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IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — Two men are now in custody after crashing into an Idaho Falls neighborhood while fleeing a traffic stop early Monday morning, November 24, 2025.

The incident began around 12:30 a.m. when a Bonneville County Sheriff’s Deputy spotted two vehicles street racing near the intersection of 25th E. and 1st St.

When the Deputy attempted to initiate a traffic stop, one of the vehicles immediately turned onto Mesa St. and sped away. The Deputy followed the vehicle down the dead-end street, where they found the vehicle had lost control and crashed into a tree in the front yard of a home.

As more Deputies arrived on the scene, they found and detained the two men as they attempting to exit the wrecked vehicle. The driver was identified as 18-year-old Augustine Perez Jr., who was placed under arrest for Felony Eluding a Peace Officer. The passenger was identified as 20-year-old Terrin Malik Hopwood, who police discovered was in possession of several THC Vapes.

In the subsequent investigation, Deputies found an AR-15 rifle inside the vehicle and determined that Hopwood had allegedly tossed a 9mm handgun into the front yard of the home just moments before the Deputy pulled up. Deputies also found several THC vape devices underneath the vehicle.

Both Perez and Hopwood were transported to a local hospital for medical clearance due to minor injuries from the crash. They were then booked into the Bonneville County Jail. During the booking process at the jail, Perez was officially booked on a Felony Charge of Eluding, and Hopwood was booked for Misdemeanor Possession of Marijuana.

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — A 60-year-old Idaho Falls man was arrested Sunday evening after a drunken disturbance in the parking lot of Boozers/Shari’s off Broadway in Idaho Falls escalated into a brief police standoff.

Police say a man, identified through court records as Danny Oswalt, 60, was allegedly seen blocking a trucker in a truck with his car, refusing to let the trucker leave, and appeared to be trying to start a fight.

The incident took place around 7:00 PM. The Idaho Falls Police said in a Facebook post that Oswalt tried to flee and drove a short distance through the parking lot as their officers arrived on scene. The officers boxed Oswalt in with patrol vehicles and attempted to instruct him to exit the vehicle.

Police say Oswalt refused to leave the vehicle, and after speaking with the man over the phone, it was clear the 60-year-old was intoxicated and should not be driving.

Eventually, police say Oswalt suddenly got out of his car, saying he was going to make the officers shoot him. According to the post, he refused to follow commands and began digging in his pockets. IFPD says an officer used a less-lethal tool: a 40 mm launcher that fires a blue, ping-pong-sized foam projectile, which officers refer to as a “Smurf round.”

The officer fired three rounds, striking Oswalt all three times. The projectiles incapacitated him long enough for officers to safely and quickly approach and detain him. A further search of his vehicle uncovered multiple open containers of alcohol.

Oswalt was transported to a local hospital for medical clearance before being booked into the Bonneville County Jail. He faces charges of False Imprisonment, DUI, Eluding, Possession of an Open Container, and Resisting and Obstructing.

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)– Antares Industries celebrated its expansion to Idaho with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the Rogers building Monday morning.

A leading developer of advanced micro nuclear reactors from California, Antares Industries, is building an office in downtown Idaho Falls. This decision comes after the company has worked extensively with the Idaho National Laboratory.

“Earlier this year, we established a $40 million partnership agreement with Idaho National Lab. And we decided, given how much we’re investing here, it’s time to have a permanent presence here in Idaho Falls,” Jordan Bramble, the CEO and Co-founder of Antares, said.

The event not only captured the collaboration between INL, the United States Department of Energy, and Antares, but also highlighted the growing nuclear energy market in Idaho.

“Idaho is really the birthplace of American nuclear energy, and we believe it’s also going to be the home of the rebirth of American nuclear energy,” Bramble said.

Representative Mike Simpson, along with representatives from INL and the U.S. Department of Energy, made their remarks before the ribbon-cutting.

“It really feels like we’ve become one team,” Bramble said.

In a push to speed up the approval and development of geothermal energy, Idaho Congressman Russ Fulcher (R) sponsored a bill to ease the regulatory burden on exploring potential geothermal sites.

“[The] biggest obstacle thus far has been just simply not getting permission or not getting access to where the resources are. And so that’s what this legislation is geared to try to do, is just make it available,” said Fulcher.

The bill, H.R. 5576, provides a new regulatory exclusion for geothermal exploration activities on federal land.

Currently, any geothermal exploration requires an Environmental Assessment (EA) that may take up to 10 months to get completed, with no guarantee the application will even get approved. Oil and gas wells do not need an EA for exploration, if land has already been approved for drilling. Fulcher’s bill would align geothermal exploration with oil and gas which he says will greatly speed up the process.

“So we think we’ve got a real win win situation here. We’ve got a great source of energy that’s a dependable baseload. It’s cheap, it’s clean, it takes a very small footprint that it disturbs on the land surface,” said Fulcher. “And and it’s just a great energy source at a time when our energy demands are really skyrocketing.”

Fulcher said Idaho in particular could benefit as we are one of the most prime states for geothermal exploration. He also said he doesn’t think other environmental concerns will hold up the development of geothermal plants as much compared to other sources of power like nuclear or coal.

The bill still has to make its way through the house, but Fulcher says he believes it has enough support on both sides of the isle to get the approval. If it does pass the house, it will then move onto the Senate. If it passes the Senate, then it moves to President Trump’s desk. Fulcher says he believes the President will support and sign the bill.