Molly Wampler

Graduate students spend years researching and writing about one single topic. They leave university with knowledge and information many people will never understand. And that’s a problem — a problem an unusual competition seeks to solve.

Before Mark Peters joined the Idaho National Laboratory as Director in 2015, he worked at several other national labs across the U.S. managing projects dealing with nuclear energy and national security.

Though fishing was long used just for sustenance, it has evolved into a sport celebrated around the world. 

Programs to get kids into coding have been popping up all over in the past several years. Idaho has been no different. 

Three-quarters of Treasure Valley residents say they want better public transportation, according to a Boise State survey. But with low funding, limited routes and challenges with sprawl, most commuters have to rely on their cars to get around. So where do we go from here?

Ponds freeze over in the winter, but fish are still swimming underneath beneath the ice. So why wait ’til spring to break out the fishing rod? Drill a hole in the ice and you’re good to go. 

Jay Rasgorshek is a scientific illustrator and co-curator of the “Picturing Science in Illustration and Art” exhibit at Boise State University. 

What was Boise like in the 1930s? 

This year marks the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage here in Idaho. This gave women the right to vote, but not all women. 

Nation states, ideas of rights and power, and Shay’s Rebellion are subjects that may have left many of our minds after high school. But these topics are critical to understanding the history of our country and the constitution that supports it. 

Bluegrass music is making a comeback in Idaho. The Idaho Bluegrass Association has been around since the 1980s, but after membership waned, the group’s popularity has taken off in the past few years. Supported by new members and leadership, the group is putting on the first Idaho Bluegrass Winterfest this weekend in Boise. 

For the third year in a row, the McCall Winter Festival will host a dog sled race. But this isn’t just any race. Organized by people involved with the Iditarod, the Idaho Dog Sled Challenge is 300 miles long. And with more than 44,000 feet of elevation change on the course, mushers call this a 500 mile race packed into 300. 

This week’s snowfall in the Treasure Valley means only one thing: ski season is here. Idaho Matters talked with Tamarack Resort’s President Jon Reveal and Bogus Basin’s General Manager Brad Wilson about the season so far. 

The small town of Tetonia, Idaho will celebrate their 9th annual Snow Plane Rally this weekend. Not sure what a "snow plane" is? Despite it's name, the devices never leave the ground, but move over the snow on skis powered by propellers.

The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise has sent wildfire supression crews to help fight the Australian Bushfires. NIFC spokesperson Jessica Gardetto talks more about how countries share resources and how changing fire seasons are impacting the need for firefighters internationally. 

Idaho Fish and Game just reopened steelhead fishing along the Clearwater River after dismal returns last year. Closing fisheries for a season helps grow fish stocks which is important for ecology and ensures future seasons will be very fishable. 

But what happens in small towns whose economies rely on fishing? We talk with Roy Akins who owns Rapid River Outfitters in Riggins, along with Lance Hebdon of Idaho Fish and Game. 

  Winston Moore is an Idaho angler who has been making fishing history for over 80 years. In that time, he’s developed new techniques for catching trout and remembers a time when he’d be the only fisherman on miles and miles of beach. He joins Idaho Matters ahead of his Thursday evening lecture at 6:30 p.m. at St. Alphonsus in Boise.