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Happening in Pocatello keeps locals informed with a weekly rundown of the city’s biggest news, events, crime reports, sports highlights, school district updates, weather, traffic issues, and restaurant talk. Hosts Mark and Joline bring a raw, critical edge that cuts through the noise and makes staying informed unexpectedly fun.
MARK: Welcome to 'Happening in Pocatello', the only podcast that gives a shit about this town as much as you do, which is to say, only when there's free food or a parking ticket involved. I'm Mark, your host who's composed primarily of black coffee and suppressed resentment for the I-15 interchange.
JOLEEN: And I'm Joleen, an upbeat, cynical local who's just here to remind you that despite the wind trying to relocate your patio furniture to Wyoming, this city is actually pretty fucking great. If you like drama, drones, and dough-based desserts, you're in the right place because today is Monday, March 30, 2026, and we've got a hell of a lot to talk about.
MARK: First off, let's talk about the absolute peak of local government innovation. Bannock County has decided that their new high-tech mosquito-fighting drone needs a name, and they've turned it into a 'March Madness' style bracket. Because nothing says 'we have too much time on our hands' like putting a pesticide sprayer through a 64-team tournament.
JOLEEN: Don't be such a dick, Mark. It's for West Nile virus prevention! The Hylio AG-230 is out there reaching marshy areas where trucks would just get stuck and look stupid. Entries closed last week, and the bracket is currently live on social media. The final championship is April 6, and the winner gets announced the next day.
MARK: I'm betting the winning name is something like 'Buzzkill' or 'The Snot-Rocket'. People are so predictable. I just hope some asshole didn't suggest 'Droney McDroneFace' because that's been dead since 2016. If we're going to name a flying poison-delivery system, let's at least make it sound edgy. Maybe 'The Gate City Grim Reaper'?
JOLEEN: You're such a dickhead. It has to be family-friendly, twenty-five characters or fewer. I actually like that they're involving the community. It makes the idea of a robot hovering over our wetlands spraying chemicals feel slightly less like a dystopian sci-fi movie. Plus, it's 'March Madness'! It's timely! It's Pocatello!
MARK: Moving on to things that are significantly less 'fun', we've got to address the update on Zachary and Megan Olpin. These two Pocatello parents were in court last Tuesday for a preliminary hearing regarding some truly horrific child abuse allegations. Security footage from the East Idaho Aquarium in Idaho Falls basically caught them being absolute pieces of shit.
JOLEEN: It's honestly nauseating. The video showed Megan hitting a seven-year-old girl in the face with a shoe and dragging her around. Then Zachary apparently decided to join in by slamming the poor kid's head against an electrical box. Like, who the fuck does that? Especially in public at an aquarium? It's beyond cynical, even for me.
MARK: The defense is trying to say it was an 'accident' or they didn't know she hit her head. Please. Video doesn't lie, even if you do. The girl is safe with her grandmother now, thank god, but the sheer stupidity and cruelty of doing that in front of security cameras really highlights the type of people we're dealing with here. They're facing felony injury to a child, and rightfully so.
JOLEEN: Switching gears to students who actually deserve some praise, the Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25 announced their March C.A.K.E. Award recipients. Anela Jake from Indian Hills and Lilly Russell from Highland High. Anela is a fifth-grader who is apparently a 'natural encourager'. I didn't even know fifth-graders could be encouraging; I thought they just existed to trade Pokemon cards and smell like old milk.
MARK: And Lilly Russell is the Yearbook Design Editor at Highland. Her advisor said she holds people to high standards but does it with respect. If she can manage a bunch of teenagers during a yearbook deadline without losing her mind, she's already more qualified to run this city than half the people at City Hall. They got McDonald's gift cards too, so I guess the reward for being a good person is a McDouble.
JOLEEN: Hey, don't knock the free fries! It's a nice gesture. And speaking of food, have you seen the line at Crispy Cones on Yellowstone? They finally opened on March 20, and it's been a total circus. It's that Shark Tank place where they grill the dough rotisserie-style and then fill it with soft serve and spreads. I went on Friday and honestly, it's kind of life-changing.
MARK: Oh, great. Another place for us to get diabetes while standing in the Pocatello wind. The owners, the Corrals, actually hired twenty locals, which is cool. But I'm skeptical of any dessert that requires a 'European-inspired pastry craftsmanship' description. It's a cone, Joleen. You put ice cream in it and eat it before it melts on your shirt. It's not the Louvre.
