Idaho Matters

People beat the heat by floating the Boise River. (Sarah A. Miller / Idaho Statesman) From a historic and deadly heat wave that rippled across the West to state and local political news, there's lots to talk about on the Idaho Matters Friday Reporter Roundtable. This week's journalist panel: Margaret Carmel , BoiseDev senior reporter Clark Corbin , reporter at Idaho Capital Sun Nick Geranios , rep...

Fireworks are a staple of the Fourth of July and other holidays, but they can frighten animals and pets. Here, spectators at the World War II Memorial watch Independence Day fireworks in Washington, D.C., in 2020. (Roberto Schmidt / AFP via Getty Images) The City of Boise is bringing back its firework display at Ann Morrison Park for the Fourth of July. It’s a great time for families to gather, ce...

People wait in the concourse on June 17 at the Boise Airport, which had inaugural flights for service to Austin, Texas, and Chicago O’Hare International Airport. (SARAH A. MILLER / Idaho Statesman ) When COVID-19 hit and shut down Idaho in March 2020, the Boise Airport ground to a halt. But officials and airlines adapted to the "new normal" and the airport rebounded faster than other transportatio...

(DARIN OSWALD / IDAHO STATESMAN) Electing Boise City council members at large is now a thing of the past. Starting this November, Boise voters will be casting a ballot for just one council member — the one who lives in their district and who will represent them. Districting is the result of a law the Idaho legislature enacted in 2020 to require all cities with more than 100,000 people choose city...

For more than a year in Idaho the performing arts were on hold due to the pandemic. As this summer brings ways for folks to gather safely outdoors, summer concerts are back. Next week, Boise native Curtis Stigers will be performing in his first show in Boise since February 2020. Idaho Matters spoke with Stigers about his return to the stage at the Idaho Botanical Garden July 11.

As much of Idaho continues to face triple digit heat, the inside of a cool and dark movie theater sounds pretty appealing. Luckily our resident film critic George Prentice is back on Idaho Matters to tell us worth watching for the first time — and what's worth rewatching ahead of July 4th Independence Day celebrations.

(AP Images / AP Images) We've heard about the Delta variant that first was identified in India and is now spreading around the U.S. But what exactly is known about it, and what does it mean for Idaho's low vaccination rate? Idaho Matters talks about this with Dr. David Pate, former CEO of St. Luke's Health System and a member of the governor's coronavirus task force. Plus: we ask Pate about the da...

One of the main components of the City of Boise's goal of going carbon neutral by 2050 is convincing more people to get out of their cars and bike instead. (Katherine Jones / Idaho Statesman ) Earlier this month, the City of Boise announced a new part of their plan to tackle climate change: by 2050, the community should be carbon neutral. The announcement is timely as the city faces an excessive h...

The pandemic forced performing arts nonprofits across Idaho to come up with new and creative ways to bring the community together. As life begins to return to normal, Story Story Night in Boise is back with a live audience for its summer (and adult-themed) season. But the organization is still taking COVID-19 precautions, as it moves outdoors to the Old Idaho Penitentiary site. Idaho Matters check...

An education task force formed by Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, left, and chaired by Rep. Priscilla Giddings, R-White Bird, convened for the second time Thursday in the Lincoln Auditorium at the Idaho Statehouse. (Darin Oswald / Idaho Statesman ) Friday is here, which means another edition of the Idaho Matters Reporter Roundtable. This week's journalist panel: Nicole Foy of the Idaho Statesman...

(AP Images) More than half of Idaho's adult population have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot. Will it be enough to protect the state from another surge? Meanwhile, Idaho's coronavirus positivity rate remains low. Idaho Matters checks in with Dr. David Pate about the Delta variant, and answers your questions at this stage of the pandemic. Pate is the former CEO of St. Luke's Health Syste...

AstraZeneca, along with Oxford University, announced early Monday its vaccine trial was shown to be "highly effective" in preventing COVID-19. (Justin Tallis / AFP via Getty Images) Here on Idaho Matters , we talk often about the Gem State's COVID-19 vaccination efforts. But what happens when you've been vaccinated, but can't prove it? As businesses, schools and airlines grapple with whether they...

