Idaho Matters

red swamp crawfish (Procambarus clarkii) (giocalde/Getty Images/iStockphoto / iStockphoto) Red Swamp Crayfish have invaded Idaho. These invasive crustaceans shouldn’t be here and they could harm native species and water quality if they are allowed to spread. These red, bumpy creatures were found where the Snake Clearwater Rivers meet and were discovered by a group of Lewiston High School students...

(Thomas Hawk / Flickr) The Boise City Council considers the cost of sending a Boise employee to Europe , Idaho lawmakers overrode Gov. Brad Little's veto on property tax relief , drag show legislation stalls in the 2023 Idaho Legislature and we take a look at a bill on gender affirming care . It’s Friday, which means it's time for our Reporter Roundtable when Idaho Matters gets you up-to-date on a...

Earlier this week, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed into law what’s been dubbed the Clean Slate Act . The bipartisan legislation allows people with “ minor non-violent, non-sexual offenses ” to ask to shield their criminal record from public view if they meet certain conditions. Even a conviction for a minor offense can create barriers to renting an apartment or finding a job. Minority Leader Ilana R...

(Robyn Beck / AFP/Getty Images) If you haven’t voted in a few years, your registration may have been dropped from the voter rolls. Every other year, Idaho’s 44 county clerks and the Secretary of State are required to do a review of the voter registration system and drop the voters who have moved, who haven’t been voting and who may have become ineligible to vote. During this year’s review, more th...

(Marketplace) The energy landscape in our region is changing with coal plants scheduled to close and fossil fuel production facing new challenges. Meanwhile, renewable energy projects are taking shape – including a nuclear plant funded by Bill Gates and job training programs are adjusting to the shift. Wyoming Public Radio’s Caitlin Tan reports for the Mountain West News Bureau.

( Berkley ) USA Today bestselling author Colleen Oakley is back with a new novel, The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise . It’s being called wildly surprising and entertaining, just the book many of us need right now. Colleen Joined Idaho Matters to talk more.

Adderall is a stimulant used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. (J.B. Reed / Bloomberg via Getty Images) In October last year, the FDA announced a shortage of Adderall due to manufacturing delays. Now six months later, there is a severe shortage of not just Adderall, but similar drugs that treat ADHD. And it’s wreaking havoc on the lives of the children and adults who have...

(Ken Whytock / Flickr Creative Commons) More winter weather is pouring into the area this week, especially in the mountains and eastern Oregon. Livestock producers in our region have been hit hard by all this cold, snowy weather. That’s why several states have asked the federal government for relief. The Mountain West News Bureau’s Kaleb Roedel visited a cattle operation to see how they’re weather...

(Visit Idaho / Visit Idaho) Are we loving Idaho lands to death? Is it time for a conversation about "re-creating" recreation? The Andrus Center for Public Policy thinks so and is going to ask these questions on April 18 with a program called " Re-creating Public Land Recreation ." Dr. Emily Wakild is the Cecil Andrus Endowed Chair for Environment and Public Lands and she says recreation on Idaho p...

Next week, the City of Meridian is asking everyone to perform an act of kindness , from the small to the large, to spread some compassion throughout the community. April 6 will be the eighth annual Do The Right day in Meridian and Sahand Keshavarz, the Programs and Events Specialist, joined Idaho Matters to talk more.

(Jamie Grill / Tetra images RF/Getty Images) This month Bonner General Health, the only hospital in a city of around 9,000 people, announced that they would no longer be delivering babies or providing other pregnancy and childbirth care. Located in Sandpoint the hospital provided several reasons for discontinuing the service, one of them being “Idaho's legal and political climate." Without labor a...

(PixelsEffect / Getty Images) When you think of climate change you might not think about people who suffer from asthma, but many of the inhalers that help people with lung issues breathe can create greenhouse gasses. St. Luke’s Regional Health System is holding a series of talks on medicine and climate change and the first one, " Climate Smart Asthma Care " is happening on Wednesday and will inclu...

