MARK: Welcome back to 'Happening in Boise,' the only podcast that acknowledges the thick, soupy inversion layer we're all breathing is probably 10% smugness from all the 'Best Places to Live' lists. I'm Mark.

JOLEEN: And I'm Joleen. We're your audio tour guides through the city of trees, where the biggest crime this week wasn't a bank robbery, but the sheer audacity of some people's driving. We've got a lot to unpack, from local chefs getting national love, to a Boise kid literally skiing her way into the goddamn Olympics.

MARK: It's a mixed bag, as always. We'll also touch on why you might want to check your kid's vaccination records, and which part of town to avoid unless you enjoy staring at orange cones. It's a real slice of Boise life.

JOLEEN: So buckle up, buttercups. And hey, if you love what you hear, or even if you just tolerate it, do us a favor. Like, subscribe, comment, leave a five-star review telling us how our voices are the only thing that gets you through your commute on Eagle Road. And if you've got a hot tip or just want to complain, shoot us an email at boise@thehappeningnetwork.com.

MARK: Let's kick things off with something that makes Boise feel a little less like a big town and more like a city with an actual culinary scene. The James Beard Award semifinalists were announced.

JOLEEN: The Oscars of the food world! And Boise actually showed up. It's not just fry sauce and potatoes anymore, folks. We've got three local chefs nominated for Best Chef in the Mountain region: Alex Cardoza from Susina, Cal Elliott from The Avery, and Nathan Whitley from Terroir.

MARK: I'm not gonna lie, I haven't been to Susina, but The Avery is one of those places you go to when you want to feel richer than you are. And Terroir started as a food trailer, which is the most Boise come-up story I can think of. Good for them. It's almost enough to make you forget that a meal there costs more than a tank of gas.

JOLEEN: Almost. But it wasn't just the chefs. Ansots, the Basque place, got a nod for 'Outstanding Hospitality'. Which is a nice way of saying 'they're really polite while taking all your money for chorizo.' And a place called 'Bar Please!' is up for Best New Bar. I appreciate the directness of that name. It knows what I'm thinking before I even sit down.

MARK: It's nice to see the city getting some legitimate culinary cred. It makes our slow descent into being Portland's weird cousin feel a little more sophisticated. It proves there's more to our culture than football and arguing about property taxes.

JOLEEN: Speaking of things to be proud of, this next story is genuinely cool as shit. A Boise High graduate, Sammy Smith, just made the U.S. Olympic Cross Country Ski Team. She's twenty years old and is going to be competing in Italy next month.

MARK: Get this, she's a two-sport athlete. She's a starting defender on the Stanford women's soccer team and just casually decided to qualify for the Olympics in her spare time. She literally only started training on skis about a month ago for this season because she was busy with the NCAA soccer tournament.

JOLEEN: That's just absurd. At twenty, I was trying to figure out how to microwave ramen without setting off the smoke detector. This woman is competing on the world stage in two different, incredibly demanding sports. It makes you feel like a real fucking underachiever, doesn't it?

MARK: Completely. She missed all the fall World Cup races for soccer, then flew to Germany for one race, got 12th place, and that was enough to punch her ticket to Milan. That's not just talent, that's some main-character energy right there. It's a hell of a story, and it's awesome that she's from right here.

JOLEEN: Alright, from the absolute peak of human achievement, let's gracefully swan dive into the shallow end of the gene pool with our crime report. This week's award for 'Outstanding Achievement in Fucking Up' goes to a gentleman from Caldwell.

MARK: Let me guess. Drunk driving?

JOLEEN: Oh, it's so much better than that. A 64-year-old repeat offender, Jose Franco Sosa Jr., got so hammered that late Friday night he ran a stop sign in Nampa and crashed directly into a police car. And not just any police car. He hit the car of an officer specifically assigned to the DUI enforcement team.

MARK: You can't make this shit up. That's like trying to rob a bank during a convention for bank security guards. It's a special kind of stupid. I'm guessing he politely pulled over and waited for his new bracelets?

JOLEEN: Of course not. He then fled the scene, leading police on a chase that ended up near the interstate, where Idaho State Police had to help take him down. He's now facing felony DUI, because it's his third or more in ten years, and felony eluding. Miraculously, the officer wasn't hurt, which is the only good part of this story.

MARK: It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off for him. When your best move is to run from the DUI cop you just crashed into, you've clearly made some excellent life choices. What an absolute dickhead.

JOLEEN: It really sets the bar. It's a reminder that no matter how bad your day is going, at least you didn't crash your car into a DUI cop while you were drunk.

MARK: Alright, let's move on to the hallowed halls of education. It seems we have a bit of a throwback scare making the rounds in the Vallivue School District. We're talking about the measles.

