Willis pulls a pop-in to offer land for airport • Cold treatment of animals in Rexburg • What's going down near Pomerelle? • Rodeo rider-turned-QB is a chip off the old block • Ain't looking for nothing but a good time — and some country fried steak • Who will tune in to WAC TV?

Willis pulls a pop-in to offer land for airport

The Mtn. Express reports that actor Bruce Willis surprised the Friedman Memorial Airport Authority on Tuesday night, showing up to offer 2,000 acres of Camas County land for a new regional airport.

Willis called the area "best" for an airport. However, the Federal Aviation Administration doesn't share Willis' enthusiasm.

A report released by the FAA and consultant Landrum & Brown did not include the area just inside Camas County along U.S. highway 20 as acceptable from an aeronautical operations standpoint.

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Cold treatment of animals in Rexburg

The Rexburg Animal Shelter is having a problem with pets being abandoned at the shelter without food or water when it's not open.

Some pets have been thrown over tall fences at the shelter, and others tied to a fence or put in boxes or carriers that aren't large enough.

"There's the right way and the wrong way to do it," Candice Billingsley, the shelter's animal adoption coordinator, told the Standard Journal.

Billingsley said the cost to surrender a pet is $10 for Rexburg residents, and $65 for others. She said pets dropped off when the shelter is closed means workers don't know if the animals are strays or just being given up. Other unknowns include vaccination information and the health of the animal, which could pose a risk for whoever dropped it off.

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What's going down near Pomerelle?

The Times-News says rumors have persisted for years about a Sun Valley-like development near Pomerelle Mountain ski resort, and, while the conversations are still speculative, real estate prices are shooting up in Howell Canyon.

"All I know for sure is that the idea behind whatever happens is to make Albion similar to what Park City was 35 years ago," American Falls realtor Nate Covington said. "I also know there was a guy from Vegas who wanted to put in some condos ... there's been quite a bit of interest in the area."

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Rodeo rider-turned-QB is a chip off the old block

The Toronto Star profiles former rodeo competitor and Caldwell native Cody Pickett, a backup quarterback for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.

Pickett, 28, is a former Washington Husky and San Francisco 49er.

"Pickett's childhood was right out of a Zane Grey novel. He grew up on a ranch on, believe it or not, Chicken Dinner Road near Caldwell, Idaho," the paper says.

Pickett's father Dee is a former NCAA quarterback who gave up football for the pro rodeo circuit and became a world champion and is now in the rodeo hall of fame.

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Ain't looking for nothing but a good time — and some country fried steak

The Post-Register interviews Poison's Bret Michaels before today's appearance by the band at the Eastern Idaho State Fair in Blackfoot.

When asked if he had any memories about Idaho, Michaels said, "Pocatello, Boise, Post Falls. I bought a brand-new KX250 (Kawasaki dirt bike) and had a chance to get out and race in the dirt while in Idaho. I also threw one of the best backstage/after-show parties ever early in my career in Idaho."

In case you missed it, the Statesman had a story on the band dropping in at a local Cracker Barrel earlier this week.

Read more of the Michaels interview at the Post-Register's Web site. (Subscription required)

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Who will tune in to WAC TV?

The Statesman reports that ESPN networks will televise more than 300 regular-season WAC games and 45 championship events in five sports over the next nine years.

The deal will push some WAC events onto ESPNU for the first time and guarantee that all nine football and men's basketball programs get at least one TV opportunity each season.

"Just as important as the money is the WAC will be part of the power of ESPN for the next nine years," WAC commissioner Karl Benson said. "Everyone realizes just how valuable that can be."