Idaho Falls P&Z board OKs specialty grocery store on 17th Street

Here's what a typical Natural Grocers store looks like. 

The Idaho Falls Planning and Zoning Commission has approved plans for a specialty grocery store on land south of 17th Street where Andrew Well Drilling used to be.

The developer, Leadership Circle, LLC, of Montrose, Colo., is seeking eventually to build a 15,000-square-foot grocery, a restaurant and a retail store on 4.42 acres, but the only definite plans at the moment are for the grocery. During the application process Leadership Circle has been reluctant to release its client's name, but research reveals the company has represented the 56-year-old Natural Grocers chain as it has expanded into Idaho and Montana in the past year.

Natural Grocers has stores in 12 states. In 2011 it opened stores in Boise and Missoula, and most recently it opened a store in Helena in December. "We really cater to specialty diets, gluten-free, non GMO (genetically modified organisms)," spokeswoman Nancy Flynn told the Journal World in Lawrence, Kan., where it opened a store in 2010. "We feel like we're the label-readers in the market."

Here is a link to its Web site: http://www.naturalgrocers.com/.

The City Council will hear the matter at its Feb. 28 meeting. If it gives its approval, a plat will be submitted and work can start, said Brad Cramer, assistant city planner.

Idaho Falls declares snow alert; parking restrictions enacted

It's official: We have a winter.

The city of Idaho Falls declared a snow alert today, putting snow removal restrictions for Zones A and B in effect.

Here's the map (click to enlarge):

Link:

http://www.idahofallsidaho.gov/city/city-departments/public-works/gis/maps.html

ZONE A -- Snow removal in Zone A on east-west streets will begin Tuesday at 8 a.m. Snow removal in Zone A on north-south streets will begin Wednesday at 8 a.m. On streets running north to south, parking restrictions will be in effect between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On east-west streets, parking restrictions will be in effect between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
ZONE B -- Snow removal in Zone B began today. Parking restrictions will be in effect on all streets between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Vehicles should be moved off the public streets as quickly as possible.

Other parking restrictions already in effect include:
DOWNTOWN
NORTH-SOUTH STREETS – Parking restrictions will be in effect between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
EAST-WEST STREETS – Parking restrictions will be in effect between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
MAJOR STREETS – Parking restrictions are in effect (see map).
All city residents and businesses are encouraged to move vehicles off the streets as quickly as possible. Under the ordinance, any vehicles left on the streets in violation of the ordinance may be towed immediately and stored at the owner’s expense.

Downtown boutique features recycled jewelry, artwork, decor

Downtown Idaho Falls has a new store, Re'Eclectique, at 260 A Street, a boutique featuring items made from recycled materials. Owners Sherri Biorn and Monique Purcell make everything sold in the store, including artwork, furniture, jewelry and home decor. Their philosophy is to rescue and reinvent things from the disposable world.

From now through the end of February, they are having a weekly Facebook contest. Find their page on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/?ref=hp#!/pages/ReEclectique/225391854249595, like them and follow their giveways running up to a final big freebie on Feb. 28.

Hours for the store are Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, call (208) 881-5149.

Online education project hires two veteran Idaho journalists

Clark Corbin

Idaho Education News, an online news operation funded by a grant from the J.A. & Kathryn Albertson Foundation, has hired Post Register statehouse reporter Clark Corbin and Idaho Statesman editorial page editor Kevin Richert.

Jennifer Swindell, a former Statesman staffer, is the editor of idahoednews.org, the newest venture for the Idaho Leads Project, which up to now has focused on finding and highlighting “best practices” at Idaho school districts.

Kevin Richert

The project, which is under BSU’s Center for School Improvement & Policy Studies, received an 18-month $3.85 million grant from the Albertson Foundation, according to its website. According to a press release, its goals are to “support and enhance the advancement of educational improvement and reform in Idaho, and second, to share, in an easily accessible manner, best practices to all interested districts, schools and charters.”

The Web site’s articles are free to all users and available for distribution on other platforms or Web sites so long as proper attribution is included.

Richert, who worked for the Post Register in the '80s and '90s, has a farewell blog post here at the Statesman's Web site.

As a footnote, I've played softball with Clark and whiffleball with Kevin. Both of them have mean arms. I wish them well.

Work begins (at last) on D Street underpass

Cars and trucks lined up at the D Street underpass

Today is brought to you by the letter D.

Two words that begin with D are "decrepit" and "dangerous," both of which can be said of Idaho Falls' D Street underpass.

The subway under the Union Pacific Railroad tracks, part of the original layout of the depot that was demolished in 1964, has been deteriorating for as long as anyone can remember. Many a motorist can relate the dread they have felt waiting for the light on Yellowstone to change while a train rolled overhead.

The news today is that work to replace the structure with a wider, safer structure is finally underway, as evidenced by a crane and land grading.

City of Idaho Falls Spokesman Brad Huerta said part of the holdup has been due to the tracks being a main line for the railroad, which must adjust its schedule while any work is done. Then there is the pace at which the railroad works. A contract was awarded last year, with construction work scheduled to begin in the fall, but was delayed Union Pacific took its time signing the final agreement.

In the railroad's defense, it can't shut down the line for the months that the project is expected to take. A "shoefly" -- a contrivance for throwing the track temporarily to one side -- has to be built first.

The public can expect the underpass to be closed periodically as the work progresses. The cost of the project has been estimated at $5.5 million. It is expected to take a yer to complete.

The city's reconstruction plan