Dear Dave,

I’m on Baby Step 1 of your plan, and I work at a community college that takes a mandatory 20 percent from our pay for retirement. I know you say retirement contributions should be put on hold until all debt except for your home is paid off, so do you have any thoughts on this kind of system? It feels like it’s hard to get traction with getting control of my money when so much is being taken out of every paycheck.

Kristi

Dear Kristi,

That is a lot to take out. I’ve heard of a few places that have a mandatory 12 percent contribution, but 20 percent? That’s very unusual. And it’s unusually high.

I’m not sure what to tell you. I mean, you took the job. It’s what you signed up for. But if it becomes enough of an issue with your finances, you may have to decide at some point if you still want to work there. My recommendation is to begin setting aside 15 percent of your income for retirement after you’ve paid off all debt except your home, and you have an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses in the bank.

At least you’re not losing the money, so it’s not the end of the world. It’s your money that’s going in there for your use some day. I don’t know the exact structure of the retirement account, but it is going toward retirement savings of some kind—and that’s important!

—Dave

Dear Dave,

I’m thinking about signing up for a return of premium life insurance policy. It costs more per month than other policies, but it allows you to get all your money back after 30 years assuming you live that long. Is this too good to be true?

Tommy

Dear Tommy,

It’s not too good to be true, but it is a rip off. Never buy a return of premium life insurance policy.
You said it costs more than other policies, right? Well, if you were to take that extra money you’d be paying and put it into a good mutual fund, you’d get all the cost of your policy back after 30 years 100 percent of the time. Return of premium policies are just a gimmick.
When it comes to life insurance, always go with a good, 15- to 20-year level term policy. And always stay away from that return of premium garbage!

—Dave

Stacy Eagar is a single mother with four children doing the best she can to provide for her family.

Every Friday she has to commute to Salt Lake City so her oldest daughter, Emma, can receive a special allergy therapy. Emma is severely allergic to peanuts and they are trying to help her with this therapy.

This trip takes time from Stacy’s work and is a financial strain on an already stretched budget.

Secret Santa asked the EastIdahoNews.com elves to visit Stacy and give her an early Christmas gift. Watch the video above to see the surprise!

IDAHO FALLS — During the holidays, life can be difficult for families experiencing a transplant journey with a loved one.

A local non-profit organization wanted to take the burden off of local transplant families by donating Christmas gifts.

“Our organization is helping five different families this Christmas season,” Paces for Payton President Kim Hawkes says.

Hawkes and other organizers say this is the first year they’ve helped provide gifts for families. Organizers and other volunteers took some 25 names and did personalized shopping for those in need.

“We really wanted to know who they are, what their likes are, (what) their hobbies are so that we could customize and do Christmas really, really good for these kids because they deserve it,” Hawkes says.

Paces for Payton was founded five years ago after Hawkes’ 2-year-old niece Payton experienced heart failure and a heart transplant. Unfortunately, Payton didn’t survive but the organization has continued in her memory.

“The organization was originally started to help out her family…Now we help local Southeast Idaho transplant families that have kids going through a transplant journey,” Hawkes says. “We’ve done school supplies, we’ve helped with medical costs and expenses to get down to Primary Children’s Hospital and back, hotels, and gas for families.”

Each year Paces for Payton holds an annual race to raise funds for transplant families. Hawkes says the main source of funds for the Christmas gifts came from her father’s dying wish. Jeff Newberry had cancer and passed away in August.

“Payton’s grandpa was involved in the organization since the beginning,” Hawkes says. “He asked friends and family to donate money to the Paces for Payton organization.”

The first family to receive a Christmas gift this year were the NewMyers from Rigby. Sadie NewMyer,13, had to undergo surgery for a liver transplant during the Christmas season of 2011.

“Her doctors told us she would have been dead within 24 hours. If she didn’t have her transplant she would be brain dead,” Sadie’s mother, Kim NewMyer, says. “Her transplant came just in time to save her life.”

