IdaHome--September/October

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Dear Reader,

My friend Pearl, who is 10, recently told me that she wants to be a writer. You can imagine my excitement—it isn’t every day that we writers have children enthusiastic about what we do! I told her mom to pick up an issue of IdaHome on their way through the airport, and she sent me this photograph of Pearl, beaming. I’m still smiling about it.

Later in this issue, I’m writing more about what the ability to tell your stories means to me, but I want to say this, for Pearl, here: what we do at IdaHome is in service to all the girls and women who are walking through this world with strength, and ambition, and goals of all kinds. And too, the women who don’t get to—women like Mahsa ‘Jina’ Amini, who died in an Iranian hospital under suspicious circumstances after an arrest for not wearing a hijab according to government standards.

This issue exists to spotlight just a few of the ways women are showing up for themselves and for each other—women like Rosalie Fish, a fierce advocate for the missing and murdered indigenous women in her community and across the world, or singer/Songwriter Ashley Campbell, our cover girl, helping in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease to honor her late father.

If you’re looking to get your hands dirty, meet our female mechanic, or some of the women of WWAMI, a five-state medical education program that’s improving Idaho healthcare, one doctor at a time.

Boise State University’s Jen Schneider explores the possibilities and perils of artificial intelligence, which sounds like something out of a movie. And hey, if that’s what you’re looking for, we’ve got an interview with Gracie and Bella Hall, the budding filmmakers who recently won Coca Cola's Refreshing Films competition.

Cherie Buckner-Webb is back with a great article on the double standards females can face in the workplace, and we also talk to three powerhouse women from the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, geared toward curious folks 50 and over. Like Martine Castoro and Delia Dante, who’s work you’ll see, some of them are making spectacular art.

We’re also happy to bring you stories of women who are climbing the mountains they set out to summit—women like Mayor Lauren McLean, soccer star Sofia Huerta, and Lydia Rose Miller, 2023 Miss Rodeo Idaho.

Finally, publisher Karen Day dives into the phenomenon that Barbie has created, which is recontextualizing our relationship with the doll, ourselves, and the world at large.

IdaHome magazines travel the world online and via our Boise airport kiosk. We’re delighted to be here, there, and everywhere. Every issue means a lot to us and this annual Wonder Woman is always a team favorite. Thank you for reading with us!

Live long and Barbie, Heather

Editor in Chief

HEATHER

HAMILTON-POST

SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2023

publisher

KAREN DAY

karen@idahorem.com

editor

HEATHER HAMILTONPOST

heather@idahorem.com

art and design

JASON JACOBSEN jsngrafix@gmail.com

KALEY WRIGHT design@idahorem.com

director of operations

MARIELLE WESTPHAL admin@idahorem.com

staff photographer

KAREN DAY

cover photograph

NATIA CINCO

social media

APRIL NEALE april@idahorem.com

marketing, sales, and distribution

AMBER EVE SEMPSON amber@idahorem.com

IdaHome Magazine, LLC

P.O. Box 116 Boise, Idaho 83701

208.481.0693

© 2023 IdaHome Magazine. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed by the authors and contributors to IdaHome Magazine are not necessarily those of the editor and publisher.

ON THE COVER

Ashley Campbell, perhaps best known as the daughter of country legend Glen Campbell, uses her platform to advocate for Alzheimer’s disease, which claimed her father in 2017. A graduate of Pepperdine University, the singer/ songwriter now tours with partner Thor Jensen.

CONTRIBUTORS

Dana DuGan is an editor and writer based in Hailey, Idaho. She’s been on the writing staff at Idaho newspapers and magazines. Her work has also appeared in a number of online and print periodicals. Her miniature dachshund is named for a cocktail one only partakes of once a year.

Tim Atwell is a lifelong Idahoan who enjoys writing about the fastgrowing food and drink scene in Boise. He works full time as a tech writer, but you can find him on nights and weekends exploring Boise and the surrounding area. He has contributed to publications including IdaHome, Edible Idaho, and The Blue Review. Outside of writing, he loves to barbecue, roast coffee, and try new recipes.

