Idaho Matters

(Sun Valley Film Festival) Producer and Director Heather Rae is known for such films as "Frozen River," "Tallulah" and "Bull." She has a new film called "Fancy Dance" which looks at Native American themes. She sat down with our Morning Edition host George Prentice to talk about " Fancy Dance " and how streaming is creating a more global perspective in filmmaking.

(ROB HARTLEY / Flickr) Water levels in Lake Powell, the nation’s second-largest reservoir on the Colorado River, are at a record low. To keep it from declining further, federal officials are ready to spend tens of millions of dollars to incentivize farmers and other water users in the river’s upper basin to conserve. But not everyone agrees that paying farmers not to farm is the way forward. Chris...

( Keegan Webb) How do you tell one giraffe from another giraffe? That was the question for University of Idaho biology major Keegan Webb when he traveled to South Africa as part of an internship. Webb ended up in Zingela, which is home to many animals, including giraffes. He was there to help researchers tell giraffes apart , which can be tricky! Webb joined Idaho Matters to talk more about his ex...

This weekend, you can fight alongside the Rebel Alliance or join the Galactic Empire because the largest Star Wars fan exhibition is in town. The Fans Strike Back is an exhibition curated by fans for fans, with life-size figurines, light sabers, blasters, costumes, photos and more. Erin Seymour, the Education Manager with the Discovery Center of Idaho and Alina Svidgal, the center's Marketing and...

( Pamela Dorman Books) Jenny Jackson, in the early days of the pandemic, decided to move her family out of New York City and go stay with her in-laws in Connecticut. When she did this, she also decided, hey, what a great time to write a book! So that's what she did. Jackson sat down with Idaho Matters to talk more about her new book " Pineapple Street ."

( Boise State University) What would happen if a group of people with diverse backgrounds, religions and political ideologies sat down together in a room and just talked about their experiences in Idaho? Well, turns out, we don’t have to guess what might happen because last fall, 11 regular people sat down at Boise State and talked about their lives. The audience agreed to sit and listen without c...

Sen Frank Church ( Frank Church Institute) Frank Church was a U.S. Senator for Idaho in the 1950s, 60’s and 70’s. He left a vast legacy in creating wilderness areas, national security and foreign relations and his legacy as a Democrat working with republicans. Garry Wenske is the former Executive Director of the Frank Church Institute at Boise State University. He’ll be talking about the life and...

(Storyfort / Facebook) Treefort Music Fest is coming back to Boise, bringing hundreds of bands, group yoga and stories. Lots of stories. The Storyfort section of the week-long music festival brings together local, national and international storytellers, to not only tell stories but talk about how to tell them. Boise State Public Radio is hosting our own Storyfort event with reporters Troy Oppie,...

(Daniel Lévesque / Flickr) It’s hard to say what happens to our souls after we die. But it’s a little more straightforward to know what happens to our bodies. Some people now have a new option that’s seen as more environmentally friendly. Alex Hager with the Mountain West News Bureau takes a look at a funeral home offering a technology that uses water instead of fire.

(Jim and Jamie Dutcher / The Hidden Life of Wolves) Ada County declines request for funds to help pay for emergency housing , an update on the Lori and Chad Daybell murder case , there's a shortage of direct care workers , a look at how Idaho counts wolves , 'inappropriate' behavior from a junior high social worker was kept secret and the latest bill targeting 'obscene' materials in libraries has...

Empty classroom with no students (iStockphoto) A program that gave federal coronavirus grant money to groups and schools in Idaho is under scrutiny from state lawmakers and the Idaho attorney general. The Community Partner Grant Program was designed to address learning loss in kids ages 5-13 that happened due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Around 80 Idaho groups got the grants, fr...

(Matt Guilhem / Boise State Public Radio) Idaho could become the latest state in the country to ban gender-affirming care for anyone under 18. Last month, House lawmakers passed a bill that would make it a felony for a doctor to prescribe hormones or puberty blockers for trans minors. It also bans sex-reassignment surgery – something that isn’t done in Idaho. Lawmakers supporting the bill paint th...