JOLEEN: Oh good, a completely preventable disease is making a comeback. Love that for us. According to the Southwest District Health, two confirmed cases have popped up in Caldwell. An unvaccinated child picked it up while traveling out of state over winter break.

MARK: And this is where it gets fun. The kid went to Vallivue Middle School on January 9th before showing symptoms. Then, their sibling went to Vallivue High School on January 20th before they got sick. Both were infectious on those days.

JOLEEN: So the virus, which can hang in the air for up to two hours, had a nice little field trip through two different schools. The health district sent out letters to parents, which I'm sure were read with a perfectly calm and rational mindset by everyone.

MARK: I'm sure the local Facebook groups are a beacon of reasoned discourse on the topic. It's wild that in 2026, we're still having to talk about measles outbreaks. It feels like we should have bigger problems to solve, like perfecting flying cars or figuring out why my internet cuts out every time it rains.

JOLEEN: Well, you can't install a firmware update for bad decisions. The CDC says 14 states have reported measles cases this year, so I guess we're part of the club now. A stupid, stupid club. Get your shots, people.

MARK: Let's pivot back to something we touched on earlier, the Boise food scene. With those James Beard nominations, it feels like the city is trying to tell us it's a serious food destination now. Are we buying it?

JOLEEN: I'm cautiously optimistic. I mean, on one hand, it's incredible to see these talented chefs getting national recognition. It elevates the whole valley. On the other hand, a lot of these high-end places come with high-end price tags that make a normal person's wallet weep. You go to Susina for a prix-fixe meal, and you're dropping some serious cash.

MARK: True, but you need those places to build a reputation. You need your Chandlers, your Kins, your Averys to be the flagships. It's what draws attention, and then people discover the smaller, more accessible spots. Nobody's saying you have to eat at a James Beard-nominated restaurant every night.

JOLEEN: I just worry about the hype machine. A place like Bar Please! gets a 'Best New Bar' nomination, and suddenly you can't get a seat on a Tuesday without a reservation, and a cocktail costs twenty-two dollars. It's a double-edged sword. We want the recognition, but we don't want to lose the accessible charm that makes Boise, well, Boise.

MARK: I think the balance is still there. For every The Avery, there's an Ansots, which got its nod for hospitality. It's a pretty unpretentious place focused on amazing Basque food. It shows that the awards aren't just about foam and tweezers; they're also about genuine, quality experiences. I think it's a net positive. It pushes everyone to be better.

JOLEEN: Fair enough. I'll reserve my full cynicism until I have to wait in a 45-minute line for a chorizo. For now, congratulations to all the semifinalists. You've officially made it more expensive for the rest of us to eat downtown.

MARK: Alright, let's talk sports. Beyond the amazing story of Sammy Smith going to the Olympics, what's been happening with our usual suspects? How are the Steelheads doing?

JOLEEN: The Steelheads continue to be the most reliably entertaining team in town. They had a couple of home games this past weekend against the Utah Grizzlies. It was a bit of a mixed bag, but they continue to be a dominant force in the division.

MARK: And what about the Broncos? Has Boise State basketball managed to find its footing, or are they still on the struggle bus?

JOLEEN: It continues to be an up-and-down season for the Broncos men's basketball team. Every time you think they've turned a corner, they hit a snag. They're trying to stay competitive in a tough Mountain West conference, but consistency seems to be the main issue. It's a classic Boise State season, really. Just enough hope to keep you watching, just enough disappointment to keep you drinking.

MARK: But really, the big sports news remains Sammy Smith. A 20-year-old from Boise High is going to the Olympics. That's the kind of thing that should be leading every local newscast. It's a story about dedication and incredible natural talent. It's a nice antidote to stories about DUIs and measles.

JOLEEN: Absolutely. It's genuinely inspiring. Makes me want to go out and... well, go out and watch the Olympics from my couch. But I'll be cheering for her extra hard. It's always great to see a local succeed on that level.

MARK: Let's shift gears to everyone's favorite topic: watching our tax dollars slowly turn into traffic jams. It's time for the road construction update.

JOLEEN: Joy of joys. If you live or work out in Meridian, you're in for a treat. The Ada County Highway District is deep into a major project on Ustick Road. They've had a section between Ten Mile and Linder completely closed since December, and that's expected to last until this summer.

MARK: Until the summer? Holy shit. They're not just patching potholes, are they? What's the master plan there?

JOLEEN: They're widening Ustick to five lanes, adding a new traffic signal at Towerbridge Way, and putting in those big ten-foot multi-use pathways on both sides. So, in the long run, it's a huge capacity and safety improvement. In the short run, it's a complete fucking nightmare for anyone who uses that road.

MARK: The official detours are McMillan to the north and Cherry Lane to the south, which I'm sure has done wonders for traffic on those roads. It's the classic Treasure Valley shuffle. Squeeze all the traffic from one perpetually under-construction road onto two other roads that were already at capacity.