Sonya Feibert Kuhn is a writer, improv nerd, and performer in Boise. She's an avid Treeforter and an enthusiastic patron of and participant in the storytelling and comedy scenes. On sunny days, find her hanging at a local coffee shop or hiking in the foothills.

Holly Cook is a communications and public relations professional based in Boise, Idaho. She works full-time as a Digital Media Specialist for Boise School District. In her spare time, Holly owns and operates Cook Communications and Public Relations. She is a graduate of College of Idaho and a mother of two tweenagers.

Arianna Creteau is a freelance writer based in Northern Idaho. A dessert enthusiast, avid hiker and amateur runner, Arianna spends her weekdays working a desk job and weekends chasing adventure. Her previous work has been published in Boise Weekly

April Neale is an entertainment features writer and has read her work on NPR and Spoken Interludes and writes for various industry trades and entertainment websites. Neale is a member of the Critics Choice Association, Alliance of Women Film Journalists, Hollywood Critics Association, Television Critics Association, and other professional entertainment organizations.

Jodie Nicotra is a freelance writer based out of Moscow, Idaho. She writes for a number of different magazines, including Boise State Magazine, Whitman Magazine, and Central Washington U’s Crimson & Black.

Karen Day is a photographer and the fearless captain of our fleet of pages and mighty crew. A list of her creative passions and true job description risks making her appear insane, rather than insanely talented. Her habit of climbing onto the ledge of possibility offers us continuous adventures and little sleep. All aboard!

Dave Southorn has lived in Boise since 2005 and has spent nearly all that time covering Boise State University for the Idaho Statesman, Idaho Press, and The Athletic. He married an Idaho girl, Lisa, and loves to explore the city and the surrounding natural beauty with her and their two dogs, Riggins and Rue.

Cherie Buckner-Webb is a former Idaho State Senator, executive coach, speaker, business consultant, strategist, and fifth-generation Idahoan. In addition to her work in corporate and nonprofit environments, she assists institutions of higher education in the development of diversity curriculum and training and sits on a variety of local and national boards.

You’ve Come a Long Way, Barbie!

BY KAREN DAY

Barbie is 64 years old today. Created in 1959, she is an authentic, American baby-boomer who quali es for senior discounts when shopping for her tiny, ageinappropriate high heels with a reducedcarbon footprint in her 2024 pink plastic Tesla. Although her age is made nebulous by more incarnations than the Dalai Lama, her generational membership also explains the blockbuster popularity of the movie made modern in her honor and name by Director, Greta Gerwig. But what’s it all about, Barbie? Really.

Ruth Handler originally created Barbie in the Doris Day image of a hot-bodied German doll named Bild Lilli who was often topless. {Mattel, Handler’s toy company and God of all things Barbiedom, settled out of court, buying Lilli’s copyright in 1964.) Many parents steeped in America’s wholesome image in the 1950’s considered the curvaceous plaything scandalous. eir children, however, especially the girls, were teetering on the edge of the 1960’s and the rst historic burning of bras at the Miss America protest. Considering the lurid social media content available to children today, the fact that Barbie remains fully dressed in the homes of 9 out of 10 American girls ages 3 to 10 years old should qualify her for a statue in the Smithsonian as the alpha icon of pop culture. Ken would be mentioned as a footnote in her climb to fame.

As a fellow boomer, I played with Barbies a plenty; the original teen fashion model, then Malibu, next the twist-and-turn double-jointed Live Action Barbie that danced far more in my bedroom than I ever did at a school dance. Her miniature perfection loomed large in my small world,

mirroring the pin-up measurements and unattainable epitome of what appeared everywhere I looked on TV, movies, advertising and my own living room as an awkward, chubby child of a crowned Mrs. Indiana. e message was as hard and simple as the doll in my hand: you can never be what you see. Lucky for me and the female species, the 1970’s proved beauty, as de ned by others for women and dolls, is a barbed fantasy. Barbie learned this lesson too, su ering my revenge with some nasty haircuts and ceiling fan hangings and nding her market dominance infringed by preternaturally creepy and imperfect BRATZ. (If you don’t know about these sassy-sexy plastics, you don’t need to.) Finally, Hollywood and Barbie, at least as portrayed in Gerwig’s bubble-gum-pink world, have begun to also realize that little girls can’t be what

they can’t see. Mattel got the message in $$ signs. Barbie is now an African American, U.S. President with 200 other occupations, including an astronaut and an Olympic, Hijab-wearing fencer. Who knows what’s next in her moldable future? A scientist in her DreamMobile RV sold as Breaking Bad Barbie?