This summer she had to have additional surgery and has since been recovering.

“My surgery this summer was really hard but afterward, I’m all healed up and I feel like I can handle anything,” Sadie NewMyer says.

The NewMyers say the gifts from Paces for Payton have made a significant impact on their Christmas.

“I took the money I’d been saving for Christmas and used it to pay medical bills, and I didn’t know what I was going to do,” NewMyer says. “How touching it is to know that a family who’s gone through so much, who lost their little baby, would still be willing to help others, and to bring joy. They’re just a miracle to me.”

Sadie’s father, David, adds, “It’s been hard on our family. It’s been hard on our kids, so to see this kind of attention on all of them means more than we can express.”

Hawkes says people are welcome to continue to donate to the Paces for Payton as the cause helps families year round. She also says the community can look forward to the annual race next April.

Find Paces for Payton on Facebook for continuous updates.

The following is a news release from Idaho State Police.

On Monday, Dec. 24, at approximately 5:11 p.m., Idaho State Police investigated a crash on State Highway 33 near milepost 143, between Driggs and Victor.

Kaitlyn Boyle, 31, of Prescott, Arizona, was driving south on State Highway 33 near milepost 143 in a 2003 Toyota Tacoma pickup. Ryan Williams, 35, Renton, Washington, was driving a 2001 Jeep Cherokee north on State Highway 33 at the same location. The road was ice covered and Boyle lost control of her vehicle. Boyle’s pickup collided with Williams’ Jeep.

Boyle was the only occupant in her vehicle. Williams had three passengers in his vehicle. They were:

Tessa Grundler, 31, of Boise, Idaho.
Liam Grundler, 20, of Helena, Montana.
Christy Williams, 63, of Moscow, Idaho.

All five people involved in the crash were wearing seat belts. They were all transported by ground ambulance to Teton Valley Hospital. The highway was blocked for about three hours while crews worked to clear the scene.

Catalina Elizondo has worked at Basic American Foods in Shelley for over 40 years. Everyone tells her to retire but she says she has to keep working to keep health insurance for herself and husband. He has a lot of health issues and needs medical help.

Catalina has worked nights, days and afternoon shifts for decades. Her vehicle barely runs and she’s afraid to drive it in case it breaks down and leaves her stranded. She walks to work every day.

She always puts everyone else’s needs first before hers and has a very big heart.

Secret Santa asked the EastIdahoNews.com elves to surprise Catalina with a special gift for Christmas. Watch the video above to see what happened!

For the past few years, EastIdahoNews.com has helped a Secret Santa give away large amounts of money to deserving families in east Idaho.

Last year, $200,000 was distributed across our communities. We put the call out in November 2017 and the webpage to nominate individuals had nearly 14,000 visits. The response was overwhelming and Secret Santa wished he could help everyone.

RELATED | Watch the 2016 surprises here

In the end, nearly 40 families received financial assistance from Secret Santa in 2017. Many of the surprises were recorded. Many were not.

The video special above is a collection of some of the surprises we were able to pull off last year. While the recipients will never know his name, they’ll never forget his generosity.

For the second time in less than six months, Disney has given us a story of a beloved figure from a character’s childhood returning to said character’s life at a time filled with sadness. In both “Christopher Robin” and the newly-released “Mary Poppins Returns,” elements of the fantastic spill over into the real world, as downtrodden protagonists rediscover the magic of their childhoods.

It’s just that “Poppins” does so with more charm and a bunch of infectious musical numbers.

“Mary Poppins Returns” finds a grown-up Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw), a child in the original film, on the verge of losing his childhood home. Into this dark and stressful time, Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) reenters his life to help with Michael’s children as he and sister, Jane (Emily Mortimer), search for paperwork that will help them keep their home.

