I spent a lot of my youth camping in Idaho, and I’ve been sad to read about what is happening there. I don’t doubt any of it, but the other day I was in contact with an old friend who lives in Boise and he painted a different picture. In summary:

•After a recent election the mayor and all of the city council members are Democrats.

•The city’s economy is booming.

•It hosts a very popular indie music festival called Treehouse.

There was more, but I think you get the idea. So my question to all of our Idaho residents or people in the know: What’s the deal with Boise?

Edited to add: there are two temples so obviously there is a mormon influence.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/2024 08:21PM by botchan.

One temple in Boise the other.in Meridian. Not sure what you are asking unless you are wondering why so much growth.

Six temples in Idaho in operation, two under construction and one announced.


Temple Dedicated
Boise Idaho Temple May 25, 1984
Burley Idaho Temple Under Construction
Idaho Falls Idaho Temple September 23, 1945
Meridian Idaho Temple November 19, 2017
Montpelier Idaho Temple Under Construction
Pocatello Idaho Temple November 7, 2021
Rexburg Idaho Temple February 10, 2008
Teton River Idaho Temple Announced
Twin Falls Idaho Temple August 24, 2008



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/2024 09:35PM by tumwater.

"all of the city council members are Democrats"

I'm not sure that's a problem, but I would guess a lot of democrats are moving in. Maybe from California.

I’m sorry I wasn’t more clear. My friend who is neither mormon nor conservative, was annoyed when I mentioned some of the recent news about Idaho. He wanted me to know that even as a progressive he is enjoying his life in Boise. I guess I’m wondering if Boise is very different from the rest of Idaho? Is the rest of Idaho not as bad as people say? Is my friend’s image of Boise inaccurate? Other?

I was under the impression that Meridian is part of the greater Boise area. Are they very different? Are the temples quite far from each other? I apologize for my ignorance.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/2024 09:13PM by botchan.

Thank you Beth. No doubt what you say is true.

When people talk about doctors and teachers moving out of Idaho, I wonder if Boise is an exception or not, or if people are moving to Boise from other parts of the state.

Like I said, I have a soft spot in my heart for Idaho, and I guess I’m looking for even a small ray of sunshine.

Could it be that larger cities have a different flavor than the state at large? But for Seattle and environs, Washington wouldn’t be very blue.

Statistically Beth is correct. Basically, one of the biggest divides in the U.S. is the political and religious views of people who live in the rural U.S. versus those who live in the urban areas. Your friend's comments on Boise reflect what is happening very well

When I have questions about Idaho, I pose them to dagny, who is the heart and soul of the great state.

Boise is the biggest city. Cities are usually more blue than rural areas. Since most of Idaho has been so extreme red lately, I'm not surprised people are voting differently. Industry in Boise is different than rural Idaho too. Places like Micron and the Department of Energy attract more scientists and they tend to live in clusters.

Remember that being "Democrat" anywhere in Idaho often means Republican lite. Our state legislature is extremely conservative, so dems generally have little influence. I don't think Boise is as progressive as your friend says, based on neighborhood maps. I'm glad there are more diverse voices in Idaho than what I'm experiencing in Idaho Falls and Pocatello.

Oops. My post to Beth didn’t go where I intended.

Thank you Dagny, I was hoping you would respond. Everything you say makes sense, as always.

As I said the recent news makes me sad, and I guess I’m looking for any small ray of sunshine.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/2024 09:37PM by botchan.

Thanks. Any sunshine helps!

My bipolar brain thinks I should retire in Alexandria, Egypt. Should that come to pass, come see me!

Right now I’m investigating sea level rise and whether I want to live around expats or locals. I spent a week in Cairo when I was 30-something. I almost got arrested only once, so I consider that a win! (I got caught hanging out in an Egyptians-only no-tourists park.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/2024 12:05PM by Beth.

OMG, that sounds exotic!

And sunny and inexpensive! I can live there comfortably on my VA disability. But the Nile Delta is rising, so maybe a place 0.5 miles from the Mediterranean will be beachfront in a few years.

It looks like Boise’s mayor and city council positions are non-partisan, but the mayor is a D. https://ballotpedia.org/Boise,_Idaho

Maybe the candidates indicated a party preference when they ran?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/2024 09:43PM by Beth.

I remember some truckers getting busted for legally hauling hemp from Colorado to California after the 2018 farm bill was passed. Unfortunately for the truckers and the crop's owner, the Idaho State Police live in their own private Idaho.

https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/judge-cbd-company-must-forfeit-hemp-shipment-to-idaho-state-police/277-643fa105-fee5-4b43-a3ee-683385545d92



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/2024 12:45AM by bradley.

Boise is to Idaho as SLC is to Utah.

Boise has had a good economy for a long time. I lived there in the 90’s when it started to boom. Lot’s of Californians have moved to Boise so the politics of course reflects that influx.

