Idaho
Head golf pro for the city of Idaho Falls stepping down after 46 years – East Idaho News
IDAHO FALLS – Although Tim Reinke says he’s never had a bad day in his 46-year career, he’s calling it quits.
The 65-year-old Idaho Falls man has been the manager of all golf operations at Pinecrest, Sand Creek and Sage Lakes Golf Courses. He was also promoted to Head Golf Pro of Pinecrest in 1984.
In a conversation with EastIdahoNews.com, Reinke says the reason for his retirement isn’t tied to anything in particular. He just feels now is a good time to step down.
“I love it (my job). I could easily do it another 10 years, but I decided, as long as I’m healthy, I might as well go and do some other things I haven’t had a chance to do,” Reinke says.
Reinke didn’t mention anything specific he plans to do in retirement, but he says he’s spent a lot of time away from home on weekends through the years and would like to spend more quality time with his wife.
Reinke’s last day with the city will be on April 30. A retirement celebration will be held at Pinecrest Golf Course on April 25.
Replacing him in the role is Sean Thomsen, who previously worked as the city’s assistant golf professional.
Coming to Idaho Falls
Reinke started working for the city of Idaho Falls in 1979. He was 18 then, but had been working around golf courses since age 9. Reinke and his family moved to Billings, Montana around that time. It was here that his dad joined a golf club.
“I thought he was crazy when he did it. I thought, What are you doing, dad? That just sounds so dumb,” he says.
It wasn’t long before Reinke picked up a club and fell in love with the sport. He eventually started working at the same golf club where his father played.
Mike Taylor was the club’s PGA professional. Taylor started working as the professional golfer for the city of Idaho Falls in 1975. That’s how Reinke ended up here.
“I’d worked with him in Laurel (near Billings),” Reinke explains. “When I turned 18, my mother told me I had to get a summer job so I came out to Idaho Falls.”
There were only two golf courses in town back then. The courses were consistently packed and Reinke remembers turning about 400 people away on a daily basis during his second year of employment.
Sage Lakes Golf Course was built several years later.
Reinke enrolled in the Professional Golfers Association early on so he could start teaching golf. He remembers scoring 98 out of 100 on the test — the highest score in the nation at the time.
“I got a national award,” says Reinke. “I think there were about 34,000 applicants for the test. It was quite a nice honor, but I laugh about it now because … most of the applicants hadn’t even opened the textbook (after a weeklong course). The test is about what’s in those books.”
Four years after moving to Idaho Falls, Reinke became the head golf pro at age 23 when Taylor took a job in Arizona. More than four decades later, Reinke is thrilled with how things turned out and to call Idaho Falls home.
‘I’ve enjoyed every minute’
Reinke has received multiple awards during his tenure. He was named the Golf Professional of the Year in the Rocky Mountain region three times. Golf Digest named him one of the top golf instructors in Idaho twice.
“Reinke … has been the low scoring professional many times in pro-am events, as well as winning the Senior Division of the Idaho Open in 2012,” according to a news release from the city.
Reinke was inducted into the Rocky Mountain Section of the Professional Golfers’ Association Hall of Fame in 2021.
Although Reinke is honored with all the awards, he says it’s the people that have made it a worthwhile career. It’s those interactions he’s going to miss most.
Even in retirement, Reinke says he isn’t going anywhere and is still planning to stick around as a golf instructor.
“I’m going to continue teaching. I’ve got thousands of students that I’ve given lessons to throughout the years. Retiring will give me more time to give lessons without worrying about the shop every day,” he says.
He has nothing but good things to say about his successor and wishes him the best in his new role.
“I truly have had zero bad days here,” says Reinke. “It’s been a seven-day-a-week job. I probably average 16 hours a day … and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”
In a news release, Mayor Rebecca Casper praises Reinke for his contributions to the city’s golf courses over the years and wishes him well in his retirement.
“Tim has been a huge driving force in making Idaho Falls golf courses the success they are today,” Casper says. “More importantly, Tim has helped teach and share his love of the game with countless generations over the years. He’s been a true steward of the sport — not just in our City, but in golf communities nationwide. He will be greatly missed, and we wish him well in his retirement.”
The public is invited to Reinke’s retirement celebration on April 25. It’s happening from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Pinecrest Golf Course.
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Josh Ritter, a professional songwriter and graduate of Moscow High School, will headline the America250 in Idaho celebration in Boise on July 4, event organizers announced Tuesday at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise.
Members of the America250 in Idaho Advisory Council unveiled the details about the patriotic celebrations they have been planning and promoting in Boise – and across the state – to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
For the July 4 America250 in Idaho Capitol Celebration at Cecil D. Andrus Park in downtown Boise, planned events include a veterans breakfast, the Idaho 4th of July parade that you can watch live on CBS2 which includes military fly over, a performance by the Army Band, food trucks and concerts by Idaho musicians.
In addition to Ritter, artists scheduled to perform include the Afrosonics, Jeff Crosby and Chad Marvin, officials said.
