Idaho
Eck leaving Idaho to coach New Mexico; 4 Vandal stars hop into portal
“We are grateful for everything that Jason has done to elevate Vandal football, Idaho Athletics, the University of Idaho, our community and state,” Idaho athletics director Terry Gawlik said in a statement. “We wish Jason, Kimberly and the entire Eck family the best of luck. Jason took over a struggling team and built a culture, brought excitement and winning back to the dome immediately. We now look to the future to find the next leader of the Vandal football program. The foundation for success has been laid and we will look to the future with the goals of winning Big Sky and national championships.”
Four key Vandals enter transfer portal
In the hours following Eck’s departure, at least four Vandals put their names in the college football transfer portal, including Layne and star wide receiver Jordan Dwyer.
Layne and Dwyer made their announcements on social media.
Layne started eight games for the Vandals over the past three seasons, beating Idaho State three times and leading the Vandals to a 6-2 record with him under center. His two losses were to Oregon and Montana State, the current No. 1 teams in the FBS and FCS, respectively.
The sophomore from Lake Oswego, Ore., passed for 1,477 yards, 14 touchdowns and four interceptions through six starts in 2024.
Dwyer, a sophomore from Puyallup Wash., entered the portal with two years of eligibility remaining. In three years at Idaho, Dwyer played two full seasons after playing just four games as a true freshman, making 109 catches for 1,651 yards and 18 touchdowns total.
Dwyer broke out in ‘24, making 78 catches for 1,192 yards and 12 touchdowns in a season that saw him become a feature of an Idaho offense that lost two star wideouts to NFL training camps in Hatten and Jermaine Jackson.
He wasted little time Saturday in announcing offers from Eck’s New Mexico, Nevada, Montana and Washington State among others.
A pair of Idaho All-Big Sky-Conference defenders also hit the portal on Saturday in defensive lineman Dallas Afalava and defensive back Dwayne McDougle.
The pair also made their announcements on social media.
Afalava anchored a dangerous unit and accounted for 31 tackles and 4.5 sacks through each of Idaho’s 14 games this season.
The Rainier Beach High School (Seattle) alumnus spent two years on the Palouse, accounting for nine sacks and 56 total tackles.
After three years in Moscow, McDougle also hit the portal on Saturday. McDougle redshirted in 2022, then played in 26 total games over the next two seasons, including each of Idaho’s 14 games in ‘24. The sophomore from Oakland made 87 total tackles with two interceptions and 11 passes defensed.
More Vandals could hit the portal in the coming days as Idaho searches for its next coach.
BLACKFOOT — A large contingent of Blackfoot Police officers has cordoned off an area near the Taco Bell on Parkway Drive in Blackfoot.
Police responded around 5 p.m., according to multiple witnesses who contacted EastIdahoNews.com.
EastIdahoNews.com has reached out to Blackfoot Police for details.
We will update this story as we learn more.
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MISSOULA, Mont. — An Idaho Falls angler is back in the Idaho record books after landing a record-setting lake trout at Payette Lake.
Idaho Fish and Game said Dylan Smith caught and released a 43.25-inch lake trout on May 2, setting a new state catch-and-release record for the species. The fish surpassed the previous record of 42 inches.
The catch marks Smith’s second appearance in Idaho’s record books. He previously held the state catch-and-release lake trout record after landing a trophy fish in 2018 before that mark was later broken.
According to Fish and Game, Payette Lake has become one of Idaho’s premier lake trout fisheries thanks to years of management efforts aimed at improving both lake trout and kokanee populations.
Pride Month looks different this June along Boise’s Harrison Boulevard, where a long-standing tradition of hanging Pride flags on lamp posts has been put on hold after a new state law restricted which flags can be flown on government property.
For several years, Pride flags lined lamp posts along Harrison Boulevard in Boise’s North End neighborhood. But Idaho House Bill 561, signed by Gov. Brad Little in March, restricts which flags can be flown on government property, including the City of Boise’s Harrison lamp posts.
In response, a group of neighbors formed Pride North End and launched a distribution effort to help residents show support from their own front yards. The group has been making Pride flags and yard signs available to people who want to display them at home.
“I thought that I would…be a personal example of ‘yes, this is what I do.’ This is what I believe in,” said Edna Schochat, a North End resident.
Pride North End has already distributed more than 900-yard signs and 250 flags. The group’s original donation goal was around $2,000 to order 100 flags and 200 yard signs, but it has exceeded that GoFundMe goal, reaching $10,000 worth of donations.
The group plans to continue holding public flag and sign distributions through the end of the month.
“We cannot just say something without doing something that proves that we mean what we say,” Schochat said.
Pride North End said any leftover funds after materials are distributed will go to local LGBTQ+ nonprofits. A link to the group’s GoFundMe can be found here.
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