Idaho Falls Regional Airport hits record numbers in 2019

The Idaho Falls Regional Airport (IDA) continues to break passenger records, with 30,093 more people using the airport in 2019 over 2018.

The 2019 passenger count total for IDA was 352,093, which broke the previous record of 328,364, set in 2014. The 2019 numbers are the highest numbers in the airport’s history.

The total number of enplanements -- passengers getting on flights -- in 2019 was 177,168, up from 161,019 in 2018.

“These are all numbers we have received from the air carriers that serve the airport,” said IDA Director Rick Cloutier. “These will be reported to the FAA by the airlines and are the numbers used by the FAA to categorize airports and help determine the levels of federal funding available to us.”

Those numbers represent a 9% increase in air travelers going through IDA in 2019. That is on top of an additional 9% increase that the airport saw from 2017 to 2018.

“A lot of factors go into accounting for those increased numbers,” said Cloutier. “Overall, this just demonstrates that we have a very healthy amount of business and leisure travel going on here. I think that we can continue to expect those numbers to get even better with the recent changes we’ve implemented and the improvements that we’ll continue to see here over the next few years.”

The airport recently added new restaurant services and will also begin construction soon on a terminal expansion. This expansion will add a three new gates and added area in the security screening and gate areas. The airport also recently opened its brand new and upgraded baggage claim and improved airport security service with the TSA Pre Check line for approved passengers.

In addition, IDA recently announced that United Airlines will begin providing a fifth daily flight to Denver for the first time in the airport’s history. United has also announced that they are increasing the size of the aircraft for two of those daily flights, adding 102 new seats daily, or 50 percent more capacity to the Denver destination. The new, larger aircraft also will add a first class seating section that has not previously been available.

“The more people using the airport, the more services airlines are inclined to offer in terms of plane size, destinations and pricing,” Cloutier said. “As they see the growth here they want to provide more services and more destinations.  That will mean a lot more options for east Idaho and the surrounding region.”

New to BizMojo Idaho: East Idaho Entrepreneurs

This week I'm happy to announce a new relationship with East Idaho Entrepreneurs, a podcast started in 2018 by Renae Oswald. I was not aware of the work she has been doing until a few weeks ago, when I saw a link on Facebook. When I saw it, it reminded me of the weekly business profiles I did for the Post Register when I was the business reporter, albeit on a 21st century platform. When I reached out to her to compliment her on her work, we decided that we might be able to help each other.

As a result, I'm going to be reprinting her content weekly and posting links to her website in hopes of getting her more recognition. From my end, good, original content is like gold, so this is something that will add value to BizMojo Idaho.

Here is EIE's most recent posting, about Logan and Bobby Thomas of High Country Cleaning. The link to the podcast is at the bottom, or you can go to it here.

Born to Create

Logan and Bobby Thomas

Both Logan and Bobby Thomas started their entrepreneurial journey when they were preteens. Logan had a lawn care business and Bobby raised chickens and sold their eggs. When they found each other while attending college, they knew they were the perfect fit and could see their lives being that of an entrepreneurial couple.

Logan started High Caliber Cleaning while attending college. At that time it was a mobile car cleaning service and Bobby said, “he had a vacuum and a sponge, that's all he had. He'd do details for people and go to school.” At the same time, Bobby was a financial advisor and really loved her job. After they got married they realized that their careers were taking them opposite directions and so Bobby decided to quit her job and join the business full-time

“I was all about the datasheets and the finances and the money and the business aspect,” Bobby said, “(Logan's) always been a big risk-taker.” Ever since they've combined their efforts they have grown the business and see how they are creating their future together. She shared that making the sacrifice to give up her career track was worth it. “I feel like millenials have big dreams and aspirations, what sets us apart is that we are serious about our success.”

“Entrepreneurship is something you are born with ... you don't learn how to never give up. That's something you are born with,” Bobby said. Both Logan and Bobby were raised by parents who taught them how to work and if they wanted something that they needed to go get it. Bobby feels that helps to make them the perfect match and set them up for success. “They were creating these powerhouses,” she said.

Working together as a couple has presented it's own challenges, but Bobby and Logan feel that they are good complements to each other. Bobby admits that she looks at things very different from Logan but they are able to balance each other out. “The first year … that was tough,” she said, “I think it made us stronger and it keeps building.” Bobby feels that being humble and vulnerable together has helped them be successful.

Watching other couples and their success in the 9 to 5 sometimes makes them wonder if entrepreneurship was the right decision. She admits the security would be nice at times but says, “the more secure you are the less opportunity you have. There's so much opportunity out there, that opportunity would be capped if I was working a 9 to 5.

High Caliber Cleaning is looking to expand to Boise and Bobby and Logan see their future in real estate. The future is bright for them and their determination feels like it will fuel them to their next big steps

Information
For more information on High Caliber Cleaning go to https://www.idahofallscardetailing.com/.
Thank you to Disruptive Productions for editing the show. Check them out at https://disruptiveproductions.com/.

Bank of Idaho names interim Trust and Wealth manager

Jeremy Parkinson

Jeremy Parkinson has been named Bank of Idaho's interim Trust and Wealth Department Manager. He assumed responsibilities Jan. 6.

Parkinson takes over for Hal Peterson, who will retire on April 30. During the interim, Peterson will assist in the transition.

Parkinson began work at Bank of Idaho in March. He came aboard as part of the bank's expansion into the Treasure Valley, and is located at their downtown Boise office.

