By Deanna Darr

All too often, the term “awards banquet” triggers a primitive shudder—as if our most ancient ancestors had to sit around a cave with a dry meal and droning speeches about great mammoth hunts of the last season, somehow passing their dread on to future generations.

Perhaps that’s why the Idaho Press Club Best of 2012 Awards Banquet should lose the whole “awards banquet” part of the name and more accurately be called the Idaho Press Club Best of 2012 Concert, Dinner and Celebration.

No, we’re piling on the artistic license with that statement—the annual gathering of IPC members will be anything but boring when we come together on Saturday, May 18 to give some props to some of the best work produced in 2012.

For starters, Boise’s own Frim Fram 4 will start the evening off in its trademark white-jacketed, swinging style with a performance from 6-7 p.m. The blues/jazz/swing quartet recently released its latest album, I’m a Shy Guy, and is ready to show off its latest catalogue of songs.

The band has been a Treasure Valley staple for years and earned legions of dedicated fans with its style that is both retro and contemporary, accented by superior musicianship. If you’re one of the few who isn’t already a convert, check out the group’s website at frimfram4.com.

Show up at Boise Centre in the heart of downtown Boise at 6 p.m., grab a drink and mingle with friends and co-workers while you get a full hour of Frim Fram 4.

The dinner portion of the evening will begin at 7 p.m., and the menu is anything but dry. This year, attendees will select between slow-roasted prime rib with mushroom jus, horseradish and baked potato; cedar plank salmon with lemongrass buerre blanc and roasted rosemary potatoes; or eggplant parmesan with fresh mozzarella and house-made marinara. The meal will be completed with a selection of decadent desserts and coffee.

In addition to the two no-host bars, wine by the bottle will be available for purchase from the tables.

Once again, media organizations and businesses will be able to purchase a reserved table of 10 to ensure their guests are able to sit together. All other seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

The cost for attending this year’s Concert, Dinner and Celebration is $40 for Press Club members, $45 for non-members or $375 for a reserved table seating up to 10 people.

Registration will be available online at idahopressclub.org, and those reserving a table must provide a full list of attendees and their choice of entree at the time of registration. To keep things easy, payment can be done via PayPal online as well, although there is a $2 service fee per ticket for those electing to do so.

Since all media revolves around deadlines, these are the ones you need to know: pre-registration for the event is not only required, but it must by done no later than Monday, May 13. Any cancelations after Wednesday, May 15 will be charged full price and no-shows will also be billed for the full cost of the ticket.

For more information or to register, visit the IPC website at idahopressclub.org and click on the link for the Best of 2012 Awards Banquet.

Deanna Darr is the features editor of the Boise Weekly and serves on the Idaho Press Club board; she is this year’s banquet committee chair.

The Post Register’s recent legal victory against Blackfoot School District 55 was a tribute to the strength of Idaho’s sunshine laws and transparency in government. At the heart of the story was a nearly $220,000 payout from District 55 to former Superintendent Scott Crane – a deal struck during an illegal executive session.

While the discovery was satisfying; the victory wasn’t complete. In fact, the bigger truth was lost when the board, on the advice of its attorney and under threat of a lawsuit from the former superintendent, reaffirmed the questionable deal and refused to discuss its reasons for agreeing to part ways with the superintendent and pay him off with taxpayers’ funds.

Scott Crane’s abrupt retirement

It was no secret that the Blackfoot school board and Crane didn’t get along. The deteriorating relationship was a frequent on-background topic discussed by district staff. Still, it came as a surprise when, in January 2012, the board voted 3-2 not to renew Crane’s contract for a third year.

The board’s explanation was vague and filled with references about employee confidentiality. Publicly, board members denied any displeasure with Crane.

On April 24, Crane unexpectedly announced his retirement. He denied that he was forced out by the board. Instead, Crane said he wanted to move on, collect his pension and take a superintendent job in Moab, Utah.

Board members also denied forcing Crane to retire. They expressed shock at the announcement. It was obvious more was going on but no one wanted to talk about it. The story might have ended here if not for the actions of substitute teacher Joyce Bingham.

