What’s up, Station Square?
Station Square helps Pocatello’s ambition by providing a place to simply get things done.
-Courtesy of Idaho State Journal
HISTORIC GROUNDBREAKING: Massive crowd gathers at future site of Pocatello LDS temple
POCATELLO — A massive crowd gathered on Saturday morning for the long-awaited groundbreaking for what will soon be The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Pocatello temple.
While most of the over 3,000 people in attendance of the event were members of the LDS church, representatives of several other religions were present and participated in the groundbreaking at the future site of the temple off Satterfield Drive on the city’s north side.
It was a historic day for Pocatello, a city many LDS church members say has been waiting for a temple for generations.×
Also in attendance at the groundbreaking ceremony was Gov. Brad Little, who acknowledged Pocatellans’ hunger for an LDS temple.
“I know that Pocatello was a little bit grumpy about Idaho Falls getting (a temple) way back years ago,” said Little in a Saturday interview. “So that’s good that this took place, even though it was a little delayed. Pocatello’s had a chip on their shoulder.”
Little, the first Idaho governor in recent memory to attend an LDS temple groundbreaking, was among the dozens of people who were given gold-colored shovels to participate in the event, held on a sunny March morning with a chill in the air.
Also holding shovels were religious leaders from several other Pocatello faiths, including Mohammad Safdar, president of the Pocatello Mosque; Dale Spencer, president of the Jewish Temple Emanuel; and Jacqualine “Big Momma” Thomas, the pastor of Praise Temple of God church.
Safdar said Saturday’s ceremony reminded him of the community effort to build the Pocatello Mosque a few years ago.
“We got so much support from the community,” Safdar said about the mosque effort. “So likewise, we are here today to support the community. Temples, mosques, synagogues, all of them are places that emit the light of love, the light of care, the light of friendship.”
Thomas said Pocatello is a strong community rooted in faith and tolerance as evidenced by the involvement of so many different faiths in Saturday’s temple groundbreaking — a first in the history of the LDS church.
“We are supposed to be children of the most high God,” Thomas said. “It should never be difficult to come together. It should be something very easy and natural to do.”
Numerous Pocatello police officers provided security for the groundbreaking, most of them wearing plainclothes, according to Deputy Police Chief Roger Schei.
Schei said the LDS church contacted local law enforcement about the need for security at the groundbreaking and several Pocatello police officers volunteered their time to help.
Though Schei said it is standard for local law enforcement to be present at any large event where many dignitaries will be present, he added that there was an elevated sense of tension among police during Saturday’s groundbreaking due to the mass shooting that resulted in 50 deaths at two mosques in New Zealand on Thursday.
Police said Saturday’s groundbreaking occurred without incident with the crowd of over 3,000 people being very well behaved.
During the event several LDS church members addressed the crowd. Among those who took the podium to speak was 8-year-old Braiden Wilde of McCammon.
According to local LDS church spokesman Larry Fisher, the 22 stakes that will be served by the Pocatello temple were each assigned a different part to play in the groundbreaking ceremony, and the McCammon stake was asked to assign one of its youth to speak at the event.
Wilde said it took him three days to write his speech, during which he expressed his love for the LDS church and his excitement for the new temple.
“It just came from my heart,” Wilde said after the groundbreaking. “I was excited and nervous. I was excited at first, but when I got up (to talk) I was scared.”
Taysom Hill, a Pocatello native who now plays football for the NFL’s New Orleans Saints, gave the opening prayer at the groundbreaking.
“It was an honor,” Hill said afterward. “I’m certainly aware of what a big deal this is and what it means to the city of Pocatello. To be able to be a part of it was a special experience.”
Wilford Andersen, the LDS church’s Idaho area president, gave the dedicatory prayer at the groundbreaking and thanked the representatives from Pocatello’s other religions for being a part of the ceremony.
“I think that it pleases God when we can support one another,” Andersen said to the religious leaders from the other faiths who attended the groundbreaking. “We’re touched and honored that you would be with us, and we want to reciprocate in the future as we work together, arm in arm, to accomplish our mutual goals of addressing human suffering and helping people turn to God.”
Spencer said the interfaith display at the groundbreaking was reminiscent of the Judaic principle “tikkun olam.”
“It means to heal the world,” Spencer said. “And when you heal the world, you do that by doing things as a community and recognizing that we’re much more the same than we are different.”
S. Gifford Nielsen, a member of the LDS church’s Quorum of the Seventy, said at the groundbreaking, “We’re grateful for the relationship that has been established between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and our friends of other faiths.”