So, has Barbie changed the world? My daughter, 36, deemed her Barbie too “old-looking,” and joined the American Girl doll childhood cult. Today, she is a pediatrician. My hairdresser, 25, said, “Barbie is just a doll to me. e movie was kind of tedious and preachy. I felt sorry for Ken.” My haircut was taking place in her new salon. I could remind these young ladies that many have come a long way on the paths they now tread with the luxury of not looking back. Instead, I’ll wait, knowing one day, if they have a daughter, she too will ask for a Barbie.

ROSALIE FISH: No More Stolen

Sisters

PHOTO COURTESY OF ROSALIE FISH

BY DANA DUGAN

Not every college senior brings to bear quite the gravitas of Rosalie Fish. From Auburn, Washington, she’s a University of Washington social welfare major, already working in her chosen field, and a successful competitor in both the UW’s track and field and cross country programs. A member of the Cowlitz Tribe and a descendant of the Muckleshoot Tribe, Fish dedicates her races to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). She gained national attention by painting a red handprint across her face with the letters “MMIW” on her leg during competition inspired by runner Jordan Marie Whetstone.

Native American communities have long struggled with high rates of assault, abduction, and murder of women, and the subsequent lack of acknowledgment of the crimes. Native women have experienced this level of violence for centuries.

This is what drives Fish. “If we really want to combat the crisis, we have to be honest about how we got here,” she said.

“Growing up on a native reservation, where I was accepted and embraced into my culture was super beneficial for my sense of self,” she said. “But our families and our younger siblings are living in this crisis every day. As an Indigenous girl, the minute you turn 12 years old, your rates of violence increase about two and a half times,” Fish explained.

“We’re targeted because of our prominent roles in our community. Women hold a divine and protective role in our communities with our femininity based on the land and Mother Nature and how we are one with our nature and with our Earth. Violence against the land is violence against women. Especially back in colonization. To take control of the land, they tried to take control of the women,” she said.

In her work as an intern for the non-profit organization Mother Nation in Seattle, she’s visited tribal schools, done a TEDxYouth talk, and spoken with young aspiring athletes. Through it all is an urgency. She believes the country has let down Native Americans while shoving the heartbreaking plight of Indigenous women under the rug. Fish said about 70 percent of indigenous people live in urban settings. Washington has 29 federally recognized tribes.

“A lot of us live either in urban areas, or move to and from our reservation,” Fish said in her clear, soft voice. “This means not only are we moving away from our resources, but from protection and restraining orders. So, someone might have a protection order on a reservation, but it might not be acknowledged by, let’s say, the King County Sheriff ’s office. This lack of connection and consistency creates these loopholes in which perpetrators are getting away, basically, with violating protection worse.”

In 2022, Washington State initiated an alert system, like an Amber Alert, for missing Indigenous persons (MIPA). However, many are not aware of the system, resulting in sporadic usage.

“We are one with our nature and with our Earth.”

Running in a State Track & Field competition, Rosalie Fish brings attention to Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women. PHOTO COURTESY OF ROSALIE FISH

“We can only expect so much support from people who have access to the information in the first place,” Fish said. “I think that different organizations and specifically news sources need to go out of their way to bridge those gaps.”

Already, progress is slow but certain. The Yakima Herald assigned a journalist to cover missing and missing or murdered indigenous peoples. And after Fish presented on MMIW for Alaska Airlines, the company placed awareness banners in the Seattle Tacoma International Airport, which you might notice if you’re flying