25 years ago

    Aug. 17, 1988: Amid a cloud of dust, Mayor Dick Finlayson of Pocatello turned the first spade of dirt on Simplot Square, marking the beginning of a new era in downtown Pocatello. Finlayson was among scores of dignitaries, including the Pocatello Chiefs, for the groundbreaking.    

    50 years ago

    Aug. 17, 1963: Former Pocatellan Greta Randall has taken another step up the ladder of show business. She is playing the part of a comic in Paramount’s “Come Blow Your Horn,” along with its star, Frank Sinatra.    

    John F. Kennedy

    Aug. 17, 1963: While the Kennedy administration pushes for the civil rights bill, police continue looking for a man who dropped a tear gas bomb in a Birmingham, Ala., department store. The tear gas overcame 22 people, most of them women. The store had integrated to allow Negroes in.