JOLEEN: It's the circle of life here. The goal is to handle all the new subdivisions they keep approving. It's a beautiful, self-perpetuating cycle of growth and rage-inducing commutes. You gotta love progress, Mark.

MARK: And now for a segment that will either make you want to invest or just start day-drinking: the Boise real estate market. What fresh hell is upon us this week?

JOLEEN: According to a new report from ATTOM Data, the Boise area is bucking the national trend. In most of the country, it's actually cheaper to buy a home than it is to rent right now. But not here, my friends. Not in our special little valley.

MARK: Of course not. Why would we follow a logical national trend? So you're telling me that even with mortgage rates being what they are, it's still more expensive to buy than to rent in Ada and Canyon counties?

JOLEEN: That's the kicker. The report says home ownership costs in Ada County eat up about 46% of the typical take-home wage. In Canyon County, it's 48%. Meanwhile, renting a three-bedroom takes up about 38% in Ada and 44% in Canyon. And keep in mind, the federal standard for being 'cost-burdened' is spending more than 30% of your income on housing.

MARK: So basically, your only two options are 'screwed' and 'royally screwed.' That's fantastic news for anyone trying to, you know, live here. The average home price in Boise is sitting around 485-thousand dollars right now, which is up just under one percent from last year. It's not the insane jumps we saw a few years ago, but it's still climbing.

JOLEEN: And you still need that down payment. The report estimates you'd need about 100-grand for a 20% down payment in Ada County. Just a cool hundred thousand dollars lying around. No big deal. So yeah, while the market has 'normalized' a bit, it's certainly not what you'd call affordable for the average person. It's a great place to live if you sold your California shack for 2 million dollars.

MARK: Alright, enough doom and gloom. Let's talk about what people can actually go out and do. Joleen, what's on the agenda for community events?

JOLEEN: Well, if you're single and have a desperate need for attention, I have some fantastic news. The casting team for 'Love Island USA' is apparently looking for singles in Boise for their next season. I can only imagine the high quality of candidates they'll find here. I'm picturing a lot of guys in backwards hats who list 'wakeboarding at Lucky Peak' as their entire personality.

MARK: That's a reality show I would absolutely watch, just for the cringe factor. Imagine the drama. 'He took her on a date to the Village in Meridian, but she really wanted to go to Barbacoa.' It writes itself. I hope they find some real gems. What else is happening?

JOLEEN: For those of us not destined for reality TV fame, the weekend is looking pretty decent. The PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour is at the Ford Idaho Center on Friday and Saturday. So you can go watch people who are far braver and probably dumber than I am ride some very angry bulls.

MARK: That's always a solid choice. What about something a little less... life-threatening?

JOLEEN: If you're into fishing, or just like wearing vests with a lot of pockets, the Western Idaho Fly Fishing Expo is also happening on Friday and Saturday. There's also a big benefit for Radio Boise on Friday called Big Hair's Winter Social. And for the theater crowd, 'Moulin Rouge! The Musical' is running at the Morrison Center all week and through the weekend.

MARK: So, from bull riding to Broadway. A little something for everyone. It's a pretty packed weekend. And what's the weather going to be like for all these lovely events?

JOLEEN: Prepare yourself for the stunning meteorological diversity of a Boise winter. The forecast for the week of January 26th is... well, it's January in Boise. We're looking at that classic inversion clinging to the valley for the first part of the week. So expect gray skies, maybe some fog in the mornings, and highs hovering right around 40 degrees.

MARK: My favorite. The kind of weather that makes you question all your life choices that led you to live in a place where the sky is just a flat, gray lid for three months straight.

JOLEEN: But wait, there's a glimmer of hope! By Wednesday and into the end of the week, there's a chance of a few showers. It might be just enough to break up the inversion a bit, or it might just make the gray sky a little wetter. Highs will stay in the low 40s, with overnight lows dipping into the 30s. So, not freezing, just... damp and dreary.

MARK: So, perfect weather for staying inside and binge-watching something. Or, I suppose, for going to a musical or watching a bull try to unalive a person. You know, options.

JOLEEN: That about wraps it up for this edition of 'Happening in Boise.' We've covered it all, from the sublime to the ridiculously stupid.

MARK: Thanks for tuning in and letting us ruin your commute, your workout, or whatever quiet moment you were trying to have. Remember to like, subscribe, and tell your friends that we're at least 15% better than listening to talk radio.

JOLEEN: And don't forget to send your angry emails, conspiracy theories, or secret family recipes to boise@thehappeningnetwork.com. We read them all, mostly for our own amusement. Stay safe out there, Boise. And for the love of god, don't drink and drive into a cop car.