Teton Dam: 5-Minute Histories Project It's been 49 years since the devastating flood did its best to wipe Sugar City off the map. In the summer of 2026, there will be a big commemoration in Rexburg, Sugar City, and the surrounding areas. The multi-day commemoration will include lectures and museum events, bus and walking tours in Rexburg and Sugar City, and shuttles out to the newly improved facilities at the dam site, etc. (This photo, taken after the flood waters had receded, is looking east on 3rd North in Sugar. The old sugar factory and the WWII POW camp building can be seen in the left corner.) This year, as part of our Sugar Days 2025 celebration, we're going to have a booth set up for residents who remember the flood to drop in and record up to a five-minute video in which they share their memories of that fateful time. We invite all who would like to participate. Sugar Days 2025 Speaking of Sugar Days, we invite all residents, sponsors, and vendors to put Saturday June...
Recently I read a post on social media comparing the penalty for speeding in a school zone to the possible maximum penalty for a resident pushing snow from their property into the street. Then someone in person asked me a similar question the other day, so I guess this idea is on people's minds. I don't know if the specific situation is in question here, or if the concern really has to do with some larger concepts of city ordinances and enforcement in general. "Is the maximum penalty extreme?" is usually not the central question when examining or creating city code. Of course it is. That's what a maximum penalty is supposed to be. Instead, a central question to ask is "Could there ever be a situation in which the maximum penalty is appropriate and necessary?" And if we could imagine a scenario--unlikely, but readily possible--in which it would be good for the city to have a severe penalty for a code or ordinance infraction available in its tool kit for p...