Troy Oppie
Host/ReporterExpertise: radio hosting, reporting, All Things Considered, jazz music
Education: Pacific Lutheran University
Highlights
- I started at BSPR as a volunteer
- I embrace goofy ideas, like broadcasting live from a hammock by the Boise River
- Public Radio and I go back to middle school – but not as a 'back seat listener'
Experience
I was excited for the chance to volunteer as a local music host back in 2014 after I left local TV (and thus was allowed to appear on-air somewhere else). I hosted "Jazz Conversations" for many years before slowly working into rotation with the news team and joining full-time just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
I enjoy stretching the limits of radio when I can, like trying remote broadcasts from places around Idaho, and introducing listeners to the different characters who make our communities unique. My decade-long career in television included stints in live sports production and I can still occasionally be found behind a camera or in a TV truck, or even calling play-by-play for high school sports.
I also spent nearly six years working in personal finance, which I enjoyed but found highly stressful.
My first exposure to public radio was listening to jazz as a middle schooler on KPLU-FM (now KNKX) in Tacoma-Seattle. Our jazz band even volunteered to answer phones during the station's pledge drives (which used to be 12-14 days long!). Eventually I worked at that station while attending college and it drove my appreciation for public radio – and the people of public radio – to new heights.
Email: Drop me a note or story tip at troyoppie@boisestate.edu
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The company has about 1,100 workers in Boise, mostly working in its LaserJet division, according to an employee.
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The idea of a moment of silence dates to the 1980s, as a way to return thoughtful reflection to classrooms after even voluntary prayer in schools was ruled unconstitutional.
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The county formally opposes the transit agency's effort to gain taxing authority and change its funding model.
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Semifinalists for the top awards in the restaurant industry were announced this week. The James Beard Awards are considered to be among one of the most prestigious honors in the nation, according to a news release.
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Two city of Boise public works employees are in Germany this week, inspecting new equipment that will sanitize more than 20 million gallons of city wastewater each day on its way to the Boise River.
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Canyon County believes outgoing animal shelter service provider West Valley Humane Society needs to continue services for 90 days. West Valley informed the county it plans to end services Feb. 1.
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As Idaho rolls into 2026, several new laws are slated to take effect, though one bill will have to wait until February for implementation.
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A portion of Warm Lake Road previously only accessible to snow mobiles will be plowed starting this winter to allow access to the Stibnite mining site. A gate for the road, likely installed near Warm Lake Lodge, is proposed as a public safety measure, but the idea has received pushback from the community.
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The Community Impact Program this summer was designated to be sunset, in a decision later characterized by the university as a 'misunderstanding.' But the program's new administrators are trying to replace critical scholarship funding previously provided by the President's Office.
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The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last month overturned an Idaho District Judge's ruling dismissing illegal weapons possession charges against an east Idaho man who is the subject of a domestic protection order.