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.
BIZ BUZZ
IDAHO FALLS
Tired of sitting all day, he made a change. Now he’s helping Idaho Falls do the same
The Vital Stretch storefront at 3482 South 25th East in Idaho Falls. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com
IDAHO FALLS – Like many working professionals, Scott Gudmundson has spent more than 20 years behind a desk, only to stand up at the end of the day with stiff joints.
The lack of mobility motivated him to seek a life change and, ultimately, a new business venture. He and his wife, Carolyn, opened The Vital Stretch at 3482 South 25th East next to Burly Burger in September 2025. It’s the franchise’s first location in the western United States and offers customers one-on-one assisted stretching sessions.
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Much like a massage clinic, customers pay for a monthly membership and come in for an hour-long session. Through the end of April, the first visit is complimentary and includes a mobility assessment to determine what areas to focus on. Customers lie on a table while a Vital Stretch practitioner stretches limbs and joints in a way catered to clients’ specific needs.
“The part of wellness and fitness that we’re missing is the recovery and the longevity,” Katie Smith, the business’s general manager, tells EastIdahoNews.com. “Mobility is our main focus.”
Smith says all the practitioners have educational training in the field of sports and exercise science, or something related. The company also provides an additional 60 hours of training for all new employees.
Since opening, practitioner Kelsi Schlenker says they’ve helped a variety of people with mobility issues. Some, like Scott, are people who spend a lot of time sitting down. Others have sports or trauma-related injuries, arthritis or other neurological or auto-immune disorders, such as multiple sclerosis.
Regardless of the circumstances, Smith says the services are a benefit to anyone who comes in the door, whether they’re “weekend warriors” or “graceful agers.”
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“We ask our members to be involved. We’re talking the whole time about tension, comfort level,” says Smith. “We like everybody to start with a commitment of 90 days. That gives us time to help the body believe what we’re doing and establish goals. The body doesn’t believe anything is real unless you’ve done it for a significant amount of time.”
The Vital Stretch manager Katie Smith, left, and practitioner Kelsi Schlenker | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com
Gudmondson says mobility is the key to aging well, and he says he’s noticed significant improvements in his mobility since incorporating a stretch routine into his day.
“I’m hitting that window of aging gracefully, and I’m looking for anything that can help me extend the amount of time I have to do the activities that I like to do,” Gudmondson says. “This particular franchise became available in Idaho Falls. It’s a new concept, but it’s something that other cities have adopted, and it’s pretty popular.”
The Vital Stretch was founded in 2019 by Rob and Melissa Goldring, according to the company’s website. Rob, a chiropractic physician, and Melissa, a physical therapist, had 50 years of combined experience and noticed that tightness in one part of the body created a chain reaction and affected how the entire body moved and felt.
They opened their first location in Norwalk, Connecticut. Since franchising in 2022, it’s grown to include 25 locations nationwide. The Idaho Falls store is the first location in the western U.S., the website says. Locations in San Antonio and Minneapolis are the closest locations to Idaho.
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Gudmondson says he’s grateful for the positive response from the community and hopes to see the business continue to grow.
“A lot of people have said they’ve been waiting for something like this to open,” Schlenker says. “We’ve had great feedback and have been able to see the changes (in people’s mobility).”
The Vital Stretch is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday with a 5 p.m. closing time on Friday. It’s open until 1 p.m. on Saturday.
To schedule an appointment or learn more, visit the website or call (208) 419-3207.
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POCATELLO — A motorcyclist was injured late Saturday when his bike collided with a vehicle at the intersection of Alameda Road and Yellowstone Avenue.
Pocatello Police Lt. Josh Hancock said the crash was reported to police at 11:27 p.m. Few details were available Sunday, but Hancock confirmed that the motorcycle driver was transported to Portneuf Medical Center with minor injuries.
Information about the driver of the other vehicle was not available.
Photos obtained by EastIdahoNews.com show a damaged motorcycle lying in the outer lane of Alameda, near its intersection with Yellowstone, and debris spread across both lanes. A sedan with front-end damage is also seen stopped in the intersection.
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Alameda was closed between Yellowstone and Wilson avenues for a time as police investigated and emergency crews cleared the roadway.
Pocatello police are investigating the crash.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is available.Emergency workers respond to a crash involving a vehicle and a motorcycle at the intersection of Alameda Road and Yellowstone Ave. in Pocatello, Saturday. | Kyle Riley, EastIdahoNews.comEmergency workers respond to a crash involving a vehicle and a motorcycle at the intersection of Alameda Road and Yellowstone Ave. in Pocatello, Saturday. | Kyle Riley, EastIdahoNews.com
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Outside of Sen. Todd Lakey, R-Nampa, who served as the floor sponsor for the bill, debate from legislators from across the political spectrum was entirely negative. Members of both parties raised concerns the legislation would consolidate power in the state, lead to paranoia amongst public officials and employees and present a fundamentally unnecessary solution in the face of existing oversight mechanisms.
Sen. Treg Bernt, R-Meridian, said the bill would allow the state to “supersede local decision making” by “stripping communities” of their ability to manage local issues. In addition to intruding on the relationship between state and local government, Bernt said the bill would bring “unprecedented authority” and investigatory power into the attorney general’s office.
“This consolidation places critical decisions affecting freedom and democracy in the hands of a selected few, rather than dispersing power as intended in a representative government,” Bernt said. “This ship fundamentally alters the balance of power in the state of Idaho — I have grave concerns over this.”
Sen. Ali Rabe, D-Boise, questioned why the legislation was necessary with the safeguards already in place. Even in bills that lack enforcement mechanisms, Rabe underlined there are mechanisms in place to “keep our elected officials” in check, including the Idaho Bribery and Corrupt Influences Act and the Idaho Ethics in Government Act, both of which govern the conduct of public officials.
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“I worry also it could put us at odds with each other and make us kind of paranoid against each other,” Rabe said. “It seems pretty easy in here to just send a referral from one elected official to another about anyone over anything. … I believe that it could potentially be abused in a lot of ways.”
Pointing to the provision of the legislation that could bar people from public office for up to five years, Sen. Josh Kohl, R-Twin Falls, said blocking individuals from seeking office puts the state on “thin ice” in maintaining constitutional protections.
“It’s just a tool of potential weaponization, and people could use this to target people they just don’t like or are feuding with. … You could imagine 1,000 scenarios where people could use this to target someone,” Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa, said.
McCandless covers Idaho politics for the Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Idaho Press of Nampa and Coeur d’Alene Press. He may be contacted at rmccandless@idahopress.com.
BOISE, Idaho – Around 1 p.m. today, Idaho State Police responded to a disturbance involving about 12 protesters inside the Idaho Capitol building.
The group used whistles and bullhorns inside the building, then went into a restroom and blocked the door with their bodies to keep others out. Troopers gave numerous warnings about the disturbance, and the group was trespassed from the building. The group refused to leave when instructed and remained in the restroom, further disrupting the situation.
Around 2:40 p.m., troopers arrested six people for misdemeanor trespass. One person was also charged with resisting arrest.
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During the arrests, one person sustained a minor injury while leaving a bathroom stall. They were taken to a local hospital for a precautionary evaluation before being booked.
All of the people involved were adults. No weapons were reported in the incident.
The Boise Police Department assisted in transporting those arrested to the Ada County Jail.
ISP supports the public’s right to protest and express their opinions. People must follow lawful orders and rules to keep everyone safe and maintain order in public buildings.
