Officer Eli Kistemann was honored as the Idaho Falls Police Department MVP by the Greater Idaho Falls Police Foundation Thursday afternoon. | Jordan Wood, EastIdahoNews.com

IDAHO FALLS — Officer Eli Kistemann was honored as the Idaho Falls Police Department MVP by the Greater Idaho Falls Police Foundation Thursday afternoon.

Kistemann has been a police officer for around five years and works night shift with the department.

“Officer Kistemann has been a shining example of proactive police work during the last few months. His efforts lead to 24 arrests in
June alone,” the nomination said. “Officer Kistemann is committed to finding those in our community that would do it harm and consistently removes unwanted elements like drugs and criminal activity from our city.”

Kistemann was one of five law enforcement officers from the Idaho Falls region honored during the awards ceremony at Melaleuca. MVP awards were presented to an Idaho Falls Police officer, Bonneville County Sheriff’s deputy, and Idaho State Police trooper. A Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award was also presented, along with a Valor Award.

RELATED | Jail sergeant honored for helping inmates continue education and overcome addictions

Family members, colleagues, elected representatives and friends honored the officers for their work as videos were shown featuring interviews with each recipient and their supervisors.

EastIdahoNews.com will share each of the videos over the next five days beginning today. You can watch the entire awards ceremony here.

COEUR d’ALENE — A panel of medical professionals addressed community concerns about the rise of fentanyl use in North Idaho on Thursday.  

About 50 people attended to listen to a discussion of “The Escalating Threat of Fentanyl in North Idaho” at North Idaho College, which was put on by the Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber, NIC and Kootenai Health.  

While the law enforcement side of the battle against fentanyl was discussed during a similar panel in May, Thursday’s panel focused on the impact of fentanyl being seen in North Idaho’s schools and by local medical specialists.  

Debbie Critchfield, the superintendent of public instruction in Idaho, described how fentanyl is “the No. 1 issue” many schools in rural Idaho are facing — but many parents still argue that fentanyl isn’t prevalent in the area.  

“We have to have our parents, our community on board,” said Critchfield. Currently, Critchfield’s office is conducting a survey in communities across the state to better assess what is needed to combat fentanyl in Idaho schools.  

An agreement has also been reached with Idaho State Police to hold informational events in school districts and communities that request them.  

“We can’t expect student behavior to change unless we change the behavior of the adults,” said Critchfield. So far, three Idaho school districts have requested such events.  

The medical professional panelists described observing a similar “crisis level” situation in their practices.  

Dr. Ben Milam, an addiction medicine doctor with Kootenai Health, described how “100% of patients” that he sees are struggling with fentanyl.  

“Fentanyl is basically the only thing available on the street,” said Milam. “Drugs are not what they used to be. They’re much more dangerous.”  

Milam also pointed out that there is no specific demographic with higher rates of fentanyl addiction.  

“Fentanyl is indiscriminate of age, sex, gender, social class … it’s everywhere,” Milam said. 

The panelists also highlighted the importance of Narcan, an over-the-counter drug that can reverse an overdose by blocking opioid receptors in the body. Dr. Kate Aguirre, a family medicine provider at Marimn Health, emphasized that administering Narcan to an unconscious person could save their life.  

“If they’re not using, it’s not going to hurt them. If they are using, it could save their life,” Aguirre said.  

Multiple Narcan vending machines can be found throughout Kootenai County — there is also one located in Shoshone County. 

Dave Atkins, the chief behavioral health officer for Heritage Health, said “people, place, and purpose” are key protective factors for those fighting addiction.  

“We’re social creatures — we need connection,” Atkins said.  

Some community members also shared their stories of losing loved ones to fentanyl use.  

“It’s real, and no one is exempt from it,” one woman said.

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The Idaho Fire Marshall and federal agencies are investigating Thursday’s explosion at a northern Idaho gas station.

As of this afternoon, two remain unaccounted for, and two others are badly burned.

The explosion at the Atkinson Distributing Station in Cardiff was reported just after 3 p.m. local time on Thursday.

The two people with severe burns were flown by air ambulance to a hospital in a nearby city.

More people were believed to be inside the building, but the fire was still burning late that night, and no additional details were released.

Copyright 2024 KMVT. All rights reserved.