Idaho Matters

(NG71 / Flickr) The benefits of creative expression when it comes to processing emotions are well documented, particularly when it comes to writing. Those who have ever had a diary or kept a journal can probably attest to the cathartic power of putting words to paper. But this practice doesn’t just provide a temporary outlet for our feelings; it can also help us work through deeper trauma. This is...

Group founder Kirsten Strough leads Big Gal Backpackers Boise back toward the trailhead. (Murphy Woodhouse / Mountain West News Bureau ) If you’re asked to imagine a hiker, who comes to mind? Is it a tall, lean, bearded man? Maybe white? That’s a common idea of who a hiker is, but there are a lot of people pushing back on that exclusionary notion. The Mountain West News Bureau’s Murphy Woodhouse w...

It was 75 years ago when volunteers got together and turned a farm field in Meridian into an oval racetrack and dairy barn. That was the start of the Meridian Speedway , which has grown into a great spot to watch cars race and attracts both drivers and fans from all over the Pacific Northwest. Now the speedway has been added to the National Register of Historic Places , and we wanted to know what...

(David Staats / Idaho Statesman) When someone can’t pay their rent and faces eviction from their home, they often end up facing a court hearing in Ada County. Four years ago, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, those hearings went virtual, with tenants going online before a judge to plead their case. Earlier this month, the court switched back to in-person hearings, and housing advocates want t...

(Brian Hodgdon / Flickr) With summer inching closer, it may be time to start thinking about what you're going to do with your kids once school is out. Whether it's learning ballet, swimming camp, beekeeping, or even ice hockey, Boise Parks and Recreation probably has a class for it. And they're offering this wide array of activities to everyone, regardless of age or ability.   Doug Holloway, the D...

(Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) As temperatures heat up and we begin spending more time outside, it's possible you may want to pick up a Gatorade or Vitamin Water while you're out in the sun. Thanks to far-away problems like the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and an environmental crisis at the Panama Canal, the price of ordinary items like these will likely go up in Idaho. Dr. Jim Kroes is a profe...

Ashley and her Mustang Boo. ( Ashley Ahearn) Every year around this time, thousands of people flock to Boise for the annual Treefort Music Fest , where you can hear hundreds of bands, do some yoga with goats and witness some fantastic stories by some amazing storytellers. This year at Storyfort, Ashley Ahearn is set to discuss the intersection of modern science, the environment, natural resources...

(Mario Tama / Getty Images) You may have seen ads for them, drugs to treat diabetes with names like Ozempic and Wegovy. You may even know folks who are taking them to treat their disease or to lose weight. These are a new class of drugs, and they are changing the way many people manage their illnesses. They’re also being misused by many as a quick and easy way to lose weight. Michael Biddle is a d...

( Dr. Lynn Kinter) What do you think of when you hear " Craters of the Moon National Monument ?" Maybe a hot, rocky landscape. A gray, empty, volcanic area where nothing grows and plants can't survive. Well, it turns out a lot of plants can survive in this desert in Eastern Idaho, and Dr. Lynn Kinter knows firsthand. She's been studying plants for more than 35 years. Dr. Kinter is an adjunct gradu...

A rainwater catchment system. (Niky Dryden / SplitPea Edible Landscaping) For thousands of years, people have been catching rainwater and recycling it for a variety of different uses. Some supermarkets in England use it for flushing their toilets and others use it to recharge aquifers. Backyard gardeners use it water their plants, save money and the planet one drop at a time! This practice is call...

(Berkley ) New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Dray is back with a look at one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, Frances Perkins. It's a name you may not be familiar with, but you should be. Dray joined Idaho Matters to talk more about her new book, " Becoming Madam Secretary ."

Woman at the library, she is searching books on the bookshelf and picking a textbook, hand close up ( 123rf) A bill restricting children's access to certain library books has passed the House, Idaho is moving to implement age verification on adult websites, state employees could be precluded from receiving gender affirming care and an update on the latest data from the National Fire Registry. It’s...

