austin

Austin

chicago

Chicago

denver

Denver

lasvegas

Las Vegas

madison

Madison

nashville

Nashville

philly

Philly

pittsburgh

Pittsburgh

portland

Portland

saltlake

Salt Lake

seattle

Seattle

twincities

Twin Cities

We make podcasts and newsletters that connect people with the cities they love.

City Cast Boise

Make Boise better, one neighbor at a time.

Unless you’re living under a very cool rock (send the address, please), you might notice that it’s getting a little warm. Boise is on watch to pass the city’s 

all-time record high temperature of 111°

 tomorrow and Thursday, which was set in 1898.

Perhaps even more dangerous is the risk of setting a new record for the most consecutive days in triple digits, which currently stands at four. The heat of 2022 tied that record, but the forecast shows that we might be about to double it. So what to do?

If you stay hydrated, you don’t have to get hydrated.

Be very mindful of cars, especially with pets and children. If you see an animal locked in a hot car in Boise with no owner in sight, you can break the car’s window 

 you call 911 or Animal Care and Control at 208-343-3166.

There may come a day in the next week when your brain begs to be let outside, air conditioning be forgotten. For that, 

 you haven’t visited before. Bring along a big pack of popsicles to give out, or just find a new stretch of the Boise River to submerge yourself in.

Here are a few indoor air-conditioned activities:

Unfortunately, this month isn’t the first time Boise has toyed with historic temperatures this year. You might remember that we had the fourth-snowiest January on record, then capped it with the 

hottest day recorded in the month of January

All that is to say that record-breaking climate and weather patterns are now the norm, and we have to get each other through them.

One way to do that is by contributing to the 

, which changed its name to honor the passing of Saldaña late last year. The 

fund distributes cooling supplies to farmworkers

 to face the heat in Idaho fields, providing the backbone of the state’s economy and suffering greatly for it.

Another is by connecting with a mutual aid organization like the 

. Both have very easy and accessible drop offs for whatever you have to offer, from a full meal to sunscreen or bottled water.

Our Path Home offers a summer cooling guide

 with updated information on cooling shelters, signs of heat stroke, and more. You may not need this information, but someone around you might.

Boise is on watch to pass the city’s all-time record high temperature of 111° tomorrow and Thursday, which was set in 1898.

How to Make Sure You (and Others) Outlast This Heat Wave

Make Boise better, one neighbor at a time. Find volunteering opportunities, ways to get involved and give back, and more.

Help Your Boise Neighbors

Help Your Neighbors

As you’re out and about this summer, you might be considering ways to give back to Mother Nature. Here are a few top-of-mind ideas to get the ball rolling:

Steward the next generation of cottonwoods along the Boise River by helping gather black cottonwood seeds, which will be germinated and eventually transplanted back in the riparian zone. Subscribe to the 

Boise River Enhancement Network’s newsletter for updates

 on the annual effort, which typically begins in early June. The network also does frequent trash cleanups!

Boise Urban Garden School (BUGS) educating the valley

 on gardening and ecosystems by pitching in on gardening yourself. They have consistent needs over the summer, so you can likely find a time that works for you. It takes a hive!

, keeping invasive species at bay all over the City of Trees. There are shifts roughly every other week for the summer, and you need to review their handbook for some training.

Also check out volunteer opportunities in 

Where Else Can Folks Volunteer?

Outdoor Volunteer Opportunities in Boise This Summer

If you don’t know what to do with your unwanted clothes, here are a few of the easiest places to donate that will help out the community.

Interfaith Sanctuary launched this new option

 for helping get your unwanted clothes to the folks who need them most. Their focus is on helping people who don’t have consistent shelter or income for clothes boost their confidence and well-being through fashion. A good outfit makes a big difference!

Idaho Youth Ranch & Other Donation Centers

 is one of most popular places to donate clothes because they have so many locations around the Treasure Valley — Boise alone has six — and a simple outdoor drop off option.

 is a faith-based shelter and accepts donations of clothes, along with furniture, food and more.

 is open Monday through Sunday, 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. It’s a for-profit company, but it does make donations simple!

 offers drop off every Monday at Rhodes Skate Park, 5 - 6 p.m. This isn’t a catch-all donation center, though. They assess community needs constantly and share what’s needed on Instagram ahead of the drop off, so you can be sure that whatever items you bring from their list will be used.

 is in high need of pantry items and gift cards.

 needs toilet paper, size five diapers, men’s underwear, menstrual products, dryer sheets, and hair ties.