People go where the jobs are, and when you live and work with lots of different people, it's not so easy to treat them as "the other" and you have to find ways to work together.

Going to the middle of nowhere works for cults like Mormonism and the People's Temple, but it's not going to work for modern day white "christian" nationalist ethnostate loons who dream of secession. The economic base isn't there. Rural red regions take in more money than they generate on their own.

anybody Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> People go where the jobs are, and when you live
> and work with lots of different people, it's not
> so easy to treat them as "the other" and you have
> to find ways to work together.
>
> Going to the middle of nowhere works for cults
> like Mormonism and the People's Temple, but it's
> not going to work for modern day white "christian"
> nationalist ethnostate loons who dream of
> secession. The economic base isn't there. Rural
> red regions take in more money than they generate
> on their own.

Your feudalism is showing.

Could be worse, Anybody, she has a wonderful house :-)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatsworth_House

Feudalism pays.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/2024 08:17AM by Soft Machine.

Yes, she does. I've seen that house on TV.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatsworth_House#In_popular_culture

Chatsworth House has been referenced in literature and used as a location set for films, television and for music videos including: Pride and Prejudice (1813); Maiden Voyage (1943); Barry Lyndon (1975); The Bounty (1984); Interceptor (1989); Pride and Prejudice (1995); Pride & Prejudice (2005);[45] Face to Face; The Duchess (2008); The Wolfman (2009); Rivers with Griff Rhys Jones (2009); Chatsworth (2012); Death Comes to Pemberley (2013); Austenland (2013); Secrets of The Manor House (2014); "Breathless Beauty, Broken Beauty" (2014); The Crown (2016) and Peaky Blinders.[46]


The previous Duchess was the last of the infamous Mitford Sisters.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/sep/12/deborah-duchess-of-devonshire-chatsworth

Boise is a conservative place but compared with Idaho Falls and the surrounding cities it is quite.liberal. Sadly, in my view, it is sacrificing quality of life for growth. Apartment buildings and huge warehouse developments (many sitting empty)seem to be springing up everywhere and roads and such are years behind the growth. They do appear to have discovered traffic roundabouts, almost 100 years after their creation, and seem to think that is the solution to traffic problems. On the bright side the governor has sent us a small.refund check from a budget surplus from over taxation while telling us it is because of brilliant governance.

>the governor has sent us a small.refund check from a budget surplus from over taxation while telling us it is because of brilliant governance.

So if you have money left over at the end of the month, that's not good budgeting? It means your employer paid you too much?

Just trying to follow the logic.

Yes, that was a year or so again. That was my first thought as well.

Somehow the governor thought it was a good idea to send everyone checks with his name on them, not too long before an election.

I suspect he heard people liked getting money when the covid crisis hit in hard times, so he tried it too. "See how I'm "helping" you!"

Then, as you pointed out, people questioned what the heck he was doing with that kind of surplus so they all had a big circle jerk about reducing property tax.

Apparently a lot of (richer) people moving here helped create a surplus.

Meanwhile, his priority shifted to finding fentanyl everywhere and going in person down to the border to stand up for something. Never mind that touchy topic about what actually kills more people and that we need immigrants for agriculture. He thinks a small check is going to make women forget what he has supported? Maybe. Who knows. At least he can talk about all the construction jobs and projects he didn't support.

I'm glad I'm not trying to juggle so many views to keep voters happy.

Thank you for the various points of view. It’s been educational.

As an aside, I looked up the Treefort music festival (not “Treehouse” which I erroneously called it in the first post) which my friend really talked up, and it looks like quite the event. It definitely doesn’t look like it would be mormon approved.

>
> The Treefort music festival
> definitely doesn’t look like
> it would be mormon approved.
>


Nothing that's fun is...

Jesus, did you design their website?

That actually does look pretty cool. Go Boise!

Idaho has a 6% tax on groceries which is a major burden in these times for many living in the state, especially in rural area with low inc

ome levels. The surplus resulted from tax increase and the slashing of various programs that affected marginalized groups like the deaf. The governor sending a paltry refund check with his name on it as if it came from his pocket is a weak gesture when the essentials of life continue to carry a 6% add on . My soapbox for the day.

I agree, kentish.

I chuckled over kentish's comment about roundabouts. Lately they are having one study after another to see if a traffic light is more expensive than building roundabouts. I only hope people learn how to drive in them!

Actually I wouldn't mind paying steep taxes if they were used to actually help the people of the state.

We barely fund our schools. The only reason we have some construction is because of federal projects. We seem to cut more and more things that help children and people in poverty. Cronyism is rampant, and not just among Mormons.

We have plenty of money for one wacky lawsuit after another against stupid things like fighting trans rights or drag queens among other issues. Lately the Republicans and Republican lites have been suing each other over who gets to manipulate elections. Our tax dollars at work!

