Idaho Matters

(amelia rose earhart/facebook)Amelia Rose Earhart's parents named her for the famous aviator, believing they were related. They're not, but that didn't snuff Amelia's passion for flight. Earhart will be speaking at the Boise Metro Chamber's annual gala and she joins us to talk about her adventures and how they have helped create the person she is today.

(stock)Guest host Matt Guilhem leads a roundtable discussion of the week's headlines with the region's top journalists. We speak with the Idaho Press' Betsy Russell, Idaho Education News' Kevin Richert and KIVI-TV's Mike Sharp.

(balmshot.com)Wayne Forrey was being treated for lip cancer in 1983 when he found that after his recovery, he had trouble finding a product to protect his lips from the sun. That's why he and his wife, Karen, created Balm Shot. It's a uniquely-packaged lip treatment designed to appeal to a consumer segment not usually targeted by lip balms - men. The Forreys join us in studio to talk about creating Balm Shot and overcoming the obstacles faced in building a small business.

(fluffhardware.com)Experience Garden City encourages residents and visitors of the community to come out Friday night, stroll the attractions along the Boise River and get to know each other. We meet with members of the event's planning committee to explore the Garden City community.

(Hannah Gardoski/BSPR)We preview an upcoming panel discussion about Proposition 2 - Idaho's Medicaid expansion proposal. The conversation will take place Thursday, October 11 at 6 p.m. at the Yanke Family Research Building and will include Panelists will include state Rep. Christy Perry, the co-chair of Idahoans for Healthcare; House Majority Caucus Chairman John Vander Woude; community member Donna Scranton; and HuffPost senior reporter Jonathan Cohn. The discussion will be moderated by James Dawson of Boise State Public Radio and is part of Huffpost's 'Listen to America' RV tour.

Special Olympics Idaho recently broke ground on a new 'Training For Life' facility that would provide state-of-the-art amenities for the Gem State's most special athletes. The construction is being undertaken by participants of Nampa's Community Reentry Center, providing occupational training for people transitioning from incarceration to freedom. We look at both sides of this story with Laurie La Follette of Special Olympics Idaho and Rachael Masaitis of IDOC's Nampa CRC.

(Tom Michael / Boise State Public Radio)Each year, Boise Startup Week invites top tech entrepreneurs to the Treasure Valley to share ideas, pitch wares and seek startup capital. This year's begins on October 17 and Vynyl's Nick Crabbs and Trailhead's Tiam Rastegar join us to touch on upcoming tech trends and the value of drawing the contributions to the region's growing small business sector.

(PAULETTE JORDAN CAMPAIGN)Democratic gubernatorial candidate Paulette Jordan could break political paradigms as Idaho's first female governor and the nation's first Native American state executive. She joins Idaho Matters to parse out her platform and share her vision of the Gem State's future.

Boise Rock School is celebrating its 10th anniversary this week with a party featuring performances from their rock star students. Rock professors Ryan Peck and Sergio Gonzales join Idaho Matters to talk about Idaho's coolest academy.

(Inland360.com)The Idaho Horror Film Festival is coming to Boise for its fifth year of terrifying attendees and connecting developing filmmakers. In addition to screenings, the four-day festival will feature workshops and presentations to help Idaho filmmakers cultivate industry connections and hone their skills. Idaho Matters speaks with a festival organizer and a filmmaker about what makes horror films so alluring.

(Olivia Weitz)It’s hard to learn how to form silver and engrave it from a YouTube video. Mastering the ins-and-outs of being a silversmith requires learning from someone in person. Expressive Idaho's Olivia Weitz visits an apprentice silversmith in Twin Falls to learn about this Western tradition.

(cpb.org)Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, was a keynote speaker at September's Women and Leadership conference in Boise.  She joined Boise State Public Radio to discuss the evolving role of women in business and what the future holds for public broadcasting.

(SWI-MA)The Made Here! Expo highlights products manufactured in Idaho and connects companies with skilled job seekers in an effort to grow Idaho's economy and job market. The two-day event, organized by the Southwest Idaho Manufacturers' Alliance, will highlight 21st century manufacturing that includes computer technology, drone development, robotics and other STEM-driven corners of industry. Idaho Matters speaks with the SWI-MA board president Sherri Johnson and Tech Help executive director Steve Hatten about next week's event at the Ford Center in Nampa.

(ROBERTO MOLAR CANDANOSA AND SCOTT SHEPPARD, COURTESY OF CARNEGIE INSTITUTION FOR SCIENCE)Scientist have found a 'goblin planet' - a dwarf planet 2.5 times as far from the sun as Pluto. Far enough that one solar orbit takes 40,000 years to complete. Idaho Matters visits the tiny planet with University of Oklahoma assistant professor Nathan Kaib.

Life's Kitchen offers an opportunity for at-risk youths in the Treasure Valley to develop independence and self-sufficiency by teaching culinary skills, offering mentorship programs and internship and job placement. The organization is celebrating its 15th year and on Tuesday, Idaho Matters will be joined by the Treasure Valley nonprofit's executive director and a graduate of the program.

(r/Boise/Reddit)Research from the Climate Impact Lab shows that in the next 20 years, the number of days below freezing at major ski resorts could drop by weeks or months. Climate change is having a visible impact on the nation's winter sports industry and here in Idaho that translates to serious money and jobs. Idaho Matters looks at the effects of climate change on area ski resorts and the overall impact on the state's economy with the Boise chapter of Citizens' Climate Lobby and Bogus Basin general manager Brad Wilson.

(Becky Smith/trailingofthesheep.org)Domesticated sheep were brought to Southwest Idaho in the 1860's and helped support the state's economy as mining began to drop off in the late 19th century. The industry attracted herders from all over the globe and helped develop the fabric of Idaho's diverse population. In 1997, an event was created to celebrate the legacy of sheepherding in Idaho and from October 10 through 14, the Trailing of the Sheep Festival will take place in Hailey, Ketchum and Sun Valley. Idaho Matters speaks with the founders of the festival about the unique dimension sheep ad to Idaho's history and economy.

(Adam Gidwitz/Twitter)  The Basque Dragon is Newbery Honor winning author Adam Gidwitz's newest book in his Unicorn Rescue Society series. It is a tale of fantasy that takes the main characters on a cross-Atlantic adventure to Basque Country in search of a missing dragon. Gidwitz will be appearing at Rediscovered Books on October 13 and he joins Idaho Matters on Monday to talk about what inspired him to set his story in the Basque region.

(Boise State Public Radio)Meridian Police Officer Ray Ellis and West Ada School District Resource Officer Shannon Garza have put together a program to help teach students the importance of establishing physical boundaries and respecting body autonomy. They will join Idaho Matters to talk about why this is an important topic today and why children should learn about it from a young age.

(Chadd Cripe/Idaho Statesman)Dan and Farris, The Wilks Brothers, are Texas siblings who made their fortune in hydraulic fracking. Around 2008, they began purchasing huge tracts of land around Idaho and closing off  access to traditional hunting, fishing and recreation grounds to the public. On Monday's Idaho Matters, we'll discuss the impact this is having on local outdoor recreation and what the brothers may have planned for these lands.