TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The first day of school is one short weekend away and the State Department of Education is reminding drivers to be alert and drive safely around school busses.

In order to promote better student safety when taking the bus, the state legislature passed a bill to increase fines for drivers passing the bus while the stop arm is out and kids are getting on or off.

Idaho’s transportation staff both old and new also had the opportunity to attend a conference where they gained hands-on experience in their respective roles.

The student transportation director spoke about how these two things align with the program’s mission.

“The goal of the Idaho Department of Education’s Student Transportation Program is to support school districts and charter schools by providing technical training, financial reimbursement training and student transportation safety training,” said Ali Stolzman, of the State Department of Education.

In the past few years, the State Department of Education has noticed an increase in the amount of people not following proper bus stop rules which is why the bill was passed, and Stolzman also issued another reminder for drivers.

“I think the biggest thing is with the first day of school approaching drivers are once again going to be sharing the road with our school busses and our biggest concern this time of year is inattentive drivers and speeding. Most of our stop arm violations that we see statewide encounter these actions so we at the state in supporting our school districts, ask that Idaho drivers slow down and stop when the school bus stop arm is out,” Stolzman said.

The bill also gave the State Department of Education administrative rights to the school bus camera fund to support local law enforcement agencies in securing convictions for bus stop arm violations.

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Investigators have arrested an Idaho resident on suspicion of murdering a San Rafael woman in 1973, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday.

Michael Eugene Mullen, 75, was linked by DNA evidence to the case of Nina Fischer, who was slain at her home on Point San Pedro Road. Fischer was 31 years old.

Authorities booked Mullen into the Lemhi County jail in Idaho, where he awaits court proceedings for an extradition to California.

The victim’s husband, Gunnar Fischer, found her body after coming home in the evening from his office in San Francisco, authorities reported at the time. She had been bound, gagged and shot twice.

Investigators found no sign of forced entry into the home. The Fischers’ 2-year-old daughter was found unharmed and napping in another room.

The Fischers were Swedish nationals who had lived in the Bay Area for three years. They had plans to move into a San Francisco apartment.

Gunnar was an executive for Corona Industries International Corp. He attempted to call his wife several times on the day she was found dead.

Neighbors last saw Fischer in her yard, where she spoke with a moving crew that delivered a shipment container for her.

“The case was investigated but eventually, unfortunately, went cold, due to a lack of investigative leads,” the sheriff’s office stated Thursday.

In 2021, Marin County sheriff’s detectives submitted the case to the state Department of Justice’s familial search program to help find leads. Within a few months, state authorities gave them a lead, reviving the investigation.

Investigators used DNA evidence collected from the crime scene, sheriff’s Sgt. Adam Schermerhorn said. He said investigators know of no prior connection between Mullen and the victim.

The sheriff’s office credited the Idaho State Police, the Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office, the Marin County District Attorney’s Office, the California Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for assistance on the case.

IDAHO FALLS — Crews are working to restore electricity to some 2,600 Idaho Falls Power customers Thursday evening.

The power outage started at about 5:30 p.m. and impacts the center sections of Idaho Falls.

The outage is due to a downed power line on Russet Street, according to city spokesman Eric Grossarth. The cause of the downed line is suspected to be stormy weather.

There is no estimate on when power will be restored to the area.

Officials are asking residents to avoid the area of the downed line.

EastIdahoNews.com will update this article if more details are released.