Idaho Matters

(Alex Proimos / Flickr) Each Wednesday we bring you the Doctors Roundtable, where we answer your questions about COVID-19. But since it’s almost the end of 2022, we wanted to take a look back at the last year of the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. David Pate, former CEO of St. Luke's Health System and a current member of the Idaho Coronavirus Task Force, joins Idaho Matters to look back at another chall...

( Nicholas D. / Flickr) Over the weekend we learned that a former Boise Police captain was speaking at the American Renaissance Conference in Burns, Tennessee. The organization’s website is part of the New Century Foundation, which the Southern Poverty Law Center calls “a self-styled think tank that promotes pseudo-scientific studies and research that purport to show the inferiority of Blacks to W...

The South Fork Willow Creek area covers 320 acres east of Avimor and north of Hidden Springs. ( Land Trust of the Treasure Valley) Over the last few months, the nonprofit Land Trust of the Treasure Valley has been working to raise funds to purchase an important piece of Boise Foothills land east of Avimor. The 320 acres are home to elk, black bears, mule deer and other wildlife. It’s also a prime...

This could be the most expensive Thanksgiving in recent memory. Food prices continue to go up and shoppers are doing their best to stretch their dollars at the grocery store. We asked one of Idaho's best chefs to give us some inflation-busting hacks and Chef Joyce Doughty told us to think about soup! Chef Doughty sat down with our Morning Edition host George Prentice to share some soup tips that a...

(Jeremy Yoder / Flickr) Over the weekend, the Moscow Police Department released a few more details about the case of four murdered University of Idaho students. We learned more about two roommates who were in the building where the four young people were killed, but no suspects have been arrested or identified in the case. Boise State Public Radio reporter James Dawson joins Idaho Matters for an u...

Shandra Sterner outside the hospital with her family and her newborn son Kyler. ( Red Cross of Idaho) People who give blood in Idaho helped save the life of Shandra Sterner in September. Shandra gave birth to her son Kyler in Twin Falls this fall and began bleeding uncontrollably. For the next four days and seven surgeries, doctors tried to find out where she was bleeding internally. She was kept...

(Chaz Gentry / Alley Repertory Theater) Ally Repertory Theater is back up and running this season with new classics like Cabaret and In the Next Room . Artistic Director Buffie Main joins Idaho Matters to discuss the theater's new line up.

( The Open Field) When one thinks of Paulina Porizkova, one might remember her as the Sports Illustrated cover model from the 1980s or the wife of Cars frontman Rick Ocasek. Or maybe you know her now from her popular Instagram account. Now, Porizkova is revealing herself in a raw new book, No Filter: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful . She joins Idaho Matters to talk more about her new book.

Bouquets of flowers sit on the ground in front of the University of Idaho sign after four students were found dead. (Richard Rodriguez / Boise State Public Radio) We still have little information about a quadruple homicide in Moscow and many concerned University of Idaho students are heading home early for Thanksgiving break, we break down a news conference by Moscow Police regarding the case. We...

(Richard Rodriguez / Boise State Public Radio) After four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death Sunday morning, Moscow Police spent almost three days telling students and the broader community there was no threat then reversed course Wednesday during a news conference. Moscow Police Chief James Fry said they have not identified a suspect yet. Few other details emerged from Wednesday's...

(Chrispo / Flickr) The Idaho Water Supply Committee held its fall meeting last week and experts said that much of the state is in trouble when it comes to having enough water . A hot July and August drained many reservoirs and many of them, including the Big Wood, Big Lost, Salmon Falls Creek, Henry's Fork and Snake River Basins will need a lot of water and snow this winter to fill back up. Withou...

Just a small part of the trash illegally dumped on Idaho Public Land near Wendell. ( Idaho Department of Lands) A crew of folks gathered northeast of Wendell recently to clean up piles of trash illegally dumped on public land. Trailers and pickups were filled to the brim with trash, including couches, mattresses and even an old freezer. While dumping trash on public lands is not a new phenomenon,...

( Saint Alphonsus) Last year Torena Sauer was a patient at Saint Alphonsus hospital, despite taking all the necessary precautions, she caught COVID-19 and pneumonia. Struggling to breathe, she was admitted to the intensive care unit unsure if she would live. She did live though and just a few months ago returned to Saint Alphonsus, not as a patient, but as a visitor. She had come back to show her...

