POCATELLO — Students, staff and members of the community marched across a college campus Monday in honor of civil rights leader Martin Luther King.

The crowd of around 50 people started the march at the parking lot of the Pond Student Union Building on the Idaho State university campus and then ended at the alumni center. There, they joined a larger crowd and listened to faculty and students deliver speeches.

Those who spoke centered their remarks around a statement MLK once made about healthcare: “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.”

Jones Asiegbu, president of the Public Health Student Association, is particularly passionate about this subject. He feels preventative healthcare is important for a strong community and he wanted people who heard his speech to embrace that idea.

“We all gathered together to talk about things, but how about action?” Asiegbu told the crowd.

Asiegbu grew up in Lagos, Nigeria in West Africa. The area is commonly known as a place with low quality healthcare and infrastructure, he said, but his community has an advantage.

“Whenever there is an act to improve the health care and wellbeing of people, the community jumps in together and performs that act,” Asiegbu said. “That is the power of what the community can do.”

Asiegbu’s grandmother is more than 100 years old and her memory, he says, is “as sharp as a nail” because she understands the importance of taking care of her health.

“We have the power to make that change in our community. We do not have to rely solely on public health programs, Asiegbu said.

To do this, Asiegbu said people have to mobilize their neighborhoods and communities to focus on new healthcare prevention plans.

“Where I grew up, every last Saturday of the month, everyone in the community comes out to clean the drainage system to sweep or repair the levies. The community is clean. We did not depend on the governments to come and do something,” Asiegbu said.

Asiegbu invited the audience to become their own “center for disease prevention.”

“Teach your children the importance of health and safety. Promote health and wellness in your workplace,” Asiegbu said. “I believe the power is in you and that you can do it.”

During the event, organizers collected donations for Benny’s Pantry, a food bank on campus catering to the student population.

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POCATELLO — A family of board game enthusiasts is bringing a convention for their favorite pastime to the Gate City.

Play-On Game Con, a convention for board games, will take place at McKinley Mansion from Thursday, Feb. 8 to Saturday, Feb. 10. Convention goers will have the opportunity to win prizes, make new friends and, of course, play board games.

“We’re excited to see all of our work come together,” said Kendra Andersen, one of the convention’s creators. “I think, for me, it would be successful if just to see smiles on people’s faces.”

While most people are likely familiar with games like Checkers, Monopoly and Scrabble, they might not realize there are a wide array of board games out there.

RELATED | Board game convention offers fun and community

“I was very surprised at how many board games there (are) in the world when I first started,” said Myles Andersen, another convention creator and Kendra’s son.

While many are familiar with card games, Myles said there are also war games, mystery games, role-playing games, and many others. One type of game he likes to play is called an “engine builder,” where the player improves their deck of cards to better generate resources.

People who attend the convention are encouraged to bring their board games they want to play. Around 40 game tables will be set up throughout the convention for groups to form and play games together.

There will also be “hot” new games attendees can play, which aren’t even available to purchase. Teachers will be available to instruct players on how to play and get groups going.

But the games won’t all be for fun. There will be tournament tables, where players will compete to win the board game they’re playing.

There will also be concessions, arcade games and a game library.

The convention has five vendors attending, but the Andersens hope more will join. Idaho Central Credit Union, Holidae Fun and Games, Round Table Games, Mystic Realm Fantasy Fair and Joe Magic Games will all be attending.

The family’s passion for board games started on Sundays after church when Kendra’s family would play together. They also played board games frequently at family gatherings.

“So that we didn’t sit around and stare at each other,” Kendra said.

Myles’s love of board games started when he played long and complicated games with his uncles, starting at eight years old.

“I’d play them, and I’d love them and, so that’s kind of just grown to an obsession,” he said.

Myles and his uncles often went to a board game convention in Utah, even for multiple years in a row.

RELATED | iCON board gaming convention coming to Idaho Falls this weekend

Last year, he said something ambitious to his parents.

“I think I can make one of these,” Myles said.

His parents responded, “Okay, well, why not? Let’s do it,” according to Kendra. A year later, the family’s convention is almost ready.

The price to attend the convention is $15 per person for one day, $25 for two days and $45 for all three days. People who book a room at the McKinley Mansion can get free admission to the convention for every day they stay in the room.

People can buy tickets either at the gate or online. If you buy from the website, use code JUMPTHEGUN and get $10 off your ticket.

