Idaho
Rigby man just finished a 3-year journey climbing all of Idaho's 11,000-foot mountain peaks – East Idaho News
RIGBY – On Thursday, Jason Lee became the 15th person to summit all 115 of the Gem State’s 11,000-foot mountain peaks.
The 50-year-old Rigby man finished a three-year journey when he reached the top of Roaring Peak, which stands at 11,460 feet in the Boulder Mountain range.
Dave Pahlas, an avid hiker, has kept a running list of people who’ve accomplished this feat over the years on his website and Lee is thrilled to be numbered among them.
“It took me exactly three years, three months and 15 days. I may be close to the fastest, but I’m not sure,” Lee tells EastIdahoNews.com. “I ended up finishing the last 48 (summits) this spring and summer. I hit it pretty hard this year.”
Idaho’s mountains that surpass 11,000 feet are confined within seven mountain ranges in the central and eastern part of the state, according to Lee. Those mountain ranges include the White Cloud, Boulder, Pioneer, White Knob, Lost River, Lemhi and Beaverhead Mountains.
George Reinier and John Roache were the first Idaho 11ers, according to the list on Pahlas’ website. It happened in 2012 with their final summit of The Brow, an 11,005-footer north of Diamond Peak on the main Lemhi crest. Idaho Climbing Guide reports The Brow is “the lowest of Idaho’s 11ers.”
In 2020, Lee climbed all nine of the state’s 12,000 foot peaks, including Idaho’s tallest mountain peak, Mt. Borah. The 12,662-foot bluff is in the Lost River Range near Challis. This accomplishment made him hungry for another adventure, which led him to the 11ers.
“They turned out to be a lot more exciting because nobody goes there,” Lee explains. “There’s no trails on the top of those. It’s a lot of bush-whacking and research to even get to some of these.”
The Idaho 12ers, however, are popular destinations for hikers and are well-traveled.
This all started four years ago when Lee retired from a 24-year stint in the U.S. Navy. He had done a little bit of hiking where he was stationed in Upstate New York. After moving back to Idaho, a friend invited Lee to hike Mt. Borah with him.
To prepare, they climbed Table Mountain in Wyoming. He summited that in July 2020 before hiking Mt. Borah.
“That’s what kicked off the mountain climbing (journey),” says Lee.
Lee often ran in the Navy, and he’s enjoyed hiking as an alternative to staying in shape during retirement.
The best part of this experience, Lee says, is inspiring other mountaineers to do the same thing.
“Only 15 people have done it, so I want more people to do it,” he says. “I want to pass on the knowledge (I’ve gained) because I’m not going to be able to do this forever. And second, I get them out into the woods with me so I have someone to do it with.”
He’s gained quite a following over the last several years and even has a Facebook group called Team 11ers.
Lee’s next goal is to repeat his first five 11,000 foot summits so his finish time is faster.
“When I first started, I wasn’t very quick. I wasn’t as serious about it until I got into my second year,” Lee says. “I want to get my finish time under three years.”
He’s planning to do that before June 2025.
He also wants to summit all of Idaho’s 10,000 foot peaks, as well as climb the highest points in every Idaho county.
“If it wasn’t for the mountaineering pioneers that went before me, none of this would’ve been possible. I couldn’t have done it without my crew that went along with me,” says Lee. “I give them a lot of credit because it made my experience a lot easier.”
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Idaho
Idaho is in for a streak of clear skies next week
After a round of showers came through this week, the Gem State is staying dry and clear for next week.
Temperatures finally started to feel winter-like as we take a tumble this weekend. Consistent 40’s the highs, and 20’s the lows.
Conditions on the valley floors are not expected to get past the mid 40’s. Showers appear to be nonexistent for the next 7 to 10 days.
We will also see some air stagnation in our area, meaning that as a high-pressure ridge moves in, not too much change is expected in the air. So, air quality may take a bit of a fall.
Not much more than cold and dry air is on the way for Idaho, but at least the sun will shine for most of the forecast.
