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Recent legislation leads to new health care policies for teenagers in Idaho – East Idaho News

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Recent legislation leads to new health care policies for teenagers in Idaho – East Idaho News


POCATELLO — Public health officials are announcing how a recently passed state bill could affect teenagers who seek medical care.

The legislation that’s prompted this is Idaho Senate Bill 1329, which was signed March 21 and makes it so that minors who go seeking nonemergent, life-threatening medical care will no longer be able to receive it without in-person parental consent.

Southeast Idaho Public Health put out a release on May 8, announcing that its policies would have to change, just like every health care provider, to meet the requirements of the legislation.

“We’re going to be pretty rigorous about how we evaluate parental permission because we don’t want to violate this new statute,” said District Director Maggie Mann.

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Before this legislation, Idaho law allowed for a health care provider to provide care for patients over the age of 14 if they were assessed to have the maturity and cognitive ability to seek it on their own. This law overrides this, while also allowing a parent or guardian to access their dependent’s health records.

The public health district offers a variety of services a minor might need, such as counseling, reproductive health care, vaccines and more.

A provider perceived as to have failed to comply with this law could be subject to private lawsuits.

Mann expressed concern for how the new law would affect vaccination efforts.

The district has historically done vaccination clinics at high schools, and how they worked before was that a child would take a parental permission slip home and bring it back in order to be vaccinated. The district will continue to run the clinics, but parents will have to come to the school in person to give consent for their child to be vaccinated.

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“Parents really rely on those because they work, and they can’t always take time away to get a kid into an appointment,” Mann said.

Mann specified that it was the norm for all health care providers in Idaho to provide care to teenagers 14 and older as long as they were deemed as capable.

The public health district also, “always strongly encouraged parental communication about health care seeking,” but said that there were some circumstances where kids don’t feel safe to talk to a parent or guardian about a need.

Mann said that when some teenagers make the choice to become sexually active, and they could choose to not seek contraception to avoid their parents finding out. This could bring about an unplanned pregnancy or an STD. They could also choose not to seek counseling even if they’re struggling.

“That’s probably our major area of concern, is kids for whom the dynamics of the relationship are such that it might place them in some kind of jeopardy to have a conversation about this,” Mann said.

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Mann emphasized that situations where a minor came forward to seek services without their parent knowing was rare.

“In most households, those conversations are happening, which is great, but there are a handful of families for whom those conversations are either just super uncomfortable or could potentially place the person in some kind of harm,” Mann said.

Mann said that Southeast Idaho Public Health encourages minors to approach their parents or guardians with any health issues that they’re having.

“Sometimes we build up in our minds that a conversation is going to be a certain way, but we don’t really know,” Mann said. “So we just really encourage those kids to have those conversations with their parents.”

Eastern Idaho Public Health offered the same advice in a statement.

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“Eastern Idaho Public Health has always encouraged parents talking with their children about their health, and will continue to promote education and further discussion in order to make positive and healthy choices throughout their lives,” said James Corbett, director at Eastern Idaho Public Health.

Children or teenagers in an unsafe situation can find help with the Rise Up Youth Crisis Center, at 1140 Science Center Drive in Idaho Falls, which can be reached by phone at (208) 826-0994.

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Idaho is in for a streak of clear skies next week

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Idaho is in for a streak of clear skies next week


After a round of showers came through this week, the Gem State is staying dry and clear for next week.

Temperatures finally started to feel winter-like as we take a tumble this weekend. Consistent 40’s the highs, and 20’s the lows.

Conditions on the valley floors are not expected to get past the mid 40’s. Showers appear to be nonexistent for the next 7 to 10 days.

We will also see some air stagnation in our area, meaning that as a high-pressure ridge moves in, not too much change is expected in the air. So, air quality may take a bit of a fall.

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Not much more than cold and dry air is on the way for Idaho, but at least the sun will shine for most of the forecast.

Have a great weekend and stay warm!





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Interstate 84 near Mountain Home back open after utility work

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Interstate 84 near Mountain Home back open after utility work


MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — Interstate 84 near Mountain Home is back open after crews closed the freeway due to utility work.

Crews closed westbound and eastbound lanes on Saturday morning from milepost 90 to milepost 95 due to Idaho Power working on power lines in the area, according to the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office. All lanes are now back open in both directions.

