Idaho Matters is a wonderful way to stay up to date, meet people and understand there’s much more to this great state. Hosted by Gemma Gaudette on Boise State Public Radio News, it features arts and politics, growth and education, and the interesting stories that make Idaho unique. Send us your questions, comments or story ideas by emailing idahomatters@boisestate.edu or sending us a voicemail using the “Talk To Us” feature on the free Boise State Public Radio app.
What to watch this Halloween weekend: Two new films, a powerful documentary and a Halloween favorite
Oct 27, 2022
Show notes(Yasmina Galé / Flickr)
With October winding down, that means one thing, we're getting closer to film award season. Over the next two months, we've got movies hitting both the big and small screen that you won't want to miss.
Morning Edition host and resident movie critic, George Prentice joins Idaho Matters to give us a preview of films to watch out for, as well as what we can watch this weekend.
The importance of health care planning
Oct 26, 2022
Show notesBubbie holding Adam's hand and looking at photos
(Getting Better Shots / Flickr)
If your husband were to suddenly pass away, would you know how to get in touch with your life insurance agent? If your mom went into a coma, would you know how to find her regular doctor?
There are dozens of details within our day-to-day lives that we don’t write down or share with other family members, and that can make a death or serious illness even more traumatic for those you love.
That's why making a plan for your loved ones is important. It's a kindness that will help them at the hardest time in their lives.
Idaho Matters Doctors Roundtable: October 26, 2022
Oct 26, 2022
Show notes(Emilie Ritter Saunders / StateImpact Idaho)
Could the United States be headed towards a tripledemic, where we see the flu, COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses, like RSV, spreading at the same time?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, respiratory illnesses are appearing earlier and in more people than recent years, and there’s been an early increase in flu activity across the country as well. Data compiled by ABC News, as of Monday afternoon, showed that pediatric bed occupancy in the U.S. is the highest it’s been in two years, with 75% of an estimated 40,000 beds filled with patients.
So what does all this mean for Idaho? Dr. Davide Pate, former CEO of St. Luke's Health System and current member of the Idaho Coronavirus Task Force, joins us to answer that question.
St. Luke's introduces its own insurance plan
Oct 26, 2022
Show notes(Frankie Barnhill / Boise State Public Radio)
St. Luke's Health System has created its own insurance plan, saying it wants to make health care coverage more efficient with less stress.
The plan is available as part of the offerings on Idaho's health insurance exchange, known as Your Health Idaho, which is currently in the middle of its open enrollment period.
St. Luke's Health Plan President, Matt Wolff and Health Plan COO, Amy Johnson join Idaho Matters to talk more about the new insurance plan.
Who is responsible for the voter advisory on the ballot?
Oct 25, 2022
Show notes(Thomas Hawk / Flickr)
Idaho Matters is answering your questions about voting in the 2022 midterm elections. This week, listeners asked us about the advisory question on this year's ballot.
Who is responsible for the Voter Advisory on the ballot?
How did it get on the ballot especially when the legislature is trying to eliminate voter initiatives?
The question mixes several distinctly different topics. Is information available?
We talked with Boise State Public Radio Reporter James Dawson and Clark Corbin with the Idaho Capital Sun to help us answer these questions.
What is a voter advisory?
Voter advisories are a little confusing, but the most important thing to know is this is a non-binding advisory question. Whichever way people vote, it is not going to pass or repeal anything.
The main question it's asking is whether or not Idahoans approve or disapprove of the special session law, House Bill 1, that was passed in September. The bill invested over $410 million in education spending and provided another rebate check to residents who filed income taxes in Idaho in 2020 and 2021.
Whichever way people vote, it's not going to have any effect on what has already taken place. However, it could inform what might happen in the future and how that money is allocated.
How often do we see advisory votes on the ballot?
Advisory questions are very rare. In the past 28 years, from 1994 to 2022, there were only two times when there were advisory questions on the ballot.
The question is asking about a few different things, why combine them into one question?
There's no real answer for the phrasing specifically, aside from the fact that it covers what the legislature and Gov. Brad Little accomplished in passing House Bill 1 in September.
Some lawmakers wondered why they were voting on a bill that had so many different topics, which was argued that it could be unconstitutional in Idaho because you have to have a single subject on a bill.
When it comes to why the question contains so many things; tax cuts, rebates and more school funding, those are all very popular things, not just in Idaho, but across the country. If people overwhelmingly say, yes, we approve of this, then they have more ground to say, look at the great job we did back in the special session and this is what you can look forward to in the coming years after this election.
How did the question get on the ballot?
The question is part of House Bill 1 from the special session. On page 14 of the bill text, it said this advisory question will be put on the November ballot.
Gov. Little's press secretary said the language was agreed upon between the governor's office and the legislators who co-sponsored the law in the weeks leading up to the September special session.
Is the language used in the advisory question neutral?
Corbin spoke with political scientist David Adler and some other people about the language in the advisory question, which uses phrases like “hardworking Idaho taxpayers,” “record budget surplus,” and “historic inflation,” – they thought this wasn't neutral language, but rather persuasive language intended to sway a voter into supporting it.
