It's Worth Mentioning

EDITOR’S NOTE: This episode  originally aired on  Feb. 22, 2026. Despite losing a bid for Idaho governor with less than one percentage point and failing twice to represent Idaho in Congress, David Leroy says he doesn’t have any “political work left undone.” The 78-year-old Boise man is a longtime Idaho attorney who’s had an extensive political career in Idaho. It began in the 1970s. Leroy is also...

IDAHO FALLS – National Radio host Glenn Beck made a public appearance in Preston on Saturday to help raise funds for two historic buildings. The part-time eastern Idaho resident gave a presentation at the Franklin County Event Center at three different times. He spoke about America’s beginnings and brought multiple historical artifacts from his personal collection, which will soon be part of a new...

Jeral Williams is one of the proud farmers in eastern Idaho, but he’s one of the few who raise camels. The 74-year-old Idaho Falls man owns Williams and Sons Farm, an 80-acre spread off Yellowstone Highway. In addition to growing wheat and alfalfa, he owns cattle, bison, and camels, which he takes to community events throughout the year. His farm has been in operation since 1891, and Jeral and his...

On June 6, 1933, Richard Hollingshead opened the first drive-in movie theater in New Jersey. Fourteen years later, on May 14, 1947, Hugo Jorgensen and Ed Moran opened Motor Vu Drive-in at 2095 North Yellowstone Highway in Idaho Falls, the first venue of its kind in Idaho. Weeks after Motor Vu began its 79th year, we’re doing a deep dive on its history and the industry itself. This week on “It’s Wo...

EDITOR’S NOTE: This episode  originally aired on  Nov. 16, 2025. Stewart Petersen has no regrets about living out of the spotlight. The 64-year-old Cokeville, Wyoming, man was cast as Billy Coleman in the 1974 film, “Where the Red Fern Grows.” He was only 13 at the time and went on to appear in half a dozen family-friendly films over the next six years. He left the film industry for good at that p...

Fifty years ago today, on June 5, 1976, the Teton Dam collapsed and spilled 80 billion gallons of water into eastern Idaho. The historic disaster buried Rexburg under 5 feet of water at one point and resulted in the death of 11 people. More than 13,000 head of livestock were killed, and tens of thousands of homes were destroyed or heavily damaged. The estimated cost of the damage was around $2 bil...

Since the launch of Sputnik in 1957, more than 700 people have flown in space, according to  whoisinspace.com . Of those, 250 people have walked in space. In 2002, John Herrington became the first Native American to walk in space as part of a 13-day mission to the International Space Station. The 67-year-old retired astronaut with ties to Idaho recently spoke to locals at the Shoshone-Bannock Hote...

Johnny Whitaker was 6-years-old when he landed the part of Jody Davis in “ Family Affair ,” a sitcom that ran on CBS from 1966-1971. It told the story of a wealthy Manhattan bachelor, played by Brian Keith, who suddenly becomes the guardian of his late brother’s three orphaned children. Whitaker, who has ties to eastern Idaho, was one of the three children in the cast. From there, he went on to st...

Friends and colleagues are remembering Dirk Kempthorne as “a man who truly loved our state” and who could help people “feel uniquely and genuinely seen.” Former Governor Butch Otter compared him to fictional characters Atticus Finch from “To Kill a Mockingbird” and Jefferson Smith from “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” Idaho’s 30th governor passed away on April 24 after a battle with colon cancer. H...

After seeing a wall of water pummel Rexburg, Brian and Brent Gibson, along with nine of their friends, congregated on the corner of Main Street and North 2nd East for a now-iconic photo. It was around 3 p.m. on June 5, 1976 — hours after the collapse of the Teton Dam. This summer, the Gibson brothers and the rest of the gang will reunite to retake the photo 50 years later. Today on “It’s Worth Men...

Jess Johnson has had a meaningful long-distance friendship with a man on the other side of the country for about a year, and it all started with an inconsequential decision. The Mackay High School history teacher was traveling with his wife last summer. On a whim, they found an audiobook about the USS Indianapolis, a battle cruiser during World War II that hauled components of the atomic bomb that...

EDITOR’S NOTE: This episode  originally aired on  November 30, 2025. A recent report indicates that Idaho downwinders stricken with cancer can now get federal compensation. Last week, the Idaho Statesman reported that Idaho is now included in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. The act is a federal law that “provides partial restitution” to people who developed certain illnesses after being e...

