Fish and Game is reopening Horsethief Campground to day use immediately, after regional staff were informed that fire crews no longer have a need to use the campground. The campground will remain closed to overnight camping for the remainder of the season. 

With the day use closure lifted, anglers should also be aware that Horsethief Reservoir will be receiving 7,500 catchable (12-inch) rainbow trout in September.

Fish and Game staff previously closed Horsethief Campground to day use and overnight camping on Aug. 16 the request of fire operations personnel, as firefighters worked to protect the area from the Snag Fire.

IDAHO FALLS -– Idaho Falls Power announced Monday it is negotiating an agreement with Aalo Atomics, a nuclear engineering company, to purchase clean energy for Idaho Falls in the near future.

The agreement allows Idaho Falls Power to eventually purchase energy from Aalo’s Idaho Falls Project, according to a news release from the city.

The project is part of the company’s mission to generate low-cost nuclear energy from reactors small enough to fit in a garage.

“The electric utility industry is facing major challenges meeting demands, while still maintaining affordable reliable service. Aalo’s innovative approach to advanced nuclear with no emissions appears to have the right risk and economics for our utility to take this next step,” said Bear Prairie, general manager of Idaho Falls Power.

Aalo’s work is inspired by Idaho National Laboratory’s MARVEL reactor, which Yasir Arafat, Aalo’s Chief Technology Officer, envisioned.

RELATED | Fabrication underway for the MARVEL test microreactor

The MARVEL reactor is currently under construction at INL’s Transient Reactor Test Facility. When completed, it will demonstrate micro-reactor applications at test-scale for the first time in decades.

RELATED | How a naval proving ground became a national lab that’s ‘changing the world’s energy future’

“Aalo is excited to explore a partnership with Idaho Falls Power, toward deploying a fleet of seven commercial Aalo-1 reactors. Our product is a great fit for the area, given the perfect match in power output and innovative inherent safety features,” said Matt Loszak, CEO of Aalo Atomics in the release. “We’re honored to be considered for the opportunity to deploy new nuclear technology in this region, which famously helped kickstart the First Atomic Age in the 1950s and 60s.”

REATED | INL’s MARVEL engineer develops nuclear test reactor at lightning speed

Under the agreement, Aalo would lease land for the life of the project, up to 80 years, at Idaho Falls Power’s new Energy Research Park, where the peaking plant is currently under construction, says the release. With design, approval and construction, Aalo’s Idaho Falls Project is not expected to come online before 2030.

“Idaho Falls Power is no stranger to innovation and this utility has always been interested in developing the smartest possible energy resources for the public. A partnership with Aalo whereby we provide space for modeling and development at our Energy Research Park while it develops and proves its technology at INL just makes sense,” said Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Casper in the release. “The potential benefits are highly significant. There is simply no downside to supporting energy development here in eastern Idaho. That’s just in our community’s DNA.”

Editor’s note: The Athlete of the Week feature will be a weekly series highlighting the many standout athletes of eastern Idaho.

IDAHO FALLS — For as long as she can remember, Grace Fuger has been an athlete. She grew up playing numerous sports, but it was volleyball that stuck.

Now, the Idaho Falls High School senior is just a few months shy of an early graduation. After that, her volleyball journey will take her to Texas, where she will join a Baylor University team currently ranked 18th in the NCAA.

“(Volleyball) felt like something that I could really be myself in, and really express myself,” she told EastIdahoNews.com. “I love the way I am when I play volleyball, it makes me a better person.”

Fuger plays libero — the player on the court wearing a different-colored jersey. The libero’s job is to focus on defense, specifically receiving serves and passing hits from the opposition. She does not play at the net and, on some teams, would not be used for serving.

Fuger explained that because her job is to focus on passing, it is important that she is as perfect as possible when she is passing, digging, or chasing a free ball.

“You really only get noticed when you’re either doing really good and getting those one-armed digs, or you’re doing really bad,” she said.

Fuger has helped her Tigers get off to a 7-4-1 start, including a Sept. 11 win over Skyline in their conference opener.

Fuger was in fifth grade when she decided to pursue volleyball. With her team needing a coach, her father, Bill Fuger, who had never played volleyball before, accepted the responsibility. The decision, he said, was one made out of necessity, but it did not take long for him to realize his daughter had outgrown his knowledge of the game.

“At her early age, I did OK,” Bill said. “But I knew by the time Grace was in the sixth grade that she was past my abilities to coach her.”

Now, rather than coaching, he gets to sit in the bleachers and marvel at the effort Grace puts into every play.

Having to “play up” — with girls older than her — from an early age, Bill said, Grace adopted the mantra, “never let the ball drop.” Seven years later, she still plays with that approach.

“You’ll see her flying into the bleachers — she’s toned it down a little bit now, but she still will get after it,” he said.

As her time with the Idaho Falls volleyball team winds to an end, so too does her time in Idaho Falls.

Grace will graduate early in January before heading to Baylor, where she will be taking college classes before her 18th birthday — in March. She received a walk-on invite from the Baylor volleyball team but admits she bobbled her recruiting.

Coming from a small area, Grace realizes now that she should have been hounding coaching and scouts, rather than waiting for them to find her. Still, despite the limited visibility she received from programs across the country, Fuger received an invite to a camp at Baylor — where she said she “balled out.”

“They loved my passion and energy,” she said.

A devout Christian, her “interesting” recruitment landed her in the perfect situation. She realized during a conversation with head volleyball coach Ryan McGuyre, during which they discussed how “God is always the head recruiting coordinator.”

“God picked Baylor for me,” Grace said. “I’m meant to be there.”

On the court, Fuger said she plays with “confidence and swagger.” Off the court, she is trying to establish a reputation and footprint of visibility.

“For me, it’s all about making a name for myself. I’d like to think I’m doing a good job — I post a lot on TikTok and, actually, just hit 100K followers.”

With her love for social media interactions and brand development, Grace will major in business marketing.

“There’s just a lot of pathways that I can go with that,” she said.

And her family is already planning monthly — “at least” — trips to Texas to see Grace play, along with trips to any regional schools Baylor will visit.

“We’re definitely planning on hitting a lot of the different cities that she’ll be playing in,” Bill said.

Grace plans to “set (her) roots” in Texas after college rather than return to Idaho.