“We finally have a run of show and (confirmation of) who will be performing,” Jesse Barcroft, the chief of staff for the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office, told the advisory council. “I’m really excited about it; I think that Idahoans are going to be really excited about it. It’s a really cool lineup.”
In addition to planning and promoting the celebration in Boise, members of the advisory council have also approved grants of up to $2,500 each to help local America250 celebrations in communities across the state.
Organizers initially awarded grants to 29 different Idaho arts and nonprofit organizations, but changed gears by cancelling those grants in March 2025 to focus narrowly on patriotic celebrations of America’s founding and 250th birthday, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.
So far, members of the advisory council reported that they have spent $474,425.51 and have $54,967.53 in available funding on the bottom line.
For more information about America250 in Idaho celebrations in communities across the state, visit america250.idaho.gov.
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released the site maps and locations of future temples in Idaho and South Carolina.
The Caldwell Idaho Temple, first announced in April 2025, will be built on a 19.2-acre site located at the southwest corner of West Orchard Avenue and South Florida Avenue in Canyon County, Idaho, according to a press release published Tuesday on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Plans for the Caldwell temple site call for a multistory temple of approximately 82,000 square feet, accompanied by a meetinghouse and an ancillary building.
The Caldwell Idaho Temple was announced in April 2025 general conference by then-church President Russell M. Nelson, and was one of the last 15 temples President Nelson announced before his death on Sept. 27, 2025.
Ten other temples in Idaho are currently in operation, under construction, or in planning or design stages. Of these 10 temples, one — the Montpelier Idaho Temple — is currently scheduled to be dedicated this October.
The Greenville South Carolina Temple, to be the state’s second Latter-day Saint temple, will be a single-story structure of approximately 18,850 square feet.
It will be constructed on an 8.8-acre site located at the south intersection of Independence Boulevard/Ponders Road and Roper Mountain Road in Greenville, South Carolina.
Like the Caldwell temple, the Greenville South Carolina Temple was also announced by President Nelson in April 2025.
As the state’s second Latter-day Saint temple, the Greenville South Carolina Temple will join the Columbia South Carolina Temple (dedicated in 1999) in serving the nearly 47,000 Latter-day Saints that live in South Carolina.
Learn more about the Caldwell Idaho and Greenville South Carolina temples and others worldwide on the Church News’ temple almanac.
Idaho
Fundraising platform FlipCause owes millions to charities nationwide, including nonprofits in Idaho
The Fundraising platform FlipCause filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December, according to court documents. But the Oakland-based company owes more than $29 million to charities nationwide, including two in Idaho.
Allison Terenzio-Moody is the executive director of the Treasure Valley Children’s Theater. They put on productions for youth in the Boise Area like High School Musical Jr., and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Steph Cullen
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Treasure Valley Children’s Theater
Before the company went bankrupt, she used FlipCause to take donations, sell tickets to performances and manage classes. The company owes her organization about $20,000, and she’s not sure she’ll ever see it.
“Basically, they took money away from our kids, and they took money away from our donors,” she said.
In November, California Attorney General Rob Bonta sent a cease and desist order to Flipcause to stop all operations, including taking charitable donations.
“Donors placed their trust in Flipcause to ensure their contributions reached those in need. Instead, charities are experiencing significant financial stress due to the platform holding these funds back. This is simply unacceptable,” said Attorney General Bonta in a statement on the California Department of Justice website.
”I’ve basically been told that, that money’s gone. You’re not going to see it, so you need to move on,” Terenzio-Moody said.
Despite switching to a new app and fundraising in December and January, Terenzio-Moody said the nonprofit is still operating in the negative.
“I want to make sure people know that we aren’t going anywhere,” Terenzio-Moody said. “We are so in love with what we do and the community that we create for young people. Our education programs and our productions are going to continue, but we need some help.”
Most of her efforts are focused on fundraising to recoup the lost costs, and Terenzio-Moody said that’s taken the focus away from the organization’s education programs.
Up in Hayden, Ds Connections – a nonprofit that helps people with Down Syndrome – also lost around $20,000 from FlipCause. But they’ve had better luck in turning things around.
Ds Connections
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Susan Villelli, founder and board president at the nonprofit, said the organization was able to raise all the lost funding and more after an Idaho Gives campaign, and the support of the local North Idaho community.
“We have not lost any programs, or canceled anything due to the FlipCause case, and because our budget is now back to its original design for 2025, it’s full steam ahead with everything as planned, including new projects,” she said.
There is a new wrinkle in the bankruptcy case which could allow these nonprofits to recoup some of their losses after all. Last month, Jeffrey T. Testa, the trustee for FlipCause, asked a Delaware court to convert the case to Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and the motion was granted.
“The trustee has been given the authority to try to claw back some of that money for the nonprofits,” Heidi K. Abegg, a lawyer in Washington D.C. who has clients who are owed money by FlipCause.
Terenzio-Moody said she plans to look into her legal options in light of the new developments, and Villelli said her nonprofit is going to fight for whatever funding they can recapture through the legal system.
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