5b Gazette

10/03/2026

The Wood River High School Homecoming King and Queen are Mia Palomera and Elian Servin! Congratulations to the whole court!

10/03/2026

Wood River High School’s #21 Wyatt Stone got a touchdown on the punt return at the homecoming game Friday night.

10/02/2026

The Blaine County Board of Commissioners will be hosting projects and priorities workshop at a special meeting scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 5 at the Old County Courthouse in Hailey. There was no packet to go along with the projects or priorities proposed.

There will also be a discussion on a draft ordinance regarding e-bikes, e-motorcycles and other electric motorized vehicles at the board's regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 6.

The use of e-bikes has grown significantly in the Wood River Valley, from young kids using them to get to school or other activities, and people trying to avoid the long commute to Ketchum during construction. The City of Hailey was the first jurisdiction passing an e-bike ordinance in February, capping e-bike speeds to 20 miles per hour and requires minors operating an e-bike to wear a helmet while using Hailey pathways.

Read more here or on our app: https://www.5bgazette.com/government_policy/commissioners-to-talk-projects-and-priorities-monday-e-bike-ordinance-draft-on-tuesday/article_0c4c4623-f8ff-4013-a04e-e1ee5a3924c9.html

The Blaine County Board of Commissioners will be hosting projects and priorities workshop at a special meeting scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 5 at the Old County Courthouse

10/02/2026

There will be stop control changes at two intersections in Ketchum, with the work beginning Oct. 12, the City of Ketchum announced.

The intersection of Leadville Ave. and Second St. will go from an all-way stop to a two-way stop; and the intersection of Washington Ave. and Fifth St. will also go from an all-way stop to a two-way stop.

The changes are part of the city's work to improve traffic safety and are intended to improve predictability and safety for people driving, walking and biking, city officials stated in a press release.

As the new traffic controls are installed, drivers should watch for updated signage and be prepared for changes in right-of-way at the affected intersections. Pedestrians and cyclists should also remain alert as drivers adjust to the new controls. The city encourages everyone traveling through these intersections to slow down, pay attention to signage and allow additional time to adjust to the changes.

For more information visit ketchumidaho.gov.

https://www.5bgazette.com/news/stop-sign-changes-in-ketchum-to-begin-the-week-of-oct-12/article_13a0e2cd-5b86-4cd6-82a8-3ed84f1bad91.html

There will be stop control changes at two intersections in Ketchum, with the work beginning Oct. 12, the City of Ketchum announced.

10/01/2026

Residents fighting the Gannett Ranch annexation say they may not need to win a zoning fight or a growth debate at all. Under Idaho law, they argue, the city cannot annex the ranch in the first place, because it does not truly touch Bellevue except by a skinny “shoestring” strip the statute forbids.

Planning & Zoning meets Monday, Oct. 5. Contiguity is one of the findings the commission must make before a complete annexation application can move forward. City Council follows Oct. 13. Community Development Director Brian Parker has already invited the public to both meetings to testify.

Neighbors who want this stopped say Monday is not optional because if commissioners never hear that the connection fails Idaho Code §50-222, staff’s “it’s contiguous” opinion can walk through unchallenged, unless there is litigation.

Idaho’s annexation statute says land must be contiguous to the city. Contiguous means sharing a common border, and land is not contiguous if the only shared border is a shoestring connection.

The same chapter bars annexation when property would be tied to the city only by a highway right-of-way strip, and separately bars a connection that is only a shoestring or strip of railroad right-of-way.

In plain terms, if the ranch only “touches” Bellevue through a thin corridor, especially a road or old railroad strip, the application fails before design, density, or services are even on the table.

Parker told Brett Stevenson and others Sept. 28 that, in his opinion, the ranch is contiguous because it “shares a common border” and the code sets no minimum border length. He said “shoestring” is undefined and pointed to city-limit maps in Elizabeth, Colo., and Brady, Texas.

Stevenson answered that other states’ maps do not rewrite Idaho’s ban, that the little strip touching the Gannett Ranch parcel does not meet the statute, and that the city attorney should put that conclusion in writing. Parker disagreed that the fight matches Potvin v. Village of Chubbuck, the 1955 Idaho Supreme Court case that struck down a three-mile, five-foot corridor annexation, and again pointed residents to the Oct. 5 and Oct. 13 hearings.

