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Local pediatric clinic celebrating 25 years – East Idaho News

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Local pediatric clinic celebrating 25 years – East Idaho News


Do you want to know what’s happening in the eastern Idaho business scene? We’ve got you covered. Here is a rundown of this week’s business news across the valley.

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AMMON

Founder of Idaho Falls Pediatrics looks back on 25 years of operation

Idaho Falls Pediatrics at 3067 Eagle Drive in Ammon. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

AMMON – Inside the Quidditch room, one of dozens of themed spaces in the 14,000-square-foot castle at 3067 Eagle Drive in Ammon where Idaho Falls Pediatrics does business, Dr. Ron Porter reflects on the company’s 25 years of operation.

The 59-year-old Idaho Falls man founded the practice in 2000 off Sunnyside and Holmes Avenue and was its sole physician early on. Today, he’s one of five doctors who meet daily with patients, and it’s been one of the most rewarding experiences of his life.

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“I like to see parents enjoying bringing their kids (to the office),” Porter tells EastIdahoNews.com. “I like to be able to help that enjoyment. When they’re stressed about an illness or something that’s going on with their development, I love to relieve that stress.”

Porter says celebrating the company’s 25th anniversary seems a bit unreal. He’s looking forward to celebrating with the community in some way, the details of which have not been finalized.

He couldn’t be happier about practicing medicine in eastern Idaho, and he’s amazed at how much they’ve grown over the years.

If Pediatrics 2
Idaho Falls Pediatrics’ original building at 3355 South Holmes Avenue in Idaho Falls. | Courtesy Jamie Howard

It all began in a little building off Sunnyside and Holmes Avenue in Idaho Falls on Jan. 2, 2000. Porter started the practice alone and started seeing patients.

He had graduated from medical school six years earlier and joined an existing practice for several years.

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The decision to open his own pediatric clinic stemmed from his love of kids.

“In med school, I always enjoyed the rotations where there were kids involved,” Porter says. “When I did my OB-GYN rotation, we were delivering babies, and I was loving it. That moment when the baby is born, and you still need to be taking care of Mom, I just wanted to be with the baby. That’s when it dawned on me (to go into pediatrics).”

He was the sole physician at Idaho Falls Pediatrics for about 18 months before Dr. Scott Smith came on board. Together, they doubled the clinic’s workload.

Then in 2004, Dr. Joseph Moore became the third partner in the business.

The need for more space prompted them to move to a building on Coronado several years later.

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“We were in that office for quite a while, and Dr. Mitchell Storts joined us over there,” Porter says.

Eventually, they added a building that resembles a schoolhouse on the west side of town when the Coronado building became inadequate.

Continued growth led to the development of the Eagle Drive location in Ammon. They broke ground on the building in 2019. It was completed in January the following year and opened in February.

RELATED | Idaho Falls Pediatrics opening new office in Ammon next month

Its unique design was intended to make going to the doctor fun for kids.

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themed room
Mural in the Beauty and the Beast themed room at Idaho Falls Pediatrics. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

“We’ve always had murals on the wall and tried to make it kid friendly. We’ve gotten a little more creative with each building that we’ve done,” says Porter.

A fifth doctor, Dr. Ty Webb, joined the practice when the Ammon building opened in 2020. A sixth doctor is joining the business later this year.

Porter is grateful for the community’s support over the years and looks forward to continue serving patients in eastern Idaho.

“Our goal is just to provide good care for kids and help parents with those growing, developing children,” he says. “We love the community and it’s been a pleasure serving it.”

Idaho Falls Pediatrics is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday with a 6 p.m. closing time on Saturday.

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hallway with dozens of suites
Hallway with dozens of themed patient rooms | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

Porter pic
Dr. Ron Porter poses for a photo inside the Quidditch room at Idaho Falls Pediatrics. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

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Idaho resolution opposing same-sex marriage advances

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Idaho resolution opposing same-sex marriage advances


For the second year in a row, House lawmakers will consider urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

The nonbinding resolution, which carries no legal weight, says the decision in Obergefel v. Hodges violates the longstanding religious definition of marriage between one man and one woman.

“The current definition of marriage that allows for same-sex marriages is a defilement of the word marriage,” said Rep. Tony Wisniewski (R-Post Falls), who sponsors the measure.

The resolution further states that the Obergefel decision “arbitrarily and unjustly” rejects the historical definition of marriage.

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Idaho voters passed a constitution amendment in 2006 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, which was invalidated by the Obergefel ruling.

Wisniewski said regulating marriages should be a power left to the states.

Rep. Brent Crane (R-Nampa) agrees.

“If you want to get things … closer to the people with respect to some of these more complex social issues, I think the best place for those things to happen is in the states,” Crane said.

Doing so is a risk, he said.

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“You may have states that choose to acknowledge [polyamorous relationships]. You may have states that choose to have relationships between adults and younger children,” Crane said.

Cities in neighboring Oregon and Washington, for example, are considering giving those in polyamorous relationships legal recognition.

But he said that risk is worth it to allow other states that choose to only recognize traditional marriages.

