The Ranch Podcast

Debbie Critchfield is the Idaho State Superintendent of Public Education and recently played a key role in saving the federal grant going to many Idaho community schools. She came in to explain what happened, what Idaho had already done ahead of federal requests, and how she was able to save the day for many Idaho families. Enjoy! The Ranch Podcast is supported by Truth In Media Foundation, a non-...

Rich Tyler is a retired fire fighter and now works with CORE Construction to help build, among other things, fire stations. These multipurpose buildings are incredibly complex and are also paid for by the taxpayer. Rich kindly came in to explain what goes into building a station and what considerations the average person should have when looking at the bill. Enjoy! The Ranch Podcast is supported b...

Lisa Knapp is a compost specialist with the city of Boise. The city goes to incredible lengths to incentivise and create fantastic compost that is available for free for the citizens of the city and is also used to improve parks and landscape throughout the area. It also goes to reduce landfill cost and storage needs, which is a huge win in and of itself. Enjoy! The Ranch Podcast is supported by T...

Sam Eaton works for the Idaho Potato Commission and came on to discuss this iconic crop, its reliance on our research institutions, the wavering markets, and the herculean effort put forth by our farmers to sustain this incredible crop and economy. Enjoy! The Ranch Podcast is supported by Truth In Media Foundation, a non-profit media organization committed to unbiased, Idaho focused media.  The Ra...

Treg Bernt is an Idaho State Senator and came on to discuss several issues including his bi-partisan efforts to show positive political discourse to our next generation of voters and potentially eliminating cellphones in Idaho public schools. Enjoy! The Ranch Podcast is supported by Truth In Media Foundation, a non-profit media organization committed to unbiased, Idaho focused media.  The Ranch Po...

Todd Achilles is a former Idaho State Representative and current US Senate candidate and came on to discuss problems for consumers and the working class around lack of competition and actual free markets that would benefit businesses, workers, and consumers. Enjoy! The Ranch Podcast is supported by Truth In Media Foundation, a non-profit media organization committed to unbiased, Idaho focused medi...

Keri Smith is a former Canyon County Commissioner and came on to discuss the issues with growth in Idaho. She is currently working with a group called Growing Together that educates residents about how to self advocate for how, where, and when they want their communities to grow. We can’t stop growth in Idaho, but we certainly can communicate better about our needs and wants and hopefully end up w...

Dr. Anna Radin works with St. Luke’s on suicide prevention and recently ran a study about connecting with both teens and adults who had hightened suicide risk. What her team found is that the connection offered by St. Luke’s, which was not extravagant or crazy, was so effective it was capable of cutting suicide rates in half. Understanding how this can be rolled out statewide is crucial to saving...

Melissa Wintrow is a democratic senator in Idaho and came in to speak about the budgeting issues as she sees them. Idaho is currently facing a huge budget deficit in the coming years, and many, many people are discussing solutions and the problem. Sen. Wintrow was extremely clear in that she feels this is a manufactured crisis and there’s no actual financial reason for us to be in this position bu...

Dr. Rayme Geidl is the interim Co-Director of the School of Health and Medical Professions at the University of Idaho and came on to talk about the relationship with the University of Utah Medical School. Idaho ranks the lowest in many medical based metrics, and a partnership with UofU could help push this great state in the right direction. It’ll take, you know, like 10 or 15 years, but we’ll get...

Nick Fasciano is the executive director of Idaho Wildlife Federation and came in to speak about migration patterns and needs of our wildlife. One of the issues with development is that there are very clear migration corridors that exist in Idaho that benefit untold numbers of wild game, and developers at times build communities over these areas. For some species, these are well worn trails that le...

Lauren Necochea is the head of the democratic party in Idaho and came on to talk about the 2026 legislative session that just started and what the priorities for the democratic party are. One of her greatest concerns centers around Medicaid expansion as many lawmakers have signaled that they want to repeal the expansion all together. Enjoy!  The Ranch Podcast is supported by Truth In Media Foundat...