If someone isn’t really into board games, the Andersens think they just haven’t found the right game yet.

“There’s such a wide range of board games that I guarantee you there is something out there for every single person,” Kendra said.

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POCATELLO — Three dozen people have been temporarily relocated after a fire broke out in a Gate City apartment complex.

According to Marlise Irby-Facer, Spokesperson for the city of Pocatello, firefighters received a call about a fire at the Laab’s Apartment complex at 2:12 a.m. Friday.

The apartment that initially caught fire wasn’t occupied at the time. The fire spread to the apartments on either side before firefighters could put the flames out. Four fire engines responded to the scene and were used to battle the blaze.

No one was injured or perished in the fire. Two residents were trapped in their unit by the flames, but firefighters were able to rescue them and get them to safety.

RELATED | Residents displaced after Pocatello fire Thursday night

Pocatello Police officers also responded to the scene and helped evacuate the residents from the complex. While fire crews contained the fire to one section of the complex, electricity to the whole building had to be shut off.

The pets in the building were evacuated along with their owners. Some residents took their own vehicles to other locations, while Pocatello Regional Transit transported 11 people to a local motel.

All in all, 30 people were displaced due to the fire. The building electrician is working on restoring power to the complex and is hoping to finish that over the weekend.

The American Red Cross is assisting the displaced residents by paying for a portion of the rooms, and the motel is giving them a discount. The residents will be able to stay there until at least Monday.

Irby-Facer is proud of how the community came together to assist those who have lost access to their homes.

The damage to the apartments is still being assessed, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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CHUBBUCK — Idaho State Police are investigating a shooting incident that took place by a Chubbuck interstate exit.

Authorities responded to the Northgate exit of Interstate 15 at 12:41 a.m. Tuesday after the occupants of two vehicles fired shots at each other.

Detectives have identified everyone involved in the incident and are interviewing the occupants of at least two vehicles.

One man was wounded in the shooting and received treatment at Portneuf Medical Center.

“I’m not going to release any other details that could potentially compromise the integrity of the investigation,” said Lt. Mike Winans of the Idaho State Police. “We’ve identified everybody involved, and the investigation is ongoing.”

It’s unclear when more information about the investigation will be released.

Anyone with information about the incident should contact the Idaho State Police at (208) 239-9800 and speak to the detectives division.

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POCATELLO — A recently opened facility in Pocatello is focused on supporting women who have recently given birth.

The Idaho Postpartum Haven is a postpartum care center where women can go to receive doula services and round-the-clock care as they recover from labor. The center’s founder, Kristina Fackrell, had been dreaming of opening it for over a decade after she had her first baby.

“I realized there is just not enough care and support for women after they have their babies, and it’s something that I became very passionate about over the years,” said Fackrell, also one of the center’s three doulas.

The center did a soft open in October 2023 to make sure it didn’t overextend the staff. In addition to the doulas, it offers a certified lactation specialist and a foot zone practitioner. One of the doulas is also a registered dietician.

A mother, baby and optional support person who come to the center get their own apartment, meals provided, at least daily in-person support throughout their stay, and their choice of professional services. If people book with higher-level plans, they can get 24/7 on-call support or have their baby in the nursery overnight.

While it can best be described as a postpartum care center, Fackrell also likes to refer to the center as a “home for healing.” The facility is in a home-type setting for the patients to feel comfortable during the recovery process.

Places like this are common in places like China and Korea but rare in the United States. However, more of them are being introduced in parts of the country.

Boram Care, in New York City, was the first postpartum recovery center introduced in the United States. Since then, more have been opened. As it stands now, Fackrell says the Idaho Postpartum Haven is the only postpartum recovery center in the Mountain West.

Some of the services patients can access at the center are lactation consulting and massage therapy. They can also receive “foot-zoning,” which is when a practitioner helps release tension in a person’s body through the feet.

Booking at the center and accessing these services can cost anywhere from $600 to $900 per night.

“I realized that this is potentially a luxury that a lot of people are not going to afford,” Fackrell said.

Medicaid and most insurance companies don’t cover doula services.

“I hope that one day they’ll be able to. That has been a very slow thing, for insurance to pick up any type of non-medical support,” Fackrell said.

She said that some insurance companies cover lactation support, massage therapy and doula services, so some of the offered services can receive insurance support, but, “as of right now, the entire stay altogether is definitely not going to be covered.”

