Idaho
Local chamber helps replace weathered American flag at Idaho Falls business – East Idaho News
IDAHO FALLS — A local business was gifted a new large American flag thanks to the generosity of the community and a chamber of commerce.
Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Paul Baker saw a Facebook post recently with a member of the community voicing concerns about a weathered flag flying above the Shilo Inn.
“I just kind of said, ‘We would offer our services to the Shilo.’ We just want to lend a helping hand in any way that we can,” Baker said.
He reached out to Shilo Inn General Manager Kirk Hansen and asked if the chamber could donate a new flag.
Baker bought a 10-by-15-foot flag that cost about $160.
“I think it’s a blessing in disguise having the folks living around here and see the flag on a daily basis,” Hansen said.
Hansen said the hotel goes through a number of flags and has to regularly replace them. The Idaho winds and winters make it challenging and often wear out the flags quickly.
On Monday, members of the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber Ambassador group, along with chamber staff, were invited to the Shilo Inn, walked onto the roof, and assisted in raising a new flag.
“It was really heartwarming. They (hotel staff) were really grateful that the community got involved and showed some love and support to them,” Baker said.
Baker took the old flag and will hand it over to a local Scout group to retire it correctly.
“That is the best and only way to retire an American flag. We are very thankful for them,” Hansen said. “A big kudos to the chamber for supporting the community.”
Baker said it was a simple yet special event that helped remind them of what is important in life and what makes this country a great and wonderful place to live and work.
Baker told EastIdahoNews.com that after helping replace the flag at the Shilo Inn, a number of people in the community have told the chamber about other businesses that have flags that are a bit worn and tattered.
So, it sparked an idea.
“We put on a 4th of July Parade, and so one of the things that we want to do is a flag drive this year,” Baker said.
He says people in the community can either donate money or a flag to the cause.
“We are saying to (local businesses), ‘If you’ve got old, worn flags and could use some help getting a new one, please reach out and let us know about it, and we can see what we can do to help.’ We are working with the local scout troops to ensure that the flags are retired correctly,” Baker said.
Hansen added he was very appreciative of the support and receiving a new American flag for the hotel.
“It’s very nice to be in a city that is growing so much but still has the small-town mentality of proud to be American and help each other out,” he said.
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Idaho
Gov. Little signs bill ending license plate registration stickers in Idaho
Gov. Brad Little has signed House Bill 533, which would remove the need for license plate stickers on Idaho vehicles.
The legislation, introduced earlier this session by Rep. Jon Weber (R) of Boise, eliminates the requirement for registration stickers on Idaho license plates. Weber stated during the bills intorduction that officers can verify the status of license plates without the stickers, potentially saving the state around $300,000.
During the bill’s introduction, some lawmakers argued that it could increase the workload for law enforcement.
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The new law is set to take effect in July.
Idaho
Idaho resolution opposing same-sex marriage advances
For the second year in a row, House lawmakers will consider urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
The nonbinding resolution, which carries no legal weight, says the decision in Obergefel v. Hodges violates the longstanding religious definition of marriage between one man and one woman.
“The current definition of marriage that allows for same-sex marriages is a defilement of the word marriage,” said Rep. Tony Wisniewski (R-Post Falls), who sponsors the measure.
The resolution further states that the Obergefel decision “arbitrarily and unjustly” rejects the historical definition of marriage.
Idaho voters passed a constitution amendment in 2006 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, which was invalidated by the Obergefel ruling.
Wisniewski said regulating marriages should be a power left to the states.
Rep. Brent Crane (R-Nampa) agrees.
“If you want to get things … closer to the people with respect to some of these more complex social issues, I think the best place for those things to happen is in the states,” Crane said.
Doing so is a risk, he said.
“You may have states that choose to acknowledge [polyamorous relationships]. You may have states that choose to have relationships between adults and younger children,” Crane said.
Cities in neighboring Oregon and Washington, for example, are considering giving those in polyamorous relationships legal recognition.
But he said that risk is worth it to allow other states that choose to only recognize traditional marriages.
Four lawmakers on the House State Affairs Committee opposed the resolution.
Rep. Erin Bingham (R-Idaho Falls) said she’s tried to balance her own religious beliefs with those of others while considering the measure.
“I do feel like that it is important for us to work together, to find ways to compromise and to live together in peace and mutual respect,” Bingham said.
The resolution now goes to the House floor for consideration.
House lawmakers last year passed a similar measure, but it never received a hearing in a Senate committee.
Copyright 2026 Boise State Public Radio
Idaho
University of Idaho professor awarded $10M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders
A University of Idaho professor won a $10 million judgment after a tarot TikTok influencer publicly pushed false claims that she was behind the savage quadruple slayings of four college students.
A Boise jury in US District Court ordered fortune-telling Texas TikToker Ashley Guillard on Friday to pay $10 million after concluding she falsely accused professor Rebecca Scofield of having a secret romance with one of the four victims and orchestrating their killings, the Idaho Statesman reported.
Following the verdict, Scofield thanked the jury and said she hopes the case sends a clear warning that making “false statements online have consequences in the real world.”
“The murders of the four students on November 13, 2022, were the darkest chapter in our university’s history,” Scofield told Fox News.
“Today’s decision shows that respect and care should always be granted to victims during these tragedies. I am hopeful that this difficult chapter in my life is over, and I can return to a more normal life with my family and the wonderful Moscow community.”
Scofield, the university’s history department chair, filed the lawsuit in December 2022 — just weeks after Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were brutally stabbed to death at an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.
Guillard began uploading videos to her more than 100,000 TikTok followers in late November 2022, accusing Scofield of a secret relationship with one of the students and claiming she had “ordered” the killings, garnering millions of views across the social media platform.
The complaint states that Scofield had never met the victims and was out of state when the murders occurred.
Even after being served with cease-and-desist letters and after police publicly confirmed Scofield had no connection to the murders, the Houston-based tarot reader continued posting videos, the history professor’s legal team argued.
Guillard doubled down on her accusations against Scofield after being sued, posting a defiant video saying, “I am not stopping,” and challenging why Scofield needed three lawyers to sue her “if she’s so innocent.”
The professor’s legal team argued the defamatory accusations painted her as a criminal and accused her of professional misconduct that could derail her career.
Bryan Kohberger, then studying criminology at Washington State University, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the quadruple murders in a deal that took the death penalty off the table. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences in Idaho.
In June 2024, Chief US Magistrate Judge Raymond Patricco found Guillard’s statements legally defamatory, leaving damages to be decided by a jury.
During the damages trial, Scofield described the anguish of seeing her name tied to the murders online, the Idaho Statesman reported.
However, Guillard, acting as her own attorney, insisted her comments were simply beliefs based on tarot card readings.
She claimed to have psychic powers and testified that she relied on tarot cards to try to solve the shocking homicides that shook the rural college town and sparked global attention.
It took jurors less than two hours to return their verdict, the outlet reported.
The jury awarded Scofield $7.5 million in punitive damages in addition to $2.5 million in compensatory damages.
With Post wires
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