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Eastern Idaho is the area of Idaho lying east of the Magic Valley region. Much of the region is in the Mormon Corridor, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints plays a major role in the lives of the region's residents.
Eastern Idaho is generally understood to include Bannock, Bear Lake, Bingham, Bonneville, Caribou, Clark, Franklin, Fremont, Jefferson, Madison, Oneida, Power and Teton counties.
According to the 2010 census the counties of the Eastern Idaho region had a combined population of 365,847. Idaho Falls and Pocatello are the region's largest cities and only metropolitan areas, accounting for the majority of the region's population. Other important cities include Rexburg, Chubbuck and Blackfoot. Americans who are of English ancestry form a large plurality in every county in eastern Idaho.
Eastern Idaho is a solidly Republican region, even more so than the rest of the state. Besides Teton County voting for Barack Obama in 2008 and Joe Biden in 2020, no county in the region has voted for a Democratic presidential nominee since the landslide election of 1964, which was also the last time the region as well as the state of Idaho as a whole voted for the candidate of the Democratic Party.
The region has also shown a strong affinity for third-party candidates, such as for the candidacies of George Wallace in 1968, John G. Schmitz in 1972, Bo Gritz in 1992, and Evan McMullin in 2016, all four of whom besides Wallace performed exceptionally well there proportionate to the share of the national vote. [1]
Eastern Idaho is home to several of the state's colleges and universities, including Idaho State University in Pocatello, College of Eastern Idaho in Idaho Falls and Brigham Young University-Idaho in Rexburg. The Center for Higher Education provides outreach degree programs for Idaho State University and the University of Idaho at University Place in Idaho Falls. Most of the region's cities and towns support separate public school districts.
Eastern Idaho is generally thought of as an all-season outdoor mecca above all else, with ski resorts Kelly Canyon and Pebble Creek, and extreme proximity to Yellowstone, the Tetons, Jackson, and Grand Targhee in Wyoming, each of which lie near the Idaho border. The area is also renowned in the fly fishing world as well, with travelers coming from afar to fish the Snake River and its branches and tributaries. Island Park, Bear Lake, Heise Hot Springs, and Lava Hot Springs are also regional tourist hotspots.
Cultural events are routinely held at Idaho State University and Brigham Young University-Idaho, and at various venues throughout downtown Idaho Falls. Idaho State University's 123,000-square-foot (11,400 m2) L.E. and Thelma E Stephens Performing Arts Center contains state-of-the-art performance space. The facility's Jensen Grand Concert Hall contains more than 500 fiberglass-reinforced gypsum panels which allow the concert hall to be computer-tuned. Two ceiling canopies allow the acoustics of the hall to be computer-adjusted, making the center a hit with both performers and their audiences. Idaho Falls's Museum of Idaho brings in major national exhibitions each year, including Da Vinci inventions and the famous Bodies exhibit.
The Eastern Idaho State Fair is held every September in Blackfoot. The 2004 independent film Napoleon Dynamite was set in and filmed on location in Preston in Cache Valley.
Since the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the largest religion in the region, Mormon culture dominates the region, though there are also many Methodists, Baptists, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, and Jehovah's Witnesses.
There are only two professional sports teams in the region. First is the Idaho Falls Chukars of Minor League Baseball. The organization, which has changed names and affiliations numerous times, has been around since 1940 and has played at Melaleuca Field since 2007. Second, the Idaho Falls Spud Kings, who play at the Mountain America Center in Idaho Falls. The team played their first game in the winter of 2022.
In the spring of 2018, Eastern Idaho gained a semi-professional soccer team Idaho Lobos FC based in Idaho Falls. The team competes in the Mountain Conference of the UPSL. [2]
The Eastern Idaho region grows most of Idaho's potato crop, making it one of the world's most productive potato-growing areas. Barley for beer production is also significant. Several major breweries, including Coors, Anheuser-Busch and Mexico's Grupo Modelo have barley producing operations in the area. Sugar beets, alfalfa and wheat are also major crops. There are also many cattle ranches for raising beef.
Idaho National Laboratory between Idaho Falls and Arco in Butte County is one of the nation's top nuclear research facilities. Philo Farnsworth, inventor of the cathode ray tube, and considered the primary inventor of television grew up in Rigby. ON Semiconductor (formerly AMIS) of Pocatello is a computer chip manufacturer. Idaho State University in Pocatello is home to the Idaho Accelerator Center. The center contains 10 operating accelerators used in research done through the University, national laboratories such as INL, and the private sector. Idaho State University operates the Center For Advanced Energy Studies at University Place in Idaho Falls. This public-private partnership researches solutions to America's continuing energy crisis.
