Category: kifi-local-news

Maile Sipraseuth

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — A Brigham Young University-Idaho student has been charged with kidnapping a four-week-old infant after allegedly taking a shopping cart containing the baby from a Costco store last month.

Michael Garrison Raine, 24, faces one count of second-degree kidnapping. The arrest followed an investigation prompted by a mother’s quick response after she discovered her shopping cart containing her child was missing.

Shopping Cart and Infant Vanish

According to court documents, the alarming incident took place on Thursday, November 20, while a local mother was shopping with her four-week-old daughter, who was secured in a car seat placed in the main basket of the shopping cart.

The mother told police she was in the book section, with her cart within arm’s reach, when she noticed a man lingering nearby. As she began reading the back of a book, she said she had a “weird feeling,” and when she looked up, the cart and her baby were completely gone.

She immediately searched for her daughter and found her a few aisles over in the snack section. There, she spotted the same man pushing the cart away from her. The mother quickly grabbed the cart back. The man, later identified as Raine, immediately began apologizing repeatedly, saying, “I’ll never do that again, I promise.”

Surveillance Video and Conflicting Accounts

Investigators later obtained Costco security video, which reportedly captured Raine taking the cart and the following confrontation with the mother. The video also showed Raine using a self-checkout under the membership of fellow BYU-I student Benjamin Jensen, before eating at the food court.

Detectives eventually identified Raine as Jensen’s roommate through his BYU-Idaho and Facebook profiles, which matched the surveillance footage and the mother’s description.

Raine was ultimately detained on November 26 at a Marine Corps Recruiting station in Idaho Falls, where he had been speaking with a military recruiter. Court documents reveal that Raine had visited the same Recruiting Station earlier that week but failed out of the Military Entrance Processing Station due to psychological reasons.

When brought in for questioning, Raine initially denied that anything unusual had happened, only acknowledging that he had visited Costco that day. When confronted with the fact that a child was taken that day, he appeared surprised. According to court docs, when investigators clarified that he had been the individual who took the child, Raine responded, “Oh! That! I’m so sorry. I remember that now.”

Raine claimed he was “completely mistaken” and had “grabbed the wrong cart.” He told the arresting officer he apologized to the mother, but that she simply walked away, and he then grabbed his own cart and went to checkout. When officers showed him the surveillance video, Raine responded, “I was just so oblivious.”

Raine ultimately denied taking the child on purpose, stating it was an accident. However, the arresting officer noted in court documents that the video evidence “does not appear to support this claim.”

After downloading his phone with written consent to search it, Raine was transported to the Bonneville County Jail and booked on the kidnapping charge. He is set to appear in court next week, on December 10th, at 1:00 PM for a preliminary hearing before Judge Tawnya Rawlings.

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Seth Ratliff

SOUTHEAST IDAHO (KIFI) — The 2025 election wraps up tonight, Tuesday, December 2, 2025, as polls are now open for critical runoff elections in both Idaho Falls and Pocatello. This is the final chance for residents in both cities to cast their ballots and decide the leadership that will guide their communities over the next four years.

Heading to the Polls,

Polls are open until 8:00 p.m. local time. Here’s what you need to bring in order to cast your vote:

Idaho law requires a photo ID for in order to vote. Acceptable forms include:

Idaho-issued driver’s license

A passport

Or a signed affidavit confirming your identity

Idahoans are also required to vote at their designated precinct based on residence. To confirm your polling location, click HERE.

Pocatello Run-Off

In Pocatello, today’s election will decide the high-profile mayoral race between Greg Cates and Mark Dahlquist. In the November election, Mark Dahlquist led the field, cruising to a first-place finish with 5,135 votes. Not far behind, Greg Cates secured the second spot with 3,938 votes.

Both candidates joined Local News 8, late November for a Mayoral debate to highlight the differences in their platforms. For more information or to view the debate, click HERE.

RELATED: Down to the Wire: Pocatello Mayor Run-off Election is Tuesday

Idaho Falls Run-Off

In Idaho Falls, voters are deciding two key positions. The city’s next mayor will be elected from the top two finishers in the general election, who were Jeff Alldridge and Lisa Burtenshaw. The November election ended in a tight mayoral race; Jeff Alldridge took a narrow lead with 5,599 votes, while Lisa Burtenshaw secured 5,537 votes.

Heading into the run-off, Burtenshaw has seen a strong show of support from regional and local lawmakers, boasting endorsements from Congressman Mike Simpson, Governor Brad Little, and Lieutenant Governor Scott Bedke.

Meanwhile, in interviews with Local News 8, Alldridge talked on how things have changed since the November election, saying “Some of the biggest issues that changed in the last month of this campaign has definitely been how the campaigns are run, local supporters versus outside supporters, and even attack mailers versus just local canvassing. So that’s been the biggest surprise. I’ve seen this shift in dynamics before November 4th and then post November 4th.”

RELATED: Idaho Falls Mayor Election Run-off on Tuesday

Watch Local News 8 tonight for full coverage on both the Idaho Falls and Pocatello mayoral races and the run-off for City Council Seat 2 between Brandon Lee and Teresa Dominick in Idaho Falls.