Fackrell said that her center has been working with some insurance companies to try to “help them understand that it will be very beneficial for them to have this covered.”

She said that this is so important because the majority of complications in childbirth come after a baby is born.

“There is very little care given after you leave the hospital, and it affects women’s health for the rest of their lives. If there were more eyes on women … after they have their baby, it could catch countless complications,” Fackrell said.

Those who can’t afford to stay in the center can access its in-home services. For a minimum of four hours, people can pay to have a doula visit them at home. It’s $40 per hour for one of the center’s doulas.

For people who can’t afford an in-home doula visit, the center offers free 30-minute consultations.

“We can direct you to other places that do other doulas and lots of groups that can provide different types of support as well,” Fackrell said.

She hopes that there will be expanded coverage for new mothers to access doula services.

Fackrell said that people who don’t believe the services the center offers are important have probably never had a baby.

“It is hard for everybody. Just because everybody has babies, and billions of people around the world are having babies doesn’t mean that it’s easy. Every single person’s journey is difficult,” Fackrell said.

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UPDATE:The deceased man has been identified as Leonard Damron, 80, of Inkom. Damron’s next of kin have been notified.

“My heart is with Mr. Damon’s family during this difficult time,” said Coroner Torey Danner.

ORIGINAL STORY:INKOM — A Bannock County Sheriff’s Deputy rushed into a burning home and rescued an elderly man from perishing in the flames.

It happened Monday night when deputies responded to a house fire call around 10:30 p.m. Deputy Michael Coito was the first to arrive to the 2900 block of West Old Highway 91.

He found an adult woman and a young man outside the burning home. They told the deputy there was a man who couldn’t walk stuck inside.

Coito ran into the house and entered with limited visibility. He was able to find the elderly man, despite the billowing smoke, and pulled him out to safety.

The Pocatello Valley Fire Protection District put the fire out and stopped the flames from spreading to nearby residences. The home was a total loss.

An ambulance arrived and transported the rescued man to Portneuf Medical Center. Despite receiving treatment, the 80-year-old man passed away Tuesday. His name will be released once family has been notified.

Coito has been treated for smoke inhalation and is on a treatment plan to make sure he doesn’t have long-term health implications from the fire.

“This story, while it did not turn out as we hoped, shows how committed our deputies are to protecting and serving our community. Deputy Coito is a fine example of our office, and I’m proud of his actions and bravery. My heart goes out the deceased and his family during this difficult time,” said Sheriff Tony Manu.

The Bannock County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an investigation into the cause of the fire.

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POCATELLO — A sports arena iconic to East Idaho will now be known by a new name.

The Idaho State Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a proposal by Idaho State University to change the name of its sports arena from Holt Arena to the ICCU Dome. The new name comes with a $6 million donation from the credit union over the course of 12 years.

“ICCU has come forward to lead as a champion of our student-athletes and our coaches, and their support will make a tremendous impact,” said Pauline Thiros, ISU Athletic Director.

The name change comes after a two year long renovation of the former Holt Arena that included a number of enhancements including new ADA compliant seating, an improved President’s Deck, a student-athlete meeting room, white liner on the repaired roof and translucent panels above the President’s deck.

The university said the renovation was largely thanks to Idaho Central Credit Union as it put $8.5 million towards the project.

“That lead gift has demonstrated the importance of our relationship with ICCU and the way in which our work together can create investments in our facility, our programs, our student athletes and in our community,” Sagendorf said.

Now that this proposal has been accepted, the resulting donation from ICCU will allow the university to eliminate one out of two of the “money games” from the football schedule. Money games are when a smaller university goes up against a better funded one and receives a paycheck in return.

Thiros said these games have hurt the football program in the past. On one occasion, the team’s starting quarterback received a season ending injury and during another, both the starting and backup quarterbacks received season ending injuries.

Thiros said the donation will also allow the university to “upgrade facilities, develop more competitive and strategic schedules, and expand our program budget to meet more of the needs of a championship program.”

One of the concerns community members raised was the legacy of Milton “Dubby” Holt, a former athletic director and the “architect” of the Holt Arena.

The arena was originally named the ASISU Minidome when it opened in 1970, as the building was funded through an additional student fee. It was renamed Holt Arena in the 1990s to honor the former director.

Carolyn O’Connor, great niece of Dubby Holt, said her uncle supported any endeavors that supported student athletes.

