IDAHO FALLS — If you’ve ever wondered how bad the local roads are in the winter, or where the cheapest apartment in Idaho Falls is, you’ve probably checked out this Facebook page for the answers.
The Life in Idaho Falls Facebook group has quickly become what the administrators call “Idaho Falls Google” since it launched in May 2017.
The page was originally meant to serve as a one-stop shop for local city officials to post news releases and event invites. But that isn’t what happened.
Eight years ago, Coleman Moore, a firefighter with the Idaho Falls Fire Department and personal trainer, noticed a lack of an open forum in the local online community.
“I’ve seen public relations with the City of Idaho Falls and Bonneville County. A lot of our public entities struggle to get messages out,” says Moore. “And then, you know, somebody who has a lost dog or just to get any kind of community information out, that just seemed a little bit lacking.”
There certainly was a demand. The group has exploded, amassing more than 80,000 members within the last eight years.
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Early on, the task of solo-moderating the page reached a point where Moore realized he needed help, as the page was generating conversation and content quicker than he had anticipated.
Barbra Summerhill, owner of Summerhill Local Meats, was an active group member and had made strong connections with people across the community after moving to the area from Tulsa, Oklahoma, 11 years ago.
“She was very involved in the group,” says Moore. “I saw that she was definitely a plugged-in person who had the best interests of the group.”
Both admins are former police dispatchers who say they felt well-prepared for the group’s challenges and looked forward to being of use to the community.
“We’ve seen people get married through our group,” says Summerhill. “Or anytime somebody’s like, ‘Hey, I’m missing my teenager!’ and the word gets spread, and they find them. That’s a very rewarding part.”
In 2024, an Idaho Falls mother posted to the page, asking for help finding her “future daughter-in-law.”
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In response, another woman posted a photo of her daughter. Now their children areengaged.
But those stories are rare, and the negatives sometimes outweigh the positives of the group.
Moore and Summerhill say they spend most of their time online, making sure members are following the rules of the group:
Because Facebook is a private entity, and Summerhill and Moore run the page, they make the rules regarding what can be said and what can’t.
When people break the rules, they can be banned from the group.
Moore and Summerhill say they are bound to follow Facebook’s Community Standards if they want to keep the group from being shut down. This includes deleting posts that are seen as harassment, abuse, bullying or degrading.
“We’re bound by those community standards and at risk of the group getting shut down based on what people post,” says Moore. “So sometimes, we’re like, ‘Hey, we’re bound by this rule. This is Facebook. You don’t need to come at us personally.’”
As much as they want everyone to get along, they’re required to keep the page clean.
“The ugly part of this is we make as many enemies as we make friends,” says Summerhill. “We’ve had personal messages and threats and things like that, when we just want to volunteer and make a good community group. We’ve had people who have found our addresses and phone numbers.”
According to the admins, they are paid minimal money for running the page – less than $4 a month, on a good month.
They are allowed to monetize the content on the Life in Idaho Falls admin page, but because they spend most of their time moderating the group, they are not making anything close to a livable wage by volunteering to keep the page alive and well.
Keeping the page civil has taken a significant toll on both admins, mentally and financially, as they take time away from their families and jobs to continue running the page.
“When (members are) behind that keyboard, they say things that they don’t say in public,” says Moore. “I wouldn’t walk past somebody wearing a political T-shirt and call them names in public, but behind the keyboard, somebody does. So when we say, ‘That’s not allowed. We expect you to treat people the same behind your keyboard as you do in public’, they feel like we’ve taken that power away from them.”
So why do they do it?
While admitting that at times, the group causes them a lot of burnout, stress and unnecessary anxiety, there are many important aspects to the group that have helped to connect the locals.
What Moore has dubbed the “virtual doorsteps of the city center” has led to babies being fed when their parents can’t afford formula or produce breastmilk, countless lost pets being found, new residents being welcomed to the area and countless hours of fun being had by people who discover local events from a post on the page.
The admins say they hope to continue to foster more positivity and less negativity, and work closer with city officials to help raise awareness of community events.
“It can be great,” says Summerhill. “When you see the really good things happen, it’s like, ‘OK, this is why we did this. This is why we’re still doing it.’”
Side note: the admins ask that you please use the search bar before asking a question in the group. There’s a 99% chance your question has already been asked and answered.
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