Stories from Wednesday, January 14, 2026

After a snowstorm led to multiple slideoffs and accidents across southern Idaho last Thursday, representatives from the Idaho Department of Transportation outlined ways for people to stay safe when traveling on snow- and ice-covered roadways. “Preparation and situational awareness are two strategies to help ensure safe winter driving, not just for yourself but the other motorists on the road,” said Jill Youmans, a spokesperson with the state transportation department. ...

People in the Mountain Home community plan to reflect on the legacy of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his call for Americans to serve others during an event scheduled for Saturday. Sponsored by the Mountain Home Community Black History Committee, this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast begins at 9 a.m. that morning at the Elks Lodge, 325 South 3rd West St., with breakfast served at 9 a.m...

A former Mountain Home church pastor facing a felony count of sexual assault pled not guilty to this charge during his arraignment at the Elmore County Courthouse on Jan. 6. Gregory W. Jones, who served as the head of the Liberty Christian Fellowship Church in Mountain Home for more than 33 years, faces a felony count of forcible sexual penetration by use of a foreign object in which the victim was prevented from resistance due to the use of an intoxicating, narcotic or anesthetic substance...

I should’ve bet some good money on what was going to happen once the news got released last week involving the capture and arrest of Venezuelan politician Nicolás Maduro. While some networks showed the people of that nation gathering to rejoice he was no longer in power, it took barely any time for other news networks to start crying out in protest regarding Maduro’s arrest...

In 1863, the great novelist Jules Verne undertook perhaps his most ambitious project. He wrote a prophetic novel called “Paris in the Twentieth Century,” in which he applied the full power of his enormous talents to forecast the coming century, Unfortunately, the manuscript was lost in the midst of time until his great grandson accidentally stumbled upon it lying in a safe, where it had been carefully locked away for almost 130 years. ...

Gracie Allen, a sophomore at Mountain Home High School, works on a hand-drawn portrait of herself as well as her younger sister, Molly, as the student takes part in the Youth Art Show held Saturday at the high school. Families gathered at Lloyd Schiller Gymnasium that day to view their hand-crafted art that included various art mediums as well as showcases of written art...

Efforts to restore a chapter of Glenns Ferry’s history continued this month as plans involving the community’s ongoing opera theater renovation project remained under review. The project aims to restore the theater building to its 1914 grandeur once it’s completed, said theater manager Dorothy Drake...

Snow accumulation in the mountains across the state brought signs of relief as 15 of Idaho’s 26 basins gained increased rainfall over the past year, according to a report released this month by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Of those basins, four of them remain ranked as wetter than normal...

“Patient drivers wanted” represents a message officials with the American Automobile Association shared after new research confirmed that 96 percent of drivers in Idaho took aggressive actions behind the wheel during the past year. Unfortunately, this type of aggression comes with deadly consequences, said Matthew Conde, a spokesman with the state organization...

Peggy Larsen, advertising executive with the Mountain Home News, presents a check to city fire chief Mark Moore during an informal meeting last week. The newspaper presented the check to benefit the department’s burn-out fund, which provides immediate help to individuals and families directly affected by residential fires...