That’s a rather brief summary of this movie’s plot, but rest assured, there are magical, musical adventures aplenty. There’s also Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda), a handsome lamplighter, an evil banker, and a few life lessons learned. A few surprises even pop up. “Poppins” has just about everything you could want in a family film, except maybe snarky robots.

“Mary Poppins Returns” is awash in charm, and much of it comes from Blunt. You couldn’t pick a better actor to pull off a current-day incarnation of the classic character. Blunt is stern and proper while exuding warmth at the same time. She’s witty and whip-smart and always ready with a word of wise advice.

Blunt gets plenty of help from her fellow cast members. Whishaw is pitch perfect as a man who has had to be strong but is on the verge of falling to pieces. Miranda and Mortimer are both engaging and delight in their scenes together. Colin Firth is perfect as a stuffy, greedy banker. Even the kids in this movie are excellent and supply plenty of charm themselves. I’m hard-pressed to think of a weak link in the cast.

This movie’s charms don’t all come from the cast. Like the original “Poppins” film, this movie mixes live-action with animated sequences. The animation style and characters look like classic Disney cell-animated fare. The live-action footage runs the gamut from looking like something out a mist-shrouded dream to colorful vistas filled with flower blossoms, balloons, and cotton-candy clouds. If the actors charm your hearts, the visuals charm your eyes.

Speaking of charms, the music in “Mary Poppins Returns” charms the ears. Although the film doesn’t lean on music from the original film, these songs are catchy enough that you can sing along after a verse or two. The music by Marc Shaiman (with songs by Scott Wittman and Shaiman) can be raucous, as on “A Cover is Not the Book”, hopeful, like “Nowhere To Go but Up”, and even gentle, as on “The Place Where the Lost Things Go.” The songs are simply excellent.

Director Rob Marshall pairs these songs with some entrancing choreography for magical musical numbers. From an undersea adventure in a bathtub to a sequence featuring dancing lamplighters that explodes into bicycle acrobatics that would be totally at home at the X Games. Marshall, who was nominated for an Oscar for “Chicago,” was a wise choice to handle this film and he captures small, emotional scenes and epic dance numbers equally adeptly.

“Mary Poppins Returns” isn’t flawless. It spends a lot of time going down plot roads that don’t go anywhere. Some of the characters aren’t terribly compelling as written. But this movie is so utterly charming and so full of wonderful music that they get lost. “Mary Poppins Returns” is a perfect holiday treat for families and music lovers alike.

4 Indy Fedoras out of 5

MPAA Rating: pg

It’s been an incredible December for Secret Santa, the EastIdahoNews.com elves and countless lives who have been touched with generosity.

Since Dec. 1, we have helped Secret Santa give away $250,000 to deserving individuals in our community. Seven unsuspecting families received cars and dozens were given gift cards or cash. Many of the surprises were recorded. Many were not.

We received thousands of nominations and every entry was read. The response was overwhelming and Secret Santa wishes he could help everyone.

The video special above is a collection of the stories we posted this year. While the recipients will never know Secret Santa’s name, they’ll never forget his generosity.

UPDATE:

All power was restored in Idaho Falls by 1 a.m. Wednesday.

ORIGINAL STORY:

IDAHO FALLS — Power is gradually being restored to a several sections of Idaho Falls after an SUV crashed into a metal power pole, which fell onto a large power line on John Adams Parkway near St. Clair Avenue.

The crash, which occurred just after 10:15 p.m. on Christmas Day, caused an initial outage of around 10,000 people. Most of the power was rerouted within a few minutes, but about 2,954 Idaho Falls Power customers were still without power at 11:15 p.m., city spokesman Bud Cranor told EastIdahoNews.com.

Crews are currently working to remove the power pole, and a revised power restoration estimate is now at 1:30 a.m.

The driver sustained minor injuries, but was not transported to the hospital.

BOISE — Four Idaho schools producing results in helping at-risk kids succeed in the classroom have been recognized by the Idaho State Department of Education.

