Idaho Matters

President Trump insists the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a terrible deal for American workers, but one-quarter of Idaho’s exports went to Canada and Mexico from 2002 to 2016 and the state's agricultural community is very concerned about what a withdrawal from NAFTA could mean for their bottom line. State Representative  Mat Erpelding  recently penned an op-ed that outlines a pote...

More than a year ago, the  Wassmuth Center for Human Rights  in Boise broke ground on an outdoor community classroom as part of the the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial.  A kiosk in the classroom will detail the state's history of civil rights as well as address discrimination faced by African-Americans, Latinos, Jews and members of Idaho's LGBTQ community. The classroom will be dedicated to civil...

University of Idaho physics professor  Jason Barnes would like to go to the Saturnian moon, Titan . Not him, personally, rather he'd like to send a giant drone-like rotorcraft to the moon to gather data. Barnes is on the team developing one of two drone programs for consideration for a NASA mission to Titan; he spoke with Idaho Matters about his role in exploring the distant moon and the importanc...

The 2018 primary elections are weeks away and candidates from all parties are meeting for debates . This weekend will see six major state debates and on Idaho Matters, we speak with Melissa Davlin and Seth Ogilvie of Idaho Reports on Idaho Public Television to get the Monday morning recap. 

(Frankie Barnhill/Boise State Public Radio) Early voting for Idaho's 2018 primary elections begins Monday and Ada County Chief Deputy Clerk Phil McGrane joins Idaho Matters to tell Idaho voters everything about registration, early voting options and polling locations.

Zoo Boise is undergoing many changes this past year; a new giraffe, the ground breaking of a new African exhibit and a new director.  Gene Peacock will assume his new role as Zoo Boise's director following the resignation of Steve Burns after a twenty-year tenure.  Peacock joins Idaho Matters to discuss the new exhibits and his vision for Zoo Boise.

Idaho native Natalie Perry grew up in a family with two gay, closeted fathers. One was a Chief Judge of the Idaho State Court of Appeals and couldn't campaign as an openly gay man in Idaho, unable to come out until after retirement. As an author, artist and LGBTQ advocate, she uses this unique perspective to encourage equality for families in the gay community. Her book, " Dad #1, Dad #2: A Queers...

A panel of reporters joins Gemma Gaudette to discuss the week's news affecting the Treasure Valley and Idaho, including education legislation from the 2018 session , Medicaid expansion proposals and the upcoming primary elections . This week's panel includes Kimberlee Kruesi, the Associated Press's Boise Bureau reporter; Kevin Richert, a reporter with Idaho Education News and Idaho Statesman Commu...

Anxiety is the most common mental health ailment , affecting nearly one third of Americans - both adolescent and adult.  Anxiety disorders are being detected in children as young as four.  Christy Porter is a student counselor at St. Joseph's Catholic School in Boise and she sat down with Idaho Matters to discuss the warning signs of stress in school-aged children and ways to alleviate the anxiety...

TED Talks were founded in 1984 as a conference of speakers bringing together new ideas about the melding of technology, entertainment and design in contemporary culture.  Since 1990, TED has produced annual conferences that have featured such speakers as Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Jane Goodall and Bono. TED-X events are smaller, regional TED Talks; TED-X Boise will take place on Saturday, May 5th. ...

The University of Idaho remains in the spotlight for the mishandling of sexual assault complaints placed more than five years ago. In 2013, three different women accused a football of sexual harassment and assault, the university's management of the subsequent investigation has come into question. Idaho Statesman reporter Chadd Crippe joined Idaho Matters to bring the story up to date.

A recent poll conducted by the Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children found 76% of Idaho voters support state-funded pre-kindergarten education. Despite the support, the 2018 State Legislature failed to address the need for early education . Beth Oppenheimer, Executive Director of Idaho AEYC joined Idaho Matters in studio to discuss the need for pre-K and efforts to motivate lawmake...

When Madeline Rose Scott was asked to photograph refugees arriving to Boise for placement, she saw an opportunity to document the humanity of the resettlement process. She photographed several refugees fleeing civil war and violence just hours ahead of Donald Trump's travel ban on select Muslim countries. She captured the fear, the trepidation and the relief shared by so many who came to start a n...

