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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'. It's Monday, August 3, 2026, and I'm your host, Mark. I'm here in the studio, which is currently the only place in the Treasure Valley that doesn't feel like the inside of a cheap air fryer.
JOLEEN: And I'm Joleen. I'm doing great, Mark, mostly because I've decided to stop breathing the outside air entirely. It's much safer for the lungs and my general sanity. This show's our weekly attempt to make sense of the chaos in the City of Trees, though honestly, sometimes it feels like we're just documenting a slow-motion car crash with better scenery. If you like what we're doing, or if you just want to tell us we're assholes, hit that subscribe button, leave a comment, and follow us. You can even email us at boise@thehappeningnetwork.com if you've got a lead or just want to complain about your neighbor's lawn.
MARK: Let's kick things off with the headlines, because apparently, the universe has decided that living in Idaho wasn't expensive enough. Gas prices in Boise just shot up twenty-two cents in a single week. We're sitting at four dollars and twenty cents a gallon now. It's perfect, really. It's the most expensive 'four-twenty' joke in history, and none of us are even having a good time.
JOLEEN: It's absolute bullshit. I saw a guy at the Chevron yesterday just staring at the pump like he was waiting for it to apologize. I'm half-convinced the oil companies are just throwing darts at a map of Idaho and saying, 'Yeah, let's fuck these people specifically today.' It's not just the gas, though. If the prices don't kill you, the mosquitoes might. Ada County officials just confirmed that mosquitoes in Boise tested positive for West Nile virus. So, your options this week are: stay home because you can't afford to drive, or go outside and get a virus that makes your brain swell. Choices, choices.
MARK: The City of Trees is really leaning into that 'dangerous wilderness' vibe lately. If you do brave the outdoors, you might've seen the spectacle at Albertsons Stadium this past weekend. Banana Ball made its debut on an orange and blue diamond. It was the Texas Tailgaters against the Party Animals. It was basically what happens when you mix a baseball game with a fever dream and too much sugar.
JOLEEN: I'm still trying to process the orange and blue turf for baseball. It's like they wanted to make sure nobody could actually track the ball without getting a migraine. But people loved it. It's that weird Boise thing where we'll show up for literally anything as long as there's a chance to see someone do a backflip on the Blue. I mean, it's more entertaining than the actual news, which brings us to the crime report, and it's a real treat for anyone who hates humanity.
MARK: Boise Police charged two people with animal cruelty last week. These absolute dickheads decided it was a great idea to leave a dog and a cat in a hot moving truck. It's August in Idaho. The inside of that truck probably reached the surface temperature of the sun in about ten minutes. Luckily, someone noticed and called it in before the animals were cooked.
JOLEEN: What is wrong with people? Seriously. If you can't manage to keep a cat alive during a move, maybe you shouldn't be in charge of anything more complex than a pet rock. And even then, I'd worry you'd find a way to break it. In other grim news, there was a fatal motorcycle crash south of Pine in Elmore County on July 25th. It's a reminder that these mountain roads don't care how cool you think you look on your bike. One wrong turn and that's it.
MARK: The investigation into that Southeast Boise shooting from late July is also moving along. The authorities identified the officers involved in the fatal shooting of Daniel Konovalov. It's that standard process where everyone waits for the task force to tell us what we already suspect. It's heavy stuff, but hey, at least we're not talking about the school district yet. Oh wait, yes we are.
JOLEEN: The Boise School District is back in the spotlight because a judge just ruled that a lawsuit over their restroom policy for transgender students can move forward. This whole thing's a mess. You've got parents suing, the district trying to balance rights, and lawyers just sitting back counting their money while kids just want to go to the bathroom without it becoming a Supreme Court case. It's exhausting.
MARK: It's the classic Idaho standoff. On one hand, you have people demanding tradition, and on the other, you have a district trying to figure out how to exist in 2026 without getting sued into oblivion. Spoiler alert: they're getting sued anyway. But hey, at least one high school might be getting its own on-campus football field soon. Because that's what we really need to focus on--making sure the teenagers have a closer place to give each other concussions.
JOLEEN: Priorities, Mark! Who needs a balanced budget or settled social policies when you can have fresh turf and stadium lights that annoy the neighbors? Speaking of things that are supposedly 'high-end', I went to The Wylder downtown the other night for a 'research' dinner. You know, that place that prides itself on sourdough pizza and looking like it was decorated by a Pinterest board that gained sentience.
MARK: Oh, I know it. It's the kind of place where you pay twenty-five dollars for a pizza and they act like they're doing you a favor by letting you sit at a table that's three inches away from a total stranger. How was the 'elevated' experience?
