Idaho Matters

With Thanksgiving upon us, Idaho Matters learns how we can stay safe and protect our families this holiday season.

Idaho Matters talks with Idaho-based journalist Heath Druzin who partnered with the BBC on a new documentary about the fight to save wild salmon.

The Idaho Legislature shortly reconvened (without passing any new bills) this week, ending a legislative session that began in January.

Pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities increased by almost 51% between 2009 and 2018, according to the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center.

For many the holiday season is about to officially begin, with the arrival of Thanksgiving.

Children ages 5-11 are able to get vaccinated, prompting questions about masking in Idaho schools. Meanwhile, COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations are still high in Idaho, but state health officials say they are declining.

The legislature reconvened Monday to debate a long list of bills. The common theme among these bills? Challenging federal and employer COVID-19 vaccine requirements.

Boise is home to one of the most accomplished living novelists in the U.S. Anthony Doerr's new book “Cloud Cuckoo Land” comes after he won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel “All the Light We Cannot See” in 2015.

Catching up on the news of the week? Idaho Matters has your back. Listen to the Reporter Roundtable to find out what you might have missed.

If you believe in fate or serendipity, a new book by New York Times bestselling author Sophie Cousens's new book "Just Haven't Met You Yet" could be up your alley.

Idaho has the second highest rate of accidental child drownings in the nation, ranking only behind Florida according to the CDC.

The state Department of Health and Welfare announced the first death of an Idaho child due to COVID-19. Idaho Matters talks with two doctors about the news of the infant's death, which comes after kids aged 5-11 are able to get the vaccine.

The Idaho Veterans Chamber of Commerce is a nonprofit that connects folks with resources for career development, education, entrepreneurship and more.

Election results, higher education enrollment details, continuing affordable housing issues, and much more are on tap for this Idaho Matters Reporter Roundtable.

Wildfire smoke and community health are the topics on tap at a virtual symposium set for Nov. 12.

After COVID-19 shuttered shops and pushed shoppers online to national chains, the Downtown Boise Association hopes you'll think local this holiday shopping season.

It's getting colder, and just in time for the temperatures to begin to drop some blockbusters are on the horizon. Idaho Matters speaks with resident film critic and Boise State Public Radio host George Prentice about some new movies to keep on your radar.

Election night is behind us and the results are in. In Boise and the Wood River Valley, incumbents had a big night. How about in other parts of the state?

After federal regulators approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for kids ages 5-11, Idaho prepares to begin administering shots to this age group. Meanwhile, the state's hospitals remain in crisis standards of care as case rates show some encouraging signs.

Idaho Matters learns about some unusually expensive school board races in the state.

"A Shot to Save the World: the Inside Story of the Life or Death Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine" is a new book by Wall Street Journal reporter Gregory Zuckerman. It follows scientists' once in a lifetime race to create a COVID-19 vaccine.

Boise author Mindy Thompson's “The Bookshop of Dust and Dreams” is set in New York in 1944, a time when war shaped so much of American family life.

Boise is still mourning the loss of two community members who were killed from a shooting Monday at the Towne Square Mall. How did we get here — and how do we prevent more shootings in the future?

Boise State University was recently awarded over $2 million to create a Food and Dairy Innovation Center over the next five years to meet the growing needs of the industry in Idaho.

The mission of the Idaho Dance Theatre is simple: create, perform and teach dance so that Idaho communities can experience dance. Next week, they will be performing live once again.

Whether you're into true crime, history, or both — one tour of downtown Boise might be right up your dimly lit alley.

A smaller dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine cleared its first regulatory hurdle Tuesday for use in children ages 5 to 11-years-old, after a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee voted to recommend it for emergency use authorization.So what will this mean for getting covid under control and to a manageable level?

Yesterday was a dark day in Boise. Two people were killed during a shooting at the Boise Towne Square Mall, and four injured victims were sent to the hospital.

