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Youth group exposed to rabies during girl's camp in Idaho

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Youth group exposed to rabies during girl's camp in Idaho


SODA SPRINGS, ID – A girl’s camp experience gone awry.

The Bear River Health Department said a group of young women from Box Elder County were staying at a cabin at Camp Chi-Keena in Soda Springs, Idaho that was apparently infested with multiple bats.

Karen Valcarce with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services said about 10-15% of bats test positive for rabies in Utah every year, so any time there’s a mass exposure, they take immediate action.

“Rabies is a disease that affects the nervous system of both humans and animals. It is virtually 100% fatal in humans once you develop symptoms. That’s why we treat any potential exposure as a serious risk,” she said.

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Valcarce said actual cases of rabies are rare. The last case of rabies in Utah was in 2018, the first in the state since 1944.

“We rarely see rabies in humans in Utah,” Valcarce said. “In fact, in the United States, typically only about 1-2 cases are reported every year.”

Rabies can be spread through a bite or scratch from an infected animal. A person can experience flu-like symptoms like fever, headache, or nausea, which will then progress to neurological symptoms.

“Don’t wait until you have symptoms to get treated for rabies,” Valcarce said.

That treatment involves human rabies immunoglobulin and a four-dose series of vaccines over a period of about two weeks.

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Jordan Mathis with the Bear River Health Department told KSL TV that the youth group is currently getting treated and there is no risk to the overall public.

If you have contact with a bat or another animal that could potentially have rabies, call your health department right away to assess your risk. Don’t try to remove the animal yourself – call animal control to capture it.

For more information on rabies, including an exposure assessment tool, visit rabies.utah.gov.



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Idaho AG warns Idaho renters about growing scam targetting home seekers

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Idaho AG warns Idaho renters about growing scam targetting home seekers


Photo: Margaret Carmel/BoiseDev. The Idaho Attorney General’s Office is warning renters to be on the lookout for a scam that’s becoming more common in fast-growing housing markets like Idaho. Attorney General Raúl Labrador issued a warning Tuesday about scammers creating fake rental listings to take advantage of Idaho’s fast-growing housing market and renters moving in […]



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Bond revoked for indicted Idaho mother

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Bond revoked for indicted Idaho mother


PAYETTE — A Payette mom’s bond was revoked Tuesday after she was charged with suffocating her twin children earlier this month and is believed to pose a danger to the life of her newborn child.

The case, which has drawn national headlines, concerns Andrea Renee Shaw, a 23-year-old Payette mother who in May 2025 said her 18-month-old fraternal twins died the same day, after receiving routine childhood vaccinations. In January, Shaw joined as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed by Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with several other plaintiffs claiming vaccine injury or death.

Kennedy, who now serves as secretary of Health and Human Services, is no longer part of the group after taking on the cabinet position, as was reported by the Associated Press.

In Idaho, the twins’ deaths prompted a 14-month investigation by the Payette County Sheriff’s Department. On June 29, the investigation yielded a grand jury indictment of Shaw on two counts of first-degree murder by suffocation. If convicted, Shaw can be punished by up to life in prison or the death penalty, and the court would have the ability to order the penalties be served consecutively, or back to back.

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Tuesday’s arraignment at the Payette County Courthouse was primarily attended by Shaw’s relatives and members of the media. Payette County Judge Kiley Stuchlik, who serves Idaho’s Third Judicial District, presided.

A key consideration for Stuchlik on Tuesday was a request from Joseph Filicetti, the legal counsel for Shaw, to have her bond reduced from $2 million to $100,000. Filicetti said this would allow for Shaw to care for a newborn girl, who, according to court documents, was born by caesarean section on June 25, four days prior to Shaw’s grand jury indictment.

State prosecutors objected to the motion for bond reduction, noting at hand was a potential death penalty case and asserting, unlike her husband, Shaw’s story repeatedly changed during questioning. Prosecuting Attorney Mike Duke said releasing Shaw would ultimately put the newborn’s safety at risk.

“That child is the most at risk. We do not think she should be allowed to be anywhere near any children, let alone her own children,” Duke said.

Stuchlik decided to revoke bond entirely, stating Shaw posed a “risk of safety” to the newborn child that was not known to Stuchlik or prosecutors when the $2 million bond was initially set.

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Also for consideration Tuesday was a request to have grand jury transcripts of witness testimony provided to prosecutors and defense counsel to prepare their respective cases.



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Idaho is home to the nation's first DarkSky Reserve. Now it's home to the nations first DarkSky Certified Resort

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Idaho is home to the nation's first DarkSky Reserve. Now it's home to the nations first DarkSky Certified Resort


Photo: Courtesy Sun Valley Resort Idaho is already home to the nation’s first DarkSky Reserve. Now, Sun Valley Resort is adding another first. The resort has become the first in the United States to earn DarkSky Certified Resort status through DarkSky International’s Approved Lodging Program, recognizing the resort’s efforts to reduce light pollution and protect […]



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