Idaho Matters

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File) Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended “pausing” distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Johnson and Johnson as the agency investigates unusual blood clots in six women who had the shot. One woman died. More than seven million doses of that vaccine have been given in the United States, and more than 30,000 in Idaho accordin...

  This interview originally aired Jan. 26, 2021.  “Burnout” is a feeling many Idahoans can relate to these days. From the political upheaval in the country, and the anxiety that comes with trying to get through the COVID-19 pandemic to the economic instability in the face of those two crises, there’s a lot to feel exhausted by.  Writer Anne Helen Petersen knows a lot about exhaustion. Her recent b...

  This interview originally aired Jan. 21, 2021.  Lake Coeur d’Alene is one of the most beautiful natural lakes in the northwest. The North Idaho body of water is home to flora and fauna and is an important place in the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s culture. It’s also home to many vacation homes and folks from around the world visit the lake each year to enjoy its recreational opportunities.  But below th...

  This interview originally aired March 9, 2021.  Author Jill Santopolo’s first novel for adults called "The Light We Lost" struck a chord with readers around the world. It was a New York Times Bestseller, and it earned a spot as a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick. Idaho Matters  spoke with the author about her latest novel, "Everything We Lost," which is out now.

  This interview originally aired Dec. 3, 2020.  The COVID-19 pandemic has made online dating sites more popular than ever. And when it comes to meeting someone for the first time online, your profile picture can make or break potential dates. A recent study suggests 43% of people think they can get a sense of someone’s personality by their picture. So what happens when men add their cats to their...

(Boise Contemporary Theater)   This interview originally aired March 15, 2021.  Last year, the impact of COVID-19 was just starting to be felt in Idaho. People were staying at home, and everything from concerts to a night out at the theater was being cancelled. Many of them — like Boise Contemporary Theater — are built around having an audience. The Idaho Botanical Garden was one of many organizti...

  This interview originally aired March 11, 2021.    Poet Jasmine Mans caused a stir when a video of her performing her poem “ Footnotes for Kanye ” went viral on YouTube. Since then, she’s built a big following through live performances and is being featured in national ad campaigns for Ulta Beauty and Secret. Mans' new book, "Black Girl, Call Home" is inspired and informed by her own life and of...

(Emilie Ritter Saunders / Boise State Public Radio) The Idaho Legislature reconvened earlier this week after a two-week break due to a COVID-19 outbreak among members. What bills have advanced this week, and what might they mean for your life? Idaho Matters digs in to the legislative news of the week. Plus: how COVID-19 variants could affect the state's fight against the virus. Journalist panel to...

(Ted S. Warren / AP Photo) This interview originally aired March 16, 2021. Many young adults have a dream of leaving where they were raised, to find a life outside of the confines of where they grew up. Author Grace Olmstead knows this feeling well. She grew up outside of Emmett, Idaho but left to go to college on the East Coast. Except for visits back home she’s spent the better part of a decade...

This interview originally aired March 22, 2021. Many Idahoans are familiar with a few basics when it comes to Ernest Hemingway and his ties to Idaho: his promotion for the Sun Valley Resort, his love of hunting, and that he died by suicide at his home along the Big Wood River. That’s probably where most people’s knowledge ends. The folks at Idaho Public Television decided to dig a little deeper, a...

(Riley Haun / University of Idaho) This interview originally aired Nov. 30, 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic isn't the first pandemic in recorded history. In fact, personal stories of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic exist deep in the archives. For college students today struggling through quarantines, strained social dynamics, new academic demands and the politics of visiting home for the holidays, it mi...

(David J. Phillip / AP Photo) As of this week, every Idahoan over the age of 16 is eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine. But the question remains: Will enough eligible people agree to get the optional vaccine in order for us to reach herd immunity? Idaho Matters talks with two Idaho physicians about vaccine hesitancy , and how to encourage more people to access the shots after a year of studying t...

