Idaho Matters

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**Forest Service suspends prescribed burns following the New Mexico wildfire** May 24, 2022
Show notes

( Brett Miller)
At 8:00 this morning almost three thousand people were fighting a gigantic wildfire in New Mexico, which has burned more than 300,000 acres.
It was last month when a prescribed burn, conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, escaped resulting in the Hermit's Peak fire. That fire later joined the Calf Canyon outbreak, creating the largest wildfire New Mexico has ever seen.
According to a report from NPR hundreds of structures have burned and many people are angry, sparking backlash against prescribed burns, not just in New Mexico, but across the West.
Friday the Forest Service put a pause on prescribed fires while a 90-day review of protocols takes place.
Joining Idaho Matters to talk more about the risks and benefits of prescribed fires is the Outreach Coordinator for the Idaho Prescribed Fire Council, Brett Miller.

**Big cats come to Boise** May 24, 2022
Show notes

A remote camera captures a radio collared cougar in Griffith Park.(STEVE WINTER/National Geographic Creative / National Geographic Creative)
Big cats like tigers, leopards and jaguars are some of the world’s most magnificent animals, and some of the hardest to find.
Photographer Steve Winter has been tracking these cats from Asia to Latin America in an effort to share their beauty and help save them one picture at a time.
Steve will be speaking about his work and sharing his photographs Wednesday night at the Morrison Center in Boise. In the meantime, he joins Idaho Matters to talk more about his adventures.

Shaping the city of Boise as it continues to grow May 24, 2022

Show notes

Cities in Idaho have been struggling with a shortage of affordable housing and trying to find solutions anywhere they can.

For some, density is one of those solutions, an idea that can spark conversation and sometimes conflict in communities. The city of Boise is looking at density in new ways, thanks to its new Director of Planning and Development services.

Our morning edition host George Prentice sat down with Tim Keane to find out more about his vision for Boise.

Idaho Falls' nuclear history May 23, 2022

Show notes

So here's a question:what was the deadliest nuclear accident in U.S. history? If you said Three Mile Island, you’d be wrong.

Back in 1961, a nuclear reactor in Idaho Falls known as SL-1 melted down and killed three people. It also exposed thousands of people in eastern Idaho to radioactive gas.

A new season of the Wild Thing podcast focuses on this little known Idaho event, the science behind nuclear energy and what the future of nuclear energy looks like.

Podcaster Laura Krantz joins Idaho Matters to talk more about this story.

Listen to the first episode of Wild Thing, Season 3: Going Nuclear May 23, 2022

Show notes

Wild Thing podcast host and creator Laura Krantz grew up in Idaho Falls, so maybe it's not shocking that the third season of her podcast starts with a little-known meltdown of an experimental reactor in Idaho Falls in 1961. We've got the entire first episode for you to listen to, right here.

**How to have hard conversations with your kids** May 23, 2022
Show notes

A bunch of children playing and running around a playground at a church party.( Flickr)
As we continue to see heated debates around social justice issues, education freedom and how post-pandemic life might look - what seems to be lacking is a place for kids and caregivers to find resources to be able to talk about these issues and attitudes.
Amber O'Neal Johnston, the author of the book "A Place to Belong: Celebrating Diversity and Kinship in the Home and Beyond", joins Idaho Matters to talk about fostering open dialogue around discrimination, race, gender, disability and class.

**Idaho Matters Reporter Roundtable: May 20, 2022** May 20, 2022
Show notes

Baby formula is offered for sale at a big-box store on Jan. 13 in Chicago. Baby formula has been in short supply in many stores around the U.S. for several months.(Scott Olson / Getty Images)
The baby formula shortage, more apartments coming to downtown Boise, election results statewide and in the legislature. It’s Friday, which means it's time for our Reporter Roundtable when Idaho Matters gets you up-to-date on all the news that made headlines this past week.
Our journalist panel today:
Melissa Davlin, host of Idaho Reports on Idaho Public Television
Rebecca Boone, Associated Press Supervisory Correspondent Boise Bureau
Scott McIntosh, Opinion Editor at the Idaho Statesman
Don Day, the Founder and Editor of BoiseDev.com

**Idaho Matters Doctors Roundtable: May 19, 2022** May 19, 2022
Show notes

A registered nurse stirs a nasal swab in testing solution after administering a COVID-19 test in Los Angeles, Calif. Increased testing could help in efforts to detect and track new variants like omicron.(Mario Tama/Getty Images)
We are more than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic and new subvariants of the omicron variant are spreading rapidly around the world, especially in the United States. In fact, St Luke's Health System is reporting a testing positivity rate of 14%.
So what does that mean and will we see another surge? Joining Idaho Matters to talk more about this number and COVID-19 testing is Dr. David Pate, former CEO of St Luke's Health System, and a current member of the Idaho Coronavirus Task Force.

**Sawtooth National Recreation Area celebrates 50 year anniversary** May 19, 2022
Show notes

(Visit Idaho / Visit Idaho)
This year marks 50 years since the creation of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.
It was created in 1972 by an act of Congress, and at the time, Idaho's congressional delegation decided against seeking a national park designation.
Now, more than half a century later, there are still mixed feelings about this area.
Joining Idaho Matters to talk more about this anniversary are Rocky Barker, former Idaho Statesman reporter and a board member of the Andrus Center, as well as current Idaho Statesman reporter Ian Stevenson.

Idaho Governor Brad Little standing with two other people. — **Breaking down Idaho's primary election results** May 18, 2022
Show notes

( Boise State Public Radio)
Voters went to the polls on Tuesday for Idaho's primary election, setting the stage for the November contests.
Who won, who lost and what does it mean for Idaho?
We’ll break it down with our guests Kevin Richert, senior reporter and blogger with Idaho Ed News, Clark Corbin with the Idaho Capital Sun and our own James Dawson with Boise State Public Radio News.

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