Payout contract

Bingham heard rumors that Crane received a large payout to leave. She questioned the board and was rebuffed.

“I was told it was (a) personnel (issue) and that it would not be discussed and that I needed to not ask any more questions about it,” Bingham said.

Her unease grew, when, by chance, she discovered a $105,428 contract payment made to an anonymous source while reviewing the district’s July 2012 budget. That payment was made the day after Crane left office.

Bingham requested a copy of the contract and was refused because it was a “personnel issue.”

Continued rumors caught the attention of local news media, including the Post Register.

The newspaper began reviewing budgets, meeting minutes and making numerous records requests. The April 24 minutes showed the board made an agreement with “Employee B-2012” during an 8-minute executive session.

Not so coincidentally, that was the same date Crane announced his retirement.

A majority of document requests filed by local media were denied; the board cited personnel issues. Eventually, on the recommendation of its attorney, District 55 confirmed that Employee B-2012 was Crane. District officials, board members and Crane refused to discuss the agreement, however.

While we had no direct evidence, Bingham and the Post Register began acting on the assumption that the Crane agreement and the $105,428 contract payment were related.

Open meeting violations

Convinced the Crane agreement was public record, Bingham put her money and reputation on the line by suing to force the district to reveal the document. The Post Register, working closely with Bingham, joined the lawsuit shortly after.

“Too many members of governing bodies in Idaho are either ignorant of our sunshine laws or simply flout them, and when our information requests for corrective action go unheeded we have no choice but to seek a court mandate,” Post Register Publisher Roger Plothow said.

The Post Register also sent District 55 notice of its belief that the board violated open meeting laws by making an agreement with Crane during an executive session.

The lawsuit was an unqualified success. Sixth District Judge David Nye determined the contract was not a personnel record and ordered its release within three days. He ruled that a clause inserted into the contract stating that it would be placed into Crane’s personnel file and not disclosed under the public records law was invalid, and that inserting such a clause can’t make what was clearly a public record somehow fit under the personnel records exemption.

“Everything about this case smacks of a public agency trying to hide its decision-making from the public,” Nye wrote in his December ruling.

The released separation agreement stipulated Crane receive nearly $220,000 for the remainder of his contract. The document contained instructions to be hidden in Crane’s personnel file and included a nondisclosure clause preventing Crane or the board from discussing it.

After the judge issued his ruling, the board called a special meeting.

At that meeting, district attorney Dale Storer admitted the board violated opening meeting laws during the April 24 executive session. The board also admitted a violation March 13, when, according to Storer, Crane first outlined his separation agreement. The violations occurred because neither of the executive sessions had been called to discuss Crane’s retirement.

“After consulting with our legal counsel, we find that we did err …and got into a discussion that we shouldn’t have had,” board Chairman Scott Reese said in December.

As per Idaho Code 67-2347(1), Reese declared his intention to “cure” the infringement by “declaring that all actions taken at or resulting from the meeting in violation … (are) void.” The board was given a month to void the contract or reinstate it during an open meeting.

District officials, the board and Crane still refused to discuss specific reasons for the contract. The board did, however, stand by its decision to create the contract.

Aftermath: Recalls, resignation

The revelation that District 55 paid its former superintendent $220,000 to retire, and then hid the evidence, caused massive public outcry in Blackfoot. Dozens of angry residents spoke at board meetings demanding an explanation. But residents never received one.

During a January board meeting, Crane’s attorney’s made it clear that if the board voided the separation agreement or revealed the circumstances leading up to the agreement, Crane would sue the district for breach of contract.

Trustee Taylor Johansen took a stand and argued the public had a right to know why the district agreed to the contract.

Johansen implied Crane forced the district into the agreement by threatening a lawsuit if they did not agree. A payout was cheaper than a lawsuit, he said. Johansen refused to elaborate on the Crane’s threat without the permission of legal counsel.

