Flights between Idaho Falls, Minneapolis-St. Paul set to start in June

The 76-seat CRJ900, a regional jet that is scheduled to start flying between Idaho Falls and Minneapolis-St. Paul in June. 

Delta Air Lines will begin offering non-stop service from Idaho Falls Regional Airport to Minneapolis-St. Paul beginning on June 7.

Service will be provided with a CRJ-900 jet aircraft that will offer first class and economy seating as well as domestic Wi-Fi service. The public can purchase tickets online now at www.Delta.com.

They will initially offer the new service three days a week (Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday) through the end of summer. “The goal is to have the flights be successful enough that it will translate into continued flights and additional service,” Airport Director Craig H. Davis said in a press release.

Flights will arrive in Idaho Falls at 12:59 p.m. and depart at 1:25 p.m., arriving in Minneapolis-St. Paul at 4:43 p.m.

"The connection will provide multiple destination options for both business and leisure travelers to and from our community," Davis said. "(The) airport offers a very comprehensive service to the upper Midwest and East Coast." There are 95 possible destinations beyond Minneapolis-St. Paul, 30 more than what is available beyond Salt Lake City, he said.

Delta began taking delivery of 76-seat CRJ900s in the second half of 2013 as part of a drive to restructure its fleet of planes. In late 2012, it announced it had made an agreement with Bombardier Aerospace under which Delta was to acquire 40 new CRJ900 two-class regional jets, with the option of purchasing an additional 30, phasing out its smaller regional jets.

“The economics and customer features of the Bombardier CRJ900 made it the right aircraft to add to our Delta Connection fleet,” said Delta President Ed Bastian. “Combined with the removal of 50-seat aircraft, this opportunity bolsters our ongoing fleet restructuring program to remove less efficient, smaller regional aircraft from the system.”

Broadway Ford plans new building behind present site

Ann-Michelle Jones

As soon as weather permits, probably late March or early April, Broadway Ford will be breaking ground on a new building behind the West Broadway building they've been in since 1984.

The owners have been talking about a new showroom and servies department for several years, said Ann-Michelle Jones, Broadway Ford's social media and e-commerce director. There was no desire to leave where they've been ("We kind of like where we are," she said), but they are looking forward to a modern new building with a service department twice the size of what they have. They anticipate being open in early 2015.

Preliminary site plans have been submitted to the city of Idaho Falls. Jones didn't have an exact square footage figure to report. "It will be just bigger and better," she said.

For the second straight year, Broadway Ford was recently named Idaho's 2014 Dealer of the Year by dealerrater.com. The ratings are based on online ratings and reviews.

Does Valentine's Day have any business in the workplace?

Cards, candy hearts, roses, and chocolate –- if you haven’t noticed, Valentine’s Day is upon us once again.

As our family prepared for this week, my 8-year old happily reviewed with me her Valentines she made for each of her classmates.  On Friday she will proudly give her cards and candy to friends at her class party. Valentine’s Day has always had a place in the schools and classrooms -– but what about the workplace?

Thousands of people across the country will happily give chocolates, cards, candy and flowers in the workplace on Friday or in turn receive them from loved ones outside the workplace. It seems innocent and harmless right? It would be ludicrous to think that such a fun and casual holiday could have a negative impact on the workplace. But hold on ...

For a holiday like Valentine’s Day, a commercialized annual celebration of love, often times gifts, cards or emails celebrating this holiday can lead to unintentional mixed messages among co-workers.  A simple card, gift or flirtatious comment from one co-worker to another has the potential to create a negative response on the receiving end, which can lead to damaged working relationships and even -- based on the nature of the gift, card, email or behavior -- claims of sexual harassment.

At the management level, if gifts, cards and candy go to selected employees and not everyone, this can lead to charges of favoritism. These issues can damage relations between co-workers and affect internal operations in ways that far exceed the initial impact on Valentine’s Day.

As if this didn’t seem problematic enough, think of how productivity itself is decreased on Valentine’s Day – especially for the employee who has to sign for, receive and distribute deliveries to the workplace. As employees receive cards, gifts and flowers, others are stopping to see what their colleagues have received. I am pretty sure if one were to observe the productivity and efficiency levels of a business on Valentine’s Day the results would be shocking.