JOLEEN: You're just bitter because you didn't get the 'Barbara Corcoran' special. They're open until midnight, which is a miracle in this town where everything usually shuts down by nine unless you're at a bar. It's nice to have a spot that actually feels like it belongs in a real city. Plus, they're kitty-corner from Harbor Freight, so you can buy a wrench and a pastry cone in one trip. That's the Pocatello dream.
MARK: In sports, the Idaho State men's tennis team hosted Montana State this past Saturday. Now, tennis isn't exactly the sport that gets everyone screaming at the ICCU Dome, but the Bobcats were coming off a massive win in Moscow where they snapped a twenty-two-match road losing streak. They were hungry, and they played with a lot of 'bottom-of-the-lineup magic' as their coach calls it.
JOLEEN: I always feel bad for tennis players in March in Idaho. One minute it's sixty-nine degrees, and the next you're playing through a goddamn sleet storm. But speaking of the ICCU Dome, Bengal Giving Day just wrapped up, and they raised over eight hundred and twenty-six thousand dollars! That's a lot of money for a school celebrating its 125th anniversary. Eight hundred and thirty-five donors stepped up.
MARK: That's actually impressive. I usually assume people in this town are too cheap to donate anything more than a bag of dented cans to a food drive. But over eight hundred grand? That's a serious investment in the future. They even had fifty squishy Bengals hidden around campus worth fifty bucks each to the area of your choice. I'm imagining a bunch of grown-ass adults diving under bushes for a squishy tiger.
JOLEEN: I'd dive under a bush for fifty bucks! Anyway, looking at the weekend ahead, the Mayor's Youth Advisory Council is holding an Essential Needs Drive this Saturday, April 4. They're looking for things like diapers and hygiene products for the Free Little Pantry. If you've got extra shit in your cupboard that isn't expired, go drop it off. Don't be an asshole; help out the kids.
MARK: Also, the Marshall Public Library is celebrating twenty-five years of their Poetry Wall. If you think you're a poet and you didn't know it, go check it out. Or just go and realize that your rhymes are actually terrible compared to the locals who've been doing this for decades. It's a nice way to feel culturally superior for an hour.
JOLEEN: Culture? In Pocatello? You're hilarious. Let's talk about the weather, because Mother Nature is definitely off her meds this week. Today we're hitting sixty-nine degrees with some overcast skies, but don't get comfortable. By Thursday, we're looking at a high of forty-seven with rain showers that some forecasts say will turn into heavy snow by the evening.
MARK: It's the classic Idaho 'fake spring'. You wash your car, you put the winter coat in the attic, and then the universe laughs and dumps four inches of slush on your driveway. Friday morning is going to be light snow early before the sun breaks through. If you're planning on driving anywhere Thursday night, maybe don't. Or at least don't drive like a dickhead when the first snowflake hits the windshield.
JOLEEN: Exactly. Saturday and Sunday look gorgeous, though. Highs in the sixties and nothing but sun. It's like the weather has bipolar disorder and we're all just along for the ride. Speaking of rides, watch out for construction on Flandro Drive. They're putting in raised medians and new sidewalks near Quinn Road. It's for 'safety', which is code for 'we're going to make it harder for you to turn left'.
MARK: They're also doing pedestrian crossing improvements along Main Street and near the high school. Bulb-outs and curb ramps. I'm all for not hitting students with my truck, but Main Street is already a nightmare. Just add it to the list of roads that'll be a clusterfuck for the next three months. At least the rental market is cooling off a bit. Average rent is down to about a thousand bucks, and it's officially a buyer's market for homes.
JOLEEN: Yeah, if you've got three hundred and fifty thousand dollars just lying around for a median-priced home. It's 'affordable' compared to Boise, sure, but it's still Pocatello. Anyway, that's our show for today. If you want to yell at us or tell us we're wrong about the drone names, email us at pocatello@thehappeningnetwork.com.
MARK: Make sure you like, subscribe, and comment wherever you listen to this shit. It helps us stay relevant and keeps the bills paid so I don't have to start a rival drone-naming bracket. Stay safe out there, Pocatello. Don't let the wind blow you into the next county, and for the love of god, keep your shoes off your kids' faces.
JOLEEN: That's a low bar, Mark, but a necessary one. See you guys next time. Keep it weird, Gate City.