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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 31st, 2026. I'm Mark.
JOLEEN: And I'm Joleen. Today, we've got a fake pro athlete running a very real million-dollar scam, the school district going high-tech with electric buses and artificial brains, and the Boise Hawks putting up a score that looks like they were playing on the wrong field. Let's get into the news.
MARK: We've got to start with the most audacious hustle I've heard in a long time, and unfortunately for the local reputation, the FBI caught up with the guy right here in Boise last week. A man named Daejon Love was arrested on August 24th for allegedly pretending to be a wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers to scam at least twenty-six women out of over one point three million dollars. He wasn't just telling people he was an athlete at the bar, he went the full distance with fake contracts, 49ers gear, and even hosted FaceTime calls showing victims falsified investment gains from his 'pro career'. He apparently told these women he was looking for investment partners for new business opportunities, and people bought it because they thought they were getting in on the ground floor with an NFL star. It's almost impressive if it weren't so incredibly cruel, he apparently wooed these women and then vanished once the bank accounts were empty.
JOLEEN: Cruel is the right word, but I'm sitting here wondering how on earth he explained away the fact that he was hanging out in Boise on a Sunday in the middle of football season. If you're a wide receiver for the Niners, you're usually busy running routes in Santa Clara or flying to an away game, not grabbing a burger downtown. But honestly, the sophistication of the scam is what's terrifying, he used gear and fake documents and even had an accomplice helping him maintain the illusion of success. The FBI says there might even be more victims out there, which makes sense because if you've got the confidence to pull that off, you probably aren't stopping at twenty-six people. It's a massive wake-up call for anyone on the dating apps, if a guy says he's a professional athlete but he's got all the time in the world to text you on a game day, something's probably wrong.
MARK: The logic is usually the first thing to go when someone's flashing a fake million-dollar contract in your face, I guess. But speaking of real contracts and long sentences, we also had a major drug trafficking leader sentenced in federal court on August 27th. Juan Carlos Delfin, who was running a massive meth operation from Mexico straight into the Treasure Valley, is going away for thirty years. This wasn't some small-time operation, they were moving huge quantities of methamphetamine through Oregon and Idaho, and a federal judge decided three decades was the right price for that kind of enterprise. It's one of those headlines that reminds you that despite Boise's 'big small town' vibe, we're definitely dealing with big-city crime problems as the region grows.
JOLEEN: Thirty years is a heavy hammer, but for a pipeline that's funneling that much poison into our neighborhoods, I'm not sure anyone's going to be shedding tears for him. It's a reminder that being a 'logistics hub' for the Northwest has its dark side when the cargo isn't just Amazon packages. I'm glad to see the feds are actually making these sentences stick because we've seen so much growth lately that it feels like the infrastructure for crime is trying to keep pace with the infrastructure for everything else. I'd much rather talk about the city's actual infrastructure, like the Boise School District's new fleet of buses, which feels like a much better use of everyone's time and money than managing drug pipelines or fake NFL players.
MARK: The school district is definitely having a big tech week, they just unveiled eight brand new electric school buses on Wednesday. They're part of a push to modernize the fleet, and while they look like the same yellow buses we're used to, they're obviously a lot quieter and supposedly much cheaper to maintain in the long run. Of course, I'm waiting for the first winter morning when the heater and the battery have to fight it out for survival, but for now, they're the new pride of the district. It's a big investment, and it's interesting to see Boise leading the charge on this kind of thing, though I'm sure the neighbors near the bus depot are just happy about the lack of diesel fumes at six in the morning.
JOLEEN: Oh, come on, you know those buses are going to be great for the kids' health, and honestly, the silence is a blessing. But that's not even the biggest tech news from the district, they also announced a new partnership with OpenAI to give teachers and administrators access to ChatGPT Edu. It's a special version of the AI that's built specifically for universities and K-through-twelve schools, meant to help with lesson planning and administrative tasks without the privacy risks of the public version. They aren't rolling it out to the students just yet, it's strictly for the staff to help manage the workload, which I think is a smart move. Teachers are already overworked, so if an AI can help them grade a hundred history quizzes or draft a syllabus in half the time, why wouldn't we want that?
MARK: I'm sure the teachers are thrilled to have a digital assistant, but I've got to wonder how long it'll take for a student to hack into the system and have the AI write their own report cards. It's a brave new world when the school district is officially partnered with the company that basically invented the modern way to cheat on an essay. But if it actually helps them stay focused on teaching instead of paperwork, I'm all for it, especially since we've got enough drama in the district as it is. It's funny how we're going high-tech with AI while still dealing with the same old-school problems, like our local politicians arguing about their property taxes.
