Idaho Matters

(Kxlly Kxsh / Flickr Creative Commons)   There’s some big changes afoot in leadership at Idaho Power. Last week, CEO Darrel Anderson announced he’s retiring after leading the publicly traded utility since 2014. He’s overseen several initiatives, including the company’s shift away from coal. At the same time, the company announced that current president Lisa Grow would take over the helm on June 1....

(Hakim Fobia / US Department of Agriculture / Flickr Creative Commons) As adults, we know how eating unhealthy makes us feel compared to healthier options. Sugar crashes, impacted sleep patterns, decreased focus at work are feelings many of us can relate to.  So why doesn’t that logic extend to the food we feed our children in schools? And what happens when healthy standards are put in place? Bois...

(Story Story Night/Facebook) Story Story Night is celebrating a decade of sharing narratives and connecting with people, each month highlighting a different decade through themed stories.    Idaho Matters host Gemma Gaudette will be one of the featured storytellers for the February 25th show celebrating the "2000s" decade night. Story Story Night artistic director Jodi Eichelberger turns the micro...

(ETHAN WEBBER / BOISE STATE PUBLIC RADIO) Happy Valentine's Day Reporter Roundtable! Today we're joined by Boise State Public Radio's Madelyn Beck , Idaho Ed News's Kevin Richert and the Idaho Statesman's Nicole Foy . They break down what happened at the Idaho state legislature this week as a flurry of bills received initial hearings. Plus: dark skies, pesticides and farmworkers and much more.  Ha...

(Madison Park / Boise State University) Graduate students spend years researching and writing about one single topic. They leave university with knowledge and information many people will never understand. And that’s a problem — a problem an unusual competition seeks to solve. Three Minute Thesis, or 3MT, started in Australia in 2008 . 3MT is now an international competition that challenges gradua...

(Black and Pink / Facebook) Earlier this week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals declined to re-hear the case of a transgender inmate in Idaho.  Adree Edmo is suing the state of Idaho for gender reassignment surgery, a surgery her lawyers argue is medically necessary. But Republican Governor Brad Little is not done fighting the case. Little says he plans to appeal to the supreme court.    Reporter...

(Chris Yunker / Flickr Creative Commons) The National Archives facility in Seattle holds historical government records from Idaho and other northwest states, including indigenous archives.  Earlier this year federal agencies decided to sell the building and send the records to California and Missouri. Residents, researchers, tribal leaders and elected officials from Idaho are among those fighting...

(Joel Mann / Flickr Creative Commons) The build-to-rent market has been exploding in the Treasure Valley, with developers building homes not for people to buy —but for people to rent. Is this good or bad for Idaho? The Idaho Statesman ’s Kate Talerico has been following the story and joins Idaho Matters to talk more about both sides of the issue.  Have a question or comment for the show? Tweet  @K...

(Frankie Barnhill / Boise State Public Radio) Yesterday would have been Abraham Lincoln’s 211th birthday.  That’s a big deal for Dave Leroy, an amateur historian and former Attorney General of Idaho. Although Lincoln never visited Idaho while he was alive, Leroy contends that he and the state are deeply connected in history.    Today we bring back an episode of Wanna Know Idaho , our listener supp...

(Thibault Camus / AP Images)   On Tuesday, March 10, Idahoans will get the chance to vote in the GOP and Democratic presidential primaries. One campaign has already set up camp here in Idaho. Michael Bloomberg's campaign has hired local staffers in three cities in the state, and has pledged to keep that staff in place through November — whether or not the former New York City mayor and billionaire...

(Jenniferschwalm / Flickr Creative Commons)   In western states like Idaho, experiencing the outdoors as a family is part of everyday life. But in other places in the country, that isn't the case. In this special presentation of HumaNature from Wyoming Public Media, we follow the story of a woman who wanted her children to love the outdoors, just like she did as a little girl in Sweden. But when s...

(Heath Druzin / Boise State Public Radio)   An outbreak of the deadly coronavirus has set off alarm bells among public health officials. It’s also kept the phone ringing off the hook for businesses that specialize in disaster preparedness. Emergency Essentials, a company in Salt Lake City, specializes in helping others squirrel away survival necessities. But for the past few weeks, they've been fi...

(Roger Smith / Flickr Creative Commons)   After a group of Parma farmworkers were hospitalized last year from alleged exposure to pesticides sprayed by a crop duster, advocates demanded change. Instead, Idaho lawmakers could slash some state rules that regulate aerial pesticide spray after a crop duster association complained of excessive oversight and regulation. Idaho Statesman reporter Nicole F...

