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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 for Monday, October 26, 2026. Today, we're tracking the Boise Airport's new ticketless parking tech, the Broncos' climb to number twenty in the nation, and why savory meat pies are the Bench's best kept secret. I'm Mark.
JOLEEN: And I'm Joleen. Let's get right into why you might never have to fumble for a parking ticket at BOI again.
MARK: It's about time they realized that those little paper slips are basically designed to disappear into the crack between the seat and the console the second you pull into the garage. The airport announced that they're rolling out this new license plate recognition technology and QR code payment system. Apparently, we're entering the future, Joleen, where the gate just knows who you are and demands your money automatically.
JOLEEN: Honestly, I'm here for it. Anything that keeps me from being that person at the exit gate, frantically digging through my purse while a line of twenty angry travelers honks behind me, is a win in my book. They're putting it in all the garages and the Economy lot, and they say it should be mostly done by November 15th. So, just in time for the Thanksgiving travel nightmare .
MARK: Right, because nothing says 'seamless' like a brand-new, complex tech system being stress-tested by ten thousand people trying to get to Grandma's house at the same time. The way it works is you still take a ticket when you get there, but it has a unique QR code. You scan it with your phone, pay while you're walking to your car, and then when you drive up to the gate, a camera reads your plate and just lets you out. It's supposed to be the same system they use in the downtown garages.
JOLEEN: Which works pretty well, usually! I like that you don't have to download yet another crappy app. You just scan the code, pay, and go. But I can already see the skeptics like you, Mark, worrying about 'the machines' having our license plate data indefinitely. The airport did say they're keeping that data 'indefinitely', which sounds a little like a sci-fi surveillance state, doesn't it?
MARK: Indefinitely is a very long time, Joleen. It's long enough for the airport to know exactly how many times I've fled the state to avoid Boise's July heatwaves. But seriously, if it stops the bottleneck at the exit plaza, I'll trade my plate privacy for three minutes of my life back. They're still keeping the cash and card options at the exit for the people who still use flip phones or just like the human touch of a disgruntled parking attendant.
JOLEEN: The human touch is overrated when you've been on a six-hour flight with a crying toddler. I just want that gate to lift like the Red Sea. Speaking of lifting things, the Boise State Broncos are lifting themselves right up the rankings. After that thirty-one to ten beatdown of Washington State on Saturday, we've officially cracked the AP Top Twenty. We're sitting at number twenty, tied with Northwestern.
MARK: Thirty-one to ten. It wasn't even as close as the score looks. That fourth quarter was a clinic. I watched the Cougars just slowly realize that the blue turf is where dreams go to die, or at least where Pac-12 aspirations go to get stomped. That win makes us bowl-eligible for the twenty-ninth year in a row. That's the second-longest active streak in the country, trailing only some school in the Midwest that probably doesn't have a blue field.
JOLEEN: It's incredible. Twenty-nine years! Most of the current players weren't even born when that streak started. And seeing us move up to twenty in the AP and twenty-two in the Coaches poll feels like the national media is finally waking up. Or maybe they just finally saw the highlights of that fourth-quarter dominance. We're getting four hundred and twenty-two points in the AP poll now. People are actually taking us seriously as a playoff contender.
MARK: Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We're Boise State. We'll be at number twelve and the committee will still find a way to talk about 'strength of schedule' while a three-loss SEC team jumps us. But for now, I'll take it. It's a solid position. And it's not just football making moves. Did you see that Arsene Pougault claimed the first Pac-12 Championship for Boise State in men's tennis over the weekend? oh wow
JOLEEN: No, I missed that! A Pac-12 title already? That's huge for the tennis program. He won the singles draw at the fall qualifiers in Spokane. It's wild to think about how we're already grabbing hardware in a conference that we're technically just visiting for now. It's like going to a neighbor's house for dinner and leaving with their best silverware.
MARK: It's exactly like that. Pougault played lights out. Meanwhile, the women's beach volleyball team was out in California at the Surf City Collegiate Challenge. They finished up yesterday, and four of our pairs ended with winning records. They're calling it the most competitive fall event in the West. So, basically, if there's a net and a ball involved, the Broncos are probably winning, unless it's indoor volleyball.
JOLEEN: Yeah, that was a tough one. The volleyball team fell to Colorado State three to zero on Saturday at ExtraMile. It's a bummer, but the Rams are always a powerhouse. The soccer girls also had a bit of a stalemate, drawing zero-zero at Colorado State. Still, a clean sheet on the road isn't something to complain about too loudly.
MARK: I'll complain about it. Zero-zero is just a very long way to say 'we both showed up and nothing happened.' But hey, the football team is carrying enough weight for everyone. Although, if you want to get a season ticket for the twenty-twenty-seven season, you're already too late. They've launched a waitlist because sales have been so high. You have to pay twenty-seven bucks just to be on a list to maybe buy a ticket later.
JOLEEN: That's twenty-seven dollars for the privilege of waiting. It's the most Boise thing I've heard all morning. It's like waiting in line for forty-five minutes for a brunch spot on 8th Street, except the line lasts a whole year. But honestly, with the way they're playing, I get it. The hype is real. People want to be in those stands, even if it means planning their life two years in advance.