"Why wouldn't I support giving the hard-working Idaho taxpayers their money back? Why wouldn't I support a record increase in education funding?" are questions some might have after reading the language of the advisory question.
There's some concern if the legislature was really interested in how the public thought about this, maybe the language should be more neutral and maybe it should have been written by an outside third party, say, someone from the attorney general's office or something like that.
But that did not happen here, it was written by the people who wrote and supported the law itself and there are people who are saying it appears to be persuasive language as opposed to neutral language.
Why is the question on the ballot, especially when lawmakers have been making it harder to get citizen initiatives on the ballot?
The voter advisory is different than a citizen's ballot initiative because citizens are not involved at all – the voter advisory came straight from the legislature and the governor's office. A citizen's ballot initiative is essentially the people of Idaho bypassing the legislature to write their own laws, like in the 2018 election when Idaho voters overwhelmingly signed-off on expanding Medicaid coverage to the state’s working poor.
"I think the legislature is sort of guarding its own power when they crack down on the initiative process and pass laws that make it more complicated and difficult to qualify an initiative for the ballot," said Clark. "So [the advisory question is] seemingly a similar-type thing but the source is totally different. This goes around the citizens. They're not involved whatsoever. And so I think one way to look at that would be the legislature wanting to guard its power."
What will be done with the results of this advisory question?
It's not necessarily known what will be done with the results, but the stakes seem fairly low. We do know there is going to be a lot of changes in the Idaho legislature, with at least 40 legislators out of 105 being new.
If 60% or more of voters say yes, we approve of this, then that's something legislators can point to during budget negotiations and floor debates. With that, they can say we'll push back on your next election cycle if there is any action for further budget cuts or repealing education funding.
Bottom line: The advisory question really holds no power
Yes, it's non-binding and if you don't feel comfortable with it, just like anything else on the ballot, you can leave it blank or vote however you feel. Officially, whichever way Idahoans vote, nothing will happen.
This project is part of the work of America Amplified, an initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to support community engagement journalism in public media.
A new crowdsourcing project is asking for your pictures of the Old Idaho Penitentiary
Oct 25, 2022
Show notesA photo of the Old Pen Administration Building. ( Idaho State Archives collection)
For 101 years, the Old Idaho Penitentiary was in operation on the outskirts of Boise. Built in 1807, the old pen was the site of 10 executions, 500 escape attempts, women prisoners and some very famous people who spent time behind its walls.
Despite this history there aren’t a lot of pictures of people inside or outside the prison gates.
The Idaho State Archives has prisoner mugshots and a small collection of photos taken inside the prison, but the Idaho State Historical Society is working to uncover new resources, in this case, pictures to tell the complete story of the Old Idaho Pen.
So the old Pen is launching a crowdsourcing project, asking for your help to find pictures that may be in your family collection.
Jacey Brain, Visitor Services Coordinator at the Idaho State Historical Society and Interim Historic Sites Administrator, Anthony Parry joins Idaho Matters to tell us more.
Idaho Dance Theatre is 'Taking Flight'
Oct 25, 2022
Show notes( Idaho Dance Theatre)
Idaho Dance Theatre has been bringing eclectic dance experiences to the Treasure Valley for years.
This season though, there is change in the air. Artistic Director, Marla Hansen and Associate Artistic Director Nathan Powell joined Idaho Matters to talk about upcoming performances and what audiences can expect to see.
Hunting on public lands is becoming more crowded
Oct 24, 2022
Show notes(Stefano / Flickr)
Hunters are always looking for the perfect place to harvest a deer or elk. And once they find it, they often go back year after year for decades.
But now, many hunters complain that their hunting spots on public land are getting too crowded. The Mountain West News Bureau’s Madelyn Beck reports.
This Boise State professor has a nurse-driven plan to build cultural bridges, bonding caregivers and seriously ill refugees
Oct 24, 2022
Show notes
Dr. Katherine Doyon has a plan. She wants to create the building blocks for what will be a first-of-its-kind bridge between Idaho healthcare providers and refugees.
Over the next two years, Doyon and a community advisory board – compiled of healthcare providers, refugees and refugee advocates – will design a guide to bridge clinicians and refugees, communicatively and culturally.
She spoke with Morning Edition host George Prentice to share her enthusiasm for the soon-to-launch project and how it could, quite literally, save lives.
Author of 'The Paris Bookseller' on Idaho Matters
Oct 24, 2022
Show notes(Glen Scarborough / Flickr)
This episode of Idaho Matters originally aired on January 11, 2022.
What do Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitzgerald and E.E. Cummings all have in common? The modernist writers all lived in Paris in the 1920s.
And the person who brought them together was Sylvia Beach, an American woman who owned the bookstore Shakespeare & Company. Idaho Matters talks with author Keri Mare about her new novel, which chronicles that time through Sylvia Beach's eyes.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
Stay Connected