Spring Cleaning? Where to Donate Your Clothes

Four days of round-the-clock fundraising begin Monday, April 29 and wrap up on May 2. During 

, your favorite nonprofits — and probably a few you didn’t even know existed — will join a concentrated statewide effort to bolster Idaho’s nonprofits with donations from companies and the public.

The Idaho Nonprofit Center operates Idaho Gives, and is hoping to raise $4 million this year. You can always donate online, but here are a few other ways to get involved, plus a few new initiatives to consider. Bonus: There’s a cornucopia of raffles you can enter.

Every pint of beer you buy at White Dog Brewing in Caldwell means one dollar goes to the West Valley Humane Society on Monday from 4 - 8 p.m.

Get out of the way, college students, because the Lusk District is being taken over by nonprofits at this sixth annual block party at Lost Grove Brewing from 4 - 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

Nonprofit executive directors are doing their part to entertain at this karaoke event at Shrine Social Club Monday evening, 6 - 8 p.m..

Thursday is the final day of Idaho Gives, and Lost Grove Brewing in the Lusk District is hosting another party, this time with coffee and breakfast snacks, from 8 - 10 a.m.

A few local nonprofits that use the outdoors for a space of healing and recovery will be at Barbarian Brewing in Garden City, along with food trucks, music, and raffles, from 3 - 9 p.m.

To wrap up Idaho Gives on Thursday, catch a discount on wine at Split Rail Winery from 4 - 8 p.m., along with music, food trucks, and a handful of organizations including Global Gardens, Radio Boise, and Wish Granters.

 — for example, an anonymous donor is matching all donations to the Boise Bicycle Project up to $50,000. Or pick an organization and then round up as many people as you can to match your individual donation!

Same old organizations, totally new projects to support.

The Idaho Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence just launched a 

 for survivors and trans Idahoans in need of support for legal name changes.

Agency for New Americans hopes to help a record 300 new Boise families

 get into permanent housing this year, up from 258 last fiscal year.

Find What Organization Calls to You!

The Idaho Nonprofit Center operates Idaho Gives, and is hoping to raise $4 million this year.

How to Boost Nonprofit Organizations With Idaho Gives

Help Your Neighbors: Idaho Gives

, which for many of us means a more stressful commute, turning the heater up, and putting on a pot of soup. But for unhoused and unsheltered people, the conditions over the next few days will be life-threatening.

Here are a few ways to help make sure everyone in our community gets through it in warmth and comfort.

Nonprofits, churches, and public agencies working with 

Our Path Home came together earlier this winter

If you or anyone you know needs a meal or a 

warm space during the daytime, use this resource

Additionally, anyone who is a CATCH client can get a free Treasure Valley YMCA winter gym membership.

Boise Mutual Aid is currently raising funds

 to shelter unhoused people in hotels during the cold nights. Venmo @boisemutualaid with the note “warm space” to support those efforts.

Winter items like coats, sleeping bags, socks, hats, etc., can be dropped off at Our Path Home partners, including CATCH, Interfaith Sanctuary, and the Corpus Christi House.

For smaller items like wool socks, hats, gloves, The 

Vervain Collective in Garden City is accepting donations

 through the end of January. They’re collaborating with the Boise Kitchen Collective this month, which is a mutual aid organization that distributes hot, home-cooked meals at Rhodes Skate Park every Wednesday.

Boise Kitchen Collective still needs someone

 to bring drinks, snacks, and fresh fruit or vegetables tomorrow. I’m happy to say that all meal maker spots are filled until the end of the month!

Boise’s in for a doozy of a storm this week. For unhoused and unsheltered people, the conditions over the next few days will be life-threatening.

How to Help Keep Unhoused Boiseans Warm During This Winter Storm

the most dog-friendly city in the country

, but often that love for pets can lead to an abundance of strays — sometimes because of the 

lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

. Preparation is key, so here’s what you need to know if you find a stray animal.

First make sure you’re able to safely approach the animal — like humans stuck in traffic on Eagle Road, some animals may become aggressive when confronted. If the animal has no tags with contact information, the best thing to do is to call 

 — they can give you specific directions.

