Idaho Matters

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Idaho nonprofits struggle to meet community need Nov 03, 2022

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Idaho nonprofits are struggling to meet the needs of folks coming through their doors.

According to a new report, about half of the state’s nonprofit organizations don’t have the staff or the capacity to help the people who need it. The CEO of the Idaho Nonprofit Center, Kevin Bailey sat down with our Morning Edition host George Prentice to talk about that new report.

**Beethoven's music still strikes a chord after 200 years** Nov 03, 2022
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(cliff51 / Flickr)
It's been more than two centuries since we first heard the music of classical composer Ludwig van Beethoven.
To celebrate the enduring power of his music the OSHER Lifelong Learning Institute will be hosting a performance of one of Beethoven's string quartets.
Dr. Brian Hodges, Professor of Cello and Coordinator of Chamber of Music at Boise State University joins Idaho Matters to talk more about this upcoming performance and lecture.

**Idaho Matters Doctors Roundtable: November 2, 2022** Nov 02, 2022
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A doctor listens to a child's breathing.(B Busco / Getty Images)
Now that November has arrived we are that much closer to the holidays, there could be more outbreaks of COVID-19, the flu and RSV, which is affecting thousands of kids around the country.
Dr. Davide Pate, former CEO of St. Luke's Health System and current member of the Idaho Coronavirus Task Force, joins Idaho Matters to talk about what we should be looking out for over the next few months.

Restoring soil health after a wildfire Nov 02, 2022

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Wildfire season has stretched longer and become more damaging in our region.

Now researchers are looking at how microbes in the soil can be restored to health – so it can support plant life. Emma Vandeneinde of the Mountain West News Bureau takes us into their lab.

**Remembering the Bear River Massacre** Nov 01, 2022
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Former Chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, Darren Parry.( Darren Parry)
In 1863, near what is now Preston Idaho, a group of U.S. soldiers attacked a Shoshone village.
Today the attack is called the Bear River Massacre and over 450 Shoshone men, women and children were killed. Darren Parry will be talking about Bear River this week as part of Boise's Fettuccine Forum and joins Idaho Matter to discuss this important piece of history.

Boise woman says transphobia likely triggered her attack at the downtown library Nov 01, 2022

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The mid-October arrest of a Boise man, accused of assault including the use of his vehicle as a weapon, garnered plenty of media attention. A short time later, he was also accused of burning a Pride flag that had been flying outside a Boise home.

But what was not widely known at the time of the arrest of Matthew Lehigh, was that his first alleged assault was on a transgender woman at her workplace – the Boise Downtown Public Library.

Our Morning Edition host George Prentice sat down with June Meissner to talk about the incident, the support she received from friends and colleagues and her frustration that Idaho law prevents it from being considered a hate crime.

**A case of mistaken identity: Is it a Cicada Killer Wasp or a Murder Hornet?** Nov 01, 2022
Show notes

The Murder Hornet is on the left, the kindler, gentler Cicada Killer Wasp is on the right. Note the Murder Hornet has a much bigger head than the wasp.( Hanna Royals, Museum Collections: Hymenoptera, USDA APHIS PPQ, Bugwood.org)
Murder Hornets have a very fierce and well-deserved reputation. They kill off beneficial honeybee hives and carry a very nasty sting.
They’re also an invasive species, so when they first showed up in Washington state two years ago they were met with dismay and apprehension by bug experts and people who rely on honeybees alike.
Now people in Idaho are on the lookout for these nasty critters, but it turns out another type of bug, this one beneficial to Idaho's landscape, looks a lot like the murder hornet.
That’s a problem when well-meaning Murder Hornet hunters try to kill off the wrong bugs, and it’s something University of Idaho extension entomologists Jason Thomas of Minidoka County, and Brad Stokes of Elmore County are trying to prevent.

Idaho Hunger Coalition: Plight of homeless Peruvian families is greater than a housing dilemma Oct 27, 2022

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The Wood River Valley has a long, rich history with Peruvians. So, post-pandemic, it was not surprising to see a new stream of Peruvian families to the Sun Valley region. But something is very different this year.

The region's employers need workers to fill a long list of job openings, in all corners of the service industry. And while Peruvians have indeed been anxious to meet that need, their own needs – for housing, hunger and much more – have been left out of the conversation.

Our Morning Edition host, George Prentice sat down with Brooke McKenna, co-executive director of The Hunger Coalition to talk more about these needs.