Idaho Matters

(ebay) The bitter Italian cordial Aperol is in short supply and area bartenders and cocktail entusiasts want to know why the popular summer spritzer liquor is so hard to find. On Monday's  Idaho Matters,  we ask a Boise mixologist why.

We assemble a panel of Idaho journalists to discuss the week's events in Boise, the Treasure Valley and beyond. This week we're joined by Bill Manny of the  Idaho Statesman ,  Idaho Public Television's  Melissa Davlin and Betsy Russell of  The Idaho Press .

In the 1930s and 40s, hundreds of Basque people were brought to the western United States to do the desolate work that no one else would do—herding sheep. Alone for months at a time with hundreds of sheep, the Basque improvised songs, baked bread in underground ovens, carved poetry and drawings into the Aspen trees, listened to The Basque Radio hour traditional music and messages between the herde...

After Medicaid expansion failed to pass the Idaho legislature during the last session, the grassroots organization Reclaim Idaho  gathered and submitted 56,192 signatures from Idahoans  - enough to get the issue on the ballot as a voter initiative in the Novemeber election. We talk with state lawmakers about the possible passage of this expansion, how it may help the state's 62,000 uninsured resid...

(boisedev) BoiseDev.com  began as a Twitter feed in 2013 and quickly evolved into one of the top sources of business and development news in the region. Veteran TV newsman Don Day has been managing the site since its inception and he joins Thursday's  Idaho Matters  to talk business, media and the growing Gem State.

(aecf.org) The Annie E. Casey's 'Kids Count' report  coallates every metric imaginable regarding children's health, education, economic status, living conditions and so on. It is extremely comprehensive, and this year's data did not reflect well on the status of Idaho's youth.  Idaho Matters  addresses the results of this year's data.

(LDS.ORG) A 2017 report from the  Public Religion Research Institute  indicated the number of Americans who identify as Christians has been in a steady decline, while people who identify as  members of the Church of Latter Day Saints has increased  steadily. We look at how the Mormon church is bucking the trend of declining religious affiliation.

(BOISE NATIONAL FOREST) The West is heating up and the forests are drying out ...  we're headed into peak wildfire season in Idaho.  We check in with Boise State Public Radio's Frankie Barnhill on where the fires are, and what the forecast might tell us about what's to come in the next few weeks. 

(Bannock County) We continue our conversation about the state of Idaho's incarcerated population. Late last Wednesday, a riot broke out in the Bannock County jail. The Idaho Department of Corrections has been housing state inamtes in county jails due to overcrowding and on Tuesday's  Idaho Matters , we speak with Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen about the stress this is causing in his county's...

(LES ZAITZ/THE OREGONIAN VIA AP) Last Wednesday, President Trump issued pardons to Dwight Hammond, Jr. and his son Steven. The pair had been found guilty of arson of federal property after their protest against the federal government over grazing rights. Their incarceration set off the events that led to the occupation of the Malhuer Federal Reserve. We talk to Mountain West News Bureau correspond...

(Tripadvisor) The Idaho State Penitentiary in Boise closed 45 years ago, and as hard as they tried to keep people in, these days they can't keep people out. Amber Bierle of the Idaho State Historical Society talks about the history of the "Old Pen" and some of the upcoming events.

(FPG/Getty Images) Walt Whitman's works have been analyzed by scholars since his passing in 1892 and University of Idaho American literature assistant professor Zachery Turpin is digging through archives and manuscripts in search of Whitman's "lost" works.  Turpin joins us to talk about his quest for literature's "National Treasure."

(Lancey / Flickr) The increased prison population at the Idaho Department of Corrections has forced officials to place some prisoners in county jails for housing. This has led to a stretching of resources for the state's county sheriffs; such overcrowding led to  a riot in the Bannock County jail  on Wednesday. We talk with Ada County Sheriff Stephen Bartlett and state representatives Lynn Luker (...

(snake river stampede) A $400,000 purse makes the  Snake River Stampede  one of the top stops on the rodeo circuit. This Tuesday, barrel-riders, bullfighters, bronco-busters and their fans will descend on Nampa for the 103rd running of the Snake River Stampede and on Monday's  Idaho Matters  we'll talk about the legacy of rodeo in the West and more than a century of stampeding in the Gem State.

(Ballet Sun Valley) The two-day Ballet Sun Valley Festival begins Tuesday. The festival will feature classical ballet and modern dance performances from Misty Copeland, Aran Bell and other all-star dancers. Idaho Matters discusses the festival with its artistic director, Isabella Boylston.

We assemble a panel of Idaho journalists to discuss the week's events in Boise, the Treasure Valley and beyond. This week we're joined by Kevin Richert of  Idaho Education News  and Betsy Russell and Scott McIntosh of  The Idaho Press .

(IDAHO SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL) Jillian Kates, Jodi Dominick and Laura Welsh Berg play the leads in the Idaho Shakespeare Festival's production of Mamma Mia! and they join Gemma Gaudette to talk about the enduring appeal of ABBA.

(CREDIT IDOC) The state's prison system is experiencing critical overcrowding. Inmates are being farmed out to penitentiaries in other states and county jails, and the inmate population is expected to surpass 10,000 by 2020. Prison officials have suggested a  half-billion dollar prison expansion  that the state is coinsidering. On Thursday's  Idaho Matters , we speak with DOC director Henry Atenci...

(CREDIT ADAM COTTERELL / BOISE STATE PUBLIC RADIO) Former Idaho Supreme Court Justice Robert Huntley filed a class action lawsuit against several public school districts in the state of Idaho for charging fees to K-12 students. The suit was filed on behalf of every student in Idaho and their parents. Huntley says these fees violate the state's constitution and he joins  Idaho Matters  to explain h...

(idaho.gov) The state legislature nearly convened a special session to parse out the details of unresolved issues of flood control on Southwest Idaho rivers. The session was averted and House Speaker Scott Bedke walks us through the issue and the resolution.

The long awaited  Indian Creek Plaza  opens in downtown Caldwell. The multi-purpose plaza will serve as a concert venue, a festival space and will facilitate further development in Caldwell's downtown corridor. We speak with Caldwell mayor Garrett Nancolas about the plaza's debut.

( National Fallen Firefighters Foundation) Following the deadly attack against Boiseans attending a child's birthday party, Boise Fire Chief Dennis Doan called for a re-examination of the methods used to treat fire fighters and other first responders for PTSD, telling the Idaho Press,  " I do know that more firefighters killed themselves than died in the line of duty." Chief Doan joins  Idaho Matt...

(twitter) This year's Idaho Republican Convention stuck pretty much to script until 26-year-old  Dom Gelsomino took the floor and introduced himself  as a "Christian, a fellow conservative and Idaho's first openly gay Republican to run for office."  Gelsomino asked the state GOP to abandon its position on gay marraige and to demonstrate more tolerance and inclusion. Dom Gelsomino joins  Idaho Matt...

(CREDIT BOISE TWILIGHT CRITERIUM) The Twilight Criterium returns to Boise for its 32nd year. The high-speed street race promises lots of tight pelaton action and events for the whole family. Lynn Hightower of the Downtown Boise Association joins Idaho Matters to talk about the day's events.

(JAMES DAWSON / BOISE STATE PUBLIC RADIO) More than a week after one of the most horrific assaults in Boise history, we look at efforts within the Treasure Valley's refugee community to find healing and closure.