Dancer: Ashley Baker ( Quinn Wharton / Photo courtesy of Ballet Idaho) Earlier this month, Ballet Idaho was recognized for its role in promoting gender equity within the world of dance by the Dance Data Project . The project assesses “how dance companies measure up in terms of commissioning female creators, promoting women to leadership positions, and fostering a transparent and accountable cultur...

Ernest Hemingway first visited Sun Valley in the fall of 1939, and he kept returning for the rest of his life. He worked on "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and "A Moveable Feast" in the Wood River Valley. Some of his best years were in Idaho. But his final days were also in the home that he and his wife Mary lived in, along the Big Wood River. The Hemingway House is managed by  The Community Library  as...

(Russell Tate / United Nations COVID-19 Response Creative Content Hub) This week marks the third year of COVID-19 in Idaho. The virus was officially found in the state on March 13, 2020 and Gov. Brad Little signed an emergency declaration and held the first of dozens of news conferences to talk about his response to the virus. Now, there’s more on the origins of COVID-19 according to Congress. Dr....

Los Caminos de la Vida exhibits photographs of migrants' shoes, paired with first person accounts of their journeys to America. (Julie Luchetta / Boise State Public Radio) Carmen, Carlos, Maria, Juan, and Gloria. These are just some of the eleven names of Idahoans that represent the 11 million undocumented people living in the U.S. today. That’s the premise of a traveling art exhibit from the ACLU...

(Anna Keller / Flickr) There's a problem with the mail in Ketchum and while mail issues aren't new to the area, this latest one has more than a few people puzzled, really upset or a combination of both. To find out more, our Morning Edition host George Prentice sat down with Ketchum Councilman Michael David to find out what’s going on.

( Photo courtesy Idaho State Historical Society) The Old Idaho Penitentiary in Boise was built in 1870 and has a long and sometimes creepy history. You may have taken a tour or been to an event on the grounds of the old prison, but there’s an even darker side to the Old Pen you may not be familiar with: the cemetery. Over half of the markers in the cemetery have no names, and some that do can’t be...

(JakeOlimb / iStock) Resort towns across the west saw record-breaking real estate prices last year. Housing has always been hard to come by in the region, but new data shows the problem is getting worse. Will Walkey of the Mountain West News Bureau reports.

Money (Pictures of Money / Flickr) Last Thursday, depositors were lining up outside Silicon Valley Bank in California after pulling out $42 billion before the bank closed down and was taken over by federal regulators . Then on Sunday, New York's signature bank went under the control of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. So what does that mean for Idahoans and Idaho banks and credit unions?...

(Christopher Irwin / Flickr) The company that provides the water for much of the Treasure Valley is asking for a 24% rate hike to help pay for improvements to the large system that provides drinking water to over 105,000 homes and businesses. Some of that includes paying for a new tank for the Columbia Water Treatment Plant, plus the Whistle Pig Storage Tank, and for something called “ice pigging”...

Idaho Theater for Youth's 2023 production of 'Air Heart' is visiting elementary schools across the Gem State. ( Theater for Youth, George Prentice) How do you bring Amelia Earhart and a haunted radio to kids in all parts of Idaho? Plus, teach them about trust and taking chances, with a little bit of history thrown in? Theater For Youth is doing exactly that, with a traveling production for 100,000...

( Jamie Truppi) Food can act as a bridge, bringing people together. But it can also be a barrier, especially when food limitations cause conflict in your life. Author Jamie Truppi has been on a food journey since she moved back to Idaho in her early 20s. As she went from being lactose intolerant to vegetarian to vegan - she also became a wife, a mother, dealt with career changes, travel and death...

(Richard Rodriguez / Boise State Public Radio) Native American law is a complex and complicated section of law for any college legal student - with the intersection of state and federal agencies and tribal courts and nations. The University of Idaho has created a College of Law Program with a Native American Law Emphasis , which students can only apply for after completing one full year of law sch...

A picture of Latanya Mapp Frett. ( Bethanie Hines) It’s been almost nine months since the overturning of Roe v. Wade here in the United States. Since then restrictions on reproductive health care have often been devastating for women, as we navigate a post-Roe America. Latanya Mapp Frett is the CEO of the Global Fund for Women . She joined Idaho Matters to talk more about the issue.