Arlo Luke, a Pocatello community leader and LDS church member who attended the groundbreaking, said the LDS church has been making an increased effort to include other faiths in its ceremonies and practices.
“Our understanding is that we’re all children of our Heavenly Father,” Luke said. “We’re here to bless each other.”
LDS church officials said the temple will take two to three years to build. Construction is expected to start this week.
The temple has a valuation of $62 million and cost the LDS church about $395,000 in fees paid to the city of Pocatello.
Article and photo originally published by Idaho State Journal
Idaho Power plans to provide 100% clean energy by 2045
By Brady Halbleib
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) – Idaho Power could be among the first energy company to go to completely clean in the U.S.
By 2045, the company says it will phase out coal plants and begin generating energy from solar and wind sources.
Idaho Power has already reduced its carbon emission by almost 50 percent since 2005. Today, they are nearly 70 % clean energy.
“It’s an exciting time here at Idaho Power,” Idaho Power Energy Advisor Dave Spillet said. “Clean energy is non-CO2 emitting. Some non-CO2 emitting we have is our hyrdo, our wind, our solar, geothermal and biomass. That’s some of the clean energy we have in our resources.”
Among their hydro resources is Power County. The American Falls Dam is one of 17 dams throughout the state that is helping the Idaho Power go completely clean energy.”
It is primarily used for irrigation but It has three generators, producing more than 92,000 kilowatts of energy.
In addition to the dams, solar energy has become another clean energy source. Idaho Power has recently purchased land, providing 120 megawatts of solar power.
“That’s really exciting, especially for the deal we were able to get,” Spillett said. “We got that for $21.75 per megawatt hour. And that’s the lowest price we know of on a publically recorded contract.”
This initiative is called “Clean Today, Cleaner Tomorrow.” Idaho Power says it will be better for the environment but also better on your wallet. The first step, however, is phasing out of coal plants.
The company has already agreed to end partnerships with two coal plants and is expecting to end a third very soon.
“That’s a big step to becoming clean is to get out of those coal plants and to move towards something else like this solar farm,” Spillett said.
Article and photo originally published by Fox News
Chubbuck Police Excited to Expand Facility
Earlier this month the City of Chubbuck unveiled the plans for its new city hall. But the city isn’t the only one benefiting from the change. “It’s super exciting, but I’ll tell you what, to see the excitement of our police side on what’s going to happen for them, it’s wonderful it really is,” said Chubbuck Mayor Kevin England at the announcement on March 8th. With the city moving out, the Chubbuck Police Department will take over the space left behind. “There’s some excitement, but at the same time we still know and understand that we’re still a couple years away from it all coming to fruition,” said Chubbuck Police Chief Bill Guiberson. While the department knows they’re staying put until the new city hall is built, just having light at the end of their very narrow tunnels is enough. “The police department that we’re sitting in right now was built in 1983, the other half of the building was built even prior to that. When the police department took over this portion of the building we had a bout a dozen employees, now we’ve got 35 employees operating in the same area,” said Guiberson. Many of the offices you’ll find in the department’s building support two people. The hallways on the other hand, aren’t wide enough for two people to walk down at the same time, and that’s without all of the gear officers wear. The interview room shares a wall with the city’s break room, so serious questioning can be interrupted by laughter and casual conversation. And most of all, they’re beginning to have a storage shortage. So with the shift to the current city hall building, the hope is to provide more space, more efficiency, and more pride. “We do scout tours on occasion, and getting a bunch of scouts through a narrow hallway isn’t real conducive. But it’ll be nice to have an area where we can show the public, and the public can be proud of the building as well as our employees,” said Guiberson. There will be remodeling done to better fit the needs of the police department, which will come directly out of the city’s budget.
Article originally published by KPVI news.
YOUR FIT TO BE HELD AT SHO-BAN HIGH ON MARCH 27
Your Future in Technology (YourFIT), is returning to Fort Hall on March 27, at the Shoshone-Bannock High School from 5:30 pm to 7:15 pm. A Technology Career Expo will be held for middle and high school students from Shoshone-Bannock, Blackfoot and Snake River schools, their parents and area residents.
The Expo will demonstrate High Tech, High Wage and High Demand careers and training available now in various technology fields. Career paths highlighted during the event are welding, instrumentation/control technology, electrical engineering technology, machining, maintenance engineers/mechanics, information technology/cyber security, unmanned aerial systems (drones) and diesel mechanics. These positions are in high demand in the region and pay very well.