Idaho is a landlocked state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington and Oregon to the west; the state shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border to the north with the Canadian province of British Columbia. Idaho's state capital and largest city is Boise. With an area of 83,569 square miles (216,440 km2), Idaho is the 14th-largest state by land area. The state has a population of approximately two million people; it ranks as the 13th-least populous and the seventh-least densely populated of the 50 U.S. states.
Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the population was 52,913. The county seat and largest city is Rexburg. Madison County is part of the Rexburg, Idaho micropolitan area, which is also included in the Idaho Falls metropolitan area.
Scouting in Idaho has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
Rexburg is a city in Madison County, Idaho, United States. The population was 39,409 at the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Madison County and its largest city. Rexburg is the principal city of the Rexburg, ID Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Fremont and Madison counties. The city is home to Brigham Young University–Idaho (BYU-Idaho), a private institution operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Brigham Young University–Idaho is a private college in Rexburg, Idaho. Founded 137 years ago in 1888, the college is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Previously known as Ricks College, it transitioned from a junior college to a baccalaureate institution in 2001.
The Mormon corridor are the areas of western North America that were settled between 1850 and approximately 1890 by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who are commonly called "Mormons".
Mark George Ricks was an American Republican politician from Idaho. He served as the 40th lieutenant governor of Idaho from June 2006 to January 2007.
The Rexburg Idaho Temple is the 125th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The intent to build the temple was announced by the First Presidency on December 12, 2003, in a letter to local church leaders. The temple was the third in Idaho, and the first in the state in the 21st century.
Interstate 15 (I-15) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from San Diego, California, to Sweetgrass, Montana. In Idaho, the Interstate Highway runs exactly 196 miles (315 km) from the Utah state line near Woodruff north to the Montana state line at Monida Pass. I-15 is the primary north–south highway of Eastern Idaho. The Interstate Highway connects Pocatello and Idaho Falls, the fourth and fifth largest cities in Idaho, and the smaller county seats of Malad City, Blackfoot, and Dubois. I-15 connects all of those cities with Salt Lake City to the south and Butte to the north. The Interstate has business loops through McCammon, Inkom, Pocatello, Blackfoot, and Idaho Falls.
KMGI is a commercial FM radio station located in Pocatello, Idaho. KMGI was the first classic rock station in Idaho, originally licensed on June 27, 1978.
The Idaho Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of three counties in eastern Idaho, anchored by the city of Idaho Falls. As of the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 154,855. It is just north of the Pocatello, Idaho Metropolitan Area.
Idaho's 2nd congressional district is one of two congressional districts in the U.S. state of Idaho, in the eastern portion of the state. Beginning with the 2012 election, the district expanded westward and now includes most of Boise, the state capital and largest city. The district is currently represented by Mike Simpson, a Republican of Idaho Falls. A former dentist in Blackfoot, he was first elected in 1998; the seat opened when his predecessor Mike Crapo successfully ran for the U.S. Senate.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Idaho refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in Idaho. Rexburg, Idaho is home to Brigham Young University–Idaho. Idaho has the third most church members of any U.S. state, and the second-highest percentage of members. The LDS Church is the largest denomination in Idaho, with the largest presence in Eastern Idaho.
George S. Ballif was an early LDS Church Missionary in France. Ballif was born in Logan, Utah, in 1894 before his family moved to Rexburg, Idaho, in 1900. Because of World War I, Ballif was relocated from France to Switzerland and England. After returning home from his mission in 1916, Ballif enrolled in Ricks College. A year later, Ballif was drafted and sent back to France as a soldier. Ballif attended Brigham Young University (BYU) after his return in 1919. Here, he was elected student body president. Ballif graduated from BYU in 1921 before going to Harvard Law School. He later transferred to the UC Berkeley School of Law where he graduated in 1924. He served as city, county, and district attorney in Utah. He was the city judge of Provo, Utah, as well as the president of the Utah County and Utah State Bar Associations. In his personal life, he married Algie Eggersten in 1920. They had four children. Ballif served on many committees and in many clubs throughout his life. He died in Salt Lake City, Utah.
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a tabernacle is a multipurpose religious building, used for church services and conferences, and as community centers. Tabernacles were typically built as endeavors of multiple congregations, usually at the stake level. They differ from meetinghouses in scale and differ from temples in purpose.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and a topical guide to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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