Luis Granados is the Executive Director of the Breaking Chains Academy of Development in Idaho. He works with youth that need guidance, help, and an education to move forward as contributing members of Idaho’s population. The importance of his work cannot be overstated. Enjoy! The Ranch Podcast is supported by Truth In Media Foundation, a non-profit media organization committed to unbiased, Idaho...

Alexis Pickering is the executive director of Conservation Voters of Idaho and came in to discuss how a portion of Idaho state land just got sold to a wealthy investor. There is a mandate in the Idaho constitution that requires lands be managed for the highest financial benefit, and in this case, it was worth more to do the one time sale than it was to continue the existing multiuse engagements. T...

Karen Launchbaugh is a Rangeland Ecologist at Univ. of Idaho and came in to speak about the issues facing Idaho’s rangelands. These are lands used for a myriad of purposes and are literally fertile earth for many of Idaho’s biggest industries. Understanding their importance and utilization is crucial for their prolonged preservation. Enjoy! The Ranch Podcast is supported by Truth In Media Foundati...

Alexis Morgan is an education advocate and a PHD candidate in the school of Public Policy at BSU. As the legislative session was approaching, I asked Alexis if she would be willing to come in and discuss some of the legislation from a public policy lens. She graciously agreed, and here you have it. Hopefully this will be a regular show for the duration of the legislative session where I can unders...

Lauren McLean is the mayor of Boise and came on to talk about a number of things, including affordable housing wins, continuing open space and park projects, and more than anything, the number of key community events that the city is hosting to ensure that in this time of unprecedented growth, Boise can remain a connected community with a clear sense of history and future. Enjoy! The Ranch Podcast...

Leslie Edgar is the Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Idaho and came on to discuss ag, education, and where our food production may be moving. Many people that grew up on the farm or the ranch are not returning, which means we must educate and train our future farmers and food producers. UofI as our land grant university plays a key role in ensuring that ou...

Brooke Blevins is the Dean of the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences at University of Idaho and came on to discuss the difficulty with educating educators. Education is desperately needed so America can leverage its human capital to the fullest extent, but the plight of educators today includes easily over $100,000 in education cost for a job that does not return huge salaries. Heari...

Jason Dixon is the Bannock County Clerk and came on to talk about the election system he oversees. Things like drop box security and absentee ballots are common points of confusion with people, and Jason’s experience and reasons for doing things the way he does were fantastic. Enjoy! The Ranch Podcast is supported by Truth In Media Foundation, a non-profit media organization committed to unbiased,...

Dennis Becker is the Dean of the College of Natural Resources at Univ. of Idaho and came on to discuss the state of our resources, their preservation, their utilization, and the future. As he pointed out, the US went through a very aggressive period of over harvesting in many areas, be it trees, minerals, fish, etc., and in response to that, we have arrived at a place of conflict with many people...

Pam Howland is a practicing employment attorney in the Treasure Valley and came in to discuss liability in the workplace with social media communication. Private social media has been increasingly tied to workplace environments, but in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder, there were many employers in Idaho that felt compelled to terminate employees for things these people said online. For both emplo...

Dr. Gabriel Potirniche is the associate dean of the School of Engineering at University of Idaho. Engineering as a broader discipline is one that requires incredible technical and creative skill, all things that are starting to change as we integrate AI more fundamentally into education and industry. AI itself is becoming a core focus of study, as Dr. Potirniche pointed out, and UofI is actually d...

Tim Haynes is the new Chief of Police for Star, Idaho. He has taken over as chief as the city has grown percentage wise faster than almost any other area in the state. It also happens to be an incredible community, led by an intentional mayor and city council that have a clear vision for the community and area they want to continue building. It was wonderful to understand Tim more and hear his vis...

Dr. Rayme Geidl is the interim Co-Director of the School of Health and Medical Professions at the University of Idaho. Idaho is ranked last for physician access in the US, and Rayme, along with many others, is trying to help educate and raise our own medical professionals. This is an incredibly complex and time consuming process, but one that she deeply believes in. Enjoy! The Ranch Podcast is sup...