Idaho
'We're the garbage fairies unfortunately': Idaho National Guard and volunteers clean up trash in NCA
KUNA, Idaho — The Idaho National Guard, with the help of volunteers from a variety of organizations, held a trash cleanup event in the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (NCA). The National Conservation Area is littered with trash and debris from visitors of the public lands.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
“You know, we joke about there not being a garbage fairy out there that comes and cleans up, but we’re the garbage fairies, unfortunately,” says Casey O’Connell, who is volunteering to pick up trash with the Birds of Prey NCA Partnership.
“If we don’t do it, it’s just going to keep building up and eventually become a pretty tremendous problem,” says O’Connell.
The National Conservation Area is home to the largest population of nesting birds of prey in North America, as well as the Orchard Combat Training Center, which the Idaho National Guard uses for military training.
“We’ve provided four industrial size dumpsters, as well as the porta-johns to help support people,” says Lieutenant Colonel Allan Whitehead of the Idaho National Guard. He worked to coordinate this cleanup event.
“Events like this are really helpful to be able to clean up some of that debris, help lessen the impact on either military training or environmental conservation, and really it’s a win-win for both efforts,” Whitehead said.
“It just looks poor on the landscape and then people see that and they say ‘Oh it’s okay to do this,’ and it reinforces that it’s okay to dump trash, when I think a lot of us know that it’s not,” says Steve Alsup, the President of the Birds of Prey NCA Partnership.
He tells me that events like this set a good example for how people should treat these public lands.
“People come out here to recreate, to see what beautiful natural resources are out here and we don’t want the first thing they see to be a big pile of trash,” Alsup said. “Someone’s whole living room set is out here.”
“We’ll probably continue to do these more often, because the cost to the organization is very low,” added Whitehead. “But the impact of the efforts of the public and other volunteers is immense.”
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) —Students from across the Magic Valley visited with the Idaho Supreme Court on Wednesday to observe the judicial process during an actual appeal hearing.
The visit was part of a state and constitutional mandate requiring the court to hear appeals in different parts of the state. The session also provided an educational opportunity for local high school students and teachers.
The Idaho Judicial Branch considers education a priority when conducting these regional sessions.
“We take education as a very serious goal here in the judicial branch. We believe it’s important for people to understand why we have a court system,” said Nate Poppino, Court Communications Manager for the Idaho Judicial Branch.
Students sat through the appeal hearing and had the opportunity to ask the justices questions afterward.
Ian Knudson, a senior at Castleford High School who is considering a career in law, said the experience helped him understand both the court system and citizens’ rights.
“I’ve always been curious what it’s like. Because I know it’s not like the shows, like the suits, I love that show. But I know it’s not the same, and I just was really curious how judges act, how they talk,” Knudson said.
Knudson said the experience reinforced the importance of understanding the legal system.
“It’s important to understand somewhere that you might have to end up in. Say you make a mistake, or you’re at the wrong place, wrong time, or you get a ticket. It’s important to understand your rights and the rights of other people,” he said.
The judicial branch encourages public attendance at court proceedings as part of its educational mission.
“You know, court, by and large, is open to the public and you could just go down to your local courthouse and sit in on a hearing and get a sense of how these things work,” Poppino said.
The courthouse visit strengthened Knudson’s interest in pursuing a legal career.
“I think I’d show a lot of sympathy for people. And that way I could be a lawyer and show sympathy for the person that I’m defending,” he said.
Copyright 2025 KMVT. All rights reserved.
Idaho
Aberdeen advances in 3A, Teton eliminated in 4A as football round one concludes Saturday – East Idaho News
ABERDEEN — The Idaho High School Football State Championships second-round fields are all set, after three winners advanced Saturday.
The Aberdeen Tigers, who earned an at-large bid into the 3A tournament after finishing third in the South East Idaho Conference with a 5-3 record, kept the wins coming with a 28-6 victory over Melba.
With the Aberdeen win, the second-round matchups are set in the 3A bracket:
- No. 1 Ririe will host No. 8 New Plymouth at the ICCU Dome at 5:30 p.m. Friday
- No. 5 Aberdeen will visit No. 4 Priest River. Day, time and location of that game has yet to be determined
- No. 2 West Side will host No. 7 West Jefferson. Day, time and location of that game has yet to be determined
- No. 3 North Fremont will travel to No. 6 Nampa Christian, who earned a first-round bye by winning their conference. Day, time and location of that game has yet to be determined
Teton knocked out
The 4A No. 11 seed Teton Timberwolves could not pull off the upset, losing to No. 6 Weiser, 47-21.
With that outcome, the 4A bracket’s second round is also set:
- No. 2 Sugar-Salem will host No. 7 Snake River. That game will be played at the ICCU Dome at 8:15 on Friday.
- No. 5 American Falls will visit No. 4 Kimberly. Day, time and location of that game has yet to be determined
All other state football bracket information can be found here.
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