The Ranch Podcast

Lori Frasure is the Board Chair for West Ada School District, the best large school district in the state of Idaho. She came in to speak on the state of education in the district, what they’re doing well, what they’re working on, and what public education looks like for its 40,000 students. Enjoy! The Ranch Podcast is supported by Truth In Media Foundation, a non-profit media organization committe...

Diana Register is a City Councilwoman in Caldwell, Idaho. She came in to speak on many issues that have sparked controversy in the incredible city. Parking meters, hotels, and the development process have all been part of a recent failed recall, and she addressed them all. Enjoy! The Ranch Podcast is supported by Truth In Media Foundation, a non-profit media organization committed to unbiased, Ida...

Brad Wilson is the GM of Bogus Basin, a not for profit ski and recreation area in the Treasure Valley. Brad and Bogus have managed to continue growing the recreational offerings and maintained affordable options for all Idahoans, not just those with the most income. Hearing about the things Bogus is doing as well as where Brad sees it heading was awesome. Enjoy! The Ranch Podcast is supported by T...

Chris Alvarez is a private chef and manager at Hoagland Meats in the Treasure Valley. They produce high quality proteins for purchase and even delivery, and he came in to show how he cooks a tomahawk steak. This was, hands down, the best meat I have ever had. He gave detailed instructions on what to use, how to measure and cook, so we can all enjoy this fantastic experience.  Thank you to FARE Ida...

Codi Galloway is an Idaho State Senator and passed a bill last session to outlaw homeless camping in public areas of our larger Idaho cities. She came in to explain exactly what the bill aims to do and what it asks of cities that pass the population threshold. Homeless encampments have become an enormous problem nationwide in the last couple decades, becoming much more mainstream and accepted in t...

Ted Hill is a US Navy fighter pilot, Idaho State Rep., and lifelong patriot. On America’s birthday, Ted came to speak about freedom, America’s place in the world, and what he sees, both good and bad, on the horizon for the United States. We owe him and all our service men and women, past and present, a huge thank you for maintaining our country’s freedom for one more year. Happy Fourth of July! Th...

Lauren McLean is the Mayor of Boise and came in to speak about key issues and work in the city. Boise and Idaho’s Treasure Valley are quickly becoming the least affordable housing markets in the country, leading to increased homelessness, decreased homeownership, and a lower quality of life. Mayor McLean and I hit on many things the city is doing to make meaningful progress on these issues as well...

Mitch Cutter is a Salmon and Energy specialist with the Idaho Conservation League and came in to speak about the complex relationship with our Snake River dams, historic salmon issues, energy production, transportation, and more. Enjoy! The Ranch Podcast is supported by Truth In Media Foundation, a non-profit media organization committed to unbiased, Idaho focused media.  The Ranch Podcast is the...

Elaine Clegg is the CEO of Valley Regional Transit and came in to speak about the fundamental cost and need for transportation in Idaho. Housing prices, economic potential, and the inherent cost of private transportation are all issues weighing heavily on all Idahoans. Hearing from Elaine and understanding the vision to help with all of these issues was fantastic. Enoy! The Ranch Podcast is suppor...

Todd Achilles is a former District 16 Representative in Idaho who is now running for US Senate as an independent against Sen. Jim Risch. He is deeply concerned with the system that he feels is slanted gravely against the working class in America and has a clear vision for the betterment of the future of the USA. Enjoy! The Ranch Podcast is supported by Truth In Media Foundation, a non-profit media...

David Lent is an Idaho State Senator, chair of the Senate Education Committee, and Education Advocate. He is traveling around the state meeting with Idaho citizens to discuss what public education should look like for it to effectively service Idaho’s diverse communities. Public education was designed to be a publicly funded investment that helped improve our state and our future, and David is ask...

Moya Shatz Dolsby is the Director of Idaho Wine Commission and a champion for the Idaho wine industry. There are several areas of Idaho that are nationally recognized for being unique for viticulture, and the exploding popularity of Idaho wine culture over the last two decades is a testament to the success and unique nature of this great state, its growers, and its wineries. The Ranch Podcast is s...