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Stephanie Lucas

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – A local mother had to face a scary situation when her two-year-old daughter stopped breathing in an Idaho Falls restaurant.

While performing CPR is part of Klarisa Jensen’s job, she never thought she’d have to perform it on her own daughter, Ray, especially at the family’s favorite gathering spot, Smitty’s Pancake and Steak House.

“We were just here eating breakfast. We come every Sunday,” said Klarisa. “It’s our go-to place.”

The restaurant booth that delivered full tummies and held memories of smiles and laughter became filled with panic as Ray’s parents called 911 and told the dispatcher her daughter was not breathing.

Witnesses watched, their hearts racing in fear that Ray’s might stop, while a bystander told the 911 operator Ray had experienced a seizure.

The 911 operator asked if anyone was performing CPR, unaware that Klarisa had already started.

“My wife is giving us CPR…” says Ray’s other parent in the background, describing how Klarisa went into action. The 911 call goes on. “She is trained in it, and she does it for a living…”

Klarisa performed CPR on her daughter for 3 minutes until the ambulance arrived and paramedics took over.

“I don’t think that anybody else here would have known what to do,” she said, reflecting on the day no one else knew how to help. “So she would have been without oxygen for that whole duration of her seizure.”

Hospital tests came back normal, and Ray went back to being a happy toddler and playing with her big sister, Kelly. who had already experienced the pain of losing a sibling.

“I was thinking like, I can’t lose another sibling. And I was like, really scared about that,” she says.

“We lost our son at six and a half weeks two years ago,” Klarisa confirms. They [Ray and her brother] were supposed to grow up together, you know, twins, but not quite twins – you know, best friends. And so that heartache that we felt, I don’t ever want to feel that again.”

This experience has set Klarisa on a mission to spread the importance of knowing CPR.

“It’s scary,” she reflected. “I mean, what if it was somebody else’s kid? I keep having that thought of what if I hadn’t been CPR certified? But then I think of the reverse of that coin; what if it was a mom who lost a kid and had the thought of ‘What if I had been CPR certified?’”

After starting with her own family and getting adults CPR certified, Klarisa is now teaching CPR classes in her own community.

For more information on how to perform CPR on an infant, click HERE.

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Curtis Jackson

LEMHI COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) – A 40-year-old Salmon man was killed in an accident in Lemhi County on Monday afternoon.

Idaho State Police said the crash happened at approximately 2:46 p.m. on State Highway 28 near milepost 76.

The man was driving a gray 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser heading east on Highway 28 when the car swerved left, going up an embankment and overturned on the side of the roadway.

ISP said the driver, whose name has not been released, was wearing his seatbelt.

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Chris Nestman

Consider this a simple reminder, the deadlines to register for Medicare Advantage plans or health plans with Your Health Idaho are quickly approaching.

For seniors on Medicare looking to shop for expanded health coverage with an advantage plan, the last date to register is Sunday, December 7th. Those already on Medicare who do NOT want to purchase an advantage plan don’t need to worry about the deadline.

For others who use ‘Your Health Idaho’ to purchase Affordable Care Act insurance plans have a bit longer, but need to make their decision and fill out all the appropriate information by Monday, December 15th.

Insurance experts say the best way to shop is to get an insurance broker who can help you shop and help fill out the information correctly.

“Any mistakes that you make on your applications on the marketplace you’re accountable for,” said Sandi Herrin, a health insurance broker with Heritage Health Advocates. “or you can have somebody else be accountable for it. The broker can be accountable for it, and they’re trained.”

Herrin said with all the recent changes to both Medicare Advantage plans and ACA insurance plans, she strongly recommends people have an expert at least look over their decisions, if not help them at a more in depth level. “They’re trained by ‘Your Health Idaho’. They’re trained by having a license to provide that service,” said Herrin. “And so why not? It’s a free service. It doesn’t cost you anything to use a broker. You might as well use them to the best of their ability.”

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Chris Nestman

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — In a forum at the College of Eastern Idaho, it was all ears as the parents of Gabby Petito and Dylan Rounds shared messages about the signs and symptoms of domestic violence.

“You know, domestic violence, it has a pattern, and patterns are predictable and what’s predictable is preventable,” said Nichole Schmidt, the mother of Gabby Petito and president of the Gabby Petito Foundation. “What happened to Gabby didn’t have to happen, and so we’re trying to prevent that from happening to others.”

The Schmidts shared their story about Gabby, how she met her fiance and eventual killer, Brian. They also discussed who she was and the slow changes that happened to her before tragedy struck.

The Schmidts say some of those changes are red flags they want people to know about.

“Just knowing that you could potentially save one life and if you can just save one life, then everything is worth it,” said Jim Schmidt, Gabby’s father. “Whatever the heartache, and discomfort we have over going through it and reliving the worst day of our lives over and over again, we can battle through it if we can save even just one person.”

The Schmidts were invited by Candice Cooley, mother of Dylan Rounds who similarly advocates for domestic violence education awareness via the Dylan’s Legacy foundation.

In addition to today’s forum, law enforcement from around the state met at College of Eastern Idaho for training on digital forensics, a major method that helped solve the cases of both Dylan Rounds and Gabby Petito.