County parcel data and a Gazette public records return show the large ranch parcel reaches Bellevue-coded land only through an roughly 8.34-acre connector near 39 Gannett Road.

That connector’s measured contact with clear city-owned land is about 59 feet against a former railroad corridor. The state’s Bellevue taxing-district map covers only about half of the connector and essentially none of the ranch.

Asked for an ordinance putting the connector inside the city, the clerk produced the city charter, a 1996 legislative amendment, and a 2002 boundary-clarification ordinance with an approximate map, and said Bellevue has "no further records."

Monday's Planning and Zoning hearing begins at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall or online.

https://www.5bgazette.com/neighbors-idaho-law-blocks-gannett-ranch-annexation-over-shoestring-link/article_841e7968-5ead-4d5c-abc5-95d823d075f9.html

Residents fighting the Gannett Ranch annexation say they may not need to win a zoning fight or a growth debate at all. Under Idaho law, they argue, the city cannot

10/01/2026

Future Roots is hosting two events this week from watch a documentary on the shifting values and landscapes of rural America from the perspective of a writer, farmer and activist Wendell Berry to having an opportunity to dig up and harvest your own potatoes in Fairfield.

https://www.5bgazette.com/economics_environment/future-roots-hosting-two-events-this-week-from-the-hills-of-kentucky-to-digging-potatoes/article_5e52ec7a-e7f7-4f0e-b06e-de66c257a660.html

Future Roots is hosting two events this week from watch a documentary on the shifting values and landscapes of rural America from the perspective of a writer, farmer and activist

10/01/2026

A “Dancing with the Stars” style competition is coming to the Wood River Valley as Sun Valley Suns Hockey players will take to the ice alongside professional ice figure skaters to compete during the first Sun Valley Glitter Games at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24 at Campion Ice House.

The event is inspired by Battle of the Blades, which the Sun Valley Figure Skating Club (SVFSC) first introduced in 2011. The original event brought the “Dancing with the Stars” format and included local celebrities such as a local baker, librarians, shop owners and others.

“It was one of the coolest community events I have ever been a part of and it was one of the huge reasons that made me want to move to the valley and the community behind it was the coolest,” said Ashley Clark, organizer of the Sun Valley Glitter Games.

The last Battle of the Blades was held in 2014 and after hearing community interest to bring it back, the Sun Valley Glitter Games was created to incorporate the Sun Valley Suns Hockey team.

“Logistically it became a little more difficult not only to get the time commitment from everyone but also the resources. Part of this reboot is to really hone the skating community…and put this on in a fashion that works for the community a little bit better,” said Kelsey Bates, co-organizer Glitter Games.

“We wanted to involve the community to see what it would be like to bring the hockey players into our figure skating world as well as bridge the two worlds together and bring the figure skaters into the hockey world and create a different but similar event called the Glitter Games,” Clark added.

Clark has been skating with Sun Valley on Ice for the last 20 years as a professional ice skater and is hoping to bring more awareness to the valley of the skating community through the event.

“I really want to bridge the gap between figure skating and hockey because we have a huge skating family. There’s two communities and I want to merge them…this valley’s small, so why not bring them together,” Clark said.

Bates has been skating since she was six years old and is a former coach in the valley.

“It was actually a family vacation to Sun Valley that started my skating so it’s fun now to be a part of the community, and to be hopefully bringing in this event to like grow that community, both hockey and figure skating…and bridge them into one mega community rather than trying to compete,” Bates said.

The emcees of the event will be Pete Prekeges, Mayor of Ketchum and Ashley Langley, a previous winner of Battle of the Blades who is coming back to host the event. Three celebrity judges will judge the performances and are yet to be announced.

“There’s also going to be an audience participation component. The goal is to entertain the audience, not just appease the judges,” Bates said.

Skaters from the SVFSC will perform a short intermission and alumni of Battle of the Blades will also take to the ice.

“It’s going to be a fun event for the whole family,” Bates said.

