Idaho
It's official! Construction on CEI's new Future Tech building begins – East Idaho News
Dignitaries and members of the community during a ceremonial turning of the soil Thursday morning for the groundbreaking of CEI’s new Future Tech Building. Watch highlights in the video above. | Video by Isabella Sosa-Salazar, EastIdahoNews.com
IDAHO FALLS – College of Eastern Idaho officially broke ground on its new Future Tech Building Thursday morning.
Construction on the 88,000-square-foot building is now underway in an empty field on the north side of the Idaho Falls campus. The two-level building will house energy, innovation and technology-related courses, such as cybersecurity and mechatronics, as well as IT and STEM programs.
“It’s constructed in a very open way. We don’t know what the careers are going to be in the future and it will be built in a way to accommodate that,” former CEI President Rick Aman tells EastIdahoNews.com.
RELATED | Construction slated to begin on new Future Tech building at CEI in June
In addition to classroom space, the building will have a conference center, field testing laboratories and a large gathering area for business and civic events, student group projects and bay space. Watch an animated fly-through of the building here.
The total cost of the project is about $50 million. Of that amount, about $32 million is being funded by taxpayers. The rest of the money is coming from grants and donations from the private sector.
The building is slated for completion in the fall of 2026.
During the groundbreaking, Aman noted this is his last official act as CEI’s president. Lori Barber, who previously served as the vice president of Academic and Student Affairs, was appointed to fill the role in June, which went into effect Thursday.
RELATED | College of Eastern Idaho appoints new president
CEI is the only educational institution in Idaho without a career and technical education building, according to its website. These courses are in high demand and the new building will solve a lot of challenges with inadequate space and limited resources so CEI can provide a “state-of-the-art” education for students.
Aman is thrilled to end his tenure by seeing this project come to fruition after three years of planning.
“What a fitting end, what a wonderful completion for me in my tenure as president. I couldn’t be more proud,” Aman says.
RELATED | College of Eastern Idaho President Rick Aman to retire in July
Barber was heavily involved in planning for this building in her previous role and is excited to oversee its construction.
“I certainly can’t think of a more exciting way to begin this journey than by celebrating the start of something so transformative for our students, faculty, staff and the community,” Barber said during the groundbreaking. “We’re not merely constructing a building, we’re laying the foundation for a legacy that will inspire and endure for generations to come.”
Anderson Construction has been selected as the general contractor for the project.
WATCH HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GROUNDBREAKING IN THE VIDEO ABOVE.
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PAYETTE — A Payette mom’s bond was revoked Tuesday after she was charged with suffocating her twin children earlier this month and is believed to pose a danger to the life of her newborn child.
The case, which has drawn national headlines, concerns Andrea Renee Shaw, a 23-year-old Payette mother who in May 2025 said her 18-month-old fraternal twins died the same day, after receiving routine childhood vaccinations. In January, Shaw joined as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed by Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with several other plaintiffs claiming vaccine injury or death.
Kennedy, who now serves as secretary of Health and Human Services, is no longer part of the group after taking on the cabinet position, as was reported by the Associated Press.
In Idaho, the twins’ deaths prompted a 14-month investigation by the Payette County Sheriff’s Department. On June 29, the investigation yielded a grand jury indictment of Shaw on two counts of first-degree murder by suffocation. If convicted, Shaw can be punished by up to life in prison or the death penalty, and the court would have the ability to order the penalties be served consecutively, or back to back.
Tuesday’s arraignment at the Payette County Courthouse was primarily attended by Shaw’s relatives and members of the media. Payette County Judge Kiley Stuchlik, who serves Idaho’s Third Judicial District, presided.
A key consideration for Stuchlik on Tuesday was a request from Joseph Filicetti, the legal counsel for Shaw, to have her bond reduced from $2 million to $100,000. Filicetti said this would allow for Shaw to care for a newborn girl, who, according to court documents, was born by caesarean section on June 25, four days prior to Shaw’s grand jury indictment.
State prosecutors objected to the motion for bond reduction, noting at hand was a potential death penalty case and asserting, unlike her husband, Shaw’s story repeatedly changed during questioning. Prosecuting Attorney Mike Duke said releasing Shaw would ultimately put the newborn’s safety at risk.
“That child is the most at risk. We do not think she should be allowed to be anywhere near any children, let alone her own children,” Duke said.
Stuchlik decided to revoke bond entirely, stating Shaw posed a “risk of safety” to the newborn child that was not known to Stuchlik or prosecutors when the $2 million bond was initially set.
Also for consideration Tuesday was a request to have grand jury transcripts of witness testimony provided to prosecutors and defense counsel to prepare their respective cases.
Idaho
Idaho is home to the nation's first DarkSky Reserve. Now it's home to the nations first DarkSky Certified Resort
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – A controversy is brewing as the City of Idaho Falls reviews its alcohol ordinance.
The goal is to consolidate four existing ordinances for beer, wine and liquor into a single law and ensure compliance with state code.
However, at its meeting last Thursday, the Idaho Falls City Council unanimously voted to remove the proposed ordinance from its agenda, in order to receive and consider additional public comment.
The proposed ordinance would:
1. Require commercial establishments selling, dispensing or permitting consumption of alcohol – including beer, wine or liquor – to have an alcohol license, alcohol catering permit or a charitable event permit.
2. Business events with 20 or less employees consuming alcohol at the business would be allowed.
3. Require alcohol servers to complete training every three years.
4. Individuals who violate the law could be charged with a misdemeanor.
Idaho Falls City Council President Jim Francis said the changes were the culmination of months of collaboration between law enforcement, business owners and city attorneys.
“We wanted to provide a safe environment – the primary point here – for public gatherings,” Francis said. “We recognize that certain antiquated elements of the current code are overly restrictive and needed to be addressed. We wanted to make the code more accessible to the public. We needed to address over-pouring issues. We wanted to reduce penalties where possible for violations, particularly the first offenses, and yet make the code clear enough to be enforceable consistently by law enforcement.”
But City Council Member John Radford said the changes represent an overreach by city government.
“I believe it’s a bad policy. What problem are we solving in the name of trying to solve a non-problem?” Radford said. “We’re becoming big brother around alcohol in your private property. I’m concerned that landlords will be at risk of being charged with a misdemeanor if they knowingly, which I made sure that was in there, because that is what we’ve been talking about, allowed people to drink in our business. We will be outside the norm of Idaho cities. This is a big step, and I don’t think the public has weighed in on this.”
At a City Council Work Session on June 1, Idaho Falls Chief of Police Bryce Johnson cited an increase in alcohol-related crime – particularly downtown – as a reason for the changes.
“DUI is there, but this would include sexual assaults, assaults, batteries, disturbances, urination, public vandalism, shooting – all sorts of crimes,” Johnson said.
But business owners are concerned about the potential impact on commercial enterprises.
“The ordinance doesn’t address the real problem – which is people drinking … at one event and then showing up in a bar or restaurant already hammered and causing problems anyway,” ” said Terri Ireland, representing the Idaho Falls Downtown Merchants Association. “The industry is really well-regulated by state and local laws already.”
The City of Idaho Falls began the process of updating its alcohol ordinance in January 2026, seeking input from community stakeholders.
Multiple community members spoke out about the ordinance.
For more in-depth information, you can read the full 39-page proposed alcohol ordinance here.
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