The Idaho peculiarity that really struck me as bizarre was when I learned that the Idaho governor announced that he was AGAIN sending Idaho State Troopers to defend the US Border...  

I thought to myself, "That'll show Canada!!"

But he's not worried about Idaho's exposure to Canadians...  Nope, he's AGAIN sending them to the US border with Mexico.

LOL. Gee, I wonder why he isn't concerned about our northern border. Eye roll.

Yeah, the only illegals using the northern border in ID are polygamists going from Bonners Ferry to Cranbrook, BC. And maybe a few ID preppers going to BC for some weed.

We need immigrants for agriculture? This isn't Antebellum. America should be able to provide good, well paying jobs without exploiting undocumented people crossing the border.

dagny said "immigrants" but you read it as "undocumented. . . immigrants."

Why is that?

That's true.

>America should be able to provide good, well paying jobs without exploiting undocumented people crossing the border.

That's true too. However, I'm not confident Idaho wouldn't exploit a lot of workers, including children!

I remember, back when I was in public school (I wanted to type pubic school, but I'm not THAT juvenile!!), we used to hear that Idamaho school kids got a week off from school to pick potatoes off'en the potato trees...

Lucky tator tots!!

“Off’en?”

Good grief, you’re offal!

That's still true in several places here. Potato harvest is a big deal. I always worry about kids around some of that equipment.

I guess the kids think that is fun compared to school!

C'mon!  Given the choice between sitting under a potato tree, gazing out at the endless fields of towering sugar beets . . .

It sure beat polishing slot machines!

Meanwhile in Idaho news, on Friday, an Idaho GOP state Rep. argued against a grant that provides additional internet and computer access for rural Idahoans because he believes it is “woke” (Federal grant).

By "woke," he probably means people might care or learn about others. Who knows. They usually can't even define it. I certainly can't.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3dfGhivt8a/

This is just one more example of how people are kept stupid.

https://www.eastidahonews.com/2024/02/bundy-ranch-militant-eric-parker-says-hes-the-driving-force-behind-idaho-terrorism-bill";

"The bill “essentially guts” the state’s Terrorist Control Act, said Jim Jones, a Republican who served as Idaho’s attorney general from 1983 to 1991. Jones said he convinced the Legislature to pass the act nearly 40 years ago, in the wake of a bombing of a North Idaho priest’s home by violent white supremacists. It gave the state the power to charge criminal acts that are “dangerous to human life” and intended to influence government policy through intimidation as an “act of terrorism,” carrying elevated criminal penalties.

The new bill would change the law to apply only to those who commit violent acts who are associated with federally designated foreign terrorist organizations, like ISIS or Hamas, making it inert against actual homegrown domestic terrorists. That new definition of “domestic terrorism,” notably, would exclude Parker and the other militants at the Bundy ranch."

Unbelievable. What could possibly go wrong. This place could become more of a domestic terrorist haven than it already is.

What the hell is wrong with these people? And 6% tax on food? Compared to our 0%? Yeah, I really want a "Greater (Idiots) Idaho".

That Greater Idaho merge thing with E. Oregon doesn't seem to be in the news as much. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I hope that effort goes away but stranger things have happened.

It seems to me that food is the one thing that you *don't* want to tax. Maryland doesn't tax food (only if it's prepared as a meal.)

Add in the 17th highest gasoline tax in the country, raised by the previous governor, and you have a double essentials burden on those who can least afford it.

So much for rays of sunshine. (Sniff, sniff)

I haven’t been in the United States for more than ten years (Idaho for more than forty years). I find pretty much everything I read about the present situation befuddling.

I still dream of hiking in the Sawtooth Mountains again someday.

I haven’t been in a mormon church for more than thirty years, but enjoy lurking regularly here, though I rarely post. Thanks for all your replies.

The Sawtooths are as nice as ever.

Thanks for giving me an excuse to play know-it-all and rag about everything. There is still a lot to like about good old Idaho. Enjoy wherever you are!

Glad you’re here!

From the film Moving (to Boise) with Richard Pryor

House Buying Advice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHANLC9JtWI&ab_channel=flyman547



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2024 01:19PM by messygoop.

The ID leg obviously does not represetn most people in Boise. The largest population. Just like UT.

squirrley Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The ID leg obviously does not represetn most
> people in Boise. The largest population. Just
> like UT.

I'm sorry - what's the "ID leg"?

I think Idaho legislature.

Boise is more liberal not just because a bunch of Californians moved in, but because a bunch of people with college degrees coming there for tech jobs moved in. The fact that California is a good source for tech employees is why so many of the move-ins are from CA.

Pretty much any corporate transfer person to Boise, regardless of where they are from, would make Boise more liberal than the rest of ID.

Exactly.