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Happening in Boise is your weekly breakdown of what’s actually going on around the city—local news, community events, public safety updates, new restaurants, real estate, weather, schools, and everything Boise residents are talking about.
Hosted with humor, honesty, and a very Boise-specific point of view, this isn’t stiff broadcast news—it’s real local info with personality. If you live in Boise or just want to keep a pulse on the Treasure Valley, this is your weekly shortcut.
MARK: Welcome to 'Happening in Boise', the only podcast in the Treasure Valley that hasn't been bought out by a California tech bro yet, though I'm still waiting for the right offer. I'm Mark, your guide through the wreckage of local civility, joined as always by Joleen, who's surprisingly upbeat for someone who lives in a city where the median home price is essentially 'your firstborn child plus interest'.
JOLEEN: I'm only upbeat because I've accepted that the world's ending and I've got a front-row seat to the shitshow, Mark. It's Wednesday, March 18, 2026, and if you haven't stepped outside yet, don't bother, unless you want to experience what it feels like to be a rotisserie chicken in a suit. We've got a lot to cover today, so buckle up, you magnificent bastards.
MARK: If you want to yell at us about our opinions, or better yet, send us some beer money, hit us up at boise@thehappeningnetwork.com. We actually check that thing when we're not busy dodging wild turkeys in the North End. But before we get to the birds, let's talk about the absolute circus happening at the Statehouse.
JOLEEN: Oh, god, here we go. Governor Little's been busy with his gold pen again. He just signed what some are calling a 'crappy bill' that basically hands the keys to the kingdom to the most conservative hardliners in the building. It's like he's trying to win a 'most likely to be featured on a national late-night monologue' award. They're targeting everything from library books to how we handle workplace claims, which are apparently surging in Idaho because everyone's finally realizing their boss is a dickhead.
MARK: It's a bold strategy to make the state even more business-friendly by making it impossible for employees to complain when they're treated like garbage. And let's not forget the cryptocurrency bill that's advancing. Because what Boise really needs is more digital 'pretend money' to go along with our very real housing crisis. It's the perfect synergy of absolute nonsense.
JOLEEN: The hardliners are also joining the national 'bandwagon' to target Islamic groups and Sharia law, because nothing says 'I'm terrified of things I don't understand' like legislating against a legal code that literally no one is trying to implement in a Boise courtroom. It's a classic distraction. Look at the scary religious stuff while we quietly make it harder for you to sue your employer for negligence.
MARK: It's performance art, Joleen. Expensive, taxpayer-funded performance art. Speaking of terrifying things, let's look at the crime report, which feels more like a script for a bad action movie this week. Over in Mountain Home, they arrested a sixty-three-year-old named Ross Allen Lee. Apparently, he thought it was a great idea to point a shotgun at high school students near the campus last Friday. Because that's definitely how you win over the youth.
JOLEEN: The schools went on lockdown, obviously. But the best part, and I use 'best' in the most cynical way possible, is that while the police were wrapping things up, one of the officers had an 'accidental discharge' of their service weapon. Nobody was hit, thank the lord, but I'm sure that really helped calm the nerves of the students who'd just been staring down a shotgun. 'Don't worry, kids, we're the professionals! Whoops, there goes a round into the pavement!'
MARK: It's like a scene from 'The Naked Gun' but without the laugh track. Lee is facing aggravated assault and animal cruelty charges, though they won't say what the animal part was about yet. Maybe the shotgun was for a squirrel? Either way, he's cooling his heels in the Elmore County jail. Meanwhile, in Boise proper, we've had a truck topple a traffic signal at a major intersection on Monday, and a fatal crash in West Boise yesterday. Driving in this town's becoming an extreme sport.
JOLEEN: That fatal crash was a two-vehicle mess. The coroner's already identified the victim, and it's just a grim reminder that our infrastructure isn't keeping up with the sheer volume of assholes in SUVs. Every time I get on Chinden, I feel like I'm auditioning for 'Mad Max'. I'm just waiting for the first person to strap a guitar player to the front of their Subaru.