Legacy Charter School in Nampa and Donnelly Elementary School in the McCall-Donnelly School District were selected as this year’s Distinguished Schools for Idaho. Chief Joseph School of the Arts in the West Ada School District and Burton Elementary School in the Madison School District are Idaho’s two nominees for the National Blue Ribbon Award.

“These four schools are outstanding examples of Idaho educators’ dedication and achievement, helping their students succeed regardless of background, economic status or prior performance levels,” said superintendent Sherri Ybarra.

The annual Distinguished Schools awards recognize outstanding achievements by two Title I schools from each state that are serving a high proportion of at-risk students.

Legacy Charter School was honored in the category of Exceptional Student Performance. The school outperformed 90 percent of other Idaho elementary/middle schools in the percentage of students meeting or exceeding proficiency in the content standards for both English language arts and mathematics in 2017. More than 37 percent of Legacy students come from an economically disadvantaged background.

Donnelly Elementary School’s selection came in the category of Closing the Achievement Gap. The school improved the mathematics performance of economically disadvantaged students by 20.6 percentage points during the past two years. More than 35 percent of its students come from an economically disadvantaged background. The school also outperformed 95 percent of other elementary/middle Idaho schools in the percentage of students meeting or exceeding proficiency in the content standards for both English language arts and mathematics in 2018.

In order for a school to qualify for the Distinguished School Award, it must:

• Have a poverty rate among students’ families of at least 35 percent for the selected school year.
• Demonstrate high academic achievement for two or more consecutive years.
• Meet or exceed state-determined criteria based on two or more consecutive years of achievement data.

The Blue Ribbon nominees, both nominated as Exemplary High Performing Schools. Chief Joseph School of the Arts in Meridian achieved 68.7 percent proficiency in English language arts and 69.4 percent proficiency in mathematics. Chief Joseph also improved its proficiency rate during the past three years, with an increase of 8.2 percentage points in English language arts and 11.7 percentage points in mathematics. Nearly 51 percent of Chief Joseph students come from an economically disadvantaged background.

Burton Elementary in Rexburg achieved 66.1 percent proficiency in English language arts and 70.7 percent proficiency in mathematics. Nearly 43 percent of Burton’s students come from an economically disadvantaged background. In English language arts and mathematics, Burton Elementary students from an economically disadvantaged background outperformed students from 95 percent of other Idaho elementary/middle schools serving economically disadvantaged students. With Lincoln Elementary selected last year, this is the second year in a row a Madison School District school has been honored as a Blue Ribbon nominee.

In order to be nominated for a National Blue Ribbon award, a school must be in the top 15 percent of all schools in the state, ranked on the performance of all students who participated in the most recently administered state assessments in English language arts and mathematics. Idaho nominees must have at least 40 percent of their students identified as economically disadvantaged.

Idaho’s Distinguished Schools and Blue Ribbon nominees will each receive a $1,500 monetary award.

This article was originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on December 21, 2018. It is used here with permission.

AMMON — About 16,055 Rocky Mountain Power customers are without electricity as of 9:10 a.m. Wednesday.

The outages are mostly in Ammon, but also spread around Bonneville County.

Rocky Mountain Power officials say that three substations have gone down. But there is no word on the cause of the outage, or when power will be restored.

EastIdahoNews.com has requested more details and will post them when they are available.

IDAHO FALLS – Several cities in eastern Idaho offer Christmas tree pickup after Christmas Day or New Year’s Day. Some cities have specific locations, while others are OK with residents placing their trees on the curb for pickup. Read more to find your specific city:

Idaho Falls has 15 locations for residents to dump Christmas trees. Collection starts every year after Christmas Day. Look at this map for the complete list of collection sites.

The City of Blackfoot announced on Nov. 27 that they are hoping to reimplement a tradition that ended over 10 years ago: the Christmas tree bonfire. The city advised residents to keep their Christmas trees around instead of disposing of them because there will be a bonfire at the end of January or beginning of February. The date and place are yet to be set, but keep an ear out for this bonfire to dispose of your tree!

