Idaho Matters

(Paula Bronstein / AP Images) Have you bought your Christmas tree yet? At least one local vendor says that if you want one, now is the time to get one. With more people staying home this holiday season as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, Christmas trees are in short supply. Our Morning Edition host George Prentice checked in with Lindsay Schramm of the North End Organic Nursery in Garden City. Have...

(Anita Kissee / St. Luke's Health ) Idaho has surpassed 1,000 COVID-19 deaths, the Central District Health Department considers stricter COVID-19 rules, Idaho organizations and politicians face backlash after receiving federal PPP loans, and changes to a shopping district in downtown Boise. We cover all that and more on this week's Reporter Roundtable.  Joining the Idaho Matters Reporter Roundtabl...

(Jordan Strauss / AP Photo) As winter sets in and we’re finding ourselves more and more inside while the pandemic drags on, TV is becoming a refuge for entertainment and escape. But the all-important question of “ what should we watch tonight? ” continues to linger! If you’ve spent any time scrolling through streaming services with your family or by yourself, not sure what to watch, you understand...

(Emilie Ritter Saunders / Boise State Public Radio) The Affordable Care Act is back in the news. As the Supreme Court once again considers the Obama-era healthcare law, we wanted to check in with one of the people who helped shape the policy. Dr. Ted Epperly traveled back and forth between Boise and Washington D.C. ahead of the 2010 passage of “Obamacare.”  Now, as the country staggers through a g...

(cloudzilla / Flickr Creative Commons) 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 photos? (...

The pandemic has impacted us all in different ways. But a nearly universal impact has come to our mental health. For students and educators, the importance of tending to mental health needs in order to be able to learn and teach is critical.

( Jesse Tree) Even before the pandemic hit, the Treasure Valley was experiencing an intense housing crisis. In fact, since the beginning of this year, the average rent in the valley has increased by 10%. For folks living paycheck to paycheck, all it takes is one unexpected expense to leave them unable to pay rent. Jesse Tree of Idaho is an organization that prevents homelessness by providing rent...

(Taimy Alvarez / AP Photo) Joining Idaho Matters to fill us in on the latest coronavirus news and to answer your COVID-19 questions are: Dr. David Pate, former CEO of St. Luke's Health System and a current member of the Idaho Coronavirus Taskforce Dr. Michaela Schulte, St. Luke’s Vice President of Medical Affairs for the Western Treasure Valley Dr. Meghan McInerney, ICU Medical Director at Saint A...

(Katherine Jones / Idaho Statesman ) During last month’s election, Idahoans passed a constitutional amendment to lock in the number of legislative districts in our state to 35. This decision came shortly before the state’s bipartisan redistricting committee will meet to re-draw legislative and congressional district lines based on new census data. Idaho's had 35 legislative districts for decades,...

( Bureau of Land Management) President-elect Joe Biden has begun to announce his cabinet choices, including former Federal Reserve Chief Janet Yellen as Secretary of Treasury. But he has yet to announce his choice to lead both the Interior and Agriculture Departments, or the EPA. Each of these positions can carry a lot of influence in Idaho when it comes to the environment and slowing the effects...

( Intermountain Healthcare) Our region is facing a hospitalization crisis. COVID-19 patients are flooding ICUs, adding to an already busy time of year. To tackle it effectively, hospitals and states need to work as a team. But as the Mountain West News Bureau’s Madelyn Beck explains, it’s not that simple. Madelyn joins Idaho Matters to talk more about this. As COVID-19 cases spread through the U.S...

(Scott Graf / Boise State Public Radio) Arts organizations have taken a hit this year. To stay afloat, they’ve had to embrace virtual means of showcasing their work. At first, this just looked like live-streamed performances or other replications of what you’d see in person. But soon, these organizations innovated ways to use technology and the internet to connect with new artists and audiences. ...

(Ali Rabe) We are a little more than a month away from the start of a new legislative session in Idaho. The Republican majority will have an even stronger hold on the levers of power this year after an election where conservatives gained ground in the state. Joining the ranks of the Democratic minority will be new Boise lawmaker Ali Rabe. She has been on Idaho Matters in the past in her role as th...

(David A Mitchell / Flickr Creative Commons) America’s bird population is in decline. Some studies show that as much as 30% of the population across species has been lost. So, what is to blame for this shocking loss of birds? New research from universities, including Boise State University, is painting a more complete picture of what is causing the decline. Two of the factors — light pollution and...

(idaho DEQ ) This interview originally aired on Sept. 1, 2020. The Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer is a critical drinking water source for southern and eastern Idaho. More than 300,000 Idahoans rely on the natural underground storage to provide clean, safe water every day. But due to a combination of farming and agricultural practices in the Magic Valley, the water source is in danger of contamination...

(Riley Haun / University of Idaho) 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 might be comforting to know that young adults the...

(Lacey Daley / Boise State Public Radio) On October 19, Idaho Matters host Gemma Gaudette moderated a panel discussion at Boise City Hall with Mayor Lauren McLean, Ada County Commissioner Diana Lachiondo and Boise State University President Marlene Tromp. The hour-long conversation covered a range of topics, from how to handle exponential growth in the Treasure Valley, to improving transportation...

(Ballet Idaho) Snow falling today in the Treasure Valley accenutated the holiday mood shared by Idaho Matters guest Anne Mueller, Artistic Associate at Ballet Idaho . She introduced the upcoming dance production, "Spectacular Holiday Spectaular." The inspiration for its music came from Mueller's time listening to Carl Scheider, the radio host of Private Idaho and Idaho Music on Boise State Public...

(Caldwell VA Clinic ) Immunology and epidemiology were not top-of-mind topics in years past, but this year, it’s all we seem to talk about.  Idaho Matters went behind-the-scenes to check-in with a researcher at the Boise VA Medical Center . Dr. Mary Cloud Ammons of the Idaho Veterans Research and Education Foundation joined the show to talk about her work. Dr. Ammons described how she worked at a...

(Tom Michael / Boise State Public Radio) Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and as Dr. David Pate, former CEO of St. Luke's Health System and a current member of the Idaho Coronavirus Taskforce urges, it's not too late to cancel your gathering .  Dr. Pate joined  Idaho Matters to update us on coronavirus news and answer your listener quetsions.  Have a question you want Dr. Pate to answer? Email us: idahom...

(Boise School District ) As the incoming Biden administration considers the question of forgiving student debt, one thing is for sure: the cost of a higher education continues to rise. The Millennial generation in particular has felt the sting of thousands of dollars of student loans, causing many in that generation to delay or forgo marriage, homebuying and having children. So how can families sa...

(Amy Sancetta / AP Photo) Health professionals have begged people to stay home this Thanksgiving and celebrate only within your household. Recent surveys have shown around 30% of people plan to celebrate just within their family household, twice the number of an average year. Smaller gatherings can mean people are looking for smaller turkeys. There are no large production turkey farms here in Idah...

(Mike Kaplan) In 1968, Mike Kaplan, a long time Canyon County resident, was working in New York City as part of the team for the groundbreaking film , 2001: A Space Odyssey . The science fiction film was visionary and it vaulted its producer and director Stanley Kubrick into the pantheon of great film directors.  2001 was about a manned space journey to Jupiter, extraterrestrial life and the artif...

(Story Story Night/Facebook) The COVID-19 pandemic has meant no going to live plays, musical concerts and even Boise’s storytelling event  Story Story Night . Now, instead of coming together monthly in a shared space to tell stories from the stage, Story Story Night has gone virtual. They’ve embraced the change, coming up with a new season based on classic TV game shows. The first virtual event of...

(LM Otero / AP Images) Since millions nationwide lost jobs in the first days of the pandemic, Idaho has had one of the best unemployment recoveries of any state. Thousands of people do remain unemployed in Idaho, but as Boise State Public Radio’s Troy Oppie recently discovered, many of them have not been counted in the state’s weekly unemployment report. As COVID-19 cases spread through the U.S. a...