MARK: If they're playing at Treefort, they might actually get a pass. But let's shift to the schools. West Ada's been busy trying to figure out how to keep the peace. They're moving forward with Policy 723.10, better known as the 'Campus Sentinels' plan. They had the third reading in late January, and they're pushing ahead with bringing armed volunteers or staff into the buildings for safety.
JOLEEN: Because nothing makes a fifth-grader feel more focused on long division than knowing their janitor might be packing heat. It's the 'good guy with a gun' theory applied to a place where kids are mostly just trying to trade Pokémon cards and avoid the mystery meat in the cafeteria. They've also been debating middle school science textbooks, which I'm sure is a very calm and rational conversation about facts and definitely not about politics.
MARK: Never. It's Idaho. Facts are just suggestions here. But hey, graduation dates are out! If you've got a kid in the Class of 2026, prepare your bank account for the sheer cost of those ugly-ass gowns and the graduation parties where you have to pretend to like your neighbors. The Boise School District is also dealing with that restroom lawsuit, which is still dragging through the courts. It's a gold mine for lawyers and a nightmare for everyone else.
JOLEEN: It's such a waste of energy. Can we just talk about something that actually matters? Like food. I went to Saltbrush downtown recently. It's 'elevated dining', which is just code for 'we put a leaf on it and added twenty dollars to the price'. Don't get me wrong, the craft cocktails were decent, and the wine list is a 'living document', whatever the fuck that means. Is the wine list going to ask for a raise next week?
MARK: Probably. Everything else in this town is. Saltbrush is nice if you want to feel like you're in a bigger city for an hour before stepping back out onto a sidewalk covered in construction dust. They've got that new concept 'Coa Cantina' coming to Harris Ranch too. It's a collab between Barbacoa and Sushi Shack. Tacos, burritos, and tequila. Because if there's one thing Boise was missing, it was another place to get a taco and a drink.
JOLEEN: Hey, it's 'countertop dining', Mark! Very trendy. It's perfect for people who want to spend fifty dollars on a lunch and then post it on Instagram so their friends in Seattle can see that we have culture too. It's better than Raibu Sushi Bar, though. Don't get me started on the wait times there. If I'm paying thirty bucks for a roll, I shouldn't have to wait until my retirement to eat it.
MARK: You're just bitter because you didn't get a reservation. Let's pivot to sports, where 'bitter' is the official mood of Bronco Nation this week. Boise State entered the Mountain West Tournament as the six-seed, riding a five-game winning streak. Everyone was saying they were the hottest team in the conference. Then they played San Jose State last Wednesday and... well, it was a disaster.
JOLEEN: An absolute train wreck. They lost eighty-four to seventy-four. San Jose State! They were the eleven-seed! They had nine wins total! It's like watching a professional athlete trip over a pebble and lose a race to a toddler. Javan Buchanan had twenty-eight points, but it didn't matter because the defense decided to take the night off and go gambling in Vegas instead.
MARK: It's the most Boise State thing ever. High hopes, great momentum, and then a face-plant against the team that's basically just happy to be there. Leon Rice looked like he wanted to jump into a wood chipper. Now they're just waiting to see if their twenty-win season is enough to get them an invite to the NIT, which is the basketball equivalent of a participation trophy and a 'better luck next year' card.
JOLEEN: At least Drew Fielder made the All-Mountain West second team. Small wins, I guess. If you're looking for a winner, go watch the Idaho Steelheads. They're playing the Tulsa Oilers tonight at the arena. They're actually consistent, which is a weird concept for Boise sports fans to grasp. Plus, you get to watch guys punch each other on ice. It's the perfect mid-week stress relief.
MARK: If you're not into hockey, the weekend guide is actually pretty stacked. We've got Gianmarco Soresi at the Knitting Factory next Tuesday, but if you're looking for something this weekend, the Boise Flower and Garden Show kicks off at the Boise Centre on Friday. It's the biggest one in Idaho. A hundred exhibitors selling tools, plants, and hope for people who haven't realized their soil is basically just clay and spite.
