Stories from Wednesday, December 31, 2025

The certified results involving the Elmore County elections held last month remained in place following a judicial review held last week. Following a hand count conducted at the request of Secretary of State Phil McGrane and Elmore County Clerk Shelley Essl last month, District Judge Theodore Fleming completed this review in accordance with state law...

The state’s former superintendent of public instruction claimed honors last week following her selection as the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ teacher of the year. Sherri Ybarra, who now serves as a third-grade teacher at Stephensen Elementary School at Mountain Home Air Force Base, gained recognition after earning local honors before claiming this year’s district-level title...

Crime and punishment highlighted the top stories involving the Mountain Home community over the past 12 months as part of a yearly review conducted by the Mountain Home News last week. Feedback from the newspaper's staff agreed the number of felony charges against the leader of a community church as well as the arrests of a father and daughter in connection with a murder investigation in Prairie gained the most attention by readers in the Mountain Home community...

After everything that’s happened over the past 12 months, I was starting to wonder if we’d get through this year with any survivors. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a year in which so many noteworthy people had died. At one point, I kindly joked we needed to start placing our beloved celebrities in bubble wrap to protect them from the Wrath of 2025. After we lost actor Gil Gerard earlier this month, I’m thinking maybe we actually should’ve done that...

Looking to help its students prepare for challenges associated with various construction professions, Richard McKenna Charter High School recently received a state-level grant to support its classes that focus on these workforce requirements. The $50,000 micro grant provided through the Idaho Career Ready Students Program aims to help the charter school enhance its construction trades program by purchasing needed tools and additional supplies to support this classroom, said Erin Hartman, a spokesperson with the local charter school district.. ...

Dear editor, Aging gracefully by making the most of your later life adventures is my thesis for this issue. In 1990, life expectancy in the United States was only 47 years. Today, thanks to improved sanitation, disease control and nutrition, most newborns can expect to live about 30 years longer...

An ongoing drop in federal grant funding prompted the Elmore County Domestic Violence Council to start shutting down some of the services it provides to those in the local area while taking steps to pursue other financial support. “Due to changes in grant funding, we are struggling to keep operations open,” said Stephanie Plummer, case manager with the Elmore County Domestic Violence Council. ...

Mountain Home Fire Marshal Brian Reed introduces his grandchildren, Timber and Opie-Jo Downs, to Idaho State Fire Marshal Knute Sandahl during a ceremony held Dec. 19. The event at the Hampton Inn and Suites that afternoon celebrated Reed’s accomplishments during his 28-year career with the Mountain Home Fire Department that included his designation as the city’s first fire marshal back in 2013...