Mackenzie Moss works for the Office of Performance Evaluation, an office created in the mid 1990s by the Idaho state legislature that aimed to offer the highest quality reports and recommendations about projects undertaken by the Idaho government. Some describe it as the original DOGE. MaKenzie came in to speak about the problems the office has been outlining in reports regarding Child Residential...

Tara Malek is an attorney and the Director of the Idaho Contraceptive Education Network. The ICEN works to advocate for family planning, family growth control, contraceptive education and access. In states where elective pregnancy termination is restricted, there must be quality education and consistent access to pregnancy prevention tools for the population. Idaho is no different, and ICEN is wor...

Phil Gore is the Chief Learning Officer for the Idaho School Board Association. Idaho, along with other states, voted for a version of school vouchers (School Choice in Idaho), and many public education advocates felt disheartened at the end of the legislative session. Directly following the session, many school bonds to build new schools for Idaho’s growing populations also failed, which further...

Bree Derrick is the director of the Idaho Department of Corrections. Idaho currently has roughly 10,000 individuals incarcerated, and Director Derrick is working non-stop to ensure to the state of Idaho that the department of corrections both ensures that those sentenced to do time do serve that time but also have the best chance at not returning to the corrections system. This is, as you can imag...

Dr. Mary Barinaga is a physician in Idaho, past president of the Idaho Medical Association, and an enormous advocate for increased medical access in Idaho. She travels the state helping promote and set up residency programs whereby established doctors can help train and prepare medical school graduates for future practice. This is one of the most direct actions that will increase the number of phy...

Jarom Wagoner is the Mayor of Caldwell and came in to speak about the state of the city. Caldwell is growing rapidly, even by Idaho standards, and as such is experiencing grow pains. Mayor Wagoner came in to talk about many of the issues, challenges, and successes. Enjoy! The Ranch Podcast is supported by Truth In Media Foundation, a non-profit media organization committed to unbiased, Idaho focus...

Todd Achilles is a District 16 Representative and came in to speak about his push to remove non-compete clauses from Idaho. There are many industries, like the health industry, that must rely extensively on out of state recruiting to serve our growing populations’ needs. With this initial investment, some companies want to make sure that they will not have to compete against professionals they hav...

Lisa McClellan is the director of the Idaho DMV. If you have ever wandered into one one of the establishments, you’ll notice immediately that it’s a huge departure from the torturous experience that many have in other states. I recently went to register a vehicle and it took me 15 minutes from start to finish and cost me a fraction of what it cost in previous years. Hearing about what Lisa and the...

MaKenzie Tiegs is a paramedic who has worked in several Idaho organizations ranging from wild lands fire fighting to rural EMS to large health systems. She is a champion for the mental/emotional support of first responders, having experienced first hand how draining and damaging it is to ride an ambulance day in and day out without any help dealing with death and trauma at every turn. Idaho has an...

Alexis Pickering is the executive director of Conservation Voters for Idaho and came in to speak on the proposed US Senate budget reconciliation from June 11th that would dispose of 2.2 to 3.2 million acres of public lands that are managed by either BLM or the Forest Service. There are many things that are off about this bill, not the least of which is that there is no clear mechanism for the disp...

Jessica Bate is director of the Idaho National Guard Morale Welfare & Recreation organization charged with serving service men and women as well as their families. It is a 501(C)3 but also operates many businesses to drive revenue to support these operations. Idaho has a growing population of citizens that commit their lives to the defense of our country, and I so appreciate that Jessica and t...

Holly Beech works for the Idaho Office for Refugees, a not for profit organization that helps place and integrate refugees from across the world that are looking to call Idaho home. This is different from asylum programs in many ways, and I truly enjoyed hearing about the work and effort going into this area. Enjoy! The Ranch Podcast is supported by Truth In Media Foundation, a non-profit media or...

Peggy Hoy is a member of the Idaho Education Association and came in to speak about the May Matters campaign that many people are promoting. The bulk of elections in the state of Idaho are determined in the May primary because you have a high probability of winning the November general election if you’re the selected Republican candidate. That selection process is the May primary. However, the pri...