Two local organizations are celebrating 100 years of operation. This week on “It’s Worth Mentioning,” Rett Nelson speaks with Tim Haderlie, owner of Haderlie Farms in Iona — a 3,000-acre spread that grows wheat, barley and alfalfa. The farm, established in 1915, was recently recognized as an “Idaho Century Farm” by the Idaho State Historical Society. This award recognizes farms throughout Idaho th...

Days after a ceasefire was reached between Iran, Israel, and the U.S., the future of the conflict remains uncertain. The center of the conflict is the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil passes during peacetime. The ability of ships to pass through the Strait has a significant impact on gas prices. This week on “It’s Worth Mentioning,” Rett Nelson speaks with AAA Idaho Public Af...

Andrew Crawford and Rivka Sears can hardly believe they're now among the top pizza-makers in the world. The two employees of Righteous Slice in Rexburg just returned from the International Pizza Challenge in Las Vegas. Crawford took third place in the Traditional American Division out of 100 competitors. Sears took the top spot in the Best Neapolitan Pizza category out of 80 participants. On this...

The collapse of the Teton Dam spilled 80 billion gallons of water into eastern Idaho, killing 11 people and 13,000 head of livestock. Many people were made homeless by the disaster and tens of thousands of acres of land were destroyed or heavily damaged. Although there were concerns about the dam’s design from the beginning, construction moved forward anyway with devastating results. Fifty years l...

When Rebecca Brown Mitchell arrived in Eagle Rock (what is now Idaho Falls) with her teenage daughter, Bessie, they had nothing but the clothes on their back and a few belongings. It was June 5, 1882, and the 48-year-old Illinois woman who would one day become the world’s first female chaplain of a legislative body had come out West in hopes of being a missionary. She also played a pivotal role in...

Jeff and Cindy Siddoway are among this year's inductees into the Eastern Idaho Agriculture Hall of Fame. The Terreton couple are fourth-generation sheep ranchers and will be among six recipients who are recognized in a banquet at the Shoshone-Bannock Event Center on March 20 . On this episode of "It's Worth Mentioning," Cindy speaks with host Rett Nelson about this induction. Like the ranch, the i...

It’s a new chapter for Josh and Georgia Foster. The Ririe couple managed Loft 745, a wedding venue off County Line Road in Rigby, for seven years. In December, the property was sold, and the decades-old building was demolished to make room for a long-term commercial project. The Fosters partnered with Trellis Development in Rexburg for the project. RELATED LINK: https://www.eastidahonews.com/2025/...

Trent Shippen gets teary-eyed as he looks back on his basketball career and all the people he’s associated with through the years. The 60-year-old Rigby man is a sports advisor at Brigham Young University-Idaho, but was once part of a national tournament while a student at Ricks College in the 1980s. He later went on to play for Colorado State University, and eventually coached at BYU in Provo, Ut...

Despite losing a bid for Idaho governor with less than one percentage point and failing twice to represent Idaho in Congress, David Leroy says he doesn’t have any “political work left undone.” The 78-year-old Boise man is a longtime Idaho attorney with an extensive political career in the state. It began in the 1970s as Ada County prosecutor, followed by a term as Idaho Attorney General. He was el...

EDITOR’S NOTE: This episode was originally published on Nov. 9, 2025. We are reposting it ahead of President’s Day. Monica Church is just over a year into her first term as a state legislator. The Boise Democrat is the granddaughter of two former beloved politicians from Idaho. Frank Church, who served in the U.S. Senate from 1957-1981 and is the namesake for the Frank Church Wilderness Area, is h...

From "The Andy Williams Show" as a kid to sold-out concerts worldwide, Jay Osmond has performed alongside his brothers for more than 50 years. He and his wife, Karina, recently moved to Idaho Falls and are the hosts of a new radio show on Arrow 107.1. On this episode of "It's Worth Mentioning," Rett Nelson speaks with the couple about the radio program, their ties to the area and why they love eas...

Richard Stallings, a Pocatello man who represented eastern Idaho in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985-1993, passed away in October at the age of 85. Cary Jones of Blackfoot served as his assistant on energy, environment, and natural resources during his years in office. On this season two premiere episode of “It’s Worth Mentioning,” Rett Nelson speaks with Jones about his memories servin...

Note: This episode originally published on Sept. 28, 2025. Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and we're commemorating the occasion with a look at black history in eastern Idaho. This week on "It's Worth Mentioning," Rett Nelson speaks with Delphia Bradley. She moved to Idaho Falls in 2023 to escape harassment and racism. After operating a meal delivery service, Bradley now has a traveling art ex...