Rexburg offers free tree pickup from curbs for a week after New Year’s Day. There’s no need to call or ask them to pick it up.

Rigby offers free curbside Christmas tree pickup from Dec. 26 until there are no more Christmas trees left, city officials said. Just leave them in the front yard and someone will be around to pick it up.

Pocatello has specific locations for disposing of Christmas trees. The city asks that residents do not put their trees on the curb, but instead place them at the following locations between Dec. 26 and Jan. 9: Pocatello City Hall at 911 N. 7th Ave.; Rainey Park at South Arthur Avenue; or Sister City Park at Pocatello Creek Road.

In Soda Springs, residents can leave their Christmas trees at the north end of City Park from Christmas Day to Jan. 5 for pickup.

The Montpelier Rotary Club has set aside Jan. 5 to collect Christmas trees from curbs within city limits. There’s no need to call ahead; the club will simply drive around and pick up any discarded trees they find on that day.

Malad City, Preston and all cities in Fremont County do not have places residents can drop off trees and will not be collecting them, but their landfills will accept trees if residents drop them off.

For over a decade, director Michael Bay has been shoveling out “Transformers” movies that go heavy on incomprehensible plotting and unmemorable action scenes and light on the stuff that really counts.

Thankfully, “Bumblebee,” the latest entry in the “Transformers” franchise, get the important stuff, the characters and the story. Thanks mainly to these strengths, “Bumblebee” is easily, EASILY, the best live-action “Transformer” movie yet.

“Bumblebee” opens with the fall of the Transformers homeworld, Cybertron. Autobot leader Optimus Prime dispatches soldier B-127 to Earth where he crosses paths with Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), a lonely teenager who teaches B a few things about life on Earth and re-names him “Bumblebee.” The girl and the robot soon develop a close friendship.

But Charlie and Bumblebee have company. Agent Burns (John Cena), a government man determined to bring Bumblebee in, is on the Autobot’s trail. Add in Shatter (Angela Bassett) and Dropkick (Justin Theroux), a pair of evil Decepticons hoping Bumblebee can lead them to the Prime and the rest of the Autobots. With the help of Charlie and her neighbor Memo (Jorge Lendeborg, Jr.), Bumblebee takes on the government and the Decepticons in a battle to save the world.

Where most “Transformers” flicks flashy chaotic action and thinly-drawn characters, “Bumblebee” leans less on spectacle in favor of telling a smaller, more intimate story. The core of the movie is the blossoming relationship between Charlie and Bumblebee, and how that friendship opens up Charlie’s world.

To pull off a story like this, you need good acting, and Steinfeld is great. She portrays the awkwardness and discomfort of being the “weird kid” is such a beautifully convincing way. And watching her open up as her world gets bigger is a wonderful thing.

Supporting performances vary in quality. Cena is one furrow-browed note as Burns, and he doesn’t need to be anything else. But it would be nice if the character showed a bit more range. Lendeborg is great, matching Steinfeld’s awkward teen-ness and supplying a few laughs. Len Cariou is also a highlight as a TV-obsessed junkyard owner. I wouldn’t have opposed another scene or two from him.

While the dialogue isn’t anything to write home about, the writers have done a good job providing a solid foundation of good characterization. The characters the need depth have it. Bumblebee isn’t a good character just because he blows stuff up and transforms into a car. He’s a good character because we can relate to him on an emotional level. His friendship with Charlie gives an emotional heart to the actions scenes and makes you care about the outcome. That’s good writing.

All this “Bumblebee” may only be possible because Michael Bay isn’t in the director’s chair. Helming this movie is Travis Knight, who previously directed the excellent “Kubo and the Two Strings.” Knight may not have Bay’s immediately identifiable style, but he also is more interested in telling a cohesive story and making sure the characters work.