Monday's shooting at the Boise Towne Square Mall has left so many of us reeling and asking ourselves how — and why — this happened. Your kids are likely feeling the same way you are — so how do we talk to them about this?

According to housing experts there is a perfect storm happening right now — increased demand for housing and an historically low supply of housing that's available.

Supply chain issues — typically a rather dry topic — have been getting a lot of attention lately. that's because of a backlog at ports around the world that's making it a lot harder for businesses, both big and small, to stock their planned inventory. Which links in the supply chain are broken — and when will they be fixed?

The Rage of Innocence is a new book that confronts our country's irrational manufactured fears of Black youth and makes a powerfully compelling case that the crisis in racist American policing begins with its relationship to Black children.

City of Good is a Boise-based nonprofit that was founded at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. In fact, the pandemic was the driving force behind its mission to help feed people who found themselves in a tough place do to the COVID-19 crisis.

The Idaho Matters Reporter Roundtable gets you up-to-date on the news that made headlines this week including: Boise City Council elections, impacts of COVID-19 on children, higher education enrollment increases and more.

During the pandemic, some things have endured while some things have been reinvented. Book clubs are one thing that has flourished in the last year or so — with some changes due COVID.

As Idaho's population grows, people of different cultures, experiences and backgrounds are calling the Gem State home. An annual summit this week looks at how businesses can productively address differences in the workplace through diversity, equity and inclusion.

If you've ever hiked some of Idaho's tallest peaks, you may have been lucky enough to glimpse a pika scurrying around underfoot. But as climate change affect the Northern Rockies in ways humans can notice, the pika is one species that is beginning to die out.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on health care workers across the country as they struggle with another onslaught of patients. How has this affected the future doctors of our state?

Idaho is once again on the big screen — this time in a feature length drama filmed in Sun Valley.

Idaho's COVID-19 test positivity rate and hospitalization rate have been declining over the last few weeks, making some health officials more confident that we might be past the peak of the COVID-19 delta surge. But they say it's still too early to tell.

Wildfire season is winding down across much of the Mountain West as cold weather moves in. But it's the perfect time to set controlled, or prescribed, fires to burn unwanted dead trees and underbrush that fuel larger wildfires.

Child care resources across our state have been shrinking—which has led to fewer options for working families. And many childhood experts say we are now at a point of crisis in Idaho.

Dia De Los Muertos—or the Day of the Dead—is a holiday that acknowledges and celebrates loves ones who've passed away. Over two days, people throughout Latin America and the U.S. celebrate through parades, song and dance, food and more.

Live performances are back at the Morrison Center in Boise this fall. After a long break due to the pandemic, group's like LED Boise are back in front of audiences. This Saturday, LED will showcase their new show called Silver City at the Morrison Center.

With COVID-19 coverage, local election reporting and business updates—you won't want to miss this week's Reporter Roundtable.

As the sun was setting on last year's legislative session, Idaho passed a law that could shrink the number of wolves in the state by 90%. Now, wolf conservation groups are fighting back.

On March 11, 2020 while on the train home from work, Todd Doughty had an idea—put a list on Instagram of “happy-making things in a difficult world." Little did he know on that same day the World Health Organization would declare a global pandemic.

As of Tuesday, 53.3% of Idaho's eligible population is vaccinated against COVID-19. That's lower than the nationwide average of 66%. In a news briefing yesterday, Dr. Steven Nemerson, Chief Clinical Officer at Saint Alphonsus Health System, said, "today i'm here to tell you that we've lost the war."

Since the beginning of the pandemic, many public health officials in Idaho have called on people to put political differences aside to safeguard the community from COVID-19. Despite this, it seems as though political division has grown even more intense.

The Hays House, a Boise shelter operated by the Idaho Youth Ranch for runaways and at-risk youth has cared for children ages 8-18 for 50 years. But when 10 employees quit over a stressful work environment, the decision was made to close the shelter for now.