Hobby Lobby opens long-awaited Ammon store

Jami Ingle of Idaho Falls at the Ammon Hobby Lobby store opening Monday.

The long-anticipated opening of Hobby Lobby went off this morning, with refreshments and a ribbon cutting by the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber Ambassadors, but the line that marked the opening of next-door Cabela’s in May were noticeably absent.

Store Manager Brad Bassett, who moved to the area from Phoenix, Ariz., a few weeks ago, said there were about 30 people outside at 8:30 a.m. Once the formalities were finished, slightly after 9, the 50,000-square-foot store was officially open for business. Bassett said the store employs about 55 people, down from the 87 who were needed to get it up and running.

Store Manager Brad Bassett

As noon approached, the number of customers continued to grow. Buying a 30-by-40-inch frame for a mirror in her living room, Jami Ingle of Idaho Falls said she was glad the wait was over.

“I was excited to find a frame this big,” said Ingle, who has made trips to the Hobby Lobby store in Logan Utah. “I think it’s great. I’m excited that it’s finally here.”

Mid-store, with a shopping cart that was filling up with artificial flowers and gifts, Kathy Peterson said she had come more out of curiosity. “It’s the new store in town, you know? You’ve got to check it out.”

Peterson said she thinks the Idaho Falls-Ammon area has crafts-crazy people to support any number of stores like Michaels, Porter’s, JoAnn Fabrics and Hobby Lobby. “I think competition is a good thing, no matter where it is,” she said.

Although the majority of customers late Monday morning were women, there were men in the store. Brad Christensen, a member of the Ammon City Council, said he’d stopped in out of curiosity.

“It looks like there’s a lot of enthusiasm for it,” he said.

Christensen also said he planned to buy something for his wife, Nicole. “Something to decorate the living room, probably. She’s always decorating,” he said.

Old Family Dollar store on South Holmes to reopen as Dollar Tree

The old Family Dollar store on South Holmes Avenue, which will reopen soon as Dollar Tree. (Trevor Paesl photo)

Today's entry in the "Inquiring Minds Want to Know" Department comes courtesy of Trevor Paesl, who was curious about the work going on at the closed-down Family Dollar store at 1875 South Holmes Avenue. Trevor was even kind enough to send a photo for us to use.

In a quick call to the City of Idaho Falls Building Department, we learned it's being remodeled to become a Dollar Tree. A certificate of occupancy is expected to be issued next week.

Although the Family Dollar on North Woodruff near WinCo Foods has remained in business, the South Holmes store has been closed since spring 2014, when the company announced it was having problems. Family Dollar’s shareholders approved in January a $8.5 billion takeover bid by Dollar Tree, turning down a competing offer from Dollar General.

The merger had to be approved by the Federal Trade Commission, and that approval didn't come until earlier this month, when Dollar Tree and Family Dollar announced they'd agreed to sell 330 Family Dollar stores, settling a complaint that their proposed merger had the potential to hinder competition.

Idaho Falls airport unveils new logo, Web site,

Idaho Falls Regional Airport is unveiling both a new Web site and logo and name they hope will be easier to use and remember.

IFlyIDA.com includes a custom-designed logo as well as resources for travelers including a cost comparison calculator and booking widget.

The launch of the new branding components are part of the city's comprehensive air service marketing plan, aimed at boosting awareness in the community of what the airport has to offer. The plan was prepared by Sixel Consulting Group, based in Eugene, Ore., and paid for out of the airport's 2014-2015 marketing budget. The cost, approximately $30,000, involved stakeholder meetings, branding research and development, and the preparation of the plan. The contract with Sixel was approved Sept. 25, 2014, at the City Council's regular meeting.

To celebrate the launch, IDA is hosting an “I fly IDA because ... ” giveaway that asks entrants to tell why they choose to fly out of Idaho Falls.

Given the growth at the airport in traffic and the major renovations that have taken place over the last few years, Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Casper said she is eager to see what the marketing plan can accomplish.

“One of the recommendations from last year’s Airport Citizen Review Committee was to introduce a new marketing campaign to help reduce the amount of ‘leakage’ to other airports and to help change the perception that it’s cheaper to fly out of Salt Lake City," she said. "Hiring a marketing firm with extensive experience in airport marketing has already proven to be beneficial.”