Still, for all the bad there can also be a light and appropriate side to Valentine’s Day in the workplace. Valentine’s Day is a perfect opportunity to have fun internal events like potlucks, teambuilding exercises, employee appreciation events and sharing tasty treats like desserts.

It's your business.

Cardon files plans for new car wash

The building plans at the Idaho Falls Building Department office for Cardon's new car wash.

Matt Cardon, owner of Cardon's Car Wash and Lube on First Street, has filed building plans with the city of Idaho Falls to develop a 4,483-square-foot tunnel car wash on the lot at Holmes Avenue and North Yellowstone where the Bank of Commerce used to have its offices.

Last summer, Cardon received variances that reduced the width of landscaping strips and setbacks on the Northgate Mile and Holmes sides of the lot (also bordered by Poulson and Payne Streets).

Cardon had filed a site development plan in late. No zoning change was required (the lot is zoned Highway/Commercial-1), which meant that he has had a green light since then to proceed with a formal site plan, building plans and a permit.

TEDxAmmon speakers announced

Here is a list of speakers and topics to be presented at TEDxAmmon, scheduled for Feb. 21 at Eastern Idaho Technical College.

TED and TEDx presentations draw from a wide variety of subject matter and are meant to be thought-provoking, captivating and inspiring. Speakers are encouraged to give “the talk of a lifetime,” and for many speakers who’ve found a worldwide audience, they’ve been precisely that.

Stipulations by TED require that there be no more than 100 people at TEDxAmmon. Anyone interested in attending may apply at www.TEDxAmmon.com, after which they will be informed if they have been selected. For those unable to be at the live event, all presentations will be simultaneously broadcast on the internet at www.TEDxAmmon.com. Every presentation will be recorded, edited and uploaded to the TEDx event database for later viewing.

The talks run from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., with a break for dinner at 7.

Chris Haskell: Blowing Up the Gradebook

Victor Walker: Our Machines and the Stories We Tell Them

Matt Ridley: When Ideas Have Sex (video)

Monica Bitrick: What's Your Story -- Creating You As A Brand

Zane Schenk: The Cutting Edge

Break for dinner

George Brunt: The Value of Cheap Energy

Don Miley: Making Sci-Fi Sci-Fact: Nuclear Energy History and Perceptions

Bastian Schaefer: A 3d-Printed Jumbo Jet? (video)

John Hart: The Life Cycle of Creative Movements

Heidi Reeder: How Commitment Shapes Our Lives

David Gallo: Underwater Astonishments (video)

Tyler Price: The Importance of Failure

Troy Chipps: Conquer Your Key Moments

For updates, information may be found at www.TEDxAmmon.com, on FaceBook at www.facebook.com/TEDxAmmon and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TEDxAmmon.

Work begins on 17th Street Starbucks

Work has begun on the Starbucks planned for the corner of 17th Street and Jennie Lee Drive, with an opening planned for late May, according to Bob Hayes of Keller Construction. A crew from the Salt Lake City-based company is removing the front of the old Los Albertos. Remodeling of the shell will be extensive, but the foundation was solid enough that a complete demolition was not necessary, Hayes said. Keller Construction has built more than 15 Starbucks in the west, including the one on West Broadway in Idaho Falls.

Arts Council chooses visual arts director

Georgina Goodlander

The Idaho Falls Arts Council has hired Georgina Goodlander as its visual arts director, to  lead content selection, program development and activity integrity at the ARTitorium on Broadway. She will also be responsible for the development, coordination and installation of all visual arts exhibitions at the Carr and Hall community galleries, located inside the Willard Arts Center.

“We have known since the beginning that ARTitorium on Broadway would need someone with a uniquely advanced set of skills to meet its mission," said Brandi Newton, the council's executive director. “Georgina doesn't just meet those expectations, she exceeds them.”

From 2003 to January 2014, Goodlander lived in Baltimore, Md., and worked at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Beginning at the museum as an intern in 2003, she went on to manage its innovative Luce Foundation Center for American Art, coordinated The Art of Video Games exhibition and then became deputy chief of media and technology, where she oversaw web and social media content.

Before this, she taught English in Songjiang, China, worked in a gift shop in Toronto, and was lead hostess at the Old Faithful Inn Dining Room in Yellowstone National Park which began her dream to relocate to this part of the country.