EIRMC names new chief nursing officer

Ann Kjosa

Ann Kjosa has joined Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center as chief nursing officer to the hospital’s administrative team. Kjosa (pronounced Cho-sa) comes to EIRMC with 30 years of health care experience, including ten years as CNO at various hospitals across the nation.

As CNO, Kjosa oversees clinical nursing operations throughout the hospital, ensures quality patient care, and leads efforts to increase patient satisfaction.

Kjosa’s began her healthcare career at age 18 as a nursing assistant in her hometown of Aberdeen, S.D. Her most recent role has been as chief operating officer and chief experience officer at St. Peter’s Hospital in Helena, Mont.

Kjosa earned her bachelor's in nursing from Presentation College in Aberdeen. She also holds an MBA in Healthcare Management from Regis University in Denver, Colo., and is a fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives. In the community, she has served organizations such as March of Dimes, Rotary, the Heart Walk, United Way, and many educational institutions in the communities where she’s lived.

“I love to see others reach their potential both personally and professionally,” she said. “I am committed to providing an environment which creates the best outcomes possible for our patient guests.”

Persnickety Lemon opens on Park Avenue.

Persnickety Lemon, 313 Park Avenue

Persnickety Lemon, a deli and indoor farmer’s market of sorts, has opened at 313 Park Avenue. The operators are Jed and Jennifer Campbell, who own the building.

In addition to selling artisanal breads and baked items from small businesses such as Blue Spoon Kitchen, Iona Juice and Wellness, and Grain Revival, it offers the use of a commercial-grade, health department-approved kitchen for people such as Jodi Fohs, whose Josephine’s Fresh Salsa has been a sell-out item at the Farmers’ Market. Renting the kitchen gives her a place to make her salsa, and the store is a place where she can sell it in the months the Farmers Market isn’t going.

Customers can take their snacks downstairs, which has been remodeled and has the space for small clubs and social organizations.

The Campbells had a soft opening on Tuesday and are planning a grand opening at a later date. To find out more, visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ThePersnicketyLemon313ParkAve.

Idaho Falls schedules meetings for discussion of fiber network expansion

The City of Idaho Falls is planning four informational meetings in February to foster a community-wide discussion about the future of the Idaho Falls Fiber Network.

The city’s dark fiber network was established in 2002 to upgrade the city’s internal communications capabilities while keeping costs low. It was expanded over the next five years, and in 2007 access to the network was granted to commercial service providers.

The network has expanded nearly every year since, providing connectivity to businesses on the philosophy that competitive Internet service rates will keep facilitate economic development. Today, 27 of the 30 commercially available pairs of dark fiber are under lease. Eight commercial internet service providers (ISPs) lease access to the network to provide broadband internet of 1 gigabit and upwards to 383 local businesses. In addition, 12 local businesses lease fiber directly from the city to provide network access to 76 locations.

In 2015, Idaho Falls Power enlisted a consultant to explore options for expansion of the network, including options for fiber to homes in the city.

The consultants, Finley Engineering and CCG Consulting, examined the cost of building fiber throughout the city based on a variety of scenarios and a range of options for potential business models for network expansion. They evaluated the city as a stand-alone service provider, public-private partnerships between the city and a new or existing ISP, and for an open access network similar to the current configuration but expanded to service residences.

At each meeting, Idaho Falls Power staff will provide information on the history of the fiber network, the options for potential network expansion, and results of a recently conducted survey of local customers. Each meeting will feature an informal, open house format and will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the following locations:

Thursday, Feb. 9, Compass Academy, 955 Garfield Street

Monday, Feb. 13, Taylorview Junior High School, 350 Castlerock Lane

Tuesday, Feb. 21, Idaho Falls High School, 601 S. Holmes Avenue

Wednesday, Feb. 22, Skyline High School, 1767 Blue Sky Drive

Startup Weekend Rexburg begins Thursday night

Startup Weekend Rexburg will begin Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at North Point, 141 W. First South, in the special events room on the third floor.

Startup Weekends are 54-hour events designed to provide experiential education for technical and non-technical entrepreneurs. The events are centered on action, innovation, and education, beginning with Thursday night pitches and continuing through testing, business model development, and basic prototype creation. Finally, on Saturday night, participants conduct demos to a panel of potential investors and local entrepreneurs.

Participants are challenged with building functional startups during the event and are able to collaborate with like-minded individuals outside of their daily networks.

The facilitator will be Luke Bayard, president of Cal Poly Entrepreneurs. Two years ago, Bayard was a Cuesta College business student, looking to transfer to Cal Poly. He is now one of the leading student voices for Cal Poly entrepreneurship.

Luke grew up in a family of entrepreneurs. His father is a lawyer in private practice and his mother owns a floral shop. Seeing his parents’ example sparked a passion in him and made him want to be an entrepreneur, he said. During his high school years, he built a small business as an independent fitness trainer.

The organizing team for the event consists of Daniel Torres, Scott Johnson and Will Jenson. More information, including registration, can be found at http://www.up.co/communities/usa/rexburg/startup-weekend.

Idaho Falls seeks public comment for downtown planning

A panoramic view of downtown Idaho Falls taken when parking was not as much on everyone's minds. 

The City of Idaho Falls has plans for a guide for development and redevelopment of the downtown area, and is asking members of the community for their thoughts.

The guide will address such topics as streetscape design, housing, parking and more. By engaging the public, the city hopes to coordinate vision and guiding principles, discuss financing strategies, identify possibly catalytic projects and avoid mistakes.

The city’s web page, ifdowntown.com, admits this is not the first attempt at coming up with a coherent, unified plan for downtown. “In recent years there have been many studies and plans for downtown,” it says. “However, these plans have lacked the effort and clear responsibility necessary for implementation. As the City continues to implement economic development programs to attract new businesses, shoppers, sporting events, art, entertainment, and recreation, a cohesive plan is necessary to achieve the full potential of downtown Idaho Falls.”

To get things started, there will be an open house on Tuesday (Jan. 31) from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Idaho Falls Library, 457 W. Broadway. For those unable to attend the meeting, comments can be made online at http://www.ifdowntown.com/participate--comment.html or by calling the Idaho Falls Planning Division at (208) 612-8187.