JOLEEN: The pizza's actually good, which is the annoying part. I wanted to hate it. I really did. But the crust has that sourdough tang that makes you feel like you're better than everyone else. The problem is the atmosphere. It's so loud you have to scream your order at the server, and the lighting is so dim I almost ate a decorative candle. It's peak Boise--sophisticated but trying way too hard to be 'big city'. If I wanted to be ignored by a busy waiter in a dark room, I'd just go back to my parents' house for Christmas.
MARK: I'll stick to my frozen pizzas and my dignity, thanks. Let's pivot to sports, where things are apparently as exciting as watching paint dry in a windstorm. Athletic Club Boise played Corpus Christi on Saturday, and the final score was a thrilling zero-zero draw. Nothing says 'world-class athletics' like ninety minutes of people running around and accomplishing absolutely nothing.
JOLEEN: It was a 'physical' game, Mark. That's code for 'everyone was frustrated and kept kicking each other because nobody could kick the ball into the net'. At least the fans showed up. I don't know how soccer fans do it. I need at least a little bit of dopamine from a goal to keep me from falling into a coma. Meanwhile, Boise State's North End Zone project just got a two-and-a-half million dollar gift from Eric and Christina Sonner. Because God knows the one thing Boise State needs is more luxury seating.
MARK: Two-point-five million. Imagine what that could do for, I don't know, literally anything else. But nope, let's make sure the boosters have a nicer place to drink their chardonnay while the rest of us are sitting on aluminum benches that freeze your ass off in November. It's part of the new Pac-12 era, I guess. You've got to have the shiny toys if you want to play with the big boys.
JOLEEN: The 'big boys' being whoever's left in the Pac-12 after everyone else jumped ship. It's like being the king of a very small, very confused hill. And speaking of hills, have you seen the real estate prices in Nampa lately? There are million-dollar homes popping up in Nampa now. Nampa! The place we used to go because we couldn't afford to look at a house in Boise without crying. Now you need a tech CEO's salary just to live near a sugar beet factory.
MARK: It's the 'mathematical trap' we've been talking about, but it's spreading like a rash. You've got these massive houses being built next to cow pastures, and the people working at the new Floor and Decor on Chinden Boulevard sure as hell aren't the ones buying them. That store just opened, by the way. So if you want to buy some fancy tile for the house you'll never be able to afford, now's your chance.
JOLEEN: I love that. 'Welcome to the Valley, here's some flooring you can't use because you're renting a studio for two thousand a month'. It's hilarious in a 'we're all doomed' kind of way. And if you're thinking about moving further out to escape the prices, keep in mind that road construction on State Street and the ongoing mess at Linder Road is basically a permanent part of the landscape now. You aren't getting anywhere fast, so you might as well just get used to the view of the bumper in front of you.
MARK: It's not just the traffic that's stalled. Everything feels a bit sluggish when it's this hot. We're looking at a serious heatwave hitting us this week. This afternoon it's eighty-five, which is almost pleasant, but don't get used to it. By Friday, we're hitting a high of one-hundred-and-two degrees. One-hundred-and-two. That's the temperature where your shoes start to bond with the asphalt.
JOLEEN: And don't forget the smoke! We've got active air quality alerts because of the regional wildfires. So it's going to be a hundred degrees and you'll be breathing in the charred remains of a forest in Oregon. It's the 'Boise Summer Special'. The forecast says 'mostly clear' for the weekend, but that's only if you can see through the haze. Saturday is still going to be a hundred, and Sunday drops down to a 'chilly' ninety-six.
MARK: I'm planning to spend the weekend sitting directly in front of my AC unit and questioning every life choice that led me to a desert climate. But if you're braver than I am, Zoo Boise has a thing going on. They're raffling off a chance to name a baby penguin at their Zoobilee Gala. For a hundred bucks, you could potentially name a penguin something stupid. I'm rooting for 'Pingu the Alcoholic' or maybe 'Sir Slips-a-Lot'.
JOLEEN: Knowing this town, it'll end up being named 'Potato' or 'Bronco'. We're not exactly known for our creative naming conventions. But hey, it's for conservation, so give them your money. There's also the new Fall Guide from Parks and Rec that just dropped. Seventy-four pages of classes you'll sign up for and then never actually attend because you'll be too busy stuck in traffic on State Street.
MARK: I'll probably sign up for a pottery class and then just use the clay to plug the holes in my budget. Well, that's all the misery we have for you this week. We'll be back next Monday to do it all over again, assuming we haven't evaporated by then. Remember to like, subscribe, and tell a friend. Or tell an enemy. We aren't picky about our numbers.
JOLEEN: Seriously, tell everyone. We need the validation. Stay cool, stay hydrated, and for the love of everything, don't leave your pets in the car. We'll see you next week, Boise. Try not to set anything on fire.