Amy White, the district’s interim attorney, advised the board that since the action regarding the open meeting violation wasn’t commenced within 30 days, the contract wasn’t automatically voided. “The Idaho Supreme Court … has held that unless an action, which is in violation of an open meeting act, is challenged in 30 days, the action is valid and stands,” White said in January.

She recommended the board not discuss its reasons for the contract. The board voted to reaffirm the separation agreement as legally binding and announced the matter was closed.

It was a frustrating end. Nothing in the Open Meeting Law prevented the board from explaining its actions or choosing not to reaffirm the contract. Still, a limit longer than 30 days to challenge illegal closed meetings would allow more recourse and review.

We may never know why the board agreed to the contract, but the board’s actions did have consequences.  Recall efforts recently were initiated, two board members resigned and another has opted not to run for reelection.

The remaining board members will stand for election in May.

Nate Sunderland is a reporter for the Idaho Falls Post Register who covered the Blackfoot School District story.

It’s been a good year for openness in government in Idaho. There are a lot of reasons for that, but I’d like to focus on four in particular, all four of which came out of – believe it or not – this year’s Idaho legislative session.

The first one didn’t start off like something good. The state Department of Administration proposed legislation to make all surveillance video exempt from the Idaho public records law. This happened just after a shot from a surveillance video at the state Capitol – of an armed man rifling through lawmakers’ desks in the House chamber – had appeared on the front page of the Idaho Statesman newspaper, so it seemed odd timing.

It turned out the same guy had requested extensive surveillance video of himself at the Capitol the previous year, and that’s what prompted the proposed shutdown. Word was, the man may have been trying to determine where the “blind spots” in the state’s surveillance system were. HB 207 would “provide that public records of security systems in place to protect public buildings and their occupants are exempt from disclosure.”

This caused us concern on a number of levels. High among them: The Associated Press broke a big story in the past year about violence at the privately run state prison south of Boise, that included video of a shocking beating of an inmate by other inmates while guards looked on. Were they trying to keep that stuff secret?

Not to mention that Capitol video that provided fodder for some excellent news reporting about how lawmakers were reacting to folks carrying guns in the Statehouse, even as they were promoting laws designed to go the extra mile to protect gun rights. Clearly, these were public records about what was happening in public buildings, and the state was trying to make them secret.

Others had concerns as well, including the ACLU of Idaho, which was particularly concerned about prison videos, and the Idaho Newspaper Association.

The really great ending? After our pro-bono lobbyist, Julie Hart of Shift Public Affairs, and the INA’s lobbyist, Jeremy Pisca, met with the director of the state Department of Administration, Teresa Luna, she withdrew the bill, saying she had no intention of impacting policy at prisons or other agencies. Something more specific could re-emerge next year, but that bill was dead for the session.

The second one involves an issue also related to public records: The live video streams of the proceedings of the Legislature and its committees. Legislative leaders in the past had refused to allow those streams to be archived, for fear courts would interpret the videos as the official record of the proceedings, rather than the journals of the House and Senate, as provided in the state Constitution, and the legislation itself.

They were prompted to reconsider in part because the Idaho Freedom Foundation started capturing its own videos of the streams and posting them in its own online archives. Over the course of the session, legislative leaders, and most notably Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, worked closely with the press, the Freedom Foundation and others to develop appropriate guidelines for new video archiving rules, and both houses of the Legislature approved them. Now, Idaho Public Television’s live streams won’t vanish after a week – they’ll be available for history and posterity.

The third item was a broad public records exemption included in SB 1133, a bill ostensibly about school safety and security, a high priority nationwide in the wake of the Newtown school shootings this year. The bill added a new section to state law requiring schools to develop and submit security plans to the state, and then added this wording to the Idaho Public Records Law’s list of exemptions: “School security plans, threat assessment results and related annual reports to the state board of education, as provided in section 33-1804,

 Idaho Code.”

