Idaho Matters

(RECLAIM IDAHO FACEBOOK) Idaho voters approved statewide Medicaid expansion via a ballot initiative last November. Republican lawmakers tried to overturn its passage in the last session, going as far as to try to rewrite ballot initiative procedures. On  Idaho Matters , we update the efforts to fill Idaho's health insurance gap with  Reclaim Idaho 's Jeremy Gugino.

(idahoshakespeare.org) The Idaho Shakespeare Festival  presents Meredith Willson's  The Music Man , the enduring tale of a con-man who brings hope to River City. George Prentice speaks with the production's director, Victoria Bussert, and cast members about this family favorite.

(Adventure Consultants) Boise resident Ang Dorjee Sherpa grew up in Nepal in the valleys at the foot of Mt. Everest. By 12, he was working as a porter, trained by his father, an Everest climber himself. Ang Dorjee has just returned to Idaho following his 20th summit and he joins  Idaho Matters  to talk about the dangers of climbing the world's tallest mountain and the drive to do it.

(idahoshakespeare.org) The Idaho Shakespeare Festival  presents Meredith Willson's  The Music Man , the enduring tale of a con-man who brings hope to River City. George Prentice speaks with director Victoria Bussert and cast members about this family favorite.

(LACEY DALEY / BOISE STATE PUBLIC RADIO) Idahoans For A Fair Wage  wants to see the state's minimum wage raised above its current rate of $7.25 an hour. The federal rate was set in 2009 and in recent years, various states and municipalities have raised the wage on their own. The Fair Wage organization is gathering signatures to put the effort before voters as a ballot initiative.  Idaho Matters  s...

Author Emily Ruskovich grew up in the Idaho Panhandle, on Hoodoo Mountain. Her experiences color the landscape of her  International DUBLIN Literary Award -winning novel,  Idaho .  Ruskovich is currently on the creative writing faculty at Boise State University and she joins  Idaho Matters  to talk about accepting the prestigious award.

(st. luke's) Earlier this month, a group of doctors and administrators from St. Luke's  flew to Honduras  to treat patients for various ailments and illnesses. St. Luke's has been flying these relief missions for years and we learn about the latest effort with St. Luke's COO David Bishop.

(story story night) Story Story Night  began in 2010 as a private, story-telling soiree of presenters from Boise's literary and performance art communities. Today, their season runs November through April.  Story Story Late-Night  is the late night version of the show. Host Emma Arnold and artistic director Jodi Eichelberger joins  Idaho Matters  to give us a preview.

(Otto Kitsinger / Associated Press) Idaho Matters  leads a roundtable discussion of the week's headlines with the region's top journalists. This week we speak with  Idaho Public Television's  Bill Manny and Seth Ogilvie and Scott McIntosh of the  Idaho Press.  This week, we discuss efforts to raise the state's minimum wage , a race for the chairmanship of the state's Republican Party and a funding...

(World Village Fest/Facebook) The  World Village Fest  begins Friday and runs through Sunday at Cecil D. Andrus Park in Boise. Presented by  Global Lounge , the festival draws together Idahoans from around the world for diverse music, food, storytelling and film screenings.  Idaho Matters  talks with the organizers about the event. We speak with Donna Kovaleski and Jill Weigel from Global Lounge a...

(this is my brave/youtube) 'This Is My Brave '  is a  community performance of storytellers  sharing their experiences in an effort to reduce the stigma attached to mental illness. The group is hosting the next round of performances in Boise and we talk about auditions with producer Siva Laughlin and performer Brooke Lacey.

(The Market) The Market  at the Hotel Ketchum is serving up locally sourced foods, regional entertainment and an assortment of arts and crafts to bring people together. We talk about this celebration of the solstice with Susan Nieves.

(Dr. Braun/Wikimedia) Botox is the miracle botulism that evens out facial wrinkles. Now doctors are finding benefits from applying Botox medically.  Idaho Matters  talks with St. Luke's neurologist Stephen Asher about these advances and a local drummer who is finding Botox effective for treating dystonia.