Free pizza, drinks and cookies are available for every event attendee. There will be drawings for tablets, drones, t-shirts, hoodies and other prizes. Two $500 scholarships to ISU’s College of Technology will be given to participating high school counseling departments to award to one female and one male student in their high school.
Participating middle and high school students can enter the drawings by filling out a survey during the event. Completed surveys are submitted for entry in the drawings.
Scott Rasmussen, Dean of ISU’s College of Technology noted, “Students can come to the College of Technology and in two years get the skills they need to go out and get a great job. For most all the jobs in the YourFIT program, the College of Technology has 100 percent placement. If you want a job, you’re going to get a job.”
Many great employers will exhibit at YourFIT, in addition to the College of Technology, including: Idaho National Laboratory, Williams Pipeline, Peterson Manufacturing, Premier Technology, Century Link, Bayer, Driscoll Farms, FBI, ON Semiconductor and Idaho Power.
For more information on the program visit http://www.yourfitidaho.org/ and view our video on YouTube at https://youtu.be/woMBT_50cAY
INL: Powering Discovery
See whats going on at the Idaho National Laboratory and how they are benefiting our community click on the links provided
The Pine Ridge Mall continues its support of Bannock Development
February 25, 2019 Contact: John Regetz, President & CEO
Pocatello-Chubbuck, ID 208-530-1400, john@bannockdevelopment.org
The Pine Ridge Mall and Farmer Companies continued their support of Bannock Development Corporation and the community’s prosperity with a $3,000 investment today. The support will help fund job attraction, talent development and local employer support efforts in Bannock County and the region. At a ceremony today in the Pine Ridge Mall community leaders took stock of the benefits from both organizations.
Drake Taylor, presented a check to Bannock Development to support their efforts, including expansion of current employers and recruitment of new ones. “The Pine Ridge Mall is happy to support Bannock Development’s mission to bring good jobs to our community and grow existing companies. We want to see the community grow, along with the Pine Ridge Mall and Bannock Development’s efforts help that happen”, said Taylor.
Brandon Lance, Chairman of Bannock Development Corporation, expressed appreciation and support for the Pine Ridge Mall. “We at Bannock Development Corporation are grateful for the Pine Ridge Mall’s investment and we will use it to get more jobs in town and therefore more people in the Mall. Our missions are much the same,” said Lance.
Pine Ridge Mall and its parent corporation, Farmer Companies, have supported the community, including Bannock Development Corporation, since Farmer Companies purchased the Mall. New innovative tenants in the mall include Planet Fitness and GEM Prep School. The Xtreme Idaho Outdoor Expo will be at the mall on April 5&6.
Recent projects involving the Bannock Development Corporation include the FBI expansion, housing supply research and promotion, Cold Storage development, and economic dashboard development.
YourFIT Career Expos Return
The Your Future in Technology (YourFIT) Program will once again display High-Tech, High-Wage and High-Demand career paths at local high schools this spring!
Nine Career & Technology Expos will promote nine technical career paths and training to middle & high school students, their parents and the public. These career paths qualify as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Careers.
The Technology Career Expos start on Feb. 28 at Aberdeen High School. All Expos begin at 5:30 p.m., with refreshments and a survey to assess current career knowledge. This is followed by tour of company career demonstration booths and COT training booths. An acquired knowledge survey is then administered follow by door prize drawings.×
The YourFIT Program was started 3 years ago when premier regional employers, such as the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), indicated that good technical positions were becoming difficult to fill. Surveys of high school students throughout Southeast Idaho indicated that 96 percent of them had little or no knowledge of, or interest in, the high wage and high demand technical careers available in the region.
The first two years of YourFIT improved knowledge and interest in technology careers and more needs to be done with new high school and middle students. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL), the Idaho STEM Center, Bayer, Williams Inc, Simplot and other regional companies fund the coalition’s project, YourFIT.
This support enables development and execution of Technology Career Expo events at high schools in the region, allowing students, teachers, and parents to see hands-on demonstrations of these careers in practice.
In 2018, the RightFIT Program was deployed using the Department of Labor’s Growing Together Program to educate high school career counselors and educators about technical careers and tour actual industries.
Kandi Rudd, regional manager of workforce development for the Idaho Department of Labor in Pocatello, says that not only are the jobs and education available locally, but most require only two years of study and compare favorably with careers requiring four or more years of university study.
“Our statistics show that the median wage for someone entering the workforce with only a high school diploma is $29,700, while the median wage for someone with a four-year college degree is $44,500,” she said. “However, the median salaries for the nine selected career paths range from $34,500 to $80,600 with only two years of college study.”