Bureau of Land Management Headquarters in Grand Junction, Colo. (Madelyn Beck / Mountain West News Bureau) Idaho Matters learns about the arguments for and against keeping the Bureau of Land Management headquarters in Grand Junction, Colorado. The office was opened under the Trump Administration, but it's not clear yet whether President Biden plans to move staffers back to Washington D.C. Boise-ba...

One of the sectors hit hardest hit by the effects of the pandemic was higher education. A new series from Idaho Education News illuminates how "getting back to normal" may be more challenging for colleges and universities due to a decline in enrollment going back to fall 2019. Enrollment has fallen by at least 5% at almost every public college and university, says Idaho Education News senior repor...

Typically in June, the Boise metro sees temperatures in the low to mid-80s. That's according to National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Canton. But this year, Canton says "we've been seeing temperatures five to 10, to 15 degrees above normal for much of the month." Compared to previous years, June 2021 has seen the 5th highest average temperature since the NWS began tracking this metric. Canto...

The farmland in the center comprises 282 acres south of Caldwell bought at state auction by Meridian home builder Corey Barton. Lake Lowell is in the distance (Idaho Department of Lands / Idaho Statesman ) Another week has gone by with plenty to cover on the Idaho Matters Reporter Roundtable. We look at how new Census data could shake up an already competitive political landscape, why Idaho's lax...

Emancipation Day celebration, June 19, 1900 held in "East Woods" on East 24th Street. Mrs. Grace Murray Stephenson also kept a diary of the day's events which she sold to the San Francisco Chronicle. (Austin History Center) June 19, 1865 marked the final emancipation of slaves in the United States. Many Black Americans have celebrated this day for more than a hundred and fifty years. Now that it's...

(Jamie Brennan / Facebook/Gold Feather Gardens) Whether you're new to gardening or have been digging in the dirt for years, there's always more to learn about adjusting to climate conditions, new pests and insects. Jamie Brennan is the owner of Gold Feather Gardens in Boise, and shares some tips with Idaho Matters about pruning, trimming and tending to your veggie patch.

Later this summer, the delayed 2020 olympics are set to begin in Tokyo. But with COVID-19 still spreading in Japan, the games are still uncertain, though officials insist they will go on. Meanwhile, NBC is preparing for an Olympic surge in audience. How will the network meet this unique moment in the games’ history? Idaho Matters checks in with our resident film and TV critic George Prentice about...

Middle school student Elise Robinson receives her first coronavirus vaccination on Wednesday, May 12, 2021, in Decatur, Ga. Hundreds of children, ages 12 to 15, received the Pfizer vaccine at the DeKalb Pediatric Center, just days after it was approved for use within their age group. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) (Ron Harris/AP / AP) Idaho Matters answers your questions about COVID-19, the newly named Del...

(Katherine Jones / Idaho Statesman ) President Joe Biden’s first infrastructure and jobs proposal has stalled in negotiations with Republicans. Now, a bipartisan group of senators says they’ve come up with a slimmed down plan, which excludes some elements that critics say don’t fit into a traditional infrastructure measure. By omitting child and elder care in the bipartisan bill, that measure may...

More and more rooftops are encroaching on the rural landscape of Star and nearby Middleton. Growth has been one of the top issues facing the two communities in the past two decades, and now property tax assessments are on the rise. Ada County tax assessments are increasing 28%, and Canyon County 30%, this year. (Darin Oswald / Idaho Statesman ) The Idaho Matters Reporter Roundtable is back with th...

A supporter raises a mobile phone displaying the 47 pro-democracy activists who were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion outside a court in Hong Kong Monday, May 31, 2021. The activists charged with conspiracy to commit subversion over their participation in an unofficial primary election held last year appeared in court Monday for a court mention. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu) (Vincent Yu/AP / A...

A supporter raises a mobile phone displaying the 47 pro-democracy activists who were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion outside a court in Hong Kong Monday, May 31, 2021. The activists charged with conspiracy to commit subversion over their participation in an unofficial primary election held last year appeared in court Monday for a court mention. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu) (Vincent Yu/AP / A...

( via Philip Homan) Have you heard of the “horse queen of Idaho?” The moniker belongs to Kittie Wilkins, who ran the Wilkins Horse Company in Idaho's Owyhee County around the turn of the 20th Century. At its height her herd was close to 10,0000, and her reputation as the only woman whose sole occupation was horse trading gained her notoriety in newspapers in San Francisco, Boston and elsewhere. Ph...