JOLEEN: You're talking about Mike Moyle, aren't you? The Speaker of the House is back at it, challenging his family's property tax values again this month. It's become a bit of an annual tradition for him at this point, but it definitely rubs people the wrong way when the guy who's largely responsible for writing the tax laws is also the one fighting the loudest to lower his own bill. He's arguing that the assessment on his family's land is too high, which is a right every citizen has, but when you're the Speaker, the optics aren't exactly great. It just highlights the ongoing frustration everyone in the Treasure Valley has with property taxes, as values keep skyrocketing and the legislature keeps trying to find a fix that actually works.
MARK: It's the ultimate 'rules for thee, but not for me' scenario, or at least that's how it looks to the average homeowner who's seeing their assessment jump twenty percent while their wages stay flat. But he's playing the game by the rules that exist, so you can't really blame him for using the tools he's got. It does make the conversation about eliminating property taxes altogether, which the state GOP was talking about earlier this summer, feel a lot more personal for the guys in charge. If they can't even agree on what a single farm in Ada County is worth, how are they going to manage the entire state's budget without that revenue? It's a mess, and it's the kind of mess that makes you want to go hide in a dark restaurant with a plate of good food and forget about the government for a while.
JOLEEN: That's exactly why I want to talk about Ansots, the Basque spot in Old Boise. They were just named a James Beard finalist for Outstanding Hospitality in the entire country, which is a massive deal. It's run by Dan Ansotegui and his family, and if you haven't been there, you're missing out on some of the best chorizo and croquetas you'll ever have. It's not just the food, though, it's the way they treat you when you walk in the door, it feels like you've been invited into their actual kitchen. For a place in Boise to be one of only five finalists in the nation for hospitality is a huge win for our local food scene, and it's a testament to the Basque heritage that's so deep-rooted here.
MARK: I'll admit, the food at Ansots is legit, even if I usually have to wait for a table because the secret's definitely out. The James Beard nod is impressive, but I'm just happy they haven't changed the vibe now that they're national stars. It's still that cozy, family-run atmosphere where the staff actually knows the menu. If you're going to go, you've got to try the clams with chorizo, it's probably the most consistent dish in the city. It's nice to see a local place get recognized for actually being good at service, which feels like a lost art in a lot of the newer, flashier spots that have opened up downtown lately.
JOLEEN: It really is a lost art, and I think that's why they stand out so much. But let's shift from fine dining to the diamond, because we've got to talk about what happened with the Boise Hawks this weekend. They were playing the Great Falls Voyagers on Saturday and the final score was thirty-six to ten. Thirty-six runs! I had to double-check my phone because I thought I was looking at a high school football score or maybe a very lopsided basketball game. I've seen some high-scoring games in the Pioneer League before, but thirty-six is just absolute madness. It's like the Voyagers just gave up and started tossing water balloons at the plate by the sixth inning.
MARK: At some point, you've got to feel a little bad for the other team, but a thirty-six to ten victory is certainly one way to spend a Saturday night. It's one of those games where the box score looks like a glitch in the simulation, but the Hawks have been on a bit of a tear lately. They're sitting at over five hundred for the season now, and with that kind of offensive power, I wouldn't want to be the next pitcher they face. It's a great time to be a fan out at Memorial Stadium, though I imagine the guys working the scoreboard were probably exhausted by the time the ninth inning rolled around.
JOLEEN: I'm sure they were! And while we're on the subject of high scores, high school football officially kicked off its 2026 season with Week Zero over the weekend. Boise High had a massive win against Capital on Thursday night, finishing forty-two to twenty-seven. It's great to see the Brave starting the season with that kind of momentum, especially since they've been working so hard to build that program up over the last couple of years. Capital's always a tough opponent, so a fifteen-point win right out of the gate is a statement. Friday night was just as busy across the valley, and it feels like autumn is finally here, even if the thermometer today doesn't quite agree yet.
MARK: It's Week Zero, which is still a weird name for the start of the season, but the energy is definitely back. Boise High's offense looked sharp, but I'm always more interested in seeing how these teams hold up once the weather actually turns. Right now, they're playing in ninety-degree heat, which is brutal for kids in full pads. We've also got the Hawks continuing their homestand, so if you're a sports fan in this town, you're pretty much set for the next few days. Just make sure you've got plenty of water and maybe a shady spot in the bleachers if you're heading out to any of these games.
