Idaho Matters

The Walatowa Pueblo of Jemez.<br/> (Helen Orozco / Flickr) The land and its waterways have long been sacred to Indigenous people and they know how to care for it well, considering the land used to be theirs. Now, some groups are recruiting indigenous youth to restore and protect these areas. Emma VandenEinde of the Mountain West News Bureau visits a pueblo in New Mexico to see how one crew i...

(Regina / Flickr) A recent ceremony in our region dedicated a garden that provides spiritual, medicinal and nutritional sustenance. It's called the Northern Cheyenne Medicinal Garden and it has over 100 different plants. Wyoming Public Radio's Hugh Cook visited the Sheridan Food Forest for this report for the Mountain West News Bureau.

(fallingstill / Flickr) The Netflix adaptation of Idahoan Tony Doerr's book " All the Light We Cannot See " had its world premiere over the weekend at the Toronto International Film Festival and our resident movie critic George Prentice was there to see it. He also got a chance to sit down and talk with the Pulitzer prize winning author about the miniseries. George joined Idaho Matters to tell us...

(Robert Val / Flickr) When it comes to learning about climate change there’s lots of information out there. And figuring out how to address the problem can be overwhelming, especially as we continue to see headlines in the news concerning the global warming crisis. All of that together can feel scary. Fear isn’t the answer though, at least according to atmospheric scientist Katharine Hayhoe . Inst...

A panorama view of the Minidoka War Relocation Authority center in 1942. This view taken from the top of the water tower at the east end of the Center, shows partially completed barracks. (Francis Stewart / U.S. Department of the Interior) From 1942 to 1945, the family of Barbara Yoshida Berthiaume was incarcerated in the Minidoka Japanese internment camp in Eastern Idaho. Barbara, who grew up in...

(Jennifer Yin<br/><br/> / Flickr) Hotter summers across our region are making it difficult for some workers to stay cool and comfortable, that includes food truck owners who cook over hot stoves and fryers in small spaces. The Mountain West News Bureau’s Kaleb Roedel explains how some are trying to beat the heat.

The Colorado River near Moab, Utah. (Mitch Tobin / WaterDesk.org) Water issues in the arid west are complex. The laws that govern our region’s rivers and reservoirs are tough to wrap your mind around, but art can provide an entry point – and create an emotional connection that helps people understand what’s at stake. Aspen Public Radio’s Kaya Williams Reports on one painter’s approach for the Moun...

(Jim Choate / Flickr) Republican lawmakers continue to gain support for a special session , agricultural workers in the West are facing mental health issues , Idaho Power wants to make changes to their net metering policies and a look at Biden's new SAVE program . It’s Friday, which means it's time for our Reporter Roundtable when Idaho Matters gets you up-to-date on all the news that made headlin...

(Art Vandelay / Flickr) Steven Nelson, a Nampa man, died in April 2016 after responding to an online ad promising a sexual encounter. He was attacked by Kelly Schneider, who yelled homophobic slurs while kicking him repeatedly with steel toed boots. Schneider then stripped and robbed Nelson in the pre-dawn darkness near Lake Lowell. The critically-injured Nelson walked naked and without shoes abou...

(Oivind Hovland / Getty Images) Women in Idaho are facing unique challenges as they grapple with issues of gender equality, women's rights and equal protection of the law. This is why the Alturas Institute brings together exceptional women each year to Idaho to talk about these issues and find ways to solve them. This year's " Conversations with Exceptional Women " will include a Pulitzer Prize wi...

Peter Detwiler, North Slope Borough wildlife technician, samples polar bear footprints in snow. (University of Idaho / Jennifer Adams) Researchers at the University of Idaho have recently discovered a new way to distinguish individual polar bears in the wild, using their tracks. This noninvasive method collects DNA from the animals' paw prints, allowing scientists to monitor the bear populations w...

( Dr. Richard Bell) Four years ago the New York Times magazine started an initiative called the " 1619 Project " to look at the 400th anniversary of black slavery in America. The project has sparked hundreds of conversations on the legacy of black slavery and the contributions of black Americans, creating backlash as several states have incited laws to block it from public schools. Dr. Richard Bel...

