Idaho

Air Idaho Rescue celebrates 5 years of service in Salmon – East Idaho News

Published

1 year ago

August 26, 2024

Air Idaho Rescue celebrates 5 years of service in Salmon – East Idaho News

The following is a news release and photo from Air Idaho Rescue.

SALMON – The Salmon community joined the Air Idaho Rescue crew for a special gathering at the Salmon City Park on Thursday to mark the base’s fifth anniversary.

Guests included representatives from Steele Memorial Hospital, Challis Area Health Center, Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office, Lemhi County EMS, Salmon Search and Rescue, Lemhi County Fire Protection District, and Lemhi County Probation.

“Five years ago, we sat down and looked at a map and said, ‘Where can we do the most good?’ Salmon was one of those areas where we thought we could help the most people, and it has definitely been proven that our services are needed,” said Mike Jenkins, area manager for the Air Idaho Rescue program. “We really appreciate the partnerships we have built and the way you’ve welcomed us into your community.”

Among the many guests who spoke at the celebration was Lemhi County Sheriff Steve Penner, who talked about Air Idaho Rescue’s role in the EMS community and the impact the program has had on the emergency care residents receive.

RELATED | I flew with Air Idaho Rescue for a day. Here’s what I learned.

“They have really acclimated well and became part of the first responder family and are part of the community,” said Penner. “But more importantly, there have been a few times when their (fast) response time really benefitted the outcome of the patient, if not saved their life, and that is what it is all about.”

CEO of Challis Area Health Center Steve Rembelski remarked on the program’s value to the people of Lemhi County given the remote nature of the area and the distance to higher levels of medical care.

“When we talk about time sensitive emergencies, minutes truly make a difference,” said Rembelski. “Prior to Air Idaho being in Salmon, it could take up to an hour and thirty minutes to get an aircraft to our facility, and I have truly seen patients on their knees praying for every minute.”

Though the crews always put safety first, Rembelski says they are skilled, kind and compassionate.

RELATED | Air Idaho Rescue prepares for upcoming tourist season with re-opening of emergency medical base

About 40 guests enjoyed a casual lunch while getting an up-close look at a helicopter that flew in from West Yellowstone. The aircraft serving Salmon was out on a call.

Family members of former patients expressed their appreciation, and Lenny Skunberg and Ilona McCarty, who lease the hangar and crew quarters, shared their gratitude for the program.

Not only are residents thankful to have Air Idaho Rescue in their backyard, but the crew is grateful to be part of such a warm and welcoming community and is proud to offer the highest level of emergency air medical care.

RELATED | Air Idaho Rescue now carrying whole blood on every flight

“Our clinicians really are amazing at their jobs,” said Alex Waldron, a pilot with Air Idaho Rescue. “They love to do it … and it is awesome to watch someone that is so good at their job. I’m lucky to work here, and the community is lucky to have the nurses and the medics working for Air Idaho here.”

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Idaho

Looking forward to another year of East Idaho Sports – East Idaho News

Published

2 hours ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

Looking forward to another year of East Idaho Sports – East Idaho News

Note: As a bonus to our readers who have followed us into Year 2, the East Idaho Sports staff will post a special story on Sundays – Could be a column, opinion, feature, or just something fun and goofy. Hope you enjoy, and thanks again for coming along on this journey.

EASTERN IDAHO — Dec. 31 marked the end of the first full calendar year of East Idaho Sports. It has been a pleasure to bring our readers coverage of local youth, high school, college and semi-pro sports.

Over the last 12 months, we have covered state champions, national champions, junior hockey league champions, record-breaking performances and so much more. Those of you who have followed along since we launched in August 2024 have seen how we have expanded our coverage to include some interactive features like this Sunday Special series, Game Balls and the Photo of the Week voting.

We look forward to the completion of the winter sports seasons — including some Winter Olympics stories — spring sports, the summer sports schedule and returning next fall to start it all over again.

But we also hope to continue adding to our coverage, and shine spotlights on even more of the great athletes and sports programs in eastern Idaho.

In order to do that, we would like some help.

With just two full-time reporters and one freelance photographer we will regrettably miss things. And while we try to fill those gaps ourselves, we are always open to tips.

If there was a sporting event or sports story that deserved coverage it didn’t receive, please email us at sports@eastidahonews.com. If there is an upcoming event that should be spotlighted, please email us.

Also, our Photo of the Week stories will continue to be posted midday every Monday. If you have photos from a local sporting event that you want to enter in the running, email those to us by Sunday morning. For those who follow the voting — on our public Facebook group East Idaho News – Sports — a reader-contributed photo was recently selected our Photo of the YEAR, and we would love to continue adding those on the weekly ballot.

This photo of West Jefferson’s Justus Burtenshaw during the first round of the state tournament, taken by reader Julie Hall, was selected out East Idaho Sports Photo of the Year.

Finally, we recently added a regular feature we are calling the “Whip-around”: A quick rundown of local high school sports action. In order to expand these stories to include more teams, we would love for coaches, players or parents to send us photos of game scorebooks. If you are linked to a local team and would like your team to be added to these stories, please email us, and we can let you know how to do so.

It has been a pleasure to highlight the many local athletes for their successes and hard work, and we look forward to another year of precisely that.

We will see you at a field, court, course, pool, etc., near you in 2026.