Idaho Matters

(Máté Petrány / Flickr) Our Morning Edition host and resident movie critic, George Prentice, is back from the Toronto International Film Festival and is looking ahead to the fall offerings in both movies and TV. Idaho Matters decided to check in and see what he recommended we watch this weekend.

Masks hang from an IV pole at a hospital. (Jenny Kane / AP) The world is a different place than it was two and a half years ago. Before we knew the term COVID-19, the possibility of a global pandemic seemed like the stuff of Hollywood movies, not something we'd live through or for many, not survive. Now as we live with the sorrow and the change the pandemic brought, we ask, has it taught us anythi...

(City of Boise / via Facebook) The city of Boise is re-writing its zoning codes, which is no easy task. The city’s codes have not been updated this way for over 50 years and officials wanted to get more diverse input from the people who live in the city during this process. Our Morning Edition host George Prentice sat down with Lindsay Moser, the Community Manager for Planning and Development Serv...

A death cap mushroom pops up through grass in a Boise residential neighborhood. (Susan Stacy / Posted by joemat on iNaturalist) Over the weekend, the death cap mushroom was likely identified for the second September in a row in Boise. The extremely toxic fungus is a concern for parents and pet owners. The Mountain West News Bureau’s Madelyn Beck reports what it is, how it got here and what to do a...

( 150 years Latinos in Idaho Corrido Project Facebook Page) As Idaho’s Latino community continues to grow, we wanted to take a minute during Hispanic Heritage Month to talk about the past, present and future of the community in the Gem State. In the past, Hispanic Idahoans have played a huge part in the economic and cultural development of Idaho. Currently, Latinos face a variety of issues , inclu...

McCall, ID (Amy Goodman / Flickr) Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in the number of people struggling with anxiety and depression. However, these higher rates aren't just being seen among adults, but children as well. According to St. Luke's Health System, one out of four kids in Idaho suffers from mental illness. And mental health resources can be hard to f...

Dia de los Muertos altar ( Sun Valley Museum of Art) Each year during the fall, families come together to celebrate Dia De Los Muertos honoring loved ones who have passed away, an for a small window of time, welcoming their souls back for a brief reunion with the living. This year the Sun Valley Museum of Art is commemorating the day of the dead with a series of events featuring artists, authors,...

Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee ( City of Boise) Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee resigned from his job last Friday at the request of Mayor Lauren McLean. The resignation comes just hours after KTVB reported that nine police officers had filed complaints against Lee and that the head of the Office of Police Accountability had recommended the Chief be suspended. The resignation comes five months after a tor...

(AP Images) Idaho Governor Brad Little said he would not be taking part in a debate with his challengers in the November election. Little said the people of Idaho already know his track record. Both of Idaho's U.S. Representatives, Mike Simpson and Russ Fulcher, also said they would not take part in a 30-year tradition of debate on Idaho Public Television. The host of “Idaho Reports,” Melissa Davl...

Since the last Amtrak train pulled out of the Boise Depot over two decades ago, there have been efforts to reinstate the service. However, it wasn't until recently that those efforts gained traction with a recent program that could renew 750 miles of train routes through Boise and much of southern Idaho. Our Morning Edition host George Prentice sat down with Bre Brush, Boise Mayor McLean's Chief A...

(James Dawson / Boise State Public Radio) Idaho Governor Brad Little will not be participating in upcoming election debates , Bonneville County is enhancing ballot security , virtual meetings for some public agencies could be going away , Meridian is grappling with the affordable housing crisis and animal shelters are seeing an increase in pet surrenders – it’s Friday, which means it's time for ou...

( Kelsey Thomson) Resident film critic George Prentice is back at the Toronto International Film Festival for its first in-person event since the pandemic. He joined Idaho Matters to give us a peek at the red carpet and what to expect at the box office.

Suely Sandra Cardoso Soeiro and Emily Freko (Bennett Williamson / College of Idaho) Each year college students from around the country participate in the Davis Projects for Peace . The program's goal is to encourage young adults to develop innovative, community centered and scalable responses to our world's pressing issues. College of Idaho students have been part of this mission since it began in...

