Idaho Matters

(dailyasianage.com)Idaho allows children under 16 to marry with a parental waiver and many fear this could cause the state to become a destination for human trafficking. State Representative Melissa Wintrow (D-Boise) would like to see an end to marriages to girls under 18.

(Idaho State Police)Last month, Idaho State Police busted a truck carrying nearly 7,000 pounds of industrial hemp. Federal regulators recognize hemp as a legal crop; Idaho places the multi-use crop in the same category as marijuana. Hemp does not contain THC, the psychoactive agent found in marijuana. This has created a standoff between hemp cultivator, Big Sky Scientific, and Idaho officials.

(Olivia Weitz)Olivia Weitz joins Idaho Matters to share the latest installment of Expressive Idaho. This month, Weitz visits a master of traditional Iranian drumming.

Host Gemma Gaudette leads a round table discussion of the week's headlines with the region's top journalists. This week Idaho Matters speaks with Idaho Education News reporter Kevin Richert, Associated Press-Idaho's Rebecca Boone and Boise State Public Radio legislative correspondent James Dawson.

(macfound.org)Moscow native Samuel Hunter has been incorporating intimate Idaho settings into his plays for nearly a decade. His work has been produced Off-Broadway and he's been the recipient of multiple theater awards and a MacArthur Genius Grant. His latest works are a pair of plays with intertwining plot lines that imagine the lives of the descendants of Lewis and Clark. The performances begin this week and are being produced by the Boise Contemporary Theater. Hunter joins Idaho Matters with the company's founding artistic director, Matthew Cameron Clark.

(facebook)The Rotary Club of Boise will be spilling suds at the Firkin Frolic Beer Fest next Thursday on the Basque Block. The event will feature small-cask firkin beer as well as an assortment of other local brews and chews. We check in with the Rotary to talk about this Boise tradition.

(facebook)The Sensory Playce was designed by the mother of two special needs kids who demonstrated sensory sensitivities. Jen Johnson's boys found most activity centers were overwhelming to the senses so she designed a space that caters to the comfort levels of special needs kids while still providing tons of fun. Johnson joins Idaho Matters to talk about creating an all-inclusive play space.

(Joe Atkinson)Cordi and Joe Atkinson have been caring for birds of prey for nearly four decades. From hunting with falcons to rehabilitating injured eagles, the Atkinsons have become the faces of predatory bird preservation. The Atkinsons join Idaho Matters to discuss their work and the role the birds play in the Idaho ecosystem.

(youtube)The 3MT competition originated at the University of Queensland in 2008 and now the research funding competition takes place at more than 200 universities around the world. Graduate students are given three minutes and one graphic slide to present their projects to a panel of judges. The winner takes home money for further research and we talk with a Boise State graduate coordinator about the statewide 3MT competition coming up in Boise.

(CREDIT MELINDA LOWE / MONARCH BUTTERFLIES OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST FACEBOOK PAGE.)Researchers have been concerned about dwindling bee populations for decades, now scientists are worried about massive reductions in monarch butterfly populations. We find out why Idaho's official state insect is in trouble and how scientists are working to preserve the butterfly.

(COURTESY OF SEN. MIKE CRAPO'S OFFICE) Senator Mike Crapo joins Idaho Matters live to answer listener questions about the government shutdown, border security, foreign policy and anything else.

(blessingsoflibertyfilm.com)Until the 1970s, babies born with developmental disabilities were often placed in institutions. A movement started to remove these people from institutions and acclimate them into sustainable communities. The documentary Blessings of Liberty was commissioned by the Idaho Council on Developmental Disabilities to tell the story of this movement.

(pintrest)The Allergy Group of Boise is rolling out a new treatment for people with food allergies that involves slowly building up the body's immune response to an allergen. We'll talk with the group's Dr Neetu Talreja about the new approach.

(Saltzer Medical Group)The Saltzer Medical Group is launching an initiative to prevent domestic and child abuse by educating young women about healthy relationships. The Healthy Relationships/Safe Babies program is trying to get ahead of the issue by having young women ask themselves hard, honest questions about their relationships and help them to identify red flags.

(LUKE MAYVILLE/RECLAIM IDAHO)Medicaid expansion in Idaho passed by a voter initiative in November. Advocates are calling for its implementation while opponents are holding it up in the courts and the statehouse. We'll get the latest on the effort to close the health insurance gap in the Gem State.

(team upcycle boise/facebook)February is American Heart Health Month and Idaho Matters speaks with St. Al'sand a Boise bike team about cardiac health and the benefits of cycling.

(ERIC RISBERG / AP)A measles outbreak in Eastern Washington highlights the importance of childhood immunizations. Idaho Matters looks at the threat to Western Idahoans and what people can do to protect themselves and their children from measles.

(Will Eichelberger)Holistic health practitioner Samantha Zipporah and burlesque bon vivant Frankly Frankie have teamed up to create Va-Jay-Jay Day in Boise, celebrating the female anatomy. We talk with Zipporah and Frankly about empowerment, health and hygiene and a variety show that removes the stigma attached to menstruation.

Wanna Know Idaho asked Idahoans to submit questions they want answered about our state. In the latest edition, host Frankie Barnhill seeks to answer the question on everybody's mind - "what happens to the poop at Zoo Boise?" Barnhill joins Idaho Matters to flush out the answer.

(Ballet Idaho)Ballet Idaho begins 2019 with re(Define) - a performance combining classical ballet with contemporary dance and music. We meet with the company's artistic director and a solo dancer.