The thinking: Bad guys shouldn’t be able to make public records requests for the results of threat assessments showing where schools have security loopholes, which they could then exploit. The problem with this: The public records law already exempts those. It exempts “Records of buildings, facilities, infrastructures and systems held by or in the custody of any public agency only when the disclosure of such information would jeopardize the safety of persons or the public safety,” and adds, “Such records may include emergency evacuation, escape or other emergency response plans, vulnerability assessments, operation and security manuals, plans, blueprints or security codes.”

The new exemption would go beyond that, making secret the entire process of determining whether school districts are complying with new state requirements to protect student safety. There would be no public accountability, no statistical reports on how many districts are in compliance, not even any opportunity for parents to find out if their kids’ school’s safety procedures are up to snuff.

Our pleas to the sponsor went unheeded in the Senate, but when the bill hit the House committee, committee members added their own concerns, as did Julie and lobbyists for the Freedom Foundation and the ACLU. We participated in drafting a slew of amendments to the bill, but when it came up on the House’s amending order, those committee amendments didn’t get considered – instead, the bill became a vehicle for a late-session “radiator capping” procedure, in which its entire contents were stripped out and replaced with the text of two House-passed gun rights laws that never got hearings in the Senate. The amended bill then died.

We shed no tears. When the issue comes back in the future, we’ll be watching to make sure our concerns are addressed and public accountability preserved.

This brings us to the fourth item, one on which we started work last year. At that time, a flurry of public records requests flew around the Senate as all us reporters sought to stay on top of a major scandal that led to the resignation of the Senate’s majority caucus chairman, then-Sen. John McGee, amid charges of sexually harassing a Senate staffer.

The problem: Traditionally, the Legislature hadn’t designated a specific custodian for public records requests for things like emails of individual lawmakers, essentially leaving each lawmaker to deal with them on his or her own. So what happens when that lawmaker has resigned? And are the members themselves really the best ones to be retrieving the emails from the state’s system?

Our lobbyists worked throughout the session, particularly with Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill and House Speaker Scott Bedke, and legislative leaders from both parties and both houses enthusiastically signed on. New Senate and House rules designating a single custodian for public records requests in each body passed unanimously; this will make the process of requesting public records easier on both the public and the Legislature.

Throughout the legislative session, our First Amendment Committee, chaired by Idaho Press Club Vice President Todd Dvorak, met weekly for brown-bag lunches with our lobbyists, Julie and her partner Nate Fisher and tracked and stayed on top of legislation that affects our right to know what’s going on in our government. I’d like to thank Todd, Julie, Nate, and all the members of the committee for their good work this year. It’s something to celebrate!

    Betsy Russell is a Boise-based reporter for The Spokesman-Review, and is president of the Idaho Press Club.

There’s a new education news website in the Idaho Capitol this year, but the reporters who are writing about disputes over the education budget, new teacher contract laws and additional funding for charter schools are all familiar faces.

Idaho Education News includes Clark Corbin, the former legislative reporter at the Idaho Falls Post-Register, and Kevin Richert, the longtime editorial page editor for the Idaho Statesman in Boise.

The website, breathed into life following voters’ defeat of public schools chief Tom Luna’s education reforms, is being coordinated through Boise State University’s Idaho Leads Project, a program bankrolled by the Albertson Foundation to focus on strengthening leadership capacity in Idaho’s K-12 schools.

There’s another familiar face behind the project, too: Jennifer Swindell, a former longtime reporter and editor at the Idaho Statesman who is now the Idaho Leads Project’s communication director.

Swindell says in her work with the Idaho Leads Project, people kept saying they wanted a forum dedicated to covering public education news.

This isn’t the first non-traditional news organization in the Idaho Capitol. Idaho Reporter, funded by the free-market think tank Idaho Freedom Foundation, has been in the statehouse for several years.

Idaho Education News, at www.idahoednews.org, is modeled after a similar education-linked reporting project in Colorado that’s funded by the Gates Family Foundation, among other groups.

There, Education News Colorado bills itself as the only news service “devoted to continuing, in-depth coverage of education policymaking in the legislature and state government and to comprehensive coverage and serious analysis of such issues as school choice, accountability and education reform.”