All proceeds will benefit Campion Ice Rink and help fund a new building edition. The Gazette previously reported on the expansion HERE.

“We wanted to pair it with a fundraiser because that’s how we did it in the past and it just seemed like this was the right opportunity to pair it with Campion,” Bates said. “It’s the Sun’s home rink and the best way to bring it down to Hailey, raise money for a good cause to help them build the building addition and bridge these two communities together.”

The Sun Valley Glitter Games teams are as follows:

Kelsey Bates and Trevor Thomas

Ashley Clark, Julia Bennett and Jack Stevens

Kim Navarro and Cade Street

Carmen Mitchell and Mike Curry

Kim Selby and Adam Wisco

Natalia Zaitseva and Vinny Dimaggio

Brent Bommentre and Abbey Nimgeers

“Us as figure skaters get it a bit easier…the hockey players will be taken out of their comfort zone. We’re going to have costumes and programs, and they’re going to be learning tricks that probably require a little bit more finesse than they’re used to,” Bates said. “We’re putting some really tough guys who are phenomenal skaters into some positions they’re not used to.”

“It’s going to be a rowdy, hysterical, fun night,” Clark added.

Early bird family packages are currently being offered at a discounted price. The Campion Ice House is located at 771 S Main St. in Hailey.

https://www.5bgazette.com/life_culture/sun-valley-glitter-games-brings-figure-skaters-hockey-players-together-on-ice/article_8d5b37c3-0151-4c81-97d1-bd953f2b624c.html

A “Dancing with the Stars” style competition is coming to the Wood River Valley as Sun Valley Suns Hockey players will take to the ice alongside professional ice figure skaters

09/29/2026

Before a data center can locate in Blaine County’s light-industrial zone, commissioners said Tuesday, the county first needs a definition, hard limits on water and size, and a permitting track that may be tougher than a routine conditional use.

Land Use Director Rachel Martin asked the board to initiate amendments to Title 9, Chapter 15. She said the office has been talking for some time about effects on neighbors and the community, and that other Idaho jurisdictions have already adopted data-center rules. Staff thinks the use could fit in light industrial with tight parameters. Codes elsewhere in the state, she said, have required non-consumptive water only and barred surface water for cooling.

Chair Angenie McCleary said the county should have acted sooner and would not support making data centers outright permitted, or ordinary conditional uses, in light industrial without more work. She backed starting the amendment process and asked staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission to look at whether the use needs its own criteria or permitting track, noting past appeals of large conditional-use cases.

Commissioners voted unanimously to open the rewrite. No project or site was named. Drafts will go to Planning and Zoning and through public hearings before returning to the board.

https://www.5bgazette.com/government_policy/county-opens-data-center-code-rewrite/article_a47a68bd-7502-4524-adee-913647600dbf.html

Before a data center can locate in Blaine County’s light-industrial zone, commissioners said Tuesday, the county first needs a definition, hard limits on water and size, and a permitting track

09/29/2026

A developer’s request to bring about 191 acres east of Gannett Road into the city drew its sharpest challenge Monday from one council member, even as the same meeting put a rewrite of Bellevue’s business zones and a long-promised look at the city’s Seamans Creek water project on the table, two days before that water plan was due at the state.

Read more here or on our app https://www.5bgazette.com/government_policy/only-wrede-presses-hard-as-gannett-ranch-annexation-returns-to-bellevue/article_1b6bec71-44ea-4cb3-a98b-648aa9dcfdde.html

A developer’s request to bring about 191 acres east of Gannett Road into the city drew its sharpest challenge Monday from one council member, even as the same meeting put

09/29/2026

A lawsuit filed from a Boise-based daycare and three parents asking for the Idaho Medical Freedom Act (IMFA) to be struck down was dismissed last week in federal court, and the Idaho Attorney General's Office hails the ruling as a major win.

https://www.5bgazette.com/lawsuit-against-idaho-medical-freedom-act-dismissed/article_4cd1eedb-fc98-4752-9e76-c84674724f0c.html

A lawsuit filed from a Boise-based daycare and three parents asking for the Idaho Medical Freedom Act (IMFA) to be struck down was dismissed last week in federal court, and