IFlyIDA.com integrates the airport’s three letter airport code “IDA” into an easy-to-remember URL that distinguishes and identifies the airport to travelers. The Web site was custom designed to be mobile-friendly and includes a cost calculator and booking widget.

In addition to airfare, the cost calculator estimates the total cost of flying out of two other area airports based on the amount of money one would lose in travel time away from work, as well as gas and parking. The booking widget calculates automatically airfares to and from IDA and allows customers to book flights based on available options. To assist travelers with planning, real-time flight status updates, a flight tracker and air traffic map are also included.

The new, exclusively-designed logo highlights the airport’s three-letter code as a key distinguisher while the airport's official name is in smaller type.

“The launch of IFlyIDA.com and our new logo are important components of our marketing initiatives this year,” said Airport Director Craig Davis.

To enter the “I fly IDA because ... ” contest, complete the entry form found at Facebook.com/IFlyIDA or Woobox.com/n5baq3 and tell your story.  The promotion started today and wraps up Aug. 25 at 11:59 p.m. Each week, one participant will win a $200 Delta Air Lines or United Airlines gift card, and one contestant will win a trip for two to Las Vegas, or Phoenix-Mesa on Allegiant. Fans who share the promotion and get their friends to enter the giveaway will receive one additional entry.

Bond payoff saves Idaho Falls Power customer electric bill pain

On the local public power front, there is good news and bad news balancing each other out.

On Wednesdy, The Bonneville Power Administration announced it would be raising power and transmission rates for two years beginning Oct. 1. Idaho Falls Power, 41 percent of whose budget pays for power from BPA, is looking at paying $2 million more each year.

The good news is that with its hydropower project bonds paid off, Idaho Falls Power will be absorbing the BPA rate hikes and still lowering customers' utility bills.

“In 2015, we retired the debt associated with our locally-owned hydropower plants. With those debt payments off the books and in light of other efficiency measures we have implemented, we intend to absorb the rate increase from BPA and pass along a reduction in the consumptive use rate,” said Jackie Flowers, Idaho Falls Power general manager. “Most customers will see a decrease in the electric portion of their utility bill.”

The utility's proposed rate structure will be discussed at the Aug. 10 City Council work session.
Following that, Idaho Falls Power  will host three open houses on Aug. 12, inviting customers to their office to learn how the utility sets rates and hear more details about the proposed changes to rate structure. Open house times will be 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 8 p.m.

The cost of service model calls for the residential electric consumptive rate to drop from 6.25 cents per kilowatt-hour used to 5.78 cents per kilowatt-hour, less than half the national average of nearly 13 cents per kilowatt hour. The consumptive use rate decrease will be offset by an increase in the monthly customer service charge, from $10 to $15, to better capture “fixed costs” associated with keeping the city’s electric system in readiness. The model actually calls for the monthly customer service charge to be $18.

Idaho Falls Power also plans to implement a power cost adjustment as a component of its rate structure that will fluctuate annually, in order to more transparently pass along power supply costs.

The PCA will be a new line item on the bill and will be adjusted annually to reflect the previous year’s power supply costs. In good water years, the PCA may lead to a reduction in electric bills. In bad water years, the PCA may lead to an increase in electric bills. While the current water year has been mixed, this year the PCA will lead to an additional 0.43 cent per kilowatt-hour reduction in consumptive use rate for residential customers.

REDI hires Jan Rogers as new CEO

Jan Rogers

Jan Rogers, executive director of the Twin Falls-based Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization, has been named CEO of the Regional Economic Development Corp. for East Idaho. She will take the position in mid-September.

Rogers has been involved in Idaho economic development for 14 years and has been credited with bringing Chobani and Clif Bar to the Magic Valley. Earlier this month the six-county region was selected as one of the top 12 U.S. manufacturing communities by the U.S. Commerce Department’s Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership – and one of four U.S. regions in the Food Manufacturing category.

REDI was formed this past spring when Bingham County Economic Development and Grow Idaho Falls merged.