Hannah Gardoski

This interview originally aired June 18, 2019. 

The Southwest Mountain Biking Association has helped build trails in the foothills of Boise and has helped grow the local mountain biking community. Their next mission is to increase diversity within that community by reducing fears and concerns around the sport. Idaho Matters talks with the group's executive director about these issues and the solutions.

Before there were history books documenting our past, there were stories told around a campfire. In Boise, the Campfire Theatre Festival is taking this idea and applying it to playwriting. We talk with organizers of the three-day event, which takes place this Friday-Sunday.

Since 2002, Idaho Preferred has been helping people find and use local food and agriculture products. The state department of agriculture program promotes vegetables, fruits, beer, meats, spirits and nursery plants grown in Idaho. As the fall harvest season is upon us, learn more about the growth of the program.

SheNetworksBoise is all about women supporting women. The new monthly events have created a space for women entrepreneurs to connect, share knowledge and build their business. Event co-hosts Heather Caldera and Dulce Toscano join us in studio. 

TVs, tires, mattresses, even a recliner — all these items, and lots and lots of trash, are dumped into canals and ditches around the Treasure Valley. Sometimes it’s grass clippings or tree limbs that are dumped, which can clog the water flow. The Treasure Valley Water Users Association says it’s a growing problem.

We all know Boise is a hot topic right now, as more people find the city and move here. But did you know Boise is hotter than it used to be temperature-wise? According to a new study by Climate Central, Boise is the 13th fastest-warming city in the U.S. Boise is 3.84 degrees hotter than it was in 1970.

The Boise Comic Arts Festival is back this month for its 7th year. This year the Boise Public Library and its Friends are bringing in 30 of the nation's top comics creators. That includes the author of "Phoebe and her Unicorn." The event covers everything from comics journalism to how to draw dinosaurs. Idaho Matters sketches in the details.

Have your bike tires ever fallen victim to the pesky goathead weed? If so, you’re not alone and the Boise bicycle community is coming together to do something about it. Join our guest host George Prentice and Jimmy Halliburton as they talk all-things Goathead Fest.

This month the City of Boise asked the community to take action and join the plastics challenge: to give up one disposable plastics item. That could be straws, plastic bags, or — the big one — non-reusable water bottles. Though July is coming to an end, the discussion over single-use plastics is just getting started, and the Zero Waste Boise Institute is planning to continue the conversation.

Idaho’s state board of education has a new president. In April Debbie Critchfield’s peers elected her to the position, and in May she was named co-chair of Governor Little’s K-12 education task force. One of Critchfield’s goals is better access to higher education. And just as idaho is at a crossroads when it comes to education, Critchfield is ushering in a new generation of leadership.

The Idaho Department of Insurance is warning Idahoans to be wary of a surge in robocalls offering fake or limited coverage as comprehensive health insurance.

A trail crossing some private land connecting a road to Redfish Lake and Stanley has been given the go-ahead by a federal judge. Landowner David Boren brought a lawsuit with his concerns about the proposed four-mile trail, saying that additional studies on the trail's environmental impact were needed. We talk to him about these possible impacts.

This weekend marked a sad anniversary in Boise. One year ago, a man allegedly stabbed nine people at a birthday party. A three-year-old girl was killed. We take a look back at the crime and find out how the refugees in Boise are responding a year later.

The Idaho Business For Education and HP Inc. have released the results of their “Statewide Study on Education and the Economy.” The study took in feedback from more than 1,800 Idaho teachers, businesses, politicians and school administrators. We hear from Rod Gramer of Idaho Business for Education, Gus Schmelden from HP Inc. and Marcela Escobari from the Brookings Institution.

Canyon County is a serial web drama that follows the day-to-day of a Treasure Valley social worker suffering from depression. The candid look at coping with mental illness can only be found online and Idaho Matters talks with co-writers Elliot Norton and Chuck O'Neachtain.

The Southwest Idaho Mountain Biking Association (SWIMBA) advocates on behalf of bikers to maintain access to public lands and trails, educates riders about safety and organizes all-inclusive events. SWIMBA is presenting the film Return to Earth at The Egyptian Theatre on Wednesday, June 19, and they are organizing the first Boise Mountain Bike Festival in August. Idaho Matters talks with SWIMBA executive director Carlos Matutes about these and other events.

Everybody is familiar with Da Vinci's ubiquitous image of the "ideal" male physical specimen, the Vitruvian Man. Area artist Chad Estes has gathered the images of 50 women and used the images to show there is no "ideal" physical type in an effort to promote body positivity. "Vitruvian Women" is showing at the Gem Center for the Arts and we talk about the installation and promoting body positivity with Estes and Tara Price, one of the models for the exhibit.

TEDx is searching for speakers in the Boise area and we'll speak with a TED coach about preparing presentations and we'll meet a speaker who can attest to the months of practice that go into delivering a TedX Talk.