This illustration depicts <em>Klebsiella pneumoniae</em> bacteria, which can cause different types of infections, including pneumonia, bloodstream infections and meningitis. (CDC) Schools around the country are back in session and not only are we seeing a COVID-19 surge but, meningitis is also top of mind. So what should we know in order to protect ourselves? Dr. David Pate , former CE...

(Lacey Daley / Boise State Public Radio) This Friday, Sept. 8 the 34th annual Boise Pride Festival kicks off, celebrating Idaho's LGBTQ+ community. Each summer the event seems to get bigger and better and this year is no exception. Donald Williamson, Executive Director of Boise Pride joined Idaho Matters to talk more about the upcoming celebration.

Floaters enjoy the Boise River during triple-digit temperatures on August 31, 2022. (Troy Oppie / Boise State Public Radio) It's been a busy summer on the Boise River with thousands of people taking part in one of the area's favorite activities: floating. And as the hotter months come to an end, we wanted to check-in and see how the season went. Bonnie Shelton, Communication and Marketing Superint...

Because International distributes expanding shoes for children in developing countries from their Nampa-based nonprofit. (C.O. Photography / Because International) Here in Idaho a nonprofit is helping to provide shoes to thousands of kids around the world, working to address a problem that many families impacted by poverty come up against: bare feet. Without shoes, kids in many areas are at a high...

(iStockphoto.com) It’s a special Labor Day version of “What to Watch” with our resident movie critic, and Morning Edition host, George Prentice! The nose knows. There’s a controversy brewing over noses, specifically prosthetic noses that actors use when playing roles like the current movie Golda. Actress Helen Mirren has been caught up in controversy as she plays Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir....

Colin Sesek performing in "Bent Compass." ( Colin Sesek) In 2004 Colin Sesek was working for the Idaho Shakespeare Festival. A year later he was in the Army, working to become a medic, and soon his deployments began. While he traveled around the world he kept in touch with his friend from the Shakespeare Festival, Neil Brookshire. They talked over the phone and Colin shared his experiences with Ne...

(Madelyn Beck / Mountain West News Bureau) A growing body of research shows that when the air quality is bad outside, it can also affect the air indoors. So what should you do when wildfire smoke is clouding the sky? One project in Idaho is testing out solutions to protect some of the community's most vulnerable. Rachel Cohen reports.

Imagine a panoramic view of a field of stars or a beautiful desert landscape with a time lapse of galaxies crawling across the night sky. These are just some the amazing pictures captured by astrophotographer Nate Liles. Nate is coming back to the Sun Valley Museum of Art to share some of his tips and tricks for taking pictures of the night sky and he joined Idaho Matters to chat ahead of his visi...

(Mike Mozart / Flickr) The ACLU of Idaho is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The state's chapter began with a lawsuit in 1993 and has been here ever since and now the organization has over 5,000 Idaho members. Our Morning Edition host George Prentice sat down with Leo Morales, the Executive Director of ACLU of Idaho and Louise Melling, the Deputy Legal Director of the ACLU National Office.

(Diogo Luiz Gomes Diniz<br/> / Flickr) When you see a dead bird below a power line your first thought is likely that it died from electrocution. This is a common conventional wisdom, but a new study says it's wrong. The study shows that a majority of birds found dead near power lines had been shot, not electrocuted. This study has profound implications for conserving birds, like bald eagles,...

Women attend the closing ceremony of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls on Monday in Gatineau, Quebec. (Chris Wattie / Reuters) Indigenous journalists from the U.S. and Canada gathered recently in Winnipeg for a conference on important issues - like the missing and murdered. It's a tragedy that knows no boundaries. Antonia Gonzalez of National Native News was...

Construction in Downtown Boise. (Dan McLean<br/> / Flickr) We've seen a ton of new apartment buildings being proposed in Boise and Ada County as builders work to fill a growing need for housing in the Treasure Valley. But some of those building projects have ground to a halt, even if they have the go-ahead from city officials. BoiseDev reporter Sydney Kidd dug into the apartment building mar...

(iStockphoto.com) It’s a special Labor Day version of “What to Watch” with our resident movie critic, and Morning Edition host, George Prentice! The nose knows. There’s a controversy brewing over noses, specifically prosthetic noses that actors use when playing roles like the current movie Golda. Actress Helen Mirren has been caught up in controversy as she plays Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir....