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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As float season comes to a close this holiday weekend, officials say the number of floaters this season was similar to other recent years. -
Boise hosts its 6th 'Repair Cafe' Thursday, August 28 at JUMP. The five previous Repair Cafe events in Boise since 2023 have kept 1,700 pounds of waste out of the landfill and saved participants $30,000 in replacement costs, according to city calculations from participant surveys. -
If you’ve been to the grocery store, you probably know the price of beef is skyrocketing. Live cattle prices are up more than 20% this year. Ground beef in the grocery store rose 11.5% between July 2024 and last month according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index; Steak prices were up 12% in the same time. -
Boise State Interim President Jeremiah Shinn Wednesday touted rising enrollment, strong fundraising and growth of new technology education programs as part of his ‘state of the university’ address delivered to faculty and staff. -
The new traffic signal at State Highway 55 and the Banks-Lowman Road is working as intended, according to the Idaho Transportation Department. -
Valley County wants to shrink and take back control of the McCall's impact area and will host a public hearing on the afternoon of July 7. -
A new state law passed in 2024 could significantly impact how homes, commercial buildings and roads develop around McCall. -
The city wants to expand more stations to four-person engine staffing, but there's no money for growth in the upcoming year's budget. -
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are a threat to public health everywhere, and a threat to the fishing industry along the west coast. A new study shows the potential for predicting HABs in ocean water, but there are big hurdles before it could be used in a place like Idaho's freshwater ecosystems. -
It's Friday and time for our Reporter Roundtable when Idaho Matters catches you up on the past week's headlines.