Swindell traveled to Denver to meet with its leaders, to glean ideas amid the scramble to get her site off the ground ahead of the Legislature’s Jan. 7 start this year.

In addition, employees from Education News Colorado have traveled to Idaho to provide more input on the new project.

“We’re fortunate to use their experience, sharing their experiences with us,” Swindell said. “We’re not starting completely from scratch.”

In addition to original reporting about education legislation and policy by its reporters, the Idaho website includes areas for columns from experts and others about topics related to improving schools and helping students in Idaho.

There’s a Facebook page, too; as of March 27, 266 people had “liked” it.

Readers can post comments, too, though Swindell hopes one important requirement will help to elevate the tone of feedback above the standard fare offered by anonymous posters on many newspaper websites: Anybody wishing to weigh in must also provide their first and last names.

BSU’s Center for School Improvement & Policy Studies got an 18-month, $3.85 million grant from the Albertson Foundation to start the Idaho Leads Project; the addition of this website project has resulted in another $100,000 contribution from the Boise-based foundation.

The Albertson Foundation and its leaders are active players in education policy and politics in Idaho.

For instance, after Luna introduced his proposed overhaul in 2011, the foundation ran supportive advertisements including in Idaho newspapers. The Albertson Foundation has also contributed significant sums to promote nontraditional schools in Idaho, including charter and virtual schools.

In addition, Joe B. Scott, the chairman of the foundation board and a grandson of the supermarket founder, contributed $250,000 ahead of the Nov. 6 election to a political action committee that ran campaign advertisements promoting Luna’s overhaul.

Swindell said precautions have been taken to ensure the editorial independence of Idaho Education News.

Neither members of the Albertson Foundation board nor its staff will be allowed to intervene in its editorial policy or the coverage decisions of the website’s reporters, she said. In addition, the site won’t sell advertising.

She said content from the site will be offered to news outlets across Idaho, for use for free, in an effort to reach as broad an audience as possible. Among other outlets, the Idaho Statesman and Idaho Press-Tribune have used stories from Idaho Education News, while the Spokesman-Review’s Eye on Boise blog regularly links to stories by Corbin and Richert.

“We’re existing to help make Idaho citizens more informed and more involved in the future of our kids,” Swindell said. “For BSU and the Albertson Foundation, this is so important, they’re willing to make a pretty big investment.”

John Miller is a reporter in Boise for the Associated Press, and just completed a term on the Idaho Press Club board.

In December, Judge David Nye handed down a decision in a public records case.  Based on this analysis, there are several instructive points for the press and public as they engage in governmental oversight.  This case is particularly instructive because Judge Nye expressly acknowledges, “Yet, everything about this case smacks of a public agency trying to hide its decision-making from the public.”

First, don’t just rattle your saber.  Once Joyce Bingham made her request and it was denied, she hired an attorney.  This might have been the most important step Bingham took in securing her rights under the Idaho Public Records Law.  Under Idaho Code § 9-343 the sole remedy is to bring a complaint in the district court where the records are located.  The best way to claim that remedy is by hiring an attorney.  The single best way to insure your rights are protected is to hire an attorney.

Second, be wary.  It is exceptionally difficult for a public agency entering into a contract with a public employee requiring the expenditure of public money to then claim that it is exempt from public records disclosure!  Within the Blackfoot case, the school district tried to claim that the agreement was a personnel record, which the press appeared willing to accept as a justification.  Only after Bingham hired an attorney, filed a complaint, and scheduled a hearing did the press file a petition for public writings.

Third—the test for a public record is simple:

• Any document
• Containing information relating to conduct or administration of public business
• Regardless of form.

Within the Blackfoot case, the school district claimed that the agreement was exempt from disclosure because it was a personnel record.  But the court evaluated the agreement to determine whether it was a product of the job, or an evaluation of performance of the job.  The former is not a personnel record, while the latter is.  As a separation agreement, it clearly did not meet the evaluation test with regard to the personnel record exemption.

