Idaho Matters

(http://surelsplace.org)NYC-based musician Chuck Palmer has a talent for taking a step back to just listen to what’s going on around him. From the beats of street noise to the hum of the natural world, he works with "found sound" in his music. The musician was recently profiled by Boise State Public Radio News. Palmer is teaching a listening workshop at Surel’s Place in Garden City, where he has been an artist-in-residence.

We review the week's headlines with a team of regional journalists. This week we speak with Betsy Russell and Scott McIntosh of the Idaho Press and Mike Sharp of KIVI ABC 6.

(BSPR)Teacher-to-student ratios are increasing in Idaho classrooms. We find out why classroom overcrowding can stymie academic development and efforts to bring that ratio down.

(caldwellnightrodeo.com)The 84th Caldwell Night Rodeo began on Tuesday and runs through Saturday. We check in with the events and festivities.

(idahodems.org)Democratic voter registration numbers are up in the Gem State, but will it reflect in the November election? Political analyst Justin Vaughn looks at state and national trends ahead of the mid-term elections.

The Idaho Small Business Development Center aids business owners and entrepreneurs in growing their businesses and the region's economy. We speak with the SBDC and an area business owner who uses their services.

(AP file)Every parent knows how hard it is to pry cell phones and tablets from the hands of kids but recent studies show overuse could contribute to a deterioration of fine motor skills. We find out how much screen time is too much and how it could be impacting children in the classroom.  

The University of Idaho athletic director was fired by the State Board of Education. We talk with Idaho Statesman sports reporter Chadd Crippe.

(tablerockmobilemedicine.com)Nurse practitioner Bradley Bigford operates Table Rock Mobile Medicine, making house calls in the Treasure Valley. Bigford joins Idaho Matters to discuss the benefits of mobile healthcare.

(CREDIT MALATE269 / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS / BSPR)Idaho teachers earn below the national average and the value of their salary appears to be moving backwards.  We'll speak with the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy about a recent report documenting teacher pay in the Gem State and the Idaho Education Association will share their assesment of teacher pay, recruitment and retention.

(Credit: Boise Police Department)University of Idaho College of Law associate professor Katherine Macfarlane will be discussing the use of force by police as part of the school's Vandal Voices series. She joins Idaho Matters with Boise Police Department deputy chief Scott Mulcahy to discuss use of force training and the use of body cameras.

One Boise house faces possible demolition. Can the city change its future? And is a house safe if it's part of a National Register Historic District?

Idahoans will have the opportunity to vote for the restoration of historical horse racing machines this November when the measure appears on the ballot. These are gambling machines that allow the player to bet on the outcome of videos of random horse races. Opponents see these as an extension of slot machines, which were banned in Idaho in 2015. We look at objections held by those opposed to legalizing historical horse racing machines.

Author J. Reuben Appelman's breadth of writing spans from true crime to UFC coverage to poetry. His latest book, The Kill Jar, chronicles the hunt for a serial killer who haunted his Detroit neighborhood in the 1970s. Appelman joins Idaho Matters to talk about the book.

(PapJeff / Flickr)Producer Guy Hand jet boats into Idaho's River of No Return Wilderness with a team searching for remote and abandoned pioneer-era apple orchards. Then he goes in search of the pawpaw. The pawpaw is America's largest native fruit. Once loved by George Washington, it's now nearly forgotten and survives today largely thanks to backyard gardeners. Producer Guy Hand visits one of those gardeners.

Last week, the recipients of the 2018 Governor's Awards in the Arts were announced and they included former Boise Poet Laureate and Idaho writer-in-residence Diane Raptosh. Her works explore subjects including criminal justice, interpersonal relationships and the imagery of the American Northwest.  Raptosh currently teaches creative writing and criminal justice at the College of Idaho and she joins Idaho Matters to talk about representing the Gem State with poetry.  

(JAMES DAWSON / BOISE STATE PUBLIC RADIO)On a Saturday night, the last night in June, a group of families, who had found refuge in Boise, were gathered to celebrate a child's birthday.  A man - a transient with an extensive record who had been staying at the apartment complex - entered the party and stabbed at everyone in attendance. By the time it was over, nine people - children and adults - had been stabbed. The three-year-old birthday girl passed away days later. We look at how that community is coping with this tragedy and how they'll move forward in this community.

(wkow-abc7/Credit: Tyler Harbick/Courtesy of Zack Young/NBC 5, Dallas-Fort Worth)Five different dockless bike share companies have set up shop in Dallas in the last year. In a matter of weeks, three shuttered and left town, leaving behind nearly 20,000 unused bicycles. We speak with a Dallas reporter who covered the rise and fall of Dallas' bike share industry and David Fotsch, director of Boise Green Bike about the lessons that can be learned from this.

(d2l.org)The Idaho Children's Trust Fund/Prevent Child Abuse Idaho provides funding, training and technical assistance to community-based programs working to strengthen families in order to prevent child abuse and neglect in Idaho. We speak with the fund's director and an advocate from St. Luke's Children's about advocacy and prevention efforts.

(soinc.org)Founded in 1984, Science Olympiad is one of the premier science competitions in the nation, providing rigorous, standards-based challenges to nearly 8,000 teams in all 50 states. We talk with organizers of Idaho Science Olympiad about STEM education.