Four lawmakers on the House State Affairs Committee opposed the resolution.

Rep. Erin Bingham (R-Idaho Falls) said she’s tried to balance her own religious beliefs with those of others while considering the measure.

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“I do feel like that it is important for us to work together, to find ways to compromise and to live together in peace and mutual respect,” Bingham said.

The resolution now goes to the House floor for consideration.

House lawmakers last year passed a similar measure, but it never received a hearing in a Senate committee.

Copyright 2026 Boise State Public Radio

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University of Idaho professor awarded $10M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders

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University of Idaho professor awarded M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders


A University of Idaho professor won a $10 million judgment after a tarot TikTok influencer publicly pushed false claims that she was behind the savage quadruple slayings of four college students.

A Boise jury in US District Court ordered fortune-telling Texas TikToker Ashley Guillard on Friday to pay $10 million after concluding she falsely accused professor Rebecca Scofield of having a secret romance with one of the four victims and orchestrating their killings, the Idaho Statesman reported.

Following the verdict, Scofield thanked the jury and said she hopes the case sends a clear warning that making “false statements online have consequences in the real world.”

Ashley Guillard posted TikTok videos falsely linking a University of Idaho professor to the Idaho college murders, leading to a defamation lawsuit. TikTok/ashleyisinthebookoflife4

“The murders of the four students on November 13, 2022, were the darkest chapter in our university’s history,” Scofield told Fox News.

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“Today’s decision shows that respect and care should always be granted to victims during these tragedies. I am hopeful that this difficult chapter in my life is over, and I can return to a more normal life with my family and the wonderful Moscow community.”

Scofield, the university’s history department chair, filed the lawsuit in December 2022 — just weeks after Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were brutally stabbed to death at an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.

Guillard began uploading videos to her more than 100,000 TikTok followers in late November 2022, accusing Scofield of a secret relationship with one of the students and claiming she had “ordered” the killings, garnering millions of views across the social media platform.

The complaint states that Scofield had never met the victims and was out of state when the murders occurred.

Idaho murder victims Madison Mogen, 21, top left, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, bottom left, Ethan Chapin, 20, center, and Xana Kernodle, 20, right, and their two surviving roommates.

Even after being served with cease-and-desist letters and after police publicly confirmed Scofield had no connection to the murders, the Houston-based tarot reader continued posting videos, the history professor’s legal team argued.

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Guillard doubled down on her accusations against Scofield after being sued, posting a defiant video saying, “I am not stopping,” and challenging why Scofield needed three lawyers to sue her “if she’s so innocent.”

The professor’s legal team argued the defamatory accusations painted her as a criminal and accused her of professional misconduct that could derail her career.

Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to the savage slayings in July 2025 in a plea deal that took the death penalty off the table. AP

Bryan Kohberger, then studying criminology at Washington State University, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the quadruple murders in a deal that took the death penalty off the table. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences in Idaho.

In June 2024, Chief US Magistrate Judge Raymond Patricco found Guillard’s statements legally defamatory, leaving damages to be decided by a jury.

During the damages trial, Scofield described the anguish of seeing her name tied to the murders online, the Idaho Statesman reported.

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The off-campus home where four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death on Nov. 17, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. James Keivom

However, Guillard, acting as her own attorney, insisted her comments were simply beliefs based on tarot card readings.

She claimed to have psychic powers and testified that she relied on tarot cards to try to solve the shocking homicides that shook the rural college town and sparked global attention.

It took jurors less than two hours to return their verdict, the outlet reported.

The jury awarded Scofield $7.5 million in punitive damages in addition to $2.5 million in compensatory damages.

With Post wires

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Gas prices expected to exceed $3 as the Iran conflict prompts supply shortages

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Gas prices expected to exceed  as the Iran conflict prompts supply shortages


BOISE, Idaho — AAA is warning Idaho gas consumers that pump prices will likely rise as the conflict in Iran disrupts oil and gas supply chains worldwide.

The ongoing turmoil in the Middle East will likely push the price for a gallon of regular gasoline past the $3 mark over the coming days.

“On one hand, the crude oil market had time to account for some financial risk in the Middle East as forces mobilized, but a supply shortage somewhere affects the global picture,” says AAA Idaho public affairs director Matthew Conde. “If tankers can’t move products through the region, there could be ripple effects.”

On Monday, March 2, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $2.97, reports AAA, which is 12 cents more expensive than it was a month ago but 20 cents less than this time last year.

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State / Price: 1 gallon of regular gasoline

  • Washington / $4.37
  • Oregon / $3.92
  • Nevada / $3.70
  • Idaho / $2.97
  • Colorado / $2.89
  • Montana / $2.82
  • Utah / $2.74
  • Wyoming / $2.73

In terms of the most expensive fuel in the nation, Idaho currently ranks #14. However, buying a gallon of regular gas in neighboring states such as Oregon and Washington could cost a whole dollar more. In contrast, gas prices in Utah, Montana, and Wyoming are anywhere between 15 to 24 cents cheaper than fuel in the Gem State.





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