(Idaho National Laboratory) Archeologist  Lael Suzann Henrikson  operates out of the  Cultural Resource Management Office  of  Idaho National Laboratory  where she works to insure the labs are in compliance with the  National Historic Preservation Act.  Her most recent project involved  excavating the area south of Lake Terreton  looking for evidence of the earliest residents to the region, believ...

(Ridley Pearson / Facebook ) Author  Ridley Pearson  has built a career on writing suspense novels for young adult readers. His latest project is writing a comic book portraying the children of  Superman and Batman for DC Comics . In his spare time he  jams in a band with fellow writers  Scott Turrow, Amy Tan and Dave Berry. Pearson is currently on the creative writing staff at Boise State Univers...

(aoc.gov) Amendments to the U.S. Constitution require a supermajority vote by Congress or a gathering of state delagates referred to as a "constitutional convention."  Idaho Matters  talks with Concordia University School of Law associate professor  McKay Cunningham  and Georgetown law professor  David Super  about the prospects of convening a "con-con."

(Patrick R/Wikimedia) As millennials mature into adulthood, many are settling their families in the Treasure Valley.  Idaho Matters  looks at why this demographic is choosing this region over bigger, more urban markets with Our Town America franchisees Scot and Amy Hecht. 

(lowergentrystudios.com) Canyon County  is a serial web drama that follows the day-to-day of a Treasure Valley social worker suffering from depression. The candid look at coping with mental illness can only be found online and  Idaho Matters  talks with co-writers Elliot Norton and Chuck O'Neachtain.

(Sarah Sense) Sarah Sense used to spend her summers visiting her grandmother on the Chitimacha Reservation in Louisiana, learning the tribe's basket weaving traditions. Today, Sense combines traditional Native American imagery with pictures of Hollywood cowboys and other elements of pop culture. Her exhibit,  Cowgirls and Indians ,  is showing at the  Boise Art Museum  (BAM) through November. We t...

(U.S. AIR FORCE / CREATIVE COMMONS) Canyon County jail officials reached out to ICE  agents repeatedly to report inmates without residential documentation and sometimes reported inmates who were American citizens. Reporter Nicole Foy of the Idaho Press broke the story after obtaining emails sent to ICE from the Canyon County jail and she joins  Idaho Matters  to unpack the story.

(idtheater.org) The 19th Annual  Seven Devils Playwrights Conference  invites writers to McCall to present, discuss, develop and workshop plays in progress. The conference is open to the public and free of charge and we explore the event with the conference's executive director, Jeni Mahoney.

(amazon) Idahoan  Jim Jones  has been there, done that. An officer in Vietnam, a multi-term attorney general and a State Supreme Court Justice. Jones is also a prolific writer and his latest work documents his in-country tour during the Vietnam War. Jones joins  Idaho Matters  to talk about  Vietnam ... Can't Get You Out of My Mind.

(SWIMBA/Facebook) The  Southwest Idaho Mountain Biking Association  (SWIMBA) advocates on behalf of bikers to maintain access to public lands and trails, educates riders about safety and organizes all-inclusive events. SWIMBA is presenting the film  Return to Earth  at The Egyptian Theatre on Wednesday, June 19, and they are organizing the first Boise Mountain Bike Festival in August.  Idaho Matte...

(flickr/subspaceaddict71) The Idaho Supreme Court ruled last Wednesday that law enforcement officials  cannot make a misdemeanor arrest  without a warrant or without having seen the crime themselves. The ruling has wide-ranging implications for the legal community, law enforcement, victims and victim advocates.  Idaho Matters  parses out the legalities of the ruling with Concordia University Schoo...

Everybody is familiar with Da Vinci's ubiquitous image of the "ideal" male physical specimen, the Vitruvian Man. Area artist Chad Estes has gathered the images of 50 women and used the images to show there is no "ideal" physical type in an effort to promote body positivity. " Vitruvian Women " is showing at the  Gem Center for the Arts  and we talk about the installation and promoting body positiv...