Idaho Matters

"Brood" is the title of one of the best-reviewed novels in the first half of this year. Author Jackie Polzin attended Boise State University’s creative writing MFA program, and she spoke with Boise State Public Radio Morning Edition host George Prentice about her new book.

(AP Images / AP Images) The Biden Administration is pushing to find the source of the COVID-19 pandemic, while a variant that was first traced to India poses potential challenges to vaccine strategies. Idaho Matters cover these topics — and gets answers to your questions — with Dr. David Pate, former St. Luke's Health System CEO and current member of Gov. Brad Little's coronavirus task force.

In 1980, Dennis Patterson started his first professional role at the Idaho National Laboratory. Having grown up in Idaho Falls, he had worked at INL in the summers during college as a laborer. Although he was hired after the establishment of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1965, Patterson says he faced discrimination as a Black and Native American man in a mostly white facility. How...

Engelmann spruce and whitebark pine arise from the slopes of Mount Washburn, Yellowstone National Park, with remnants of a burn scar in the distance. (Karen Heeter / University of Idaho ) It’s a scientific fact: the global climate is warming at an increased rate over recent generations. We hear about declining polar ice caps and warming seas, but what about places closer to home? Yellowstone Natio...

Producers monitor a live Q&A with Gov. Brad Little during the coronavirus pandemic on Idaho Public Television. (Idaho Public Television / via Idaho Statesman ) Idaho Public Television has a long history in the state. Founded in 1965, its roots go back even further than the Corporation for Public Broadcasting which helps fund public media outlets—including Boise State Public Radio. In addition...

by Gia Goodrich for VEV Studios (VEV Studios Gia Goodrich) Sarah Sentilles is an author, academic, religious scholar and advocate. She lives in Idaho's Wood River Valley and is the co-founder of the Alliance of Idaho , which works on immigration matters. Her book Draw Your Weapons was honored with the PEN Award for Creative Nonfiction in 2018. Her latest book—called Stranger Care: A Memoir of Lovi...

Paul Simmonds, CAREER Award, Physics, Photo by Allison Corona (Allison Corona/Boise State University) Famed 20th-century scientist Albert Einstein called the idea of quantum entanglement "spooky" and even set about to disprove it. But generations later, a Boise State University researcher is recreating the process in a laboratory to determine how photons communicate instantly with each other acros...

Scott Bedke announces his candidacy to run for Lt. Governor during a press conference at the Idaho State Capitol on Thursday, May 27, 2021. Bedke enters a competitive race for the seat left vacant by Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, who is running for governor. Supporters of other candidates also held signs at the press conference. (SARAH A. MILLER / Idaho Statesman ) It’s barely June — about 11 months...

(Boise Public Library / via Facebook) Summer is here, which means it’s time to get lost in a new — or old — book of your choosing. And in another sign that this season is looking more normal than last year of the pandemic, the Boise Public Library is bringing back its summer reading program with some in-person programming. The program is free and is open to readers of all ages. Idaho Matters learn...

(Katherine Jones / Idaho Statesman) Dr. David Pate has become a regular voice on Idaho Matters during the COVID-19 pandemic, sharing his knowledge as the former CEO of St. Luke's Health System and as a volunteer member of the governor's coronavirus task force. For 14 months, he and other physicians and medical experts from St. Luke's and St. Alphonsus Health System have answered listener questions...

(Boise Rock School / via Facebook) Like so many arts nonprofits in Idaho, Boise Rock School has faced significant challenges during the pandemic. Challenges in keeping their staff and the kids who learn to play music from them safe, challenges in figuring out how to do rock n' roll remotely, and challenges in how to pay the bills and stay open. Now — with COVID-19 vaccines available to all adults...

Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, right, shortly before greeting a crowd on the steps of the Idaho Capitol in Boise as she announces her bid for governor in 2022. (James Dawson / Boise State Public Radio) It's been another whirlwind week in Idaho news. Idaho Matters will catch you up on everything you need to know in this edition of the Friday Reporter Roundtable, featuring guest host Kevin Richert of Id...