 You must turn in strays to the humane society in the area where you found it — this ensures it has the best chance of returning home if it belongs to someone. Here are the main ones:

Star, and the unincorporated areas of Ada County

. IHS will hold a stray dog for five days to try to locate the owner — after that, the animal becomes the shelter’s property. There is no holding period for cats due to the high volume they receive, so they immediately become property of the humane society.

: For stray dogs and any other found animals found in Garden City (except for cats, those must go to the Idaho Humane Society).

We spoke to the director of the West Valley Humane Society about 

the challenges of being a no-kill shelter

Kittens are adorable but they’re unable to care for themselves in the wild, so check this flowchart for 

The first thing to know is that as soon as you take in a found creature you are responsible for its wellbeing and any potential incidents involving it.

Second, if you want to legally adopt it, you must first turn in a stray to a humane society in the county where you found it so it can be properly processed for adoption — in Boise it is 

 to take in a stray without first notifying the humane society.

 with animals that have been turned in, along with clear instructions on how to redeem them.

Boise is quite possibly the most dog-friendly city in the country, but often that love for pets can lead to an abundance of strays. Preparation is key, so here’s what you need to know if you find a stray animal.

What to Do If You Find a Stray Animal in Boise

What to Do When You Find a Stray Animal

While we’ve had a warm autumn, cooler temperatures are just around the corner. There are lots of ways to help out unhoused Boiseans as winter nears, but one of the best is through direct action and mutual aid.

Luckily, you don’t have to invent any wheels!

Boise Mutual Aid puts out weekly requests

 from people experiencing homelessness for survival gear like tents and tarps, sleeping bags, and warm clothing.

 is run by some amazing folks who dish out hot meals every Wednesday at Rhodes Skate Park, and they need people to make meals each week. It’s a super easy dropoff at the park. Hear from the 

siblings who run the collective on City Cast Boise

Another good place to learn more and support is the 

. They’re a group of multiple organizations that puts out calls to action, along with a ton of information on:

I hope you’ll check out mutual aid this fall and winter, whether it’s for support or to share your resources. It’s on all of us to keep all of us safe and healthy!

How to Help Unhoused Boiseans This Fall

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare announced that 

 after someone who contracted the disease abroad brought it back to their home. Officials warned that measles is incredibly infectious, but that they are “hopeful” that further spread could be prevented.

With the state on measles watch, we’re also looking at a few other ways to help keep you and your community healthy this fall.

Anyone with or without insurance can get a free flu vaccine at a drive-thru clinic at the Consulate of Mexico in Boise on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The clinic is being put on by the Idaho Immunization Coalition, St. Luke’s, and Idaho State University. 

🩸 Donate Blood During National Shortage

The American Red Cross said that the national blood supply is about 25% lower than expected, and said earlier this week that 

Measles, Flu, & Blood: How to Keep Boise Healthy

Measles, Flu, & Blood: How to Keep Your Community Healthy

The City Cast Boise team has been riddled with COVID and other illnesses in the last couple weeks, and I know many of you can relate.

Earlier this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially 

. But since the federal health emergency has ended, cost coverage and free test programs have all evaporated within the last few months, so here are a few answers to questions you might have about where and how to test or get your booster shot.

The CDC recommends the new booster (there’s one from Moderna and one from Pfizer) for anyone over the age of six months.

Some insurance companies have changed their coverage this year, but most will still cover vaccines.

Walgreens looks like it’ll have the first ones in town, with 

Boise State University’s vaccine clinic

 remains open to the public, and staff told me their fingers are crossed that the vaccines will arrive Sept. 23. 

Plus, they won’t charge anyone for the vaccine, including those without insurance.

 expect their doses to arrive in two weeks.

no longer order free tests from the federal government

Some insurance companies have changed their coverage of testing this year, so check with your provider.

Under federal guidelines, uninsured patients with COVID exposure and/or symptoms 

Earlier this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially recommended a new COVID-19 booster. But the insurance landscape has changed.

Where to Get the New COVID Booster in Boise

Idaho farmworkers are entering harvest season with few protections

. One resource is the Heat and Smoke Relief Fund, which has been operating since 2021.

The Idaho Immigrant Resource Alliance collects funds and then distributes goods — primarily bottled water — to farmworkers. On Tuesday, one person delivered 900 water bottles in Canyon County.

This summer, the Alliance aims to raise $10,000 to support this community and is 19% of the way there. 

With today’s high of 101°, Idaho farmworkers are entering harvest season with few protections. One resource is the Heat and Smoke Relief Fund, which has been operating since 2021.