“We loved seeing Uncle Dub’s name on the arena, but he was the ultimate business mind, and he was all about supporting the student athletes,” she said. “As an AD, Dubby was deeply committed to being on the cutting edge of developing resources to support his Bengals. That is what he did when he built the Dome with the students of ASISU, and he would be very pleased to see that ISU Athletics is still benefiting from the work he did so many years ago.”

Thiros, who knew Holt personally, believes he would embrace the name change and the opportunities that come with it.

“(Dubby) was shrewd in his business sense, had great passion behind his vision for Idaho State Athletics and was deeply committed to utilizing every avenue available to build the program,” Thiros said. “I know that today, he would be delighted and proud to see this renewed investment in the facility, and in the student athletes.”

Thiros said Holt will be honored with a mural in the concourse of the building that highlights his achievements and will join the Hall of Champions in the ISU Bengal Alumni Center.

“We intend to develop additional ways to recognize dubby and ensure that patrons well into the future understand the role that he played in making the facility possible,” Thiros said.

The post It’s official. ISU Holt Arena has a new name. appeared first on East Idaho News.

POCATELLO — A new name is being proposed for the Holt Arena at Idaho State University and it’s up to the State Board of Education to approve it.

On Tuesday, the board will decide through a simple majority vote whether to change the name to the Idaho Central Credit Union Arena.

This comes in the wake of a $20 million renovation project, which ICCU helped fund. It’s already provided $8.5 million towards the project, and if it becomes the arena’s namesake, would provide another $6 million to the venue over the next 12 years.

ISU Athletic Director Pauline Thiros says it looks the best it’s looked since it first opened.

“It’s the right time for our program because I think we have our ducks in a row and we know what we need to do moving forward to keep growing and we needed the resources to do it,” Thiros says.

RELATED | ISU opens doors to ‘reimagined’ Holt Arena following $20 million renovation

ICCU’s donation would allow the university to eliminate one of the “money” games they play every season.

A money game is when a school with a smaller athletics program goes up against a larger and better funded program and receives payment in return. ISU currently plays two of these games per year, and the donation would allow the program to cut one of these games.

Thiros says these games have hindered their program for many years, causing season ending injuries for players. The team lost quarterbacks to injuries on multiple occasions.

If they received the donation, Thiros says they’d be able to put some of the money towards many of the coaches salaries, which are funded annually through fundraisers.

“It’s just gonna allow us to have this sustainable source of revenue that we can invest back in our program to plan for and to give our kids all of the resources they need to compete,” Thiros said. “They really deserve it.”

While many people are excited about a possible name change, others are concerned about how the arena’s current namesake, former ISU athletic director Milton W. “Dubby” Holt, who passed away in 2007 at age 92, would be remembered going forward.

Holt was an athlete, coach and administrator on campus for 34 years. In 1967, during his first year as athletic director, he came up with the idea for “the first domed football stadium on a college campus.”

He oversaw the $2.8 million construction project, which was completed in 1970. It opened in September that year as the ASISU Minidome. It was renamed the Holt Arena in 1988.

Thiros, who knew Holt well and believes he would be supportive of the name change, says a large mural of his likeness highlighting his achievements will be placed on the wall of the arena in the concourse on the north side of the building. He will also join the Hall of Champions in the ISU Bengal Alumni Center.

“I spent a lot of afternoons at his kitchen table down in Historic University neighborhood and he was all about innovative ideas being at the forefront,” Thiros said. “He was all about investing in the kids.”

The Idaho State Board of Education will be meeting in Boise on Tuesday at 1 p.m. to hear ISU’s proposal. The meeting will be streamed live on the Idaho State Board of Education Youtube page.

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IDAHO FALLS — Pillars of light appeared in the sky over Idaho Falls on Monday morning.

These lights weren’t anything mysterious. Light pillars are a natural phenomenon caused by light refracting off of ice crystals that are either suspended or lightly falling in the sky, said Tim Axford, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.

“Even though those individual crystals are so small, you’re getting a lot of reflection because there are a lot of ice crystals,” Axford said. “That causes it to kind of look like this column of light that extends up and perhaps down.”

Axford explained that these ice crystals form in hexagonal shapes, and they’re oriented facing up and down. This is why the light is refracted as pillars instead of being diffused.