FILE - In this May 8, 2021, file photo, a health worker displays empty vials of COVID-19 vaccines in Gauhati, India. ​The disparities of the coronavirus pandemic were already stark in India, where access to health care is as stratified and unequal as other parts of its society. Now, the divide along the lines of wealth and technology are further widening that chasm, and many people are falling thr...

In this Nov. 14, 2019, photo, a student attaches a note to the Resilience Project board on the campus of Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah. The purpose of the project is to let students know that it is OK to struggle. More college students are turning to their schools for help with anxiety, depression and other mental health problems. That's according to an Associated Press review of more than...

Founded almost 10 years ago in memory of local artist Surel Mitchell, Surel’s Place has become an integral part of Idaho’s art community with free or low cost events every month and an artist in residence program. During the pandemic, Surel’s Place had to adapt like so many other arts organizations and the artist in residence program has to be placed on pause. However, the program is back this mon...

(James Dawson / Boise State Public Radio) Need a digest of the news around Idaho? The Idaho Matters Reporter Roundtable has you covered. We cover a big announcement in the Republican primary for governor, layoffs and a shutdown of a high-profile Caldwell construction company , where the state stands with COVID-19 mask measures, and the latest on an Idaho prisoner who is seeking clemency from the d...

FILE - In this May 13, 2021, file photo Vice President Kamala Harris listens as President Joe Biden speaks on updated guidance on face mask mandates and COVID-19 response, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that fully vaccinated people — those who are two weeks past their last required dose of a COVID-19 vaccine — can s...

In this Friday, May 29, 2020, photo, Sara Adelman holds her daughter Amelia in Salt Lake City. Adelman is burning through her vacation time to help manage her current status as a working-from-home mom since her daughter's daycare closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) (Rick Bowmer/AP / AP) The national unemployment numbers released at the beginning of the month confirmed wh...

Asphalt cracks on the road in front of Idaho Transportation Department headquarters on State Street in Boise. (Audrey Dutton / Idaho Capital Sun) Last week, Gov. Brad Little signed a bill that would funnel $80 million a year of Idaho sales taxes into roads. A few days later, the Idaho Capital Sun published an investigation that says the state may have overpaid road builders $4.3 million in just on...

Anti-government activist Ammon Bundy, wearing a cowboy hat, yells through the closed Ada County Courthouse door at law enforcement officers inside Monday, March 15, 2021, in Boise, Idaho. Bundy was scheduled to stand trial Monday on charges that he trespassed and obstructed officers at the Idaho Statehouse during a special legislative session last fall, but Magistrate Judge David Manweiler issued...

Teddy bears are placed on the bed of a child at the pediatric unit of the Robert Debre hospital, in Paris, France, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. A year into the coronavirus pandemic, increasing numbers of children are coming apart at the seams, their mental health shredded by the traumas of deaths, sickness and job losses in their families, the disruptions of lockdowns and curfews, and a deluge of anx...

(Darin Oswald / Idaho Statesman) Friday is here — and so is the Idaho Matters Reporter Roundtable — where we get you up to date on all the news that made headlines this past week. We cover an end (sort of) to the legislative session, what the CDC's new mask guidance means for Idaho and vaccinations , a new property tax measure, businesses recovering and much more. Our panel today: Kevin Richert of...

FILE - In this Jan. 14, 1995, file photo, a wolf leaps across a road into the wilds of Central Idaho. Idaho Gov. Brad Little has signed into law a measure that could lead to the killing of 90% of the state's 1,500 wolves. The Republican governor signed the bill on Thursday, May 6, 2021, that had passed the Senate and House with enough votes to overcome a veto. (AP Photo/Douglas Pizac, File) (Doug...

FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2020, file photo, a woman wearing a face mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus browses her smartphone as a masked woman walks by the Huawei retail shop promoting it 5G network in Beijing. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File) (Andy Wong/AP / AP) Can how we think or frame ideas in our minds help us see the world and our existence differently? Idaho Matters talks with Viktor M...

What are you watching these days? If you’re in a rut with your film and TV choices, Idaho Matters is here to help you out with our resident film critic and Morning Edition host George Prentice .