Rudd said that each of the eight career paths offer opportunities for career-long growth, with employers paying for the costs of increased training in most cases.
“Training opportunities for these high-tech, high-wage, high-demand jobs are currently available at ISU’s College of Technology” says R. Scott Rasmussen, Dean of the College of Technology.
The nine high-tech, high-wage, high-demand career paths include:
Welding Information Technology GIS/CIS/Cyber-security.
Instrumentation/Controls Maintenance engineers/mechanics.
Nuclear Operating technology Unmanned Aerial Systems (Drones).
Outdoor Electrical Machining (CNC).
Diesel Mechanics.
Five new businesses opening in Old Town Pocatello
Pictured: Co-owner Rory Erchul on Thursday sands a piece of wood that will be used in the new Union Taproom, which will open in early March in the Yellowstone Hotel building on West Bonneville Street in Pocatello. It’s one of five new businesses that will open in Old Town by this spring.
By John O’Connell joconnell@journalnet.com
POCATELLO — Five new businesses are poised to open by this spring in Old Town Pocatello, including a restaurant and taproom and a shop where customers will make their own all-natural personal and household products.
Union Taproom will be located inside the former Yellowstone Hotel at 230 W. Bonneville St. The project is planned by the group of owners who previously opened the high-end Yellowstone restaurant and The 313 Whiskey Bar in the same historic building.
Salt and Honey, which is scheduled to open Feb. 1 inside the Kress Building, 150 S. Main St., Suite A, will sell handmade sustainable, personal and household products made from natural ingredients.×
Photographer Sara Turpin will open the Photo Boutique in the former location of Bill Burke’s House of Photography, 159 S. Main St.
Stephanie Palagi, executive director of Old Town Pocatello, Inc., said announcements will be forthcoming about two additional businesses that plan to open in Old Town by March.
Jennifer Erchul, who is one of the owners planning Union Taproom, said the restaurant will include 26 taps, featuring craft beer from regional breweries. Erchul said the taproom will also offer “food that complements beer,” such as slider hamburgers, wings, pretzel twists with dipping sauces, personal flatbread pizzas and spiced nuts. She said the new business should be open by the first week of March.
“Everything will be made in-house,” Erchul said, adding live music and trivia will be hosted regularly at the restaurant. “The taproom is going to be our extremely casual, more playful side of things.”
Erchul said The Yellowstone restaurant also started opening for lunch recently, with a special lunch menu.
“The experience in Old Town is getting elevated, and to be a part of it is exciting,” Erchul said.
Keri Kimbrough hopes her business, Salt and Honey, will raise public awareness about how disposable products and synthetic ingredients and toxins are harming both the ecosystem and human health.
“There are major issues going on with our planet, and at some point we have to figure out how to live with less waste,” said Kimbrough, who is a certified wellness coach.
Her business will offer a line of reusable products, including reusable cloth trash bags with washable liners, reusable straws, reusable towels and reusable drier balls containing essential oils to replace drier sheets. Her aunt, Barbara Mills, who is also an investor in the business, will supply many of the handmade, reusable products.
Kimbrough will sell natural products such as handmade soaps, lotions and detergents. A unique aspect of her business is that she plans to invite groups of people to develop their own custom recipes and to make their own products in her shop, with her guidance.
Kimbrough worked in the insurance industry for 12 years, before she left Michigan about a year and a half ago to return to her childhood home, Pocatello. She and her brother, Sean Kimbrough, bought the local locksmith shop LDA Security together.
Kimbrough also plans to offer classes in proper composting.
“This is what I really wake up every day and care about,” she said.
Turpin has already opened her photography studio, though her renovations are continuing, and she recently received a permit to replace the door of her business with one bearing her logo. She has a background in graphic design and took photography classes while living in Las Vegas. At the Photo Boutique, she’ll specialize in photographing newborns, children, families and seniors.
Turpin plans to lease part of her space to a retail tenant and is still seeking a potential renter. For more information on her business, visit thephotoboutique.studio.
Palagi said Old Town typically experiences a rash of new business openings during both the spring and fall. Palagi said the forthcoming openings will build on the success of 2018, when a strong economy contributed to a dozen new businesses starting in Old Town. Those businesses are still open and have reported strong sales, she said.
“For the most part, we had a great holiday season,” Palagi said.
She believes the new arrivals will add to the eclectic mix of businesses in Old Town. She’s particularly pleased by the resurgence of the Yellowstone Hotel as as a staple of Old Town.
“It’s absolutely one of the best things to happen in Old Town in the past several years,” Palagi said.