Most of the time, the pillars are most visible when the ice crystals are closer to the ground, but the crystals could also be suspended in the air further up in the atmosphere.

Most of the time, the light that’s being refracted is from street lights, but they can also come from illuminated signs, houses and even the moon.

Due to the refraction being caused by ice, the light pillars only occur when the temperature is low.

Axford said that when this phenomenon occurs, the Weather Service doesn’t often get phone calls about it. Sometimes, people will call and be interested in an explanation, and other times, they’ll take pictures and send them to the agency through Facebook.

“I think generally people understand that they’re not dangerous or anything,” Axford said.

Axford said that it’s amazing that we live in a world where natural phenomena like this can occur and light up the sky.

“The world is an amazing place. There’s stuff that we’re still learning about our science and science in general,” Axford said. “Something like this doesn’t occur all the time, but when it does, it reminds us that there are some really fascinating things that happen.”

Axford hopes that young people who see these light pillars and research what they are will find a deeper interest in science.

“That might inspire them to become the next generation of meteorologists that learn the next new thing,” Axford said.

Those interested in learning more can go to scijinks.gov and see how temperature affects the shape of snowflakes.

The post What were those columns of light in the sky over Idaho Falls? appeared first on East Idaho News.

SHELLEY — A woman born and raised in Shelley will soon make her reality TV debut on Netflix.

Almost four years ago, Lindsey Anderson was approached by a talent scout with a proposition to apply for a reality show. An avid viewer of reality television herself, she thought it was a great opportunity. Some time passed, but the show didn’t go anywhere. Anderson thought that was the end of it.

Until she received an email from Netflix in February 2023.

“I have the perfect show for you. It starts in two weeks. Do you have a passport? Can you go?” Anderson remembered the email saying.

She discussed the opportunity with her family, and her husband encouraged her.

“My husband is so awesome that way. He was like, ‘Go do it,'” Anderson said.

With that, it was time to prepare to leave. Anderson had to pick out a wardrobe and send it to Netflix for approval. She let her business contacts know she would be gone for the month. Then she was off on a plane to compete in “The Trust: A Game of Greed.'”

While Anderson lives in Portland, she was born in Shelley and graduated from Shelley High School. She then moved to Idaho Falls to run a small business and did that for many years.

Anderson’s business, Web Impakt, was a web design and development agency. She designed websites for major community organizations like the Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce and the city website for Idaho Falls.

To learn how to do this, she studied at Ricks College, now Brigham Young University-Idaho, and got her bachelor’s degree from Idaho State University. She majored in information systems, which she described as a mix of computers and marketing.

Anderson was the only woman in her first information systems class. But the more she learned about it, the more she knew that’s what she wanted to do.

“I’m totally doing this, and I just fell in love from the moment I made my first web page,” Anderson said.

Anderson is an entrepreneur, and she found the tools at Ricks and ISU helpful in pursuing that.

“I was able to really implement my business ideas because I had technology at my fingertips,” Anderson said.

Anderson and her family moved to Portland because she has family nearby in Seattle, and they wanted to seek new experiences. Anderson has been able to continue her online marketing work as a business consultant. She has lived in Portland for only seven years now.

Another passion of Anderson’s has been watching reality television. For 15 years, she and her husband have watched “Big Brother” every summer. She also watches “Married at First Sight” and all of the Netflix reality shows.

While watching “Big Brother,” Anderson often finds herself critiquing the players’ actions, she said, and thinking about what she would do in that situation.

In February 2023, she got the chance to put herself to the test, and she quickly found that “The Trust” is different from “Big Brother.”

“So I had to alter my strategy a little bit,” Anderson said.

“The Trust” features 11 strangers “from all walks of life, all different ages, they all come together and there’s $250,000 on the line.”

All of the contestants can split the money, or they can vote people off and earn a larger cash prize.

“It really set you up like, are you on the team? Are you on your own? What are you doing?” Anderson said. While you may be tempted to remove as many players from the show as possible, someone else could remove you if you’re not careful.

Anderson said her East Idaho background influenced her decision-making on the show.

“I was born and raised LDS. I’m no longer LDS, but certainly those belief systems in that community and how I was raised there had a big effect on me,” Anderson said.

“The Trust: A Game of Greed” will premiere on Netflix on January 10.

“I highly recommend everybody tune into the show,” Anderson said. “You’re going to learn something about yourself. You’re going to learn something about other people from all over the United States of different ages.”

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