IDAHO FALLS — Local News 8 morning show anchor and longtime journalist Jen Austin-Mathewson has been selected to represent Idaho in the 2014 Mrs. United States Pageant.

    As the former Mrs. Bonneville County, the Idaho Falls resident worked to bring attention to her platform titled “Use Your Voice: Speaking Out Against Child Sexual Abuse.” In doing so, she teamed up with Help Inc. officials to bring the “Darkness to Light Stewards of Children” child sexual abuse prevention training program to area parents, educators and public officials.

    On behalf of Austin-Mathewson’s request, Idaho Falls Mayor Jared Fuhriman joined forces recently with Bonneville County Sheriff Paul Wilde and prosecuting attorney Bruce Pickett to sign a pledge to end child sexual abuse.

    The pledge included an emphasis on correctly handling all cases of reported child sexual abuse incidents.

    Pickett has also agreed to offer a child sexual abuse prevention class for all office employees. According to Austin-Mathewson, a similar class will be offered sometime in October for employees at the Mountain View Hospital in Idaho Falls.

    “It’s my goal to take this platform across the state of Idaho to educate all teachers in every school district so they can better prevent child sexual abuse and know how to report signs of abuse,” Austin-Mathewson said. “As a mother of three, I know firsthand how important it is to keep children safe from predators.”

    Austin-Mathewson will represent Idaho as the Mrs. Idaho United States over the next year and at the national pageant in July 2014 in Las Vegas, Nev.