MARK: I'll stick to my couch where the beer is cheaper and the replay is instant. Moving from the turf to the streets, we've got some high-end drama in the crime logs. Boise Police are investigating a one hundred thousand dollar luxury return fraud scheme. One hundred thousand dollars! That's not just a shoplifting incident; that's a professional heist involving receipts.
JOLEEN: I saw that! The Organized Retail Crime Unit is on the case. It's apparently a trend where people buy high-end luxury goods and then return... well, not the luxury goods. It's sophisticated. And then we have this other guy, Wenguang Hu, who was arrested for a 'tap-to-pay' fraud operation. He was hitting stores on Overland and Milwaukee, using stolen credentials on his phone to buy gift cards. He managed to rack up over two thousand dollars in just a few hours before they caught him.
MARK: The tap-to-pay thing is what kills me. We spent years being told it was the most secure way to pay, and now we've got 'organized operations' flying into Boise specifically to exploit it. He was hit with four counts of grand theft and four counts of burglary. It's a reminder that even in a 'safe' city like Boise, there's always someone trying to figure out a high-tech way to take your lunch money.
JOLEEN: And then there was that fugitive arrest on Friday morning. A guy with warrants for some pretty serious stuff tried to make a break for it, and the sheriff's office had to bring out the drones and the K9s. They caught him, but it sounds like it turned your morning commute into a live episode of Cops. Between the fraud and the fugitives, the BPD has had a busy weekend.
MARK: At least the drones work. I'm waiting for the day the drones start handing out parking tickets at the airport. Speaking of things that don't work, did you see the power outage in Caldwell on Friday? It was a mess. Damaged power lines forced three Vallivue schools to shut down entirely--Vallivue High, the middle school, and Falcon Ridge Elementary. Over eleven thousand people were in the dark. right
JOLEEN: The city hall and the library were closed too. It's crazy how one bad line can just paralyze an entire area. My heart goes out to the parents who had to suddenly figure out what to do with their kids on a Friday morning with zero warning. But on a brighter note for the Boise School District, the Timberline boys golf team just made history. They won their first-ever state championship.
MARK: First in school history. That's a massive deal. Luke Drescher and Andy Metzler both finished in the top ten individually. It's nice to see a sport that doesn't involve a hundred thousand screaming fans getting some glory for once. Although, Timberline had a bit of a rough Friday otherwise. Two teenagers were struck by a vehicle right near the high school around ten-forty-five in the morning. They were taken to the hospital, but it's a sobering reminder of how dangerous those school zones can be, especially with the morning rush.
JOLEEN: It's terrifying. You'd think people would slow down when they see a sea of backpacks, but apparently not. I really hope those kids are okay. It's been a heavy week for Timberline between the golf win and that accident. And then you have the ongoing construction near State and Pierce Park that's still making everyone's life a living hell. If it's not a power outage, it's an orange cone.
MARK: If you're heading toward the mountains, it's not much better. The Bogus Basin Road emergency repairs are going to drag on into early December. They had that massive washout near mile marker ten back in July, and now they're trying to finish two hundred-foot retaining walls before the ski season starts. They've got a temporary signal up there, so expect to sit and contemplate your life choices while you wait for your turn to pass.
JOLEEN: I just hope they finish before the first big powder day. Can you imagine the traffic jam on Bogus Basin Road if it's still one lane when the resort opens? It'll be a line from the lodge all the way down to Harrison Boulevard. And speaking of Harrison, the Eckert Road Bridge project is officially in full swing now. That bridge is closed, the road is closed, and it's staying that way until the summer of twenty-twenty-eight. That is a long time to ask people to find a detour.
MARK: Two years. They're literally building a new bridge from scratch, piles and all. If you live in that area, I hope you like taking the long way around. It's part of that massive ACHD five-year plan, but for the people in Southeast Boise, it's just two years of headaches. But hey, if you're stuck in traffic, at least you have plenty of time to look at the 'For Sale' signs you can't afford.
JOLEEN: Don't start with the real estate, Mark. Though you're not wrong. The latest update says inventory is up over fifty percent this year, but prices aren't really dropping. They're just 'adjusting' or 'recalibrating,' which is real estate speak for 'still expensive, but maybe the seller will pay for your lunch.' Mortgage rates are hovering around seven-and-a-half percent, which is making everyone a little twitchy.
MARK: The new hot strategy is the 'rate buydown.' Instead of asking the seller to drop the price by twenty thousand bucks, you ask them to pay twenty thousand toward your interest rate. It drops your monthly payment way more than a price cut would. It's basically a financial shell game to make the math work so you can buy a house that was worth half as much five years ago.
JOLEEN: It's smart, though! If you're going to buy anyway, you might as well play the game. But a lot of people are sitting on the sidelines, waiting for that 'price-drop arrow' on Zillow that just isn't coming. Demand in Boise is still so high that every time a new house hits the market, there's a line of people with seven hundred credit scores ready to fight for it. It's a selective market now, not a desperate one.
