Dumpster alert: Old downtown Inkley's store being gutted

The owners of the Farmers and Merchants Bank building in downtown Idaho Falls are gutting the innards in hopes that it might present more possibilities to prospective buyers.

Any time there's a dumpster filling up with trash outside a commercial building, our natural inclination is to find out what's up.

While there is no buyer yet, the owners of the old Farmers and Merchants Bank building at Park Avenue and A Street are finally stripping the old carpet, furniture and junk left over from when it was Inkley's. (Is it too much to ask for the ugly, rusting Inkley's canopy on the building's exterior to be taken away as well? Also, can anyone tell us exactly how long Inkley's has been gone?)

Kevin Cutler of Sperry Van Ness Commerical said the brick building, originally built around 1910, has about 11,000 square feet on three floors (including the stone basement). The upstairs could be used for office or residential, the main floor for retail or office.

The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Idaho earns straight A's for business friendliness

In a nationwide survey of employers, Idaho got straight A's for business friendliness, and the majority were A-pluses.

Thousands of employers from across the country recently evaluated their state and local governments in a survey for Thumbtack.com, an online local services marketplace, and Kauffman Foundation, an entrepreneurship research group. The criteria were things that matter most to small firms: tax rates, ease of hiring, and regulations.

The researchers surveyed 7,766 small business owners and used the data to arrive at grades for each state. Check out the link to see which states received the highest and lowest marks: http://www.thumbtack.com/survey#2013/states

One caveat: In stories like this, Idaho is often conflated with Boise, a bone in the throat for a lot of people on this side of the state. Four Idaho employers were quoted on the interactive map, all of them in Ada or Canyon counties. Nevertheless, they had some interesting things to say:

“Very easy, just fairly unregulated and biased towards larger businesses. Many oversights in health regulation.”

— Fitness company owner, Boise

“Idaho is pro-business and a great state to have a small business. There are not a ton of rules and regulations and it is a growing area of the country. There is plenty of opportunity and the economy is improving and bouncing back faster than in other areas of the country.”

— Musician, Middleton

“It's pretty easy to start a business in Idaho, and you could have a legally operating business in a matter of a few hours here.”

— Marketing consultant, Boise

“I think Idaho is generally a very easy place to do business. However, the government seems to bend over backward for the big corporations in town. The little guys usually need to fend for themselves. The State does do a pretty good job of offering networking and training opportunities. Overall, Idaho makes it pretty easy.”

— Educator, Boise

Idaho Falls company, partner interested in operating DOE Paducah site

The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant is located three miles south of the Ohio River and 12 miles west of Paducah, Ky. The plant began enriching uranium in 1952, first for the nation's nuclear weapons program, then for nuclear fuel for commercial power plants. Paducah remains the only operating gaseous diffusion uranium enrichment plant in the United States. 

Idaho Falls-based International Isotopes Inc. has teamed up with Advanced Process Technology Systems to tell the U.S. Department of Energy they are interested in operating the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Kentucky.

As a new joint venture, the two companies responded to the DOE's Feb. 7 issuance of a request for an expression of interest. The two companies are proposing to operate a significant portion of the Paducah facilities, utilizing some of the existing inventories of depleted uranium material. The plan would involve retaining 600 to 700 employees for the operation of the plant and supporting facilities. In a press release, they said they believe they would be able to operate the facility for at least five years and maybe more, depending on economic and market conditions.

DOE acceptance and funding will have to be obtained, International Isotopes President and CEO Steve T. Laflin said.

"(There) have been indications that information on the proposal has been disclosed by unknown sources and INIS wishes to make certain that all its investors have access to the same information.  INIS and APTS are both very aware and sensitive to uranium market factors related to this opportunity and are confident those factors can be taken into consideration under the proposed business plan and production scenario for the PGDP," Laflin said.
 
Pursuing this proposal does not alter the company's plans for the construction and operation of a depleted uranium de-conversion and fluorine extraction processing facility near Hobbs, N.M. "In fact, there is clearly a synergistic relationship between the PGDP opportunity and the plans for that facility," he said.

International Isotopes Inc. manufactures a full range of nuclear medicine calibration and reference standards, high purity fluoride gases, and a variety of cobalt-60 products such as teletherapy sources.  The company also provides radioisotopes and radiochemicals for medical devices, calibration, clinical research, life sciences, and industrial applications and provides a host of analytical, measurement, recycling, and processing services on a contract basis to clients.

Building supply company to set up warehouse, yard on North Yellowstone

GTS Interior Supply, a company with headquarters in Kirkland, Wash., will be moving into a warehouse at 4362 North Yellowstone Highway, where VIP Paving used to be. The lease was signed last week, and as soon as improvements are made to the building it will be open, said Randy Waters of Sperry Van Ness High Desert Commercial, who brokered the deal.

This will be the company's third operation in Idaho, where it has warehouses in Boise and Rathdrum. Overall, the company as 17 yards in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Montana and Alaska.

GTS stands for Growth Through Service. The company is a full-service distributor of commercial and residential interior finishing products and one of the leading market-focused distributors of building materials in the Pacific Northwest.

For more information about the company, visit its Web site at http://gtsinteriorsupply.com/index.php.

White House delays airport control tower closures

The terminal and control tower at Idaho Falls Regional Airport

The Associated Press reported today the Obama administration is delaying the closing of 149 airport control towers, including the ones in Idaho Falls and Pocatello, until mid-June in order to deal with legal challenges.

The FAA said today the closures will be delayed until June 15. Trade groups representing companies that operate the towers under contract for FAA filed a lawsuit Thursday in federal court in Washington.

The first 24 closures had been scheduled for Sunday. FAA officials said the closures are necessary to accommodate automatic spending cuts brought about by the March 1 sequestration.

The agency says about 50 airport operators and communities have also indicated they may want to pay for operation of the towers themselves, and more time is needed to work out those details. Earlier this week, Idaho Falls Regional Airport Director Craig Davis said he would be shifting money in the airport's budget from maintenance and other areas to keep the tower operating through Oct. 1. After that, it would be up to the City Council to decide whether to keep the tower in operation. The annual cost of operating the tower is close to $425,000, he said.