubbuck has with the City of Pocatello, Idaho State University and Bannock County.

The movie, parade, car show and festival are all free to attend.

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Hadley Bodell

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – The Marshall Public Library has been collecting donations of school supplies and hygiene products every year since 2018. Between August 3 and September 12, a donation bin near the front desk of the library will collect new, unopened supplies for students in School District 25.

The school year is right around the corner for District 25 students, and many are underprepared without school supplies like pencils, crayons, watercolor paints, notebooks and more. The library will collect these items throughout the next month to distribute amongst students in need right as the school year begins. Library specialists say this is an important way they can give back to the kids outside the library walls.

“We see so many school kids here at the library after school gets out, but we don’t really see them during the day,” said Megan Nelson, Library Specialist at Marshall. “This is a really nice opportunity to help them out. It’s really important to us that we help them excel in school and help school be a good, safe place.”

Nelson said this year is even more important as the cost of living rises and every family is stretched thin for school supplies. They’re asking for only unopened items to ensure the quality is high for students.

“We would love to see watercolors, backpacks, colored pencils, things like that,” Nelson said. “Sometimes you can find backpacks on really good sales and those get used a lot.”

She added that buying certain items on sale in department stores can be an affordable way to donate to students. Just as important as school supplies are hygiene products for children.

“We need razors, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, bars of soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste, floss, feminine hygiene items, deodorant,” Nelson listed. “There’s no limit to how many hygiene items we would accept for donations.”

Even one bar of soap or one bottle of shampoo will help a student in need in the Pocatello community. Items can be loose or in grocery bags and placed into the donation bin.

“Even one thing, a pretty backpack or a pack of crayons, would be wonderful and would really, really make a difference in the life of a kid here.”

– Megan Nelson, Library Specialist

Nelson also mentioned “pretty items” like pencil cases and pens for younger students. She explained underserved students often get bargain bin or plainer items for their school year, but any decorated notebooks, nice backpacks, or colored pens are appreciated for the drive.

Below is a list of requested items by the Marshall Public Library:

Toiletry Items

Shampoo

Soap

Shaving gel

Lotion

Deodorant

Towels

Washcloths

Combs

Feminine hygiene products

Toothbrushes

Toothpaste

Disposable razors

School Supplies

Pencils

Notebooks

Paper

Folders

Pens

Crayons

Watercolor sets

Highlighters

Markers

Colored pencils

Rulers

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David Pace

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman declared Friday that the U.S. will win the second and third space race back to the moon, Mars and beyond.

“The outer solar system contains some of the most compelling destinations of exploration. The oceans beneath the ice of Enceladus, the complex environment of Uranus and its moons, the distant worlds and unexplored regions that may hold the answers to some of humanity’s oldest questions – like are we alone?” Isaacson shared. “These are not destinations we should visit once every generation, because planetary alignment is rare and transit times are so long and the missions are just extremely expensive. We should be building the capability to explore them routinely.”

The leader of NASA visited Idaho for the first time ever to highlight INL’s role and growing partnership with the space agency.

“That requires fission-powered spacecraft – capable of traveling farther, operating longer and supporting more power-intensive instruments to help us uncover the secrets of the universe,” he said.

His speech was part of the “NASA Inspiration Tour: Going Nuclear with Idaho National Laboratory,” where Isaacman met with leaders of the Radiant, Antares, and Deployable Energy microreactors.

The visit concluded with a historic press conference at the Aero Mark general aviation hangar at the Idaho Falls Regional Airport with Isaacman, Gov. Brad Little, Rep. Mike Simpson and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy James Danly.

You can watch Local News 8’s livestream of the full event below.

The seeds of future space travel started here in the Idaho desert.

“For more than 70 years, Idaho has been the center of American innovation,” Gov. Little said. “Right here in INL, our nation proved what was possible by generating the first usable electricity from nuclear power.”

Rep. Simpson, who advocates for INL funding on the House Appropriations Committee, said the laboratory’s collaboration with NASA will continue to expand.

“The INL and NASA has long had a good partnership, working together on space batteries and other things. It’s going to become greater in the future as we look at reactors for the moon and other places. It’s going to be amazing what happens in here.”

The leaders embrace a future where creativity is encouraged, the impossible is made possible, and space travel expands deep into the galaxy.

“There was a time in which we had innovation that ran so quickly that in a single human lifespan, we went from a powered kite at Kitty Hawk to Tranquility Base in the course of one human lifespan. Just think about that,” said U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy James Danly. “We are recapturing that spirit of innovation and that rate of innovation with the return to the moon, with the Artemis mission and the development of the reactors that are going to have to power yet another generation of NASA’s missions.”

Isaacman’s vision to reach the furthest expanses of space is powered by the radioisotope thermoelectric generators and advanced nuclear reactor development occurring at INL.

“The stars belong to everyone,” he said. “Now, NASA, alongside our our partners in the Department of Energy and alongside American industry as well, must once again recalibrate, shift our resources away from what others are already capable of doing, and do what no other company, agency, or frankly, what other nation is capable of accomplishing.”

Isaacman said today’s kids and young people will be the new astronauts, engineers and scientists who will dare to dream, dare to achieve, and dare to join those propelling humankind deep into outer space.

“We must unleash more of the energy potential within matter and use it to overcome the tyranny of distance across our solar system, especially as we venture farther away from our star,” Isaacman concluded.

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