JOLEEN: Water and shade are definitely the keywords for today, but we've also got to talk about the traffic, because it's about to get a lot worse for downtown commuters. Starting today, Monday, August 31st, the intersection of Whitewater Park Boulevard and Main Street is closed for sewer line work. This isn't just a little lane shift, the entire intersection is shut down as part of a development project, and it's expected to stay that way until at least September 13th. If you usually take Main Street to get onto the connector or head toward Chinden, you're going to have to find a new way to live your life for the next two weeks. The detour sends everyone up to State Street, which is already a nightmare on a good day, so I'd suggest leaving about twenty minutes earlier than you think you need to.
MARK: It's another example of private development causing public headaches, and closing a major intersection like Whitewater and Main on the first day of the week is certainly a choice. I'm sure the people living in the North End and the West End are going to love having all that diverted traffic cutting through their neighborhoods. And that's not the only project, we've also got the ongoing work at State and Pierce Park Lane where they're realigning the intersection. It's great that they're trying to make it safer, but I think we're at the point where there's more orange cone than actual asphalt in this city. If you aren't dodging a sewer repair, you're dodging a road widening, it's just the tax we pay for living in a place where everyone else wants to live too.
JOLEEN: It's the Boise tax, for sure! But speaking of taxes and the heat, let's look at the weather forecast for the week. Today is going to be the hottest day of the stretch, with a high of ninety-one degrees and plenty of sun. It's definitely feeling like summer's last stand, but things are going to get interesting starting tomorrow. On Tuesday, we're looking at a high of eighty-nine, but there's a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. The real shift happens Wednesday, when the high drops all the way down to seventy-nine. Seventy-nine degrees! That's going to feel like a dream after the heatwaves we've been dealing with lately. We might even see some more thunderstorms Wednesday night into Thursday morning.
MARK: I'll believe the seventy-nine degrees when I actually feel it, but the National Weather Service seems pretty confident about this cooling trend. Thursday's looking even better with a high of seventy-eight and some clouds, and we're looking at overnight lows in the low fifties by the end of the week. That's finally open-window weather, which I'm sure everyone's power bill is going to appreciate. It's a bit of a rollercoaster, though, because we go from ninety-one today to stormy on Tuesday and then a twenty-degree drop by Wednesday. Just make sure you aren't leaving your car windows down tomorrow afternoon unless you want a free interior detailing from the clouds.
JOLEEN: Good advice! And that cooler weather is arriving just in time for one of the biggest events of the year. The Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic starts this Wednesday, September 2nd, and runs through Sunday at Ann Morrison Park. Even if you aren't a morning person, it's worth getting up for the dawn launches. There's something really peaceful about seeing dozens of those massive balloons lifting off over the river while the city is still waking up. They've got the Night Glow on Friday evening too, which is always a crowd-favorite, and the weather looks like it's going to be perfect for it. Cool enough to enjoy being outside, but not so cold that you're shivering while you watch the balloons light up.
MARK: The Balloon Classic is one of the few things that's actually worth the crowds, mostly because you can see it from almost anywhere downtown if you don't feel like fighting for a parking spot at the park. If you're looking for something else to do this weekend, the Sun Valley Music Festival is wrapping up its summer season today, so if you're up for a drive, that's a great final classical performance. Back here in town, we've also got the Sweeney Todd production happening at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, which is a bit of a darker vibe for a summer night, but definitely a great show. And don't forget the Music on the Mountain series up at Bogus Basin this Saturday, September 5th, it's the perfect way to spend a cool afternoon in the trees.
JOLEEN: It's a busy week for a town that's supposed to be winding down for the season. Between the balloons and the music and the Hawks' high-scoring games, there's no excuse to be bored. Just remember to watch out for those road closures on Main Street, because nothing ruins a nice weekend faster than being stuck in a detour for forty minutes. We're going to wrap things up here, but we'll be back next week with more updates on everything happening in the valley. If you're enjoying the show, please make sure to follow or subscribe on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode.
MARK: And if you've got a story tip or just want to tell us how much you hate the new traffic detours, you can reach us at boise at the happening network dot com. We love hearing from you, even if it's just to complain about the weather or the price of property taxes. We'll see you next Monday, Boise.
JOLEEN: Have a great week, stay cool today, and good luck with that Main Street commute!