That doesn’t mean “Bumblebee” is bereft of cool action sequences. The Cybertron stuff is epic, and the big climactic fight feels a bit more like a gritty fistfight than most other computer graphics-heavy finales do. But the characters and especially Charlie and Bumblebee’s friendship stick with you after the credits roll. That kind of character and storytelling beat explosions and robot fights any day of the week.

4 ¼ Indy Fedoras out of 5

MPAA Rating: PG-13

The following is a news release from the Teton County, Wyoming Sheriff’s Office.

TETON COUNTY, Wyoming — The Teton County, Wyoming Sheriff’s Office is seeking information about a man wanted for second degree sexual abuse of a minor.

Marco Antonio Moreno-Castro, 27, is 5′ 5″ tall, 140 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last known to be working as a dishwasher in Jackson, Wyoming but is believed to have left the area. He may have family ties to the Blackfoot area.

If anyone has any information on the whereabouts of Moreno-Castro, please contact Detective Sergeant Todd Stanyon at the Teton County, Wyoming Sheriff’s Office, (307) 733-4052. As always, you may remain anonymous.

The charges stem from an incident in September 2017, where he is alleged to have engaged in sexual activity with a child under the age of 14.

IDAHO FALLS — A winter storm will impact parts of central and eastern Idaho starting Wednesday night and all day on Thursday.

As a result, the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm advisory for the following counties: Bingham, Bannock, Power, Oneida, Blaine and Cassia. Surrounding area such as Bonneville County may also be impacted by the storm, but to a lesser degree.

The storm is expected to hit around 11 p.m. Wednesday until 10 p.m. Thursday, according to NWS officials.

Total snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches is expected in the valleys, and particularly along the Interstate 84 and Interstate 86 corridor between Burley and Pocatello. At higher elevations, above 7,000 feet, some 3 to 7 inches of snow are expected. The heaviest snow is expected to fall on Thursday morning.

Slippery roads are expected and a light breeze may cause blowing snow, which could reduce visibility. Drivers are urged to use caution on the road. The latest road conditions can be obtained by visiting 511 Idaho.

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — The Idaho attorney general’s office says a lawsuit challenging Medicaid expansion lacks merit and is “frivolous, unreasonable and without foundation on several levels.”

The AG’s office last week told the Idaho Supreme Court that the lawsuit, brought by the Idaho Freedom Foundation conservative group, is so meritless that IFF should have to pay the state’s defense costs.

RELATED: Idaho Freedom Foundation asks Supreme Court to block Medicaid expansion

IFF board chairman Brent Regan, the named plaintiff, and IFF say Medicaid expansion would cede too much authority to the federal government and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. The attorney who filed the case is Bryan Smith with Smith, Driscoll & Associates in Idaho Falls.

But the state is rebutting that argument by telling the Supreme Court that the lawsuit should be thrown out for a number of reasons.

First, a citizen or taxpayer can’t bring a lawsuit against a government action just because they are a citizen or taxpayer, Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and his attorneys wrote.

RELATED: Idaho Supreme Court will hear challenge to Medicaid expansion

“Petitioner has not alleged any harm to himself,” the brief says. “Instead, [Regan] has raised a generalized policy-based grievance against the state’s implementation of Medicaid expansion …”

The lawsuit also raises “purely hypothetical concerns” and ignores legislative mechanisms that would protect the state from those “what ifs,” the brief argues.

Two mothers and a group representing thousands of medical providers have been granted permission to enter the case as well, making an argument in favor of implementing Medicaid expansion.

RELATED: 2 moms and 3,000 doctors jump into the fight over Idaho’s Medicaid expansion

Idaho voters approved Proposition 2, expanding Medicaid to childless and low-income adults, by more than 60 percent in the 2018 election. The measure received support from Republican and Democratic voters, including in solidly Republican counties.

Oral arguments in the case are set for late January in Boise.

This article was originally published by the Idaho Statesman. It is used here with permission.

