Good morning, Emmett. Here's what happened around town this week.

City & County

City dog-impound fees: public hearing April 14

If you’ve ever had a dog get loose (or helped a neighbor chase one down), here’s a heads-up: the City is holding a public hearing on Tuesday, April 14 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall (501 E. Main) about raising dog impounding fees.

The notice lists a proposed increase from $20 to $65 for the first day, and from $15 to $21 for each additional day. Written comments were accepted at the City Clerk’s office up until 5:00 p.m. Thursday (April 9).

Merrill’s Pit gravel project: decision pushed to May 26

As we reported last week, the Merrill’s Pit proposal drew a big crowd — and now we know what’s next.

Gem County commissioners held the public hearing over two nights (April 6 and April 7). After hearing testimony, they did not make a final decision. Instead, commissioners scheduled a deliberation for Tuesday, May 26 at 6:00 p.m. at the Gem County Annex.

Schools

No new district-wide updates posted this week

We checked the district website and didn’t see any new news posts or announcements dated late March or April.

(If you know of a school event or board update we should include next week, reply and point us to it — we’ll gladly add it.)

Development

SH-16 work continues; ITD says corridor still tracking for 2027 opening

The Idaho Transportation Department’s latest progress update says the SH-16 corridor (I-84 to SH-44) is about 50% complete and still expected to open in mid-2027.

A few things ITD highlighted: - Work continues on multiple interchanges (I-84, Franklin, Ustick, US-20/26, and SH-44). - A traffic shift at the Ustick interchange moved traffic to the south side starting March 23. - ITD says paving is expected to begin on parts of the SH-44 interchange ramps and State Street widening.

Separately, ITD’s update notes that the Valnova development is starting work on an overpass at Valnova Drive (north of Beacon Light). Drivers should expect changing traffic patterns, periodic lane restrictions, and flaggers during construction, with completion expected by December 2026.

Community

No new public event listings found on the Chamber calendar page

The Chamber’s events page didn’t show a dated list of upcoming community events when we checked this week.

If you’re organizing something (fundraiser, club meeting, market, etc.) and want it included here, send us the details and we’ll start rounding them up again.

Quick Notes

• If you’re planning ahead: City Council meetings are generally the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.

Sports

Sports scoreboard note

MaxPreps access has been inconsistent from our automated tools, so we don’t have a reliable, complete set of Emmett Huskies spring box scores to report this week.

Next issue, we’ll make a dedicated pass through the Huskies’ softball, baseball, and track schedules and highlight standout performances by name.