Idaho Matters

This transmission electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, isolated from a patient in the U.S. Virus particles are shown emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab. The spikes on the outer edge of the virus particles give coronaviruses their name, crown-like. (NIAID-RML/NIH/Flickr) You know about COVID-19 and the effect it has had on the world, but wh...

(Boon or Mark Souphanh / Flickr) Next Saturday, 7,000 athletes from around the world will gather in Berlin for the Special Olympics World Games. Two athletes from Idaho will be there to compete with folks from 170 countries. Jacob Kerr and Devin Riley will be taking part in the golf tournament and they joined Idaho Matters to talk more.

Firefighter watches for spot fires, Fri, Sept 9. ( InciWeb) It's something many current and former wildland firefighters ask themselves: What does all this smoke, dust and ash I've been breathing for months on end mean for my health? A new national registry for all firefighters could eventually shed a great deal more light on that largely unanswered question. From the Mountain West News Bureau, Mu...

A Japanese beetle sits on a leaf. (A Hermit / Flickr) Japanese beetles have invaded Canyon County. Well, at least one small residential area of Caldwell and the Idaho Department of Agriculture is working to eliminate these nasty pests. They haven’t found very many beetles yet, but the bugs are a danger to some of Idaho's top crops including hops, grapes, apples and vegetable seeds. And the potenti...

Photo of parcel acquired by the BLM from The Nature Conservancy. ( Bureau of Land Management ) Approximately 390 acres of land west of Midvale are now in public hands as part of a cooperative effort to help Columbian sharp-tailed grouse. The Bureau of Land Management picked up the land from the nature conservancy and will keep the area open to the public while protecting the breeding grounds of th...

Ayla releases a Red-tailed Hawk that was banded at the Intermountain Bird Observatory as part of their migration research. ( Greg Kaltenecker) Have you ever held a wild songbird in the palm of your hand? It turns out that a group of researchers are asking you to come and do just that. Boise State University’s Intermountain Bird Observatory works to help bird conservation through research and educa...

(Steve Sheriw / Flickr) State health officials are giving high marks to first responders in McCall for containing what could have been a significant health issue. One woman saw something was wrong and before long officials had found and contained a chemical spill in Payette Lake. Our Morning Edition host George Prentice reports.

Doctor takes a sample of a patient's blood. (BURGER / Getty Images) Back in April, we told you about how more than 23,000 people had been dropped from Idaho's Medicaid program . During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government put "Medicaid Protection" in place which kept folks on health insurance even if they had lost eligibility. But that protection ran out on April 1. Since then...

Trash left on public lands. ( Recreating Responsibly Idaho / Idaho Department of Lands) Maybe you've seen pictures or maybe you've seen it in person: trash littering your favorite campsite, old junk dumped along your hiking trail, beautiful public lands trashed and left a mess. Sometimes it's deliberate, but often it's simply ignorance and a lack of understanding of what to do or not to do on publ...

Spring has finally sprung and it's warming up and greening up all around Idaho. Along with all that green, we're starting to see some color as wildflowers start to bloom and show off, especially in the backcountry. Idaho outdoor author Steve Stuebner joined Idaho Matters to give us ideas on where to spot these magnificent wildflowers.

Heyburn residents Steven Hill and Fred Sayre were completing a property clean out in 2022 when they made a fascinating discovery: a Burley postal uniform from 1927 in almost perfect condition. Now in their line of work, it's not unusual to find relics of the past, but this discovery was special, especially because it gave them a chance to help preserve a small piece of the town's history. Hill joi...

Boise Airport (Boise Airport) Lori Vallow Daybell wants a new trial , you can no longer take a direct flight from Boise to Houston , homeless services could be running out of funding , a look at why there is no insanity legal defense in Idaho and we get a little insight into how some communities are helping to protect public lands . It’s Friday, which means it's time for our Reporter Roundtable wh...

