The Ranch Podcast

Lt. Shawn Harper of Meridian PD is a school safety expert. I asked him to come in and speak about HB 415, the bill that would allow employees and volunteers on school campuses to carry a firearm. His insights and ideas were fantastic and are well worth a listen to anyone interested in this bill and school safety in the great state of Idaho. The Ranch Podcast is shot just north of Eagle, Idaho.  Th...

Amanda Martinez and Brittany Hansen are C-Suite executives for Viiision, a tech company that uses AI and blockchain tech to hold companies accountable and deliver a level of consumer and business confidence that up until now has been impossible to do. Viiision also enables smaller providers, like local farmers, the opportunity to aggregate and utilize data from their operations to get credits and...

West Ada school district provides transportation for a huge population of students. It also provides busing for students that attend schools of choice, which are optional campuses that focus in on specific things, like STEM or Fine Arts. As such, there are multiple systems for busing students who at times live far beyond their normal neighborhood school boundaries. The district is attempting to fi...

Social media is currently being touted as a huge benefit to aspiring college athletes. Some schools even try to organize companies and other groups to come and speak with athletes and their families about how they can improve their individual social media platforms to help with recruiting and NIL (Namer, image, likeness) deals. What they don't realize is they may actually be subjecting their...

Callie Zamzow is the Co-CEO of Zamzows Home & Garden center. The company was founded by her great grandparents over 90 years ago, making her the 4th generation to be deeply engaged with the iconic Treasure Valley company. With popularized media displaying the passing of the guard of large, multigenerational companies and estates, it was incredibly interesting to hear how she and her family hav...

Representative Julie Yamamoto is the District 11 Representative. She is a proud NRA member, firm conservative Republican, life long Idahoan, and very much believes that HB 415 could be improved. She is also on a board of a school system that currently has firearms on campus for the safety of the staff and students. Her perspective was incredibly valuable for anyone interested in this bill. Enjoy!...

Aoibheann Cline is a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association of America. She came to speak with me about the perspective that allowing teachers to arm themselves for self defense is a question of second amendment rights. The current HB 415 looks to do just that. Enjoy! The Ranch Podcast is shot just north of Eagle, Idaho.  The Ranch Podcast is the premier source for long format interviews and...

Representative Ted Hill is the district 14 Rep for the State of Idaho, which covers Eagle and Emmett. He has several bills being considered in the 2024 session, including bills about armed school campuses, fentanyl prosecution reform, and banning centralized digital currency. This episode was recorded the week prior to the session starting.  The Ted Hill show: https://youtube.com/@EdwardHillForIda...

Rob Gillis is a retired law enforcement agent that was the first responding officer to a school shooting that resulted in several fatalities. This is a difficult conversation to have, but Rob's experiences and perspective are incredibly valuable to consider. The Ranch Podcast is shot just north of Eagle, Idaho.  The Ranch Podcast is the premier source for long format interviews and informatio...

Nurse Kelli is a teen safety and mental health advocate focused on helping parents and teens understand the overwhelmingly damaging effects of phones and social media before people are equipped to handle it. She is the engine behind CommittingTo16 DOT Org, an organization that helps people find ways to avoid smartphone usage until 16 or older. If you are raising a young person, this is incredibly...

Brian Almon is an independent political writer and is also on the library board for Eagle. We had a fantastic conversation and spoke about political polarization, where he thinks our country is headed, and what he expects from the upcoming session. His substack is “gemstate” and his X handle is @gemstatebrian Enjoy! The Ranch Podcast is shot just north of Eagle, Idaho.  The Ranch Podcast is the pr...

Rex Ingram is the Chief of Police for Caldwell, Idaho. He takes incredible pride in his leadership role with the department and the community. Ingram comes to the City of Caldwell from the Los Angeles Police Department where he proudly served his community for nearly 17 years. We spoke extensively about the issues Caldwell is struggling with, the gang problems it has, interstate drug enforcement,...

Dr. Derek Bub is the superintendent of West Ada School District. WASD is the highest ranking large school district in the state of Idaho. It has a very unique school choice program, several STEM and art programs, an IB program, and more. Aside from the programs it offers, it also has a huge number of students at almost 40,000. It was wonderful to have a chance to speak with Dr. Bub how the distric...

Following Mayor Pierce's interview, Mayor-Elect Brad Pike also came in to discuss the recent city council modifications to the city government as well as articles written about Eagle's first responder population, California transplants, and Brad himself. I greatly appreciate his time and perspective. Enjoy! Eagle, Idaho The Ranch Podcast Episode #82

Jason Pierce was the mayor of Eagle from 2020 to 2023. He recently lost in a run-off election to city council president Brad Pike. Following the run-off, there were two council meetings that have become the subject of much attention as well as several national articles describing Eagle as being taken over by California retirees with bloated pensions and liberal politics. Mayor Pierce kindly came i...

Tracy Basterrechea is the Chief of Police for Meridian, Idaho. He has successfully presided over the police service in one of the fastest growing cities in Idaho. His commitment to maintaining safety as well as connection to the community is uncompromising. Enjoy! Eagle, Idaho The Ranch Podcast Episode #80

Deputy Gomez is a nationally recognized School Resource Officer with incredible knowledge and insights into the dark work of social media and the scams involved. In this show, we speak specifically about the nature of "sex-tortion" on SnapChat, how it plays out differently for boys and girls, why our young men are committing suicide, and what we as parents can do. The Ranch Podcast Episo...

Bob Inglis is the Executive Director of republicEn.org, a growing group of conservatives who care about climate change. He served in the U.S. Congress from 1993 to 1999 and again from 2005-2011, a Republican representing Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina. Over the course of his political career, Bob realized there was a lack of rational, economic based dialogue centered around the Climate Deb...

Senator Trakel is a vet, husband, and father in district 11 in Idaho. He is very active and engaged with the local school district and local government. We spoke at length about where Idaho is going, how it is being funded, public comment at local government meetings, and more. He was a pleasure to host. Enjoy! The Ranch Podcast Episode #78 Eagle, Idaho

Brian Brooks is the Executive Director of Idaho Wildlife Federation, a nonprofit organization with deep roots going back almost a century in Idaho. He came in on the heels of movement from the Biden administration to talk about the impending extinction of Idaho Salmon as a direct result of the four dams that no longer produce impactful water transportation or profitable electrical production. Not...

Mark Butler is a former City Councilman of Eagle, as well as Director of Development. He has lived here since the mid 1990s and watched as the physical and political landscape has changed. He offered perspectives and reminders that were incredible to hear. Enjoy! Eagle, Idaho The Ranch Podcast Episode #75

Jared Webb is the Owner & CEO of Zero Dark Thirty Coffee Co. He is also a disabled vet and retired law enforcement agent. He and his partner founded their budding coffee empire to help not only give meaningful structure to their lives, but also as a way to support the veteran and first responder communities deal with and work through the accumulated stress of the job. All of that, and the coff...

John Mattingly is a former Louisville Metro Police Sergeant who was shot in the line of duty the night of the Breonna Taylor incident. Much has been said about the night of the event, but very few of the popularized accounts are even remotely close to accurate. Speaking with him was eye opening. Eagle, Idaho The Ranch Podcast #72

Margaret Carmel is a senior journalist at BoiseDev and came to speak about the Eagle City Council meeting on Dec 12th where the council voted 3-1 to modify the powers of the Eagle Mayor. This comes just one week after the sitting mayor lost the mayoral election to the sitting council president. Margaret spoke at length about what the vote meant, what the implications are, the legality of the vote,...

Chapin Hemphill is one of the founding members of KeyRenter Boise. He's been in the rental management market for decades and his insights into issues that are universal across markets were awesome. Enjoy! YouTube video: https://youtu.be/5u4_D4LwPRQ Eagle, Idaho Episode #71