Have a great weekend and stay warm!
Idaho
Interstate 84 near Mountain Home back open after utility work
MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — Interstate 84 near Mountain Home is back open after crews closed the freeway due to utility work.
Crews closed westbound and eastbound lanes on Saturday morning from milepost 90 to milepost 95 due to Idaho Power working on power lines in the area, according to the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office. All lanes are now back open in both directions.
The sheriff’s office and the Mountain Home Police Department apologized for the inconvenience, saying they were just informed of the closure on Saturday morning.
More information regarding road closures and traffic conditions can be found at the Idaho Transportation Department’s 511 map.
Copyright 2026 KMVT. All rights reserved.
Idaho
Idaho murder victims’ families file wrongful death lawsuit against Washington State University
The families of the four University of Idaho students killed in a brutal 2022 stabbing attack have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Washington State University (WSU), alleging the school ignored repeated warning signs about Bryan Kohberger.
The civil complaint, filed Jan. 7 in Skagit County Superior Court, was brought by Steve Goncalves, father of Kaylee Goncalves; Karen Laramie, mother of Madison Mogen; Jeffrey Kernodle, father of Xana Kernodle; and Stacy Chapin, mother of Ethan Chapin.
The lawsuit accuses WSU of gross negligence, wrongful death and violations of federal education laws, including Title IX. The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified monetary damages.
Attorney Robert Clifford, senior partner at Clifford Law Offices, said that the decision to leave damages “unspecified” is a strategic norm in high-stakes litigation because it prevents the focus from shifting towards sensationalism and keeps the decision firmly in the hands of the jury.
“Ultimately, that’s to be determined and answered by the jury,” said Clifford, who is not involved in the lawsuit. “But you have some compelling facts and the liability is going to depend on the strength of what the school knew.”
Despite Kohberger’s guilty plea in the murders, Clifford explained the civil case remains strong because the families face a lower burden of proof – requiring only a preponderance of evidence to establish the university’s liability.
“The mere fact that he pled guilty might not even be admissible in the civil proceeding because he’s not the defendant, right? If he is a defendant in the civil proceeding, then his plea of guilty will be important. And indeed, this school might try to use that to say, ‘See, it wasn’t our fault. He admits that it was his fault.’ But the bar is different for someone in a criminal proceeding than it is in a civil proceeding.”
According to the lawsuit, WSU hired Kohberger as a teaching assistant in its criminal justice and criminology department and provided him with a salary, tuition benefits, health insurance and on-campus housing.
The victims’ families allege the university had extensive authority over Kohberger’s conduct but failed to act despite mounting concerns.
Here’s the latest coverage on Bryan Kohberger:
The complaint says WSU received at least 13 formal reports accusing Kohberger of threatening, stalking, harassing or predatory behavior toward female students and staff during the fall 2022 semester. The families argue university officials did not meaningfully investigate those complaints or remove Kohberger from campus before the murders – even though they had the authority to do so.
The lawsuit also alleges that the university failed to use its own threat-assessment systems designed to identify individuals who pose a risk of violence, even as concerns about Kohberger escalated. Instead, the families claim, the university continued to employ him, house him and give him access to students.
“The murders were foreseeable and preventable,” the complaint states, alleging WSU prioritized avoiding legal and reputational risk over student safety.
The lawsuit also alleges broad failures within the public university, including alleged dysfunction within campus police and compliance officers who are responsible for handling accusations of misconduct, including sexual harassment and stalking.
Kohberger pleaded guilty in July 2025 to four counts of first-degree murder and burglary. He was sentenced to four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors said Kohberger stabbed the four students in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, inside an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, just miles from the WSU campus in Pullman, Washington.
Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania in December 2022 following a multi-state investigation.
Authorities linked him to the crime through DNA evidence, surveillance video and cellphone data showing repeated late-night trips near the victims’ home.
WSU has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit. Fox News Digital has reached out to WSU for comment.
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