This conclusion leads to two final important points.  A public entity cannot simply label a document with a title that places it into an exempt category—the content of the document must actually fit the exemption.  And, a public entity cannot create an exemption when there is none by creating a confidentiality clause within an agreement.  There should be existing authority for the creation of the confidentiality clause in order for a governmental entity to include one in an agreement or otherwise public record.

Don’t be afraid to challenge claims of exemption.  Idaho’s Public Records Law is designed to provide transparency and oversight of the government’s business.  As reflected in the Blackfoot case, sometimes the best case for Idaho’s Public Records Law is made to a judge—so be prepared to make your case!

Brian Kane is the assistant chief deputy attorney general of the state of Idaho, and an authority on the state’s public records and open meeting laws.

Whether you are a journalist, a public official or a private citizen, you have rights and responsibilities under Idaho’s Open Meeting and Public Records laws. Now it is easier to find out what to do if you are denied a document or barred from a public meeting.  Idaho Public Television and Idahoans for Openness in Government have updated their award winning Open Idaho website to reflect recent changes in state statutes.

On the Open Idaho website, you’ll find eight videos that go through the “dos and don’ts” of how the state’s Open Meeting and Public Records laws should be applied. In addition, the Open Idaho website contains detailed resources to help journalists and citizens access government meetings and documents and information to train and support public employees responsible for administering these laws.

Joe Golden and Tom Willmorth, a.k.a. The Fool Squad, star in the videos. As part of the update, the steaming versions of the videos on the website were closed captioned for hearing impaired.

Members of Idahoans for Openness in Government (IDOG) now have an special DVD version of the Open Idaho project that’s available for training sessions, in addition to the live seminars IDOG conducts periodically around the state with Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden.

If you are ever denied a public document or denied access to a public meeting or court proceeding or even if you just have a question about these two statutes, help is available.  Send an email via the Open Idaho website’s “Contact Us” form and someone from the Idaho Press Club or Idahoans for Openness in Government will respond.

Find out more about your rights at the Open Idaho website: www.openidaho.org

What to do if you are denied a public document?

If you are denied a record, ask to speak to the custodian of the records in question. Ask the custodian to cite the exemption under which you are being denied the document. Be sure to note their answer. Next ask for written denial and request information about the appeals process for the agency holding the document. Follow their procedures. You have the right to formally appeal the denial of your public record in the local district court.  -From the Open Idaho website

What to do if you think Idaho’s Open Meeting Law is being violated:

If a meeting is being closed, ask: ”Under what provision of the Idaho Open Meeting Law do you intend to close this meeting? Has a two-thirds majority voted to close the meeting, and has that vote been recorded in the minutes?”

If you object to the closure, say: “I object to the closure of this meeting, and I note for the record that any action taken in an illegally closed meeting is null and void. Furthermore, each member of the governing body who knowingly participates in an illegally closed meeting can face fines. I also remind the board that even in a valid executive session, no final action or decision can be made. The Idaho Open Meeting Law requires all decisions to be made in public. I ask that my objection be noted in the minutes.”

-From the Open Idaho website

 Joan Cartan-Hansen is a reporter, producer and host at Idaho Public Television, produced the Open Idaho project, and is the treasurer of the Idaho Press Club board.

Sadie Babits

Name: Sadie Babits

Job: News Director for Boise State Public Radio

Education: B.A. Political Science / International Relations; minor in Mass Communication from Boise State

    Where are you originally from? I’ve lived so many places – Portland, Denver, Washington, D.C. (briefly), Flagstaff, Arizona. But I call Boise my home and I’m originally from Salmon, Idaho, where I grew up.

    What brought you back to Idaho and BSPR? A great opportunity to lead Idaho’s largest public radio newsroom! My husband Nate and I love Boise and he had just received his doctorate and was living in Portland, Oregon. I was an assistant news director in Denver, Colorado and we really wanted to bring our lives back together. BSPR was searching for a new news director and Nate really wanted to open a clinic in Boise. So in 2011, I became the news director at BSPR and Nate launched Trailhead Chiropractic. We are both happy to have roles in this community we both love.