MARK: I'll stay in my rental and wait for the bubble to pop, even if I'm waiting until twenty-forty. In the meantime, I'd rather spend my money on something I can actually enjoy, like a savory meat pie. I finally tried Pie-O-Neer Pies over on Lakeharbor Lane. It's this New Zealand-inspired spot, and honestly, it's the most honest food I've had in a while.
JOLEEN: Wait, savory meat pies? Like, the kind you can hold in your hand? I've heard people raving about that place on Reddit. They've got the New Zealand style where it's all about the flakey crust and the rich filling. What did you get?
MARK: I went for the classic steak and cheese. It's heavy, it's hot, and it doesn't try to be fancy. It's just a solid, well-made pie. They're tucked away in that little area by the water, so it feels like a real hidden gem. It's the kind of place you want to keep a secret so there isn't a line, but they're so good they deserve the business. And it's right next to Guru Donuts, so you can ruin your diet in two different ways in one trip.
JOLEEN: That sounds like a perfect Saturday morning. If you're looking for something a bit more 'date night,' there's a new spot called The Percy that everyone's talking about. It's from the same people who did The Wylder, so you know the vibes are going to be immaculate. It's downtown, and they've got this whole Northwest flavor thing going on. I'm dying to try it, even if it means I have to deal with the parking situation we just complained about.
MARK: If the food is good enough, I'll deal with the QR codes. But let's talk about the weather, because if you're planning on eating outside at one of those fancy patios this week, you might want to bring a raincoat. Today's high is sixty-three, but the National Weather Service is calling for a seventy percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. The temperature is going to drop to fifty-five by the afternoon.
JOLEEN: Ugh, a wet Monday. Just what everyone needs. But the rest of the week looks pretty decent, if a bit chilly. Tuesday and Wednesday are topping out at fifty-five degrees with some patchy fog in the mornings. It's definitely feeling like fall now. Frosty nights too--we're looking at lows in the mid-thirties all week. I hope everyone's turned off their sprinklers or at least blown out their lines.
MARK: If they haven't, they're about to have a very expensive lesson in physics. Thursday is the warm spot of the week, if you can call fifty-nine degrees warm. Then it's back to fifty-five for Friday. But the real concern is Saturday. It's Halloween, and the forecast is looking... well, spooky. A fifty-four degree high with a slight chance of rain and even snow showers.
JOLEEN: Snow showers on Halloween?
MARK: yeah
JOLEEN: That's a classic Idaho move. There's nothing like trying to fit a winter parka over a princess costume. It's currently a twenty percent chance of precipitation during the day, jumping to thirty percent on Saturday night. So, if you're taking the kids out, maybe look for the 'indoor' trunk-or-treats or just be prepared to have soggy candy.
MARK: Soggy candy and frozen toes. It builds character. If you're looking for something to do this weekend that doesn't involve shivering on a sidewalk, the haunted attractions are in full swing. The Haunted World in Caldwell is the big one--it's forty acres and they've got a new 'La Llorona' village walk toward the river this year. It takes about an hour and a half to get through, so plan accordingly.
JOLEEN: I'm way too much of a wimp for Haunted World. I'll stick to the decorations on Harrison Boulevard. They're usually spectacular by now. And there's also the Night of a Thousand Pumpkins in Eagle this Saturday from six to nine. It's much more my speed--lots of glowing gourds and zero people jumping out at me with chainsaws.
MARK: Eagle is safe. Caldwell is where you go if you want to question your life choices. There are also a ton of trunk-or-treats happening all over the Treasure Valley. Meridian had their big one last week, but there are still plenty of neighborhood events. Just keep an eye on that Saturday night forecast before you commit to three hours of standing in a parking lot.
JOLEEN: Totally. And if you're in the mood for something a bit more active, the YMCA Halloween Run was this past weekend, but there are always more fall festivals popping up. Honestly, just walking through downtown right now is great. The leaves are at that perfect peak where everything looks like a postcard before the first big wind storm blows them all into the gutters.
MARK: Which, according to the forecast, might be today. Those thunderstorms this afternoon are probably going to clear a lot of branches. So, if you like the leaves on the trees, go take a picture now. By five o'clock, they might all be on your windshield.
JOLEEN: Well, that's a depressing thought to end on, Mark. Thanks for that. But hey, at least the Broncos are number twenty! We can all bask in that glory while we scrape wet leaves off our cars. It's a great time to be a Boisean, as long as you have a good rain jacket and a high tolerance for road construction.
MARK: And a savory meat pie. Don't forget the pie. It really makes the sixty-three-degree thunderstorms more bearable. We'll be back next week to see if the Broncos can climb even higher and if the airport's new parking gates have claimed any victims.
JOLEEN: If you enjoyed the show, make sure to follow or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. We'd love to hear from you, so drop us a line at boise@thehappeningnetwork.com with your local tips or just to tell Mark to stop being so cynical. We'll return next week. Stay dry out there, Boise.