(Don Day / BoiseDev)   At the beginning of the pandemic last year, resort towns in Idaho and other western states worried what would happen to their tourism-based economies. Would tourists still come and spend their money in these towns? Would businesses be able to survive? In McCall, Idaho the answer to these questions is becoming clearer. Idaho Matters checks in with reporter Autum Robertson and...

(Flickr Creative Commons) In January, we told you about a new project designed to bring back declining pollinators to the Treasure Valley. The idea is to bring bees and butterflied to your yard, while learning about everything from bees to conservation.  Idaho Matters producer Samantha Wright bought a mix of beautiful flowers from the Ada Soil and Water Conservation District, and will track her ga...

(Gold Feather Gardens / via Facebook)   As warmer weather arrives in Idaho, you may be getting your gardening gloves on. But for less experienced green thumbs, you may be frustrated and less than happy with what springs up in your garden. Maybe you started a garden for the first time last year as a pandemic hobby but aren’t sure if it’s worth the effort this year.  Jamie Brennan wants you to try a...

  For almost 20 years Life’s Kitchen has been transforming the lives of young adults by building self suffiency and independence through food service and life skills training, placement in the food service industry and continuing education. And now the organization is growing, literally and figuratively.   Idaho Matters speaks with the Life's Kitche Executive Director Tammy Johnson and Board Presi...

  The Idaho Legislature reconvenes Tuesday after several members of the lawmaking body tested positive for COVID-19 in march. The two-week recess means lawmakers are two weeks behind schedule to do the people’s business and then head back to the home districts until next January.  So what is left on their to-do list, and what is likely to get done? Idaho Matters speaks with Boise State Public Radi...

  If there’s one good thing that’s come from the pandemic, perhaps it’s this: Idaho has seen a boom in pet adoption over the last year. As office workers moved their laptops home and set up desks in their spare rooms, some decided it was the purrfect time to welcome a furry friend.  But as vaccinations open to the entire adult population in the Gem State today, some may be soon returning to the of...

(screenshot / Creative Hearts And Minds of The Nez Perce)   Before white colonizers took land from indigenous people already living in Idaho, the Nimiipuu people occupied much of the north central part of the state. French fur traders who encountered them in the 1800s mistakenly called them Nez Perce. But their real name is Nimiipuu, meaning “the people.” Through everything they've endured, the co...

(AP) Idaho's legislature is about to reconvene after a COVID outbreak , a look at a plan to send nuclear waste to the state, a serial killer convicted for heinous crimes in the 90s in North Idaho dies in prison, and an update on evictions happening in the Treasure Valley.  We cover those topics and more on this week's edition of the Idaho Matters Reporter Roundtable. Our panel today:  Keith Ridler...

  Across the country, Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities are coming together and standing up to often deadly hate and violence directed at their people. Between March of 2020 and February 2021, the group “Stop AAPI Hate” has received almost 4,000 reports of hate incidents against this marginalized group. Accounts of violence and malice continue to come in, and experts say the actual n...

  As the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments head into the Final Four this weekend, Idaho Matters share the story of an Alaska man who found his sense of self on the basketball court. This story was produced by our friends at the HumaNature podcast at Wyoming Public Media.   

More than a year after movie theaters first shuttered at the beginning of the pandemic, the Treasure Valley's largest cineplex has announced it’s reopening later this month. But if you’re not ready to return to the theater, there’s still plenty to enjoy from streaming services. Idaho Matters gets recommendations of what to watch and what to skip from our resident film and TV critic George Prentice...

(Ted S. Warren / AP Photo) Tuesday, the Central District Health Department opened up the COVID-19 vaccine to everyone over the age of 16 in Ada, Boise, Elmore and Valley counties. Adults of all ages in three other health departments similarly opened up appointments, weeks ahead of schedule. At the same time, trends on the East Coast and in Europe indicate we may be headed to a fourth surge of case...

(Heath Druzin / PostIndustrial Magazine)   Idahoans have been familiar with far-right groups for a while. But the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 put them back into the national conversation. At least three people from Idaho have been arrested for their involvement in the storming of the federal building.   More recently, anti-government leader Ammon Bundy did a kind of lecture tour...