For information specifically about domestic violence and the messages from the Schmidts you can visit the Gabby Petito Foundation HERE.

For more information about about the Dylan’s Legacy Foundation, you can go HERE.

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David Pace

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) — After months of anticipation, Tuesday is the run-off election for the mayor’s race in Pocatello. The November general election determined that the race would advance to a run-off between Greg Cates and Mark Dahlquist.

Local News 8 caught up with both of them Monday to find out what they want voters to know before the big day.

“I would say what I bring to the table is experience,” said Mark Dahquist. “My campaign slogan all along has been experience for a change. I’ve been a manager. I’ve been a CEO. I’ve been in leadership positions for more than three decades. Taking over at City Hall, it’s a big responsibility.”

Greg Cates shared his final thoughts for voters. “I just want people to know I’m really the only candidate with a clear, actionable plan to lower taxes, you know, to strengthen our economy, to bring better-paying jobs here, reform our police department, and clean up the city, so if you want change, people need to, you know, just got to vote for it.”

Early voting for the run-off is showing strong numbers in Bannock County, with 3,687 early ballots cast, compared to 2,643 for November’s general election.

Watch Local News 8 Tuesday night for coverage of both the Idaho Falls and Pocatello mayoral races.

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Maile Sipraseuth

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)– Dr. Steven Adams brought new life into the world every day, but to his patients, he also brought laughter, comfort, and genuine compassion. Now, many are grieving the loss of the doctor they trusted most.

“He was a beam of light and he is greatly missed by so many people in this community and I know that there are many people that feel an absence of that light, just from this news, just from knowing that he won’t be able to deliver their next baby,” Jessica Jenkins, Dr. Adams’ patient, said.

His patients both shared memories that resonated with them from Dr. Adams.

“I was having a C-section. He had my stomach tore open, of course, and he had everything out, and he was like, ‘oh, you have a six pack’, he was just joking with me while he’s doing a surgery,” Macady Diaz, Dr. Adams’ patient, said.

“He sent me and my husband a bouquet of flowers a few days after our daughter was born. And the card, I kept the card… probably will never get rid of it now, it said ‘I can’t believe I actually missed your delivery. You called it. I’ll make it up to you. I love you guys, and I can’t wait to meet her,'” Jenkins said, “I think that that just shows the kind of person that he was and the kind of doctor that he was.”

Dr. Steven Adams was a well known obstetrician-gynecologist at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center and Mountain View Hospital.

On Thursday night, Dr. Adams was killed in a single vehicle crash on 15th West in Bonneville County.

“I mean, for me, it was a lot of he was always so personal with me, which is why I really connected with him. He always made a lot of jokes, which was so fun to me because I was like, okay, this is like a real person. But he also had a lot of knowledge,”

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Maile Sipraseuth

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)– Every Christmas tree sold at the YMCA’s tree fundraiser does more than brighten a living room, it also helps cover scholarship costs for local families and brings the community together as children pick out the perfect tree for the season.

Every tree sold at the YMCA’s holiday fundraiser helps open the door for a child in need, easing scholarship costs and bringing families together as they pick out the perfect symbol of the season.

“This program is designed to, help us with our scholarship program. And so we have a lot of families that need help sometime. And so selling Christmas trees helps offset that cost for parents that are trying to get their children into the program,” Donovan Stokes, YMCA’s Financial, Program and Community Director, said.

If you already have a tree, you can purchase a tree for another family or donate HERE.

“Events like this is important because number one, it brings families together. And of course we are youth development healthy living and social responsibility. So it brings the families together. And it’s awesome to see the kids pick out their Christmas tree,” Stokes said.

This fundraiser goes on until December 19th, or until trees run out.

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David Pace

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — Voters will head to the polls Tuesday to make their final choice in the run-off election for Idaho Falls Mayor and City Council Seat 2.

Nearly a month has passed since the general election, when the race advanced to a run-off after no candidate received a full majority of votes.

As the hard-fought campaign winds up, Local News 8 interviewed both candidates for Idaho Falls Mayor the day before the run-off to learn how race dynamics have changed in the past month.

“I think that one of the biggest things that has changed is the number of endorsements that I’ve received over the last month — Congressman Mike Simpson, the governor and lieutenant governor,” said Idaho Falls City Councilwoman Lisa Burtenshaw. “These are important endorsements because the relationships matter between the city and the federal government, and the city and the state.”

Idaho Falls Mayoral Candidate Jeff Alldridge gave us his take:

“Some of the biggest issues that changed in the last month of this campaign has definitely been how the campaigns are run, local supporters versus outside supporters, and even attack mailers versus just local canvassing. So that’s been the biggest surprise. I’ve seen this shift in dynamics before November 4th and then post November 4th.”

The race is extremely close with Alldridge receiving 62 more votes (5,599 votes) than Burthenshaw (5,537 votes) on November 4.

Watch Local News 8 Tuesday night for full coverage on both the Idaho Falls and Pocatello mayoral races and the run-off for City Council Seat 2 between Brandon Lee and Teresa Dominick in Idaho Falls.

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