Sweeto Burrito files for permit to remodel old Dickey's Barbecue store

I’ve been asked a number of times what’s happening where Dickey’s Barbecue Pit used to be, 2090 East 17th St., and can now answer that a building permit has been filed by Sweeto Burrito, a chain with locations in Washington, Idaho, Utah, North Dakota and Virginia. It also operates food trucks, one of which has been in Idaho Falls.

The company dates back to November 2011, when it opened its first food truck in the Bakken Oil Fields of western North Dakota. That winter was rough, but they survived and on a whim the summer that followed they took the truck to Sturgis, S.D., where they were able to serve their fare to motorcyclists there for the annual rally. It announced franchising plans in 2013, an opened its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in Fargo, N.D.

The Idaho Falls remodel is being done by Construction Solutions.

Post Register owner names regional president and publisher for eastern Idaho properties

Travis Quast

The Adams Publishing Group has named Travis Quast as regional president and publisher of the company’s eastern Idaho publications, including the Idaho Falls Post Register, the Idaho State Journal in Pocatello, the Standard Journal in Rexburg and the Teton Valley News in Driggs. Quast also will provide oversight for the Herald Journal in Logan, Utah. He assumes his new role April 2.

Prior to joining the Adams Publishing Group, Quast served as publisher of the Twin Falls Times-News, The Voice and the Elko Daily Free Press in Nevada for five years. He also has served as the vice president of sales and marketing at the Idaho Statesman and held management positions at the Bellingham (Wash.) Herald and Newspaper Agency Corp. — agents for the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News in Salt Lake City.

Quast currently serves on the Newspaper Association of Idaho's board of directors and is a member of the University of Idaho Journalism and Mass Media Advisory Committee. He has been involved in numerous community leadership roles, such as the Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization.

“Travis is a proven champion for local community news and a thoughtful strategic leader,” said Eric Johnston, APG's Western Division president. “His wide range of experience, passion for our industry and creative leadership style will surely be invaluable as we continue to serve our communities in the eastern Idaho region.”

Recognized for his efforts to protect First Amendment rights and advocacy for transparency in local and state government, Quast won a landmark case against the University of Idaho for access to teacher evaluations. He continues to lead efforts to shape local government public records and open meeting policies. Quast, who was born in Burley, is a graduate of the University of Idaho, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in public communication.

Since 2014, Minneapolis-based APG has bought more than 100 small dailies, weeklies and shoppers in at least 15 separate transactions. The Post Register was acquired in 2015. In October 2017, it bought Seattle-based Pioneer News Group Co., which owned nine Idaho newspapers, including the Teton Valley News in Driggs, the Idaho State Journal in Pocatello, and the Rexburg Standard Journal.

In contrast to other big consolidators, they often leave existing management in place, do not impose cookie-cutter content templates, and do not start by stripping down newsrooms of editors and reporters. Here is a link to an October 2017 story about the company from the Poynter website: Who are the Adams family, and why are they buying newspapers by the dozen? 

Deseret Industries' new Ammon store set to open March 22

An artist's rendering of the new Deseret Industries store in Ammon, which opens March 22.

Deseret Industries will be closing its store in downtown Idaho Falls on March 17 in preparation for the opening of its new store in Ammon, at 2885 E. 17th Street.

"DI," a non-profit chain of thrift stores operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has been operating in Idaho Falls since 1974. In addition to offering merchandise, it has provided employment and vocational training to hundreds of community residents over four decades.

The new thrift store opens March 22 with a three-day grand opening celebration, including a ribbon cutting with city leaders, music, a balloon artist, and giveaways.

“We believe our customers will enjoy the greater merchandise offerings and easier donation process, but most importantly, the larger store allows us to hire more associates and provide training and educational resources to more area residents," said store manager Aaron Kelley. "We exist to change lives and with the help of the community, we’re doing just that.”

The new Ammon location is approximately 48,000-square-feet and will employ 14 full-time employees and 105 store associates as part of its career-training program. Associates develop skills and obtain certifications enabling them to advance to permanent, full-time employment in a variety of fields and careers. The location will also include an LDS Family Services facility.

There are 43 Deseret Industries stores throughout the western U.S. As a thrift store, Deseret Industries offers tens of thousands of gently used items, with thousands of new goods placed on store shelves each day.  Affordable, quality secondhand merchandise includes everything from clothing and shoes to furniture, home décor, toys and games, sports equipment and much more.

“We receive donations covering every possible household need,” said Deseret Industries marketing manager Brooke Yates. “And with thousands of items added to the inventory daily, it’s a treasure hunt each time our customers visit. We often have people lined up outside our stores as we open each morning.”

The new Ammon store includes a multi-lane, covered drive-thru donation bay. Donations are received daily, except on Sundays, and all donations are tax-deductible. Items not sold in the store may be recycled or used for humanitarian relief.

Deseret Industries also provides some newly manufactured, low-priced merchandise for its shoppers, including new suits and dress shirts for men, new coats for adults and children, new mattresses and bedding, and solid wood furniture including bed frames, dressers, tables and chairs.

