The McCall Star-News

08/25/2025

Want to learn more about bats?
Ponderosa State Park is hosting BAT WEEK this week. Take walk with the bats or check out the Junior Ranger Program on bats on Saturday.
Look for Junior Ranger program information in The Star-News.

08/22/2025

The winner of the McCall Library Summer Reading Program Alasdair Jeffus, 8, was awarded with a new bicycle on Friday for reading the most of any participant over the summer at 1,400 minutes. Jeffus was awarded with a mountain bike purchased by the McCall Professional Firefighters Local 4564, in collaboration with Gravity Sports of McCall. Pictured are Lars Hedin of Gravity Sports, McCall Librarian Casey Bruck, Alasdair Jeffus and Bryan Plaza, James Manning, Danielle Desmond and Freddie Van Middendorp of McCall Fire. Photo by Max Silverson/The Star-News

08/22/2025

The McCall Memorial Hospital District approved $1.4 million for a workforce housing project on Mission Street, moving to restrict the project to healthcare workers only.

The $1.4 million will pay for four of 38 homes approved to be built on a five-acre property on Mission Street. The district plans to rent to St. Luke’s McCall employees and contractors because the hospital has had a difficult time filling open job postings due to the lack of housing in McCall.

The project was part of the district’s $1.5 million annual budget, which was approved this week.

Approval of the project was made while the district is under investigation by the Idaho Attorney General’s office in response to a citizen complain that claims that the district is improperly subsidizing St. Luke’s McCall.

See the full story here:

The McCall Memorial Hospital District on Tuesday approved $1.4 million for a workforce housing project on Mission Street, moving to restrict the project to healthcare workers only.

08/21/2025

The City of Donnelly is considering an agreement that would see a developer fund water system upgrades in exchange for roughly 20 years of prepaid water connection fees.

If the agreement is approved, Donnelly developer Craig Groves would be responsible for building a 600,000-gallon water storage tank, and possibly a new municipal pumping system as well as tying those improvements into the city’s existing water system.

“We need to get going on this whether I build it or the city builds it, it needs to happen,” Groves said.

Groves is the developer of Mountain Meadows Ranch, which has plans to build more than 1,000 homes in two parts.

*The online version of this story has been updated from the print edition in today’s newspaper, which inadvertently omitted some details.*

The City of Donnelly is considering an agreement that would see a developer build the city’s water system upgrades in exchange for 20 years of free water service in prepaid connection fees.

08/20/2025

UPDATE: The advisory was lifted on Thursday at 10:45 a.m. following tests by the Department of Environmental Quality confirming that there were no contaminants in city water lines.

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An order to boil water was issued in McCall on Tuesday due to possible contamination in the city’s water system caused by a drop in pressure.

A fire hydrant valve on Mission Street broke at about 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, causing a drop in water pressure that could allow contamination to enter the system through backflow, according to the City of McCall.

The break was fixed and repaired on Wednesday morning, but tests were still underway to confirm the water was safe to drink.

The order asked people to boil water for at least a minute and let it cool before drinking water, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes or other food preparation.

Almost all of McCall was included in the advisory, except for residents west of the Payette River. The Rio Vista neighborhood and at Whitetail use a different water system that was not affected.

BY MAX SILVERSON The Star-News  An order to boil water was issued in McCall on Tuesday due to possible contamination in the city’s water system… Login to continue reading Login Sign up for complimentary access Sign Up Now Close

08/19/2025

Evacuation orders for the Rock Fire were upgraded to “set” on Tuesday with hot, dry and windy conditions in the forecast that will cause fire activity to increase.

“We’ve seen the fire become more active,” said Valley County Sheriff Kevin Copperi on Tuesday. “As the fire has moved closer to values at risk, we want to ensure that residents are prepared to leave if conditions warrant.”

The “set” evacuation notice applied to zone WM-07, which includes Tamarack Resort and the Poison Creek Campground. Two zones to the south of Tamarack remained in “ready” evacuation status as of Tuesday.

Valley County uses an evacuation notice system with three levels of ready, set and go. Set means there is significant danger in the area and residents must be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.

BY MAX SILVERSON The Star-News  Evacuation orders for the Rock Fire were upgraded to “set” on Tuesday with hot, dry and windy conditions in the… Login to continue reading Login Sign up for complimentary access Sign Up Now Close

08/18/2025

A health advisory for toxin producing cyanobacteria was issued Friday for the Van Wyck Boat Ramp on Lake Cascade.

Recent samples taken at the boat ramp showed high concentrations of toxin-producing cyanobacteria at levels that can be dangerous to people, pest and livestock, said the advisory issued by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

The advisory was specific to the Van Wyck Boat Ramp. Tests taken at the Blue Heron Campground about two miles south of the boat ramp showed lower concentrations of cyanobacteria that did not meet the threshold for a health advisory, according to the Department of Environmental Quality.