The sheriff’s office and the Mountain Home Police Department apologized for the inconvenience, saying they were just informed of the closure on Saturday morning.

More information regarding road closures and traffic conditions can be found at the Idaho Transportation Department’s 511 map.

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Idaho murder victims’ families file wrongful death lawsuit against Washington State University

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Idaho murder victims’ families file wrongful death lawsuit against Washington State University


The families of the four University of Idaho students killed in a brutal 2022 stabbing attack have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Washington State University (WSU), alleging the school ignored repeated warning signs about Bryan Kohberger.

The civil complaint, filed Jan. 7 in Skagit County Superior Court, was brought by Steve Goncalves, father of Kaylee Goncalves; Karen Laramie, mother of Madison Mogen; Jeffrey Kernodle, father of Xana Kernodle; and Stacy Chapin, mother of Ethan Chapin.

The lawsuit accuses WSU of gross negligence, wrongful death and violations of federal education laws, including Title IX. The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified monetary damages.

Attorney Robert Clifford, senior partner at Clifford Law Offices, said that the decision to leave damages “unspecified” is a strategic norm in high-stakes litigation because it prevents the focus from shifting towards sensationalism and keeps the decision firmly in the hands of the jury.

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“Ultimately, that’s to be determined and answered by the jury,” said Clifford, who is not involved in the lawsuit. “But you have some compelling facts and the liability is going to depend on the strength of what the school knew.”

The brother and parents of Kaylee Goncalves speak after Bryan Kohberger’s sentencing hearing at the Ada County Courthouse on July 23, 2025. Reuters
Bryan Kohberger in police custody after his arrest in December 2022. Moscow Police Department
Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were found dead inside an off-campus apartment in Moscow, Idaho.

Despite Kohberger’s guilty plea in the murders, Clifford explained the civil case remains strong because the families face a lower burden of proof – requiring only a preponderance of evidence to establish the university’s liability.

“The mere fact that he pled guilty might not even be admissible in the civil proceeding because he’s not the defendant, right? If he is a defendant in the civil proceeding, then his plea of guilty will be important. And indeed, this school might try to use that to say, ‘See, it wasn’t our fault. He admits that it was his fault.’ But the bar is different for someone in a criminal proceeding than it is in a civil proceeding.”

According to the lawsuit, WSU hired Kohberger as a teaching assistant in its criminal justice and criminology department and provided him with a salary, tuition benefits, health insurance and on-campus housing.

The victims’ families allege the university had extensive authority over Kohberger’s conduct but failed to act despite mounting concerns.

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Here’s the latest coverage on Bryan Kohberger:


The complaint says WSU received at least 13 formal reports accusing Kohberger of threatening, stalking, harassing or predatory behavior toward female students and staff during the fall 2022 semester. The families argue university officials did not meaningfully investigate those complaints or remove Kohberger from campus before the murders – even though they had the authority to do so.

The lawsuit also alleges that the university failed to use its own threat-assessment systems designed to identify individuals who pose a risk of violence, even as concerns about Kohberger escalated. Instead, the families claim, the university continued to employ him, house him and give him access to students.

“The murders were foreseeable and preventable,” the complaint states, alleging WSU prioritized avoiding legal and reputational risk over student safety.

Madison Mogen’s mother, Karen Laramie, and stepfather, Scott Laramie, leave the courthouse after Bryan Kohberger’s sentencing hearing. Reuters
Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, on July 23, 2025. Getty Images

The lawsuit also alleges broad failures within the public university, including alleged dysfunction within campus police and compliance officers who are responsible for handling accusations of misconduct, including sexual harassment and stalking.

Kohberger pleaded guilty in July 2025 to four counts of first-degree murder and burglary. He was sentenced to four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.

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Prosecutors said Kohberger stabbed the four students in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, inside an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, just miles from the WSU campus in Pullman, Washington.

Karen Laramie, mother of Madison Mogan, and Kristi Goncalves, Kaylee Goncalves’ mother, embrace after the sentencing hearing for their daughters’ murderer. Reuters
Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania in December 2022 following a multi-state investigation.

Authorities linked him to the crime through DNA evidence, surveillance video and cellphone data showing repeated late-night trips near the victims’ home.

WSU has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit. Fox News Digital has reached out to WSU for comment.

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