Danza Azteca Tonatiuh ( Idaho State Historical Society) We're in the middle of Hispanic Heritage month, which runs through October 15, and the Idaho State Museum is hosting an event Saturday that features music, art, food and history. Liz Hobson, the Director of the Idaho State Museum, and Mari Ramos with the Idaho Hispanic Chamber of Commerce join Idaho Matters to talk more about the event and ro...

Here in Idaho, and much of the United States, families are facing food insecurity. And even though many of the people in this situation are employed, they are still unsure of where their next meal will come from. Our Morning Edition Host George Prentice sat down with Kate Nelson , City of Boise Director of Community Partnerships, to take a look at a new effort that could help fill an important gap...

(Joris van Baalen / Flickr) As an agricultural state, Idaho has a lot of cows and with a lot of cows comes a lot of manure. For many farmers this can quickly turn into a pollution headache, especially when it's time for disposal. However, this waste could soon become an important facet of sustainability. Over the last few years, cow manure has been reused to make, not just fertilizer, but electric...

NIOSH-approved N95 masks are recommended to prevent the transmission of the COVID-19 omicron variant. (Jennifer Swanson/NPR) On Sunday President Joe Biden said the COVID-19 pandemic was over . Speaking on CBS's "60 Minutes," Biden raised concern among health officials who are trying to get Americans to take a new booster shot, all while trying to convince congress to come up with $22 billion for t...

Andrea Schumaker in the College of Western Idaho (CWI) Campus Garden. ( College of Western Idaho) On Friday, students from the College of Western Idaho will serve up a five-course dinner in Nampa, made with the produce grown in the CWI garden . Farm to Fork meals are a unique way to showcase local agriculture and sustainability. Andrea Schumaker, the Chair of AG programs at CWI and the organizer o...

(Christine Lynch / Flickr) Research shows 96% of children under the age of four have used a mobile device, and in this day and age it's almost impossible for parents to monitor and protect their children at every turn when it comes to electronics. That's where Catherine Pearlman, a licensed clinical social worker and parenting expert comes in. Pearlman has written a new book that teaches children...

Abortion rights advocates and anti-abortion protesters demonstrate in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 1, 2021. (Andrew Harnik / AP) On June 24 the Supreme Court of the United States overturned its 1973 ruling of Roe v. Wade and gave states the power to decide abortion laws. That ruling was an "unprecedented power grab” according to Dr. David Adler, who says it relegates women to second-cla...

(GwynethJones -The Daring Librarian! / Flickr) Mark Twain, William Shakespeare, Harriet Beecher Stowe; these authors share more than just a legacy of classic literature and a place in school curriculums. They’re authors whose works have been banned from classrooms over the years for content some deemed controversial or obscene. Across the country, books are once again being challenged in schools a...

(Juliansmum / Flickr) Idaho made national news last week when a Fox News host and the conservative outlet Breitbart News both said the state was teaching elementary school students about pornography . The national headlines were based on an article by the Idaho Freedom Foundation, which said the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare purchased sex education courses from a group that “advocates for...

Visual examples of Monkeypox. ( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Back in July, Idaho's first case of Monkeypox was reported. Since then, 11 more cases have been confirmed. Central District Health has been working on raising public awareness about Monkeypox; what it is, how it spreads and who is most at risk. Sarah Wright, Epidemiologist with CDH, joined Idaho Matters to talk more about...

Taylor Zarifis plucks live leaves off of sagebrush to demonstrate how to collect samples to measure fuel moisture levels. (Madelyn Beck / Mountain West News Bureau) The world of wildland firefighting has a lot of wonky lingo, but one key phrase is "fuel moisture" - and no, we're not talking about oil and gas. It refers to how much water is in certain plants that could fuel a wildfire. The Mountain...

The Colorado River is drying up and the major cities in the west that depend on it are scrambling to boost their supplies and keep taps flowing. Climate change is already cutting into the amount they get from Mother Nature, so some cities are finding ways to reuse the water they already have.