( Jennifer Perry) According to an annual report from the Idaho Legislature , the number of cases filed by prosecutors in Idaho involving sexual abuse against children has once again gone up, this time to 1,043 cases. A letter in the report stated that lawmakers were unsure why the numbers are so high. Regardless though, the problem of child abuse is not going away. This is why this Saturday, the N...

(sun valley/facebook) This has been a historic season for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, holding more world cup events on domestic soil in its history. And the season comes to a big finish with the U.S. Alpine Ski Championships in Sun Valley starting April 2. Eric Webster is the Director of Events for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. Just prior to Sun Valley hosting the best of the...

Colette DePhelps is helping to change the way we see farmers and ranchers in Idaho. ( Colette DePhelps) In the United States, 36% of farmers are female and in Idaho, that number goes up to 39%. Despite these numbers though when many of us close our eyes to imagine what a farmer or a rancher looks like, we picture a man. This is an image that Colette DePhelps is trying to change. She is an Area Ext...

Alley Orr started the "Women in STEM, Medicine, and Law Scholarship" in 2021. ( Ally Orr) In 2021, Boise State professor Scott Yenor made national news after giving a speech at the 2021 " National Conservatism Conference ," calling independent women, “more medicated, meddlesome and quarrelsome than women need to be." He then went on to say that “every effort must be made not to recruit women into...

(Amy / Flickr) As the world continues to leap forward with advances in technology, medicine and science the moral and ethical considerations of these advances often lag behind. Bioethics is the study of the issues that come up with science, not just ethical issues but legal, social and religious issues that our rapid evolution of fields, like biomedical research, can outpace. Dr. Bryan Williams, a...

(thomasjphotos / Flickr) It’s been a tough year for cryptocurrency – especially with the collapse of the massive exchange FTX. Yet, some Mountain West states are still courting crypto companies. The Mountain West News Bureau’s Will Walkey reports.

(J. Stephen Conn / Flickr Creative Commons) Libraries remain a hot topic this week as the petition to dissolve the Meridian Library District received two public hearings , the property tax relief bill may not provide as much relief as some may have hoped, the firing squad bill moves to Governor Brad Little's desk and the Idaho House has passed a higher education budget . It’s Friday, which means i...

Here’s a question that isn’t easy to answer, how do owls pick a spot to nest ? You can’t just ask them, and as night creatures, it can be tricky to track them down to study them. University of Idaho student Annie Vaage spent her summer in southeastern Arizona studying six kinds of owls to find out how they use their habitat and how a changing environment might affect how they live. She joined Idah...

Since the World Center for Birds of Prey opened its doors in 1994 in south Boise, over 500,000 students have come to the facility to learn about birds , the environment and hands-on science. The center and the Peregrine Fund are dedicated to saving bird species, helping them thrive and teaching the next generation how to prevent extinction and protect the habitat of these creatures. To help with t...

(The Flicks) The Oscars are behind us so now we can get ready for the rest of 2023, at least when it comes to movies and tv shows. George Prentice, our resident movie critic, joins Idaho Matters to help us figure out what to watch.

(Emilie Ritter Saunders / StateImpact Idaho) This week, the price of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine is going up and what we know about long COVID may not be as accurate as we first thought. Dr. David Pate, former CEO of St. Luke's Health System and current member of the Idaho Coronavirus Task Force, joined Idaho Matters to help break this all down.  

(Mark Teasdale / Flickr) One of the hardest endurance adventure races in the lower 48 is in our region. It’s over 100 miles and includes a slog through the snowy Wind River Mountains. This year was especially grueling due to the extreme weather. Wyoming Public Radio’s Caitlin Tan reports for the Mountain West News Bureau.

( Sun Valley Film Festival) It’s time once again for the Sun Valley Film Festival when some of the upcoming year’s best movies come to Idaho, along with stars, producers and directors. Our Morning Edition host George Prentice is always a key part of events during the festival and he recently sat down for a preview of this year’s films with Teddy Grennan, the founder of the festival and Executive D...