A health advisory has been issued on Lake Cascade in five out of the last seven years. Read more here:

BY MAX SILVERSON The Star-News  A health advisory for toxin producing cyanobacteria was issued Friday for the Van Wyck Boat Ramp on Lake Cascade.  Recent… Login to continue reading Login Sign up for complimentary access Sign Up Now Close

08/14/2025

The latest on the Rock Fire as of Thursday:

Firefighters worked through the night on Wednesday to build containment lines around the Rock Fire perimeter and create defensible space around nearby homes.

Lightning started several small fires just south of Tamarack Resort on Tuesday night that were either put out or consumed by the Rock Fire, which had grown to about 1,900 acres as of Thursday.

Spot fires were found within the ski runs on Tamarack Resort, but all were put out without further spread, the U.S. Forest Service - Boise National Forest said.

A “ready” evacuation order from the Valley County Sheriff’s Office was still in effect as of Thursday for all residents along the west side of Lake Cascade from West Roseberry Road to Bear Trail.

Containment on the nearby Quartz Fire and Colter Fire improved, with crews expected to wrap up both fires by the end of the weekend, allowing crews to focus on the Rock Fire and any new fires that spring up.

Full story here:

BY MAX SILVERSON The Star-News  Firefighters worked through the night on Wednesday to build containment lines around the Rock Fire perimeter and create defensible space around nearby homes.  Lightning started several small fires just south of Tamarack Resort on Tuesday night that were either put o...

08/14/2025

With the Rock Fire on everyone’s mind right now, we wanted to remind readers about our article on the wildfire tracking app Watch Duty.

Earlier this summer we interviewed a representative of the company to see how the app works, what information it shares and how much people can rely on the nearly real-time information it provides.

Read the article here: https://www.mccallstarnews.com/fire-updates-on-demand/

Tracking the Rock Fire so far, the app has been helpful for our coverage, but updates still lag behind the reality on the ground. That is expected as updates can only be posted once official information is released, but people keeping an eye on the fire’s progress should be aware that reports trail behind real-time developments.

Our main reporting resources on the Rock Fire and other wildfires in the region have been the U.S. Forest Service - Boise National Forest, U.S. Forest Service - Payette National Forest and Southern Idaho Timber Protective Association INC.

People have increasingly turned to the mobile phone application Watch Duty to read timely updates on wildfires that often outpace official sources like the Forest Service and state agencies.

08/13/2025

UPDATED at 3 p.m.

Lightning started several wildfires on West Mountain Tuesday night that grew to over 1000 acres as of Wednesday afternoon.

The Valley County Sheriff’s Office issued a “ready” evacuation order on Wednesday for all residents along the west side of Lake Cascade from West Roseberry Road to Bear Trail.

Firefighters, airplanes and helicopters have been fighting the fire throughout the day.

Assigned are: Two ten-person hand crews, a hotshot crew, a fire engine and a bulldozer. Two more hotshot crews arriving soon. Also on the fire a re four water scoopers, six single engine air tankers, four helicopters, four large air tankers and one very large air tanker—capable of carrying 8,000-gallons of fire retardant,

Read the full story here:

BY MAX SILVERSON The Star-News  Lightning started at least three fires on Tuesday night on West Mountain, with one fire starting less than a mile south of the top terminal of the Summit Express chairlift at the peak of Tamarack Resort.  The Rock Fire, Duck Fire and Lone Tree Fire were all ignited ...

08/11/2025

Valley County is asking people affected by the 2024 Boulder and Lava Fires to provide input to improve future emergency alerts.

The county has partnered with Boise State University’s Hazard and Climate Resilience Institute to improve communication for future wildfire evacuations and responses.

The BSU institute is conducting a survey of people who lived near the fire along the southwest side of Lake Cascade during the 2024 fires.

The survey is open until Friday and can be found online. Read more here:

BY MAX SILVERSON The Star-News  Valley County is asking people affected by the 2024 Boulder and Lava Fires to provide input to improve future emergency… Login to continue reading Login Sign up for complimentary access Sign Up Now Close

08/07/2025

U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Governor Brad Little and the leads of Perpetua Resources, Idaho Power and the College of Western Idaho visited Cascade Schools on Wednesday.

The group attended the presentation of a $250,000 endowed scholarship from Perpetua Resources for CWI students in the school’s Mining Technician and Geosciences program.

The event also celebrated the Idaho LAUNCH program, which provides 80% tuition and fees up to $8,000 towards the first year of college or technical training programs in Idaho.

The endowment is meant to pay for the portion of a student’s program costs that LAUNCH does not cover.

Read the full story here:

https://www.mccallstarnews.com/us-secretary-of-labor-governor-little-visit-cascade-schools/