    What draws you most to radio journalism? I’ve always felt that the voice alone carries so much emotion and when you combine it with reporting and storytelling, you have journalism that takes listeners on a journey.

What is the most memorable story you have covered? I’ve been lucky to cover many memorable stories, from Jack Hemingway’s funeral 13 years ago, to the Jarbidge Rebellion in rural Nevada, to covering the Tour de France and the Olympics. So it’s hard to choose. But I will never forget being in Kenya reporting on illegal charcoal production. I met a man living in a tiny village with his wife and 10 kids, barely able to feed his family. The only way he could was to make charcoal, which is illegal in Kenya, and then essentially smuggle it to the market in Nairobi. I can still see his face and the faces of his children. Heart-breaking.

    Who is the most interesting person you’ve interviewed? I’ve interviewed so many interesting people from the leader of the band Churchill to Lance Armstrong – pre-doping scandal – to authors like Alan Heathcock and Craig Childs. So I’m going to go with my most recent interview with Academy Award-winning actress Jodie Foster at the Sun Valley Film Festival. We did the interview in a storage closet at nexStage Theatre in Ketchum. It had been turned into a sort of green room. She was really down to earth and we talked about directing films and why she loves downhill skiing in Sun Valley.

    If you could interview anyone, who would it be and what would you ask them? I would love to meet Bono of U2 fame. I’d ask him about his humanitarian work and how he’s able to stay so relevant after all of these years.

   What are some things BSPR has accomplished in the last year that you’re most proud of? I’m really proud of how our newsroom has grown in the last two years and some of the special projects we’re a part of, including our collaboration with NPR on StateImpact Idaho. I was hired right when BSPR found out it would be one of eight states in the country to be a part of this national-local collaboration. I hired our StateImpact team and launched the project nearly two years ago. We’re pushing forward data driven journalism through this collaboration and providing niche reporting you can’t find anywhere else. I’m proud of the work we’ve done and the stories that we’ve been able to tell digitally and on air.

I’m also happy to say that by the end of this year our news team will be in a new facility that will be a state of the art newsroom complete with new studios. I’m really thankful to be in a position that has me providing input on a new newsroom design, working with our management team on strategic plans, and launching a series of community engagement events in the coming months. I have a dynamic role which means that no day is the same. I see great things for public radio in Idaho and I feel lucky to be a part of it!

    I know you do some arts reporting. What are some hidden gems in Boise (artists, places, music, anything) that people should definitely check out? Boise has an emerging art scene that in the last couple of years has really taken off. There’s so much creative energy and we’re seeing that through events like Treefort Music Fest and Modern Art.

I’m working on a profile right now about artist and illustrator Bill Carman, whose work is currently showing at the Brumfield Gallery in Hyde Park. His work is imaginative and lets you find your own stories in every painting. Also there are some interesting shows at the Linen Building’s Gallery. Artists such as painter Bill Lewis are part of a series of exhibits around the creative process. A show called “Unfinished” just closed where artists like Lewis work to complete unfinished art. Now he’s a part of a new show at the Gallery focused on collaboration.

There’s also a monthly series called BliP happening at Hyde Park books where local authors have live reads of their plays.

Ever had any embarrassing or totally unplanned on-air moments? One of the most embarrassing moments was while I was working in my first radio gig at KSRA in Salmon, Idaho. The general manager at the time wanted me to learn to stay calm in any situation on the air. He proceeded to make funny faces at me while I was on the air one day. I couldn’t keep the laughter in and just busted out laughing live on the air. For those who know me, I have a very loud laugh.

When you’re not working hard or volunteering with the IPC Board, what do you like to do? I absolutely love being outside and I’m a bit of an adrenaline junky. So I spend a lot of time mountain biking, skate skiing in the winter and hiking all year round with my husband Nate and our lab Jacques. I practice yoga and have been known to do a pose or two out in Boise’s Foothills. And I almost always have a couple of books I’m reading.