Marika Michalska and Ruth Prince ( George Prentice) St. Patrick's Day is almost here! Which means it must be time for some corned beef hash and green beer. But, is that really Irish? Our Morning Edition host George Prentice sat down with Marika Michalska, a Boise State exchange student from Belfast, and Ruth Prince, Director of International Student and Scholar Services at Boise State University,...

This undated photo provided by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office shows fentanyl pills. Authorities say they've arrested Ryan Gaston, a man in a Cleveland suburb after seizing more than 900 fentanyl pills marked liked tablets of the less-potent opiate oxycodone. The Cuyahoga County medical examiner said that lookalike pills were likely to blame for some of the county's 19 fentanyl-relat...

(Brendt Petersen / Adobe Stock) Last ski season, a record number of skiers and snowboarders visited resorts in the Rocky Mountain region and most of them were white. Now there's an effort in Colorado to make snow sports more accessible to everyone and it's being led by an immigrant from Mexico. KUNC's Stephanie Daniel reports for the Mountain West News Bureau.

(Samantha Smith / Flickr) The Boise Downtown YMCA has been well loved, and now it's showing its age. Which is why it's been raising funds for the last two years so that a new state-of-the art multi-faceted community hub can be built to replace it. And just last week, the dream of bringing this new building to life took a giant leap forward with a $5 million donation, thanks to CapEd Credit Union....

( W. W. Norton & Company) Imagine a minor character in the classic novel Moby Dick getting her own voice and her own story. That's exactly what happens in Idaho author Tara Karr Roberts debut novel, " Wild and Distant Seas ." She joined Idaho Matters to talk more about her recent release.

FILE - A dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is displayed at the Neighborcare Health clinics at Vashon Island High School in Vashon Island, Wash., on May 15, 2019. U.K. health officials are urging millions of parents to book their children in for missed measles, mumps and rubella shots amid a sharp increase in the number of measles cases and the lowest vaccination rates in a decade. The...

We've been following House Bill 447 , the School Choice bill, since it was introduced in January. It would allow public tax dollars to go toward supporting private school education. Lawmakers have tried over the past several years to pass a school choice bill – but none of those past proposals have become law. Under the bill, families could get a refundable tax credit up to $5,000 to cover private...

(Mike Reid) Spring is around the corner and Idaho Dance Theatre is embracing it with their latest performance Get Sprung which starts Thursday. Joining Idaho Matters to talk more is the company’s Artistic Director Yurek Hansen.

( The Peregrine Fund) In the Philippines, plows clear cut the rainforest to make room for humans. In South Asia, farmers treat their livestock with an anti-inflammatory drug. In the Arctic, temperatures are slowly warming. In Idaho, invasive cheatgrass is crowding out sagebrush. All these activities have one significant connection - they’re killing raptors in all corners of the globe . The numbers...

In Boise, a lot has been written about the history of places like Harrison Boulevard, Warm Springs Avenue, and the River Street neighborhood. But other areas, like South Boise, are less well-known. Barbara Perry Bauer is hoping to change that. She’s a historian and co-owner of Tag Historical Research and Consulting and she’s been researching how the South Side transformed over time from a farming...

In this photo taken Friday, Feb. 12, 2016, Nuray Bolat, left, and Ocean Epling briefly tussle over a toy at the Creative Kids Learning Center, a school that focuses on pre-kindergarten for 4- and 5-year-olds, in Seattle. While the state’s early learning program gets kudos for its efforts to improve quality, it gets poor marks for the small number of kids who are benefiting from high quality presch...

(MotoWebMistress / Flickr Creative Commons) Despite the recent rain - and in some spots snow showers - the weather is starting to warm up and the mountain snowpack is starting to melt and drain into Idaho rivers and streams. But some of that snow disappears before it melts and scientists are trying to find out why. Last year, KUNC’s Alex Hager visited a team of researchers trying to solve this mys...

In this photo provided by the California Department of Water Resources, manager Sean de Guzman, right, examines the aluminum snow depth survey pole during the second survey of the season at Phillips Station, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. The water content of California's mountain snowpack is just over half of normal. The California Department of Water Resources says electronic measurements state...