JOLEEN: I love the Flower and Garden show. It's where I go to buy a fern that I'll inevitably kill within three days. But the real heavy hitter is Treefort. It starts next Wednesday, March 25th. Five days of music, art, and people wearing hats that are way too big for their heads. We've got San Holo, Machine Girl, and Built to Spill is probably lurking around somewhere. It's the one week a year where Boise feels like a real city and not just a giant suburb with a river running through it.
MARK: And Trey Kennedy's at the Morrison Center tomorrow night. If you like internet comedy and clean jokes, that's your spot. Me? I'll be hiding in my basement trying to escape the weather. Joleen, have you looked at the forecast? Because I'm pretty sure someone accidentally turned the 'summer' switch on three months early.
JOLEEN: It's terrifying, Mark. Today is Wednesday, and it's seventy-nine degrees. Seventy-nine! In March! Tomorrow it hits eighty-one, and Friday we're looking at eighty-three. The news is calling it the 'hottest days of 2026' so far, and I'm just sitting here wondering if I should buy a boat or just learn to photosynthesize. The average high for this time of year is supposed to be in the low fifties.
MARK: It's a record heat wave. People are already out on the Greenbelt in shorts, looking like pale ghosts who forgot what the sun looks like. If you're planning on hiking Camel's Back, bring water, or you'll be the lead story in our next crime report under 'idiot found dehydrated on a hill'. It's going to stay in the sixties and seventies through the weekend, so the 'false spring' is actually just a 'premature summer'.
JOLEEN: Don't get used to it. This is Idaho. By Tuesday, it'll probably be snowing again just to fuck with us. But for now, enjoy the sweat. And while you're out enjoying the sun, try not to lose your mind in traffic. ACHD is doing deck work on the Boise Avenue bridge starting this week. They've got it down to one lane with a temporary signal. It's a complete clusterfuck for anyone trying to get to the canal or Southeast Boise.
MARK: They're also doing overnight closures on Karcher Road out in Nampa tonight and tomorrow. Ten p.m. to five a.m. So if you're a night owl or a vampire trying to commute between Canyon and Ada, good luck. They're trying to widen Highway 55, which is a noble goal, but the process is basically just a series of orange cones designed to test your sanity.
JOLEEN: And Eagle Road is getting those variable speed limit signs operational. They'll adjust the speed based on how much of a parking lot it is. Spoiler alert: it's always a parking lot. It doesn't matter if the sign says forty-five or fifteen, you're still going to be staring at the bumper of a white Ford F-150 for twenty minutes while some dickhead cuts you off to get to the Chick-fil-A drive-thru.
MARK: It's the circle of life on Eagle Road. But hey, let's talk about where you're going to live while you're stuck in that traffic. The February real estate data is in, and it's actually... kind of weird. Prices are technically down one percent year-to-date. We're in what the experts call a 'balanced market', which means both buyers and sellers are equally miserable.
JOLEEN: Inventory is up twenty percent compared to last year! We've actually got homes to look at. Of course, new construction makes up fifty percent of that inventory. If you want a house that looks exactly like the six houses next to it, with zero trees and a yard the size of a postage stamp, now's your time to shine. The builders are offering incentives because they're finally realizing they can't sell a plywood box for seven hundred thousand dollars anymore.
MARK: The pending sales are up, though. People are buying. It's not the feeding frenzy of 2021 where people were offering their left kidney over asking price, but it's steady. If you're looking under the median price point, things still move fast. If you're looking for a luxury estate in Eagle with a heated driveway and a room just for your ego, you might have some room to negotiate.
JOLEEN: Negotiating in Boise? What a concept. Maybe we're finally becoming a real city instead of just a real estate speculation project. Anyway, that's the news. It's hot, the sports teams suck, and the government is doing its best to be a giant dick. Business as usual.
MARK: Thanks for listening to 'Happening in Boise'. If you liked this, subscribe. If you hated it, comment so we can make fun of you in the next episode. Don't forget to email us at boise@thehappeningnetwork.com if you have tips or just want to tell us to fuck off. We appreciate the engagement either way.
JOLEEN: Stay hydrated in this freakish heat, Boise. Try not to point any shotguns at anyone, and for the love of god, use your turn signals on Eagle Road. We'll see you next week when the temperature inevitably drops back to freezing and we all get sick. Bye, bitches!