(srutipriya00 / Flickr) Last week, Idaho Health and Welfare reported the first flu death in Idaho this season. The man was over 65 and lived in Nez Perce County. Over the last five years, an average of 45 people have died from the flu in Idaho each year, most of whom were over 65. Flu is on the rise in Idaho and around the country, especially in eastern and southeastern states. Now, as RSV and COV...

Some states in our region and around the U.S. are restricting abortions. Now efforts are underway to connect women with abortion medications – a dose of two pills that can be taken at home. A mobile clinic is operating along Colorado's border, so women from out-of-state can pick up the pills. KUNC’s Leigh Paterson reports for the Mountain West News Bureau.

( hrlori / Flickr) A quick note, we will be talking about bullying and suicide during this segment, so if you feel this might be triggering, please feel free to step away from this interview. As the COVID-19 pandemic kept kids out of school and stuck at home, they spent more and more time online, not only for schoolwork but to chat with friends they couldn’t see for fear of catching the coronaviru...

(Roadsidepictures / Flickr) Monday we told you about the search for a missing Fruitland boy and today we have more information. Fruitland Police spent the weekend digging up the backyard of an area home. KTVB has been reporting they’re looking for the remains of Michael Vaughan, who was five years old when he went missing in July of 2021. KTVB reporter Alex Duggan, who has been following this stor...

Stethoscopes are pictured in an intensive care unit. RSV, the respiratory virus that usually hits kids and toddlers, is spreading in Idaho. Normally the virus is mild in kids and adults, but can be severe in babies and toddlers . RSV cases fell during the COVID-19 pandemic as people took steps to protect themselves from viruses, but as people have relaxed those protections, the virus is making a r...

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA (Eclectic Jack / Flickr) We had our first snowfall last week in the Treasure Valley and ski areas across Idaho are beginning to open, meaning only one thing, it's time to break out your winter coats and snowboards. Tony Harrison, Publicist for Ski Idaho, Geordie Gillett, General Manager of Grand Targhee and Jeff Colburn, General Manager with Silver Mountain joined Idaho Matt...

(Dennis Amith / Flickr) The sport of pickleball is growing in the Treasure Valley. It’s sort of a mish-mash of badminton, tennis and ping pong and it’s a lot of fun to play and watch. Demand for places to play pickleball is up, especially in Meridian,so the city got together with the owners of a local apartment complex to build four new pickleball courts at Kleiner Memorial Park. Officials unveil...

( David R. Day) Anyone who lives in Boise knows the City of Trees is beautiful. Whether it’s the sunset glow over the foothills or the hidden green pathways of the Greenbelt, there’s always a good picture to be found around town. Author and photographer David R. Day has been taking pictures of Boise, lots of pictures. He has put over 250 of them into a new coffee table book. Day teamed up with the...

( Richard Rodriquez / Boise State Public Radio) Four students from the University of Idaho were found dead on Sunday in a Moscow apartment. KTVB is reporting that police are investigating it as a homicide. Sunday evening University President C. Scott Green released a statement saying the four people were “believed to be victims of homicide.” The students were identified by Moscow Police Monday mor...

(Lacey Daley / Boise State Public Radio) Former Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee left his post in September under a cloud of controversy. Now, a former Internal Affairs Captain has filed a lawsuit against the city of Boise , saying officials did not protect police officers working under Lee. KTVB reporter Alex Duggan has been following this story and joins Idaho Matters to talk more about this story.

(DavidDubov / Flickr) Idaho has one of the fastest-growing populations in the United States according to the United States Census Bureau , and this growth has been reflected in our housing market. Homes prices in Boise have been going up dramatically for the past few years, reaching a peak this May when the median price for a home in Ada county topped $600,000. However, with rising interest rates...

(Audrey Regan) Since the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights was first founded in 1996, it has been a center of diversity and learning in the heart of downtown Boise. Home to the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial, the Wassmuth Center’s mission is education and encouraging respect for human dignity. After 16 years with the organization, Dan Prinzing will be retiring next year and the center’s boa...