Bank President and CEO Jeff Newgard said that from the start, he could see Parkinson's potential as a team leader. "He's a very knowledgeable, dynamic trust officer. But beyond that, you don't have to spend long with the guy to realize that his passion for his work is intense," Newgard said.

Parkinson has instituted a slate of internal upgrades to help the trust department be more closely attuned to clients' needs. "The trust department is at a point where we can take things to the next level," he said. "Internally, we're going to implement some new technology and efficiency measures that'll help us serve our clients better."

Peterson has been at the helm of the bank's trust department since its inception in 1999. He plans to spend his retirement with his family on the trails and waterways near his cabin in Island Park.

Bank of Idaho, established in 1985, has seen strong recent growth. The Idaho Falls-based bank has broadened its footprint to include community banking in the Treasure Valley, where two full-service branches and one loan production office have been established within the past year. The company recently completed a capital campaign to support more anticipated growth and began
listing its stock for public trade on the OTC-QX market under the symbol BOID.

Longhorn Steakhouse planned for former Famous Dave's location

Famous Dave's on West Broadway is now just a memory.

We've had a few questions about Famous Dave's on West Broadway, which is undergoing a remodel and will no longer be Famous Dave's. Before long, it will be a Longhorn Steakhouse.

Famous Dave's closed its doors in September 2019. On Jan. 13 this year the city of Idaho Falls approved the building permit application filed on behalf of Jim Powell Darden Restaurants of Orlando, Fla., which also owns the Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains. The remodel value is estimated at $1.25 million.

While you were chowing down on ribs and cornbread at Famous Dave's, the company was in trouble. In 2017, with profits sliding and five CEOs in as many years, the Minneapolis-based chain announced plans to refranchise its entire company footprint. It trimmed corporate stores from 35 to 16, and had just 17 at the end of fiscal 2018. “We intend to strategically refresh the stores in these markets and believe that higher efficiencies at these locations will result in higher cash flows from previous levels while under franchise ownership,” CEO Jeff Crivello said in a press release.

More information can be found at this link: https://www.fsrmagazine.com/chain-restaurants/famous-daves-buys-back-stores-profit-slips.

In June last year, the company announced a partnership with Beyond Meat and plans to launch a test of plant-based protein menu items in Colorado and Minnesota.

Longhorn Steakhouse currently has one restaurant in Boise.

Thanks to BizMojoIdaho reader Brent Colborn for this heads up and also reports that the old Puerto Vallarta on Hitt Road is being remodeled into Cosmo Professional Beauty Supply.

INL to set up commercialization center, 'Trailhead East,' in Idaho Falls

By Sharon Fisher
Reprinted from Idaho Business Review


Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has received a one-year grant to set up a center to facilitate the creation of commercial products from technologies developed from research at the lab, modeled after and partnering with Boise’s Trailhead incubator space.

In homage, the space will be called Trailhead East @ Idaho National Lab.

“There’s not a huge innovation ecosystem in Idaho Falls,” said Jim Keating, commercialization and entrepreneurial programs manager for INL. “We want to play an integral role.”

How the project came about
The project is receiving funding through Practices to Accelerate the Commercialization of Technology (PACT) from the Department of Energy’s Office of Technology Transitions, after a call for proposals about six months ago. The project received $175,000 from PACT, plus INL and Trailhead are contributing $96,000 of in-kind contributions, for a total budget of $271,000.

While the grant will last for only this year, the lab is looking on this as a pilot in the hopes that it will attract industry partners and become self-sustaining, Keating said, adding that it was the only project of its kind to receive PACT funding.

The initial cohort – for which the lab is now taking applications – will be five teams, each of which will receive $15,000 to begin to identify customers or industrial partners, Keating said. That amount largely pays for the staffers’ time to be away from the lab to conduct customer interviews and refine their business model, using the Stanford University Lean Launchpad method, he said.

“It’s a really effective approach,” he said. “Instead of spending millions to develop technology, first you validate that there’s a market.”

The program itself is considered a continuation of the Energy Innovation Corps. (I-Corps.), a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy that is intended to help engineers and scientists from national labs commercialize technologies they have developed, Keating said.

Of the five cohorts, two teams will be chosen, each of which will receive $28,000 to continue the process of developing a market for the technology. Part of that process will be to attend a pitch competition in Boise in early December.

“We’re hoping with one of the two teams that at least one will land an industrial partner,” Keating said.

Teams could also attend Boise Startup Week, he added.

Dana Briggs

Effect on Idaho Falls
Keating said the center is also expected to help expand Idaho Falls’ economic development opportunities.

Dana Briggs, economic development director for Idaho Falls, said she is happy that INL received grant funding “to move forward projects that help the technologies developed at INL serve market needs.”

“I personally have been impressed with the work Trailhead Boise does and am excited that Idaho National Laboratory will be partnering with them to foster our local innovation ecosystem,” she said in an email message.

While Idaho Falls already has the Idaho Innovation Center, which is currently in the process of raising money to construct a new building, this project is different and complementary, Keating said.

“This isn’t done in exclusion,” he said. “Any time you’re building an ecosystem, the more the merrier. We need all efforts.”

Keating also noted that the INL workers intended to be participating in Trailhead East are different.

“These are not your typical entrepreneur who can quit their job and start a company,” he said.
Much of the work they will be doing at Trailhead East will be customer validation and interviews with people from industry.

“A lot of technology requires considerable effort transferring it from the lab to business,” he said.