The Boise Little Theater celebrates its 70 year of ongoing production with Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman." Director Frank Wright joined Idaho Matters to discuss the enduring resonance of the play and the history of Idaho's oldest theater company.

In 1994, Fred Lawrence and Paul Jenkins were sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Donna Meagher in Montana. Twenty-three years later, their sentences have been vacated , and DNA evidence points to another man , already in prison. Lawrence and Jenkins owe their freedom to the efforts of the Montana Innocence Project , with DNA analysis from Greg Hampikian, director of the Idaho Innocence P...

By most indices, the Treasure Valley is the fastest growing region in the country, rapidly driving up property values.  But unlike similar booms in Atlanta, Phoenix and Las Vegas, new housing starts are not matching the explosion in population. While current homeowners are thrilled to see their values skyrocket, those prices are pushing newcomers to the housing market further away from Boise in se...

The Rescued Film Project collects undeveloped film, of any type, from submitters around the world.  Founder Levi Bettwieser develops the film and exhibits it on his website and in galleries.  He is currently exhibiting at the Gem Center for the Arts in Boise.   The exhibit is a display of the sometimes eclectic, sometimes mundane routines in the everyday lives of people everywhere - spread across...

On Saturday, the City of Boise will open the James Castle House to the public after three years of renovation.  The site was home to James Castle for more than half of his life; the hearing-impaired artist was self-taught and used his drawings to communicate with others.  In the forty years since his death, his work has been on exhibition around the world and pieces have sold for thousands.  Recen...

(OTTO KITSINGER / AP IMAGES) The three top Republicans vying for the party's gubernatorial nomination met to debate the issues on Monday night. U.S. Representative Raul Labrador, Idaho Lieutenant Governor Brad Little and area businessman Tommy Ahlquist addressed abortion, faith healing, climate change, guns and lowering taxes. Idaho Education News reporter Kevin Richert sat on the panel asking the...

Progressive outdoor enthusiasts and conservative hunters and anglers gathered together in Boise earlier this month to express their mutual desire to preserve Idaho's public lands. While displeasure with the Trump Administration is expected from Idaho's bluer citizens, many Trump supporters are expressing frustration with Washington's public lands policies. The opening of national parkland and monu...

Idaho is losing out on thousands of jobs and, as a result, millions in undeclared wages.  This could have a devastating impact on Idaho's workforce and economy if the trend isn't reversed. State Representative Sally Toone of Gooding has ideas about planting the seeds for cultivating a strong, STEM oriented workforce for the Gem State. Representative Toone joined Idaho Matters from her district to...

The Idaho Shakespeare Festival begins its 2018 season with an unconventional play from the mind of Stephan King. Producing Artistic Director Charles Fee joined Idaho Matters in studio to discuss the line-up, the underlying themes of this year's program and what makes the work of Shakespeare so alluring after four hundred years. Copyright Boise State Public Radio 2018

(Robin Rausch) Dr. David Grinspoon looks at the catastrophic events in Earth’s four-and-a-half billion year history and considers the positives. The Planetary Science Institute astrobiologist focuses much of his work on how changes in planetary climate could allow for life to exist. In his newest book, Earth in Human Hands , Grinspoon notes that for the first time, humans are in control of the fut...

(CREDIT TOM DAVENPORT AP FILE) The Southern Poverty Law Center has been investigating and documenting hate groups in America since 1979; the group was formed in 1971 as a nonprofit civil rights firm. Today the organization sits on an endowment in excess of $400 million and has become the primary source for chronicling hate groups. Idaho Statesman reporter Sven Berg traveled to Northern Idaho to sp...

(Molly Messick for NPR) This time of year Idaho farmers take to the fields in full force, planting crops, and making irrigation systems ready for the summer growing season. This year many are  wondering about clouds of uncertainty hanging over the future of farm exports. Unless you have a direct connection to the land you may not realize the impact agriculture has on the Idaho economy, as well as...