UPDATE

CenturyLink sent the following statement to EastIdahoNews.com at 9:30 a.m. Thursday:

“Our network is experiencing a disruption affecting customer services. We understand some customers are currently unable to generate tickets through the CenturyLink help portal. We know how important these services are to our customers and we are working to restore services as quickly as possible.”

ORIGINAL STORY

IDAHO FALLS — CenturyLink customers are experiencing problems with the internet Thursday morning as outages are being reported across the country.

Many EastIdahoNews.com users report losing internet service as early as 1 a.m. Downdectector.com, a website that tracks realtime outages of internet providers, says the disruption is nationwide with customers in Denver, Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, Dallas, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, Boise, Chicago, Phoenix and other areas reporting problems.

WDIO TV reports the outage is affecting emergency services in some areas of Minnesota and folks are asked to use their cell phone to call 911.

It’s unknown what caused the outage and when it will be repaired. CenturyLink has not posted anything on Twitter or Facebook despite being asked repeatedly by customers what is going on. A spokeswoman for CenturyLink tells EastIdahoNews.com she will look into the matter.

We will post updates as we receive them.

(CNN) — 5G is here. It promises super-fast speeds, and it will enable some really cool, futuristic technology. You can get it if you want it, but you practically have to stand on your head.

What 5G tech you can get now

Ushering in the mobile 5G era, AT&T announced in December that it will start selling a 5G wireless hotspot. It can offer speeds up to 400 megabits per second, which is way faster than most home broadband connections and between 10 and 100 times faster than 4G, depending on network conditions. 4G is the fastest wireless technology available to most people right now.

The hotspot will convert the network’s airwaves into Wi-Fi, allowing PCs, phones, and other internet-connected gadgets to access AT&T’s ultra-fast 5G speeds.

Verizon beat AT&T to the punch earlier this year. Its 5G Home device works like a home broadband router, receiving Verizon’s 5G signal and converting it into Wi-Fi.

That’s about it for now. Verizon and AT&T both announced that they will offer a 5G Samsung phone in the first half of 2019. Verizon said its Motorola Z3 will come with a modular attachment that will enable 5G service for that phone — but that’s also coming next year.

Okay, now for the caveats

AT&T (CNN’s parent company) only has 5G service up and running in 12 cities: Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Louisville, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Raleigh, San Antonio and Waco.

The 5G hotspot, the Netgear Nighthawk, will only work on one part of AT&T’s 5G technology, called millimeter wave. Those super-high frequency airwaves offer ultra-fast speeds, but they travel very short distances and don’t penetrate walls well, which is bad news if you’re inside. So AT&T had to install its initial 5G radios primarily on rooftops, lamp poles and utility poles. That means the hotspot will get 5G service in city centers but not the outskirts. The broader-span 5G radios will be turned on next year.

It’s also only available to select customers. You can’t walk into an AT&T store to get a Nighthawk — you have to live or work in one of the locations with the 5G service. AT&T said the 5G hotspot will be available more broadly in the spring, at which point it expects to have deployed 5G service in seven more cities. The Nighthawk will cost $499 upfront and $70 a month, AT&T said.

Verizon similarly offers its 5G service in only a handful of cities: Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Sacramento. And you can’t take the 5G Home device with you — and even if you could, it only works on Verizon’s proprietary network technology.

Verizon plans on launching standards-based mobile 5G technology next year. 5G network standards are important, because they’ll allow every 5G device to operate on just about any 5G network you buy service from, no matter where you bought the device or what wireless company you initially entered a contract with.

“We’ve consistently been first to 5G and we’ll continue to lead the industry in 2019 providing mobility service that is based on the [internationally accepted] standard,” said Kevin King, spokesman for Verizon.

AT&T (T) said the slow rollout is deliberate.

“As with any new technology that’s as nascent as 5G, you’ve got to start somewhere, said Andre Fuetsch, AT&T’s chief technology officer. “As with 4G and 3G when they were new, a lot of it is just getting it out there to see how it performs and gauge customer reaction.”