The Ammon store offers extended operating hours, opening daily at 10 a.m. and closing Mondays at 6 p.m. and Tuesdays through Saturdays at 9 p.m. The store is closed Sundays. The donation bay opens daily at 8 a.m., also closing Mondays at 6 p.m. and Tuesdays through Saturdays at 9 p.m. It is closed Sundays.

Parkway Plaza Shopping Center has new owner

The Alturas Real Estate Fund has acquired the Parkway Plaza Shopping Center, in Idaho Falls at the corner of First Street and Woodruff Avenue. The property includes 75,300 square feet of retail property, including Planet Fitness, which opened in early January.

Several retail locations remain vacant within the property, but Alturas, a commercial real estate investment company based in Eagle, is working with the Thornton Oliver Keller leasing team in Idaho Falls to find occupants.

“With the proper investment it will once again be the excellent community asset it should be,” Travis Barney, president of Alturas, said in a news release.

'Space is the Place' for new INL engineer Amanda Gates

Amanda Gates, at INL Materials & Fuels Complex, where she is part of the lab's Space Nuclear Power Department.

NOTE: This is a story written for the INL.gov web site and posted Feb. 21, in recognition of National Engineers Week. I am reprinting it here in hopes of wider circulation and because I think the person it profiles, Amanda Gates, is a great example of the type of person INL is trying to attract to replace the generation that is retiring. Also, I wrote the story. I'll have another one tomorrow about another up-and-comer, equally interesting and appealing, Janine Lambert.

One of Idaho National Laboratory’s new generation of engineers, Amanda Gates, says she’s as surprised as anyone to be where she is.

“I love the people I work with. I enjoy coming to work every day,” said Gates, an engineer in INL’s Space Nuclear Power Department at the Materials and Fuels Complex.

A native of Snoqualmie, Washington, Gates said that when she was in high school, she had her heart set on a career in sports marketing. Based on the aptitude she showed for science and math, however, her teachers and advisers insisted that she consider a career in engineering. Eventually, she talked to some friends’ parents who were engineers.

“I decided maybe it was the way to go,” she said.

Gates pursued a degree in mechanical engineering from University of San Diego (a Catholic university not to be confused with the University of California, San Diego). During winter break in 2014, she was working as a housekeeper in Colorado, researching internships and snowboarding whenever she could, when she first heard of INL from a co-worker whose father worked at the lab.

Based on her résumé and application, INL’s University Partnerships office arranged a phone interview for her with Shad Davis, a mechanical engineer in the Radioisotope Power Systems Department. “Her résumé was spot on. She had a lot of hands-on experience with machining and tooling.”

When she landed the summer 2015 internship, Gates said she didn’t know much about the program or nuclear materials. But the manual aspects of the job appealed to her. “I like working with my hands and designing things, and I have an artistic side, too,” she said.

“For the short amount of time she was here, she was very proactive and persistent,” Davis said. “She bought a piece of equipment and wrote a test plan for it. She fit right in with our group, which can be hard to do with the dynamics and personalities of a dozen engineers.”

Gates worked on design teams that employed computer numerical control plasma tube cutting, using lathes, mills, drill presses, and three-dimensional computer-aided modeling, designing a robotics system and performing finite element analysis. Outside the lab, Davis was impressed with the passion she had for restoration work on her 1982 Ford Bronco.

“This knowledge of machining equipment and hands on was invaluable in coming up with a new drilling operation into some exotic materials that are used in our heat sources,” he said. “She was given the scope and goal of this project and she ran with it, completing it in the three months that she was here.  Her motivation was amazing and her attention to detail and desire to succeed made my mentoring job easy.”

Gates said the camaraderie of the group was an inspiration, and she liked eastern Idaho’s opportunities for outdoor recreation, too. After getting her degree in December 2015, “I bugged them enough to hire me full-time,” she said.

“When a full-time position was proposed, it was easy for me to submit her as a candidate because of the high impression she left on me, her co-workers, and manager,” Davis said. “Her transition to our staff as full-time engineer was seamless. I truly enjoy having her on our team as a peer.  She is a very capable and intelligent engineer. She is well-organized and her personality is a perfect fit. She is very active outside of work, and her excitement for life is contagious."

Being focused on the 2020 Mars mission, Gates says it’s easy for her to talk to people about what she does. “You can talk to anyone about that,” she said. “People ask me if I am going to Mars. Sometimes they’re serious, sometimes not.”

Her experience with the MMRTG (Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator) hit home when she watched “The Martian,” particularly the scene when Matt Damon’s character digs up the generator to keep himself warm while riding across the frigid Martian landscape.

“It looked just like what we’re working on,” she said. “Hollywood got something right for once.”
Gates said she tells her friends and former classmates all the time about the opportunities for work and recreation in eastern Idaho. She’s very eager to learn everything she can, and anticipates things will only get busier as the 2020 launch date for the rover approaches.

“Amanda’s excitement is contagious,” Davis said. “It really kind of rubs off on all of us. I have no doubt that as she gains experience, she will soon be in charge of more projects and tasks.”

The University Partnerships Organization at INL leads recruiting efforts at universities and students interested in participating in an internship or in the lab’s postdoctoral or graduate fellowship programs can apply or find more information at https://www.inl.gov/inl-initiatives/education/.