Anything else unique we should know about you? I’m proud to have grown up in Salmon, Idaho where I had an amazing childhood which included being crowned the 1995 Salmon River Rodeo Queen. I still have my belt buckle and crown.

Business reporter Holly Beech is the reporter for Meridian Press, a new weekly newspaper that launched Jan. 25, 2013. Beech is a graduate of Northwest Nazarene University. Local Editor Charlotte Wiemerslage handles day-to-day news operations for the new product.

Night Reporter Torrie Cope is the new business reporter after serving as night reporter for a year at the Nampa newspaper.

Rebecca DeLeon, former editor in chief for The Arbiter at Boise State University and recent BSU graduate, is the new night reporter at the Idaho Press-Tribune. DeLeon previously held internships at the Idaho Press-Tribune and Times-News. Dave Southorn, who worked at the Idaho Press-Tribune for seven years, covering BSU, recently accepted a sports writing job at the Idaho Statesman.

COEUR D’ALENE PRESS

Bill Buley, city editor for the past 12 years, left to become editor in chief of The Garden Island on Kauai. Reporter Alecia Warren left for a position with Mass Media in Las Vegas.

IDAHO STATESMAN

Nate Poppino is the new website manager/breaking news editor; he was formerly city/managing editor for the Twin Falls Times-News. Zach Kyle, new business reporter focused on housing, banking and finance and the nexus of business and government, was formerly a reporter at the Idaho Falls Post Register.

Departing staffers include Patrick Orr, public safety reporter. He will become a community resource officer for the Ada County Sheriff’s Office. Bob Lockey, web developer, will become the web marketing specialist for Blue Cross Idaho. Former online/breaking news reporter and editor Meghann Cuniff left for a reporting position in the Beach Bureau of the Orange County Register.

TWIN FALLS TIMES-NEWS

New business/food reporter and Sunday editor Joe Cadotte comes to the Times-News from Duluth, Minn. New copy editor Eric Goodell returns to the Times-News, where he worked previously until 2011. City/Managing Editor Nate Poppino departs for a position at the Idaho Statesman.

BOISE WEEKLY

Zach Hagadone has been named the new editor in chief.  Previously publisher/editor of the Sandpoint Reader, Hagadone has been a regular contributor to BW and served a stint as the paper’s business editor in 2010.  Hagadone takes over for Rachael Daigle, who left the paper in October 2012

IDAHO PUBLIC TELEVISION

Greg Hahn, former host of Idaho Reports, has departed for a new position as vice president for communications at Boise State University. General Manager Peter Morrill has announced his upcoming retirement; the State Board of Education is launching a search for his replacement. Morrill will continue in the post through the summer and will assist with the transition.

KTVB—TV

Briana Carr is a new digital media producer.  She was last with FOX Sports in Los Angeles.  Karen Zatkulak, reporter, recently came from WTVC in Chattanooga, TN.  Tyson Miller has been promoted from web producer to producer of News at Six.  Brandon O’Rourke is now the executive producer of Today’s Morning News. Producer Julia Dodson has left KTVB.

KBOI—TV

Carrol Carreau joins KBOI as news director.  She came from CNN in Atlanta.  New reporter  Sarah Brodie came from KEZI in Eugene.

KIVI– TV

Bri Eggers joins as a new morning weatherperson.  She came from KINF radio.  Gemma Gaudette, morning anchor, left to take a position with the University of Idaho.

KPVI—TV

Dave Martinson is the new weekend anchor/reporter.   He is a graduate of BYU-Idaho.

KLEW– TV

Sophia Miraglio was recently promoted to full-time news reporter and weather anchor.  Veronica Miracle, reporter, is now the anchor for the weeknight newscast.  Matt Sizemore, reporter/anchor joined KLEW in March.  He came from KVAY-FM Radio in Lamar, CO.

Christine Boggy, sports reporter/anchor left to go to NTV in Nebraska.  Whitney Hise, news reporter/anchor left to pursue other options.   Meg MacNamara, news anchor/producer left to do freelance work.