Why 5G is a big deal

AT&T and Verizon’s achievements are nevertheless important.

With the devices, AT&T will become the only American wireless company to sell a standards-based 5G device that people can take around with them. The Nighthawk will work anywhere in the world with 5G service once those networks are operational.

Although the Nighthawk was the first 5G device AT&T was able to get out the door, it will be one of many soon to come.

“You’re going to see a wave over the next couple years and beyond of all kinds of new devices hitting the market,” Fuetsch said.

Verizon (VZ) is marketing its 5G home internet service as a replacement for wired internet connections for homes — it even comes with free YouTube TV as a throw-in. 5G potentially allows companies like Verizon and AT&T to become broadband competitors in every city — something they were unable to do with FiOS and U-Verse.

Both companies say they’ll have nationwide 5G coverage by 2020. Sprint (S) and T-Mobile (TMUS) have similar 5G rollout ambitions.

5G’s low latency can allow self-driving cars to process all the information they need to make life-or-death decisions in the blink of an eye. And the network can also act like a cloud server, performing much of the computing and storage that otherwise would have to be done by the self-driving cars themselves. That could potentially save the cars a lot of power and space.

The health care industry believes 5G could help power the next generation of telemedicine and robotic surgeries.

Before all of that can happen, however, wireless companies have tens of billions of dollars worth of infrastructure to upgrade, devices to test, and some early adopting customers to serve as 5G guinea pigs.

The-CNN-Wire
& © 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

UPDATE 5:15 p.m.

BANNOCK COUNTY – The search for the missing woman in Bannock County is over.

Bannock County Sheriff’s Office reports Georgeanna Russell was found dead Thursday afternoon not far from her home on Marsh Creek Rd.

An official cause of death is still being determined. The case is under investigation by BCSO and the county coroner.

Sheriff Lorin Nielsen says he is grateful to those who assisted in finding her.

PREVIOUS STORY:

BANNOCK COUNTY – Bannock County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a woman who disappeared Wednesday night.

Sheriff Lorin Nielsen says Georgeanna B. Russell, 73, left her home on Marsh Creek Rd. in Pocatello around 9 p.m. Wednesday after a family argument. She left all her personal items behind.

Russell is 5 foot 1, weighs about 100 pounds with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing blue jeans and a purple sweatshirt with animated characters on it.

If you see her or know anything about her whereabouts, please contact the Sheriff’s Office at (208) 236-7111.

IDAHO FALLS — The Idaho Falls Fire Department will be able to save more lives thanks to a donation from Stones Kia and the Grand Teton Council Boy Scouts of America.

IFFD was gifted $1000 that will go toward two new defibrillators in its ambulances.

The funds came from the 2nd Annual Grand Teton Council Pinewood Derby, hosted by Stones Kia. This annual event also helps promote the Grand Teton Council’s career exploration program for high school students.

Employees from Stones, along with seven other local businesses competed for the $1000 prize during the October race. Ryan Ruesch an employee of Stones had the prize-winning car and wanted to give back to local first responders.

“We had our employees create some Pinewood Derby cars, and the person that had the fastest car got to select a charity,” Blake Loveland, Stones Town and Country Motors Inc. Vice President, tells EastIdahoNews.com.

Loveland says employees were given a Pinewood Derby kit and had the chance to come up with their own design.

“(Ruesch) has some kids of scouting age, so I think he had some practice,” Loveland says.

Loveland says Ruesch had the final say on where the donation went after winning the competition.

“He’s the one that made the decision to donate to the first responders, so that’s why we did it. He is just really grateful for the first responders and for all that they do for our community,” Loveland says.

We reached out to Ruesch for comment but he was unavailable.

Idaho Falls Fire Spokeswoman Kerry Hammon says the department is grateful for the generous donation.

“What a wonderful way to start the holiday! Thank you so much!” Hammon wrote on Facebook.