A tornado forms and touches down. (Orlin Wagner / AP) When it comes to the weather, Idahoans have seen their fair share of wildfires, winter storms and droughts. What they may not have seen though are tornadoes. That doesn't mean they're not happening though. BoiseDev reporter Anna Daly joined Idaho Matters to talk more about this often unnoticed weather event .

Starbelly Belly Dancers Cecilia Rinn and Tori King visited the Idaho Matters studio to do a little dancing , shaking and a lot of teaching about Arabic Culture and dance.

(iStockphoto) Across America, only half of the women, infants, and children who are eligible to access the WIC nutrition program are actually getting the healthy foods and education that are available to them. In Idaho that ratio is even worse, with just 40 percent of this vulnerable population accessing the WIC program . A new half million dollar grant hopes to change that by reaching out to the...

( Viking Publishing) It's probably fair to say that, at some point, we all need a little bit of advice and guidance in our lives. New York Times Bestselling author Kevin Kelly has written a new book that offers just that. It's called, " Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I'd Known Earlier ." Kelly Joined Idaho Matters to talk more about his newest book.

A doctor administers a dose of the monkeypox vaccine. (Hollie Adams / Getty Images) Less than a month after the World Health Organization said Monkeypox is no longer a global public health emergency, the CDC is reporting an increase in cases . Oregon officials are urging folks in that state to get vaccinated before a possible summer surge in cases. And the CDC says at least one study could show dr...

People float down the Boise River on a warm day. (Talo Pinto / Flickr) With the official start of summer just around the corner, many people are gearing up to float the Boise River. In order to help keep people safe while they have fun this summer, Ada County and the City of Boise have teamed up to create a new resource that will prepare people for their float . Doug Holloway, Boise Parks and Recr...

Ever wanted to spot a kingfisher or a yellow-headed blackbird or a kestrel? What about herons, flickers and yellow-rumped warblers? Even if you are an experienced birder, it can be tricky to spot and identify all of the amazing bird species in southern Idaho. The Golden Eagle Audubon Society has a birding field trip for you , no matter if you’re an experienced birder, an eager newbie or you just w...

( G.P. Putnam's Sons ) After the success of her first two novels " The Layover " and " From the Jump ," author Lacie Waldon has been hard at work on her newest book, " The Only Game in Town ." Waldon joined Idaho Matters to talk more about her most recent release.

St. Luke’s Children’s Mobile Care Clinic. ( Photo courtesy of St. Luke's) Here in Idaho, not every family has easy access to a doctor. This can create a gap, leaving children without regular medical care. That's why St. Luke's has stocked a mobile care clinic with everything it needs to hit the road and bring the health professionals to the kids that need them most. Pediatrician Dr. Noreen Womack...

Water sparkles on a shrinking Lake Powell near the Cathedral in the Desert in Glen Canyon. (Claire Harbage/NPR / NPR) This year, Lake Powell will get a big boost from melting snow. The nation’s second-largest reservoir on the Colorado River needed the water because it was at a record low earlier this year. Before the spring rise, KUNC’s Alex Hager met up with a crew of adventurers to document the...

"Building Boys: Raising Great Guys in a World that Misunderstands Males" book cover. ( Rowman & Littlefield Publishers) As parents we can probably all agree that we want to raise well-rounded, emotionally intelligent and kind human beings. But in the culture and the climate that we live in, that can be tough, especially when we're raising boys in a world that often rewards stereotypical mascul...

New metal fencing by the Eiffel Tower is meant to dissuade vehicles from ramming into the tourist site. (Francois Mori / AP) This episode of Idaho Matters originally aired on October 24, 2022. What do Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitzgerald and E.E. Cummings all have in common? The modernist writers all lived in Paris in the 1920s. And the person who brought them together was Sylvia Beac...

(berny-s / Flickr) This episode of Idaho Matters originally aired on July 29, 2022. The Editor-in-Chief of CrimeReads, Dwyer Murphy, is debuting his new novel - a gripping crime fiction titled, " An Honest Living ." Dwyer joined Idaho Matters to talk more about his book.