(Emory Maiden / Flickr Creative Commons)   When it comes to improving student performance and outcomes, there are many factors that education experts look to. Things like class size, socio-economics, school safety, and one’s home life to name a few.  But what about the actual classroom where that learning takes place? Could things like lighting, air quality and temperature impact student engagemen...

(Glenn Landberg, Treefort Music Festival / Flickr Creative Commons)   You know that feeling of being so hungry that your emotions get the best of you?  You arrive at a restaurant with your stomach already growling, and once the food arrives you barely pay attention to your dinner companions you’re so famished.    A version of that common modern experience is being recreated on stage at Boise Conte...

(Idaho National Laboratory) Before Mark Peters joined the Idaho National Laboratory as Director in 2015, he worked at several other national labs across the U.S. managing projects dealing with nuclear energy and national security. Now, Peters oversees projects at INL in Eastern Idaho about space programs and homeland security, and is frequently brought in to advise the federal government on energy...

(Justin Burger / Flickr Creative Commons) Want to help save declining bees and butterflies? Or maybe you're curious about raising chickens for fresh eggs, or how to compost like a pro?  Whether you’re a big, small, or backyard farmer, the “Harvest and Hearth” class helps any size farmer learn about ecosystem health, and how to make money off your soil.    Jessica Harrold coordinates the class for...

(Opera Idaho / Facebook) 'La Boheme' is returning to Opera Idaho this weekend for the seventh time. The story of bohemian life in the Latin quarter in Paris in the 1830s is also "about the death of innocence" according to tenor Peter Drackley.  No opera has been presented more often in the company’s history. Irish soprano Celine Byrne and tenor Peter Drackley join Idaho Matters to talk more about...

(Treasure Valley Reads / Facebook) Something magical occurs when groups of people gather to explore the pages of a chosen novel or memoir. So what happens when an entire city or valley takes part in reading together? Treasure Valley Reads is a community-wide project that asks folks in Boise, Nampa, Meridian, Caldwell and beyond to pick up the same book. The author of the 2020 selection — Meredith...

(ETHAN WEBBER / BOISE STATE PUBLIC RADIO) For this week's Reporter Roundtable, Idaho Matters brings the Boise Weekly's Harrison Berry , the Idaho Press's Betsy Russel and our own James Dawson to break down the week in headlines.  Also, you'll hear tape of how Boisians feel about President Trump's acquittal Wednesday.  Have a question or comment for the show? Tweet  @KBSX915  using #IdahoMatters

(Nigel Howe / Flickr Creative Commons) Just how old are Saturn’s rings? You might think that would be an easy question to answer. But apparently in the scientific world, there’s quite a divide over this topic. Matthew Hedman is an associate professor in the physics department at the University of Idaho. He’s in Boise tonight for Boise State University’s First Friday Astronomy Talk to delve into th...

(Jared Zissu / Fly Fishing Film Tour)   Though fishing was long used just for sustenance, it has evolved into a sport celebrated around the world.  The 14th annual Fly Fishing Film Tour will showcase ten independent shorts on its stop in Boise this Saturday.   Paul Nicoletti, Austin Conrad and Nick Jones are organizers of the festival. They join  Idaho Matters to talk more about the tour and the s...

(DARIN OSWALD / Idaho Statesman) For men and women returning to society from incarceration, access to affordable housing is key to their success.  But with Idaho's tightening market already keeping affordable housing out of reach for much of the general public, the risk of prison recidivism continues to rise when former inmates can't secure housing. That's according to the  Prison Policy Initiativ...

(Stephen Chin / Flickr Creative Commons) Programs to get kids into coding have been popping up all over in the past several years. Idaho has been no different.  ‘Kids Who Code’ is one program at the Ada Community Library in Boise. One of the students learning to code is nine-year-old Scout Wilson. She joins Idaho Matters with one of her instructors, librarian Derek Ramos. Have a question or commen...

(Arlie Sommer / Expressive Idaho) Boise State Public Radio is launching our second season of Expressive Idaho in partnership with Idaho Commission on the Arts. The first of the series features traditional Mexican Folkloric dancers. Expressive Idaho producer Arlie Sommer joins Idaho Matters to talk more about the work that goes into creating this series. Have a question or comment for the show? Twe...