News, Sports & Weather 10/23/2024

Fire destroyed a large storage shed in Rogerson last night.  The fire was reported just after 5 along 2300 east.  Several explosions were reported.  The building was completely destroyed.  No injuries were reported. 

Idaho’s unemployment rate has ticked up again, month over month this year.  The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate went up .1% in September to 3.6%.   Overall, the labor force increased by 4,019 people to 989,744 the labor force participation rate increased from 63.1% to 63.2%.  Total employment in the Gem State increased by 3,184 people to 953,973, while unemployment increased by 835 people to 35,771 or 2.4%.

The State of Idaho’s Empowering Parents grant program is now open for this school year.  The program helps families with students ages 5-18 pay for school-related expenses, with grants of up to $1,000 per eligible student or $3,000 per family.  The money can be spent on a variety of education-related products including computer hardware, software, instructional materials, and tutoring.

Idaho’s top federal attorney is promoting its election complaints program ahead of the Nov. 5 general election.  Several assistant U.S. attorneys will lead efforts to oversee election complaints like for fraud, abuse or interference.  Idaho is covered by the Salt Lake City FBI field office.

Transparent Idaho, a website managed by the Idaho State Controller’s Office, is offering new features for the public to navigate data on Idaho’s 198 cities. Rather than visiting separate websites it allows Idahoans to easily view data across multiple cities on one website.

An Arizona judge has granted a request to evaluate Lori Vallow’s competency.  That means her Arizona Trial date has been vacated.  She was convicted in Idaho last year for her role in the deaths of her children.  She faces further charges in Arizona.

SPORTS

One month after a $4 million jury verdict, attorneys in the Big City Coffee-Boise State University lawsuit have filed dueling motions in court.  The latest legal maneuvering leaves the Sept. 13 jury verdict on hold.  Jurors sided with Big City Coffee owner Sarah Jo Fendley and awarded her $4 million in damages. Attorneys for the university administrators had vowed to appeal the jury verdict.

Some local high school volleyball teams are headed to state following the district championship games from last night.  Number 1 ranked Carey downed Number 2 Dietrich 3 to 0.   Madison told Canyon Ridge no way 3 to 0.  Twin Falls 3 Wood River 0.  Twin Falls heads to state while Wood River will host Burley today.  The winner advances to the conference championship against Twin Falls.  It was Kimberly 3 Filer 1.  Buhl 3 Gooding 0.  Gooding is eliminated.  Filer downed Buhl 3 to 1.  Buhl is eliminated.  Hagerman 3 Valley 1.  Hagerman will advance to the championship tomorrow against Oakley.  Valley will play Sun Valley.  Oakley defeated Shoshone.  Oakley advances to the championship tomorrow against Hagerman while Shoshone plays Murtaugh.  Murtaugh downed Lighthouse Christian 3 to 1.  Lighthouse is eliminated.  Sun Valley Community school defeated Raft River 3 to 1 eliminating the trojans.  It was Richfield 3 Castleford 0 and Hansen 3 Camas County 0 eliminating the mushers.

The Idaho Vandal women’s soccer team wraps up the 2024 regular season this week when it visits Northern Colorado on Oct. 27 at noon PT. Sunday’s game will be streamed on ESPN+. The Vandals have won three straight in the series with the Bears, and are 8-4-2 in the all-time series, including 3-2 in Greeley, Colo.

WEATHER

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 70. East southeast wind around 6 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon.

Tonight: Rain likely, mainly before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 35. Breezy, with a west wind 8 to 13 mph increasing to 18 to 23 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 39 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Thursday:  Sunny, with a high near 51. West southwest wind 6 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.

Thursday Night:  Mostly clear, with a low around 29. Light and variable wind.

Friday:  Sunny, with a high near 63. East wind 5 to 8 mph.

Friday Night:  Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40.

Saturday:  Sunny, with a high near 71.

Saturday Night:  Partly cloudy, with a low around 41.

Sunday:  Sunny, with a high near 67.

Sunday Night:  A 20 percent chance of rain. Partly cloudy, with a low around 36.

Monday:  A 20 percent chance of rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 50.

Monday Night:  A 20 percent chance of rain. Partly cloudy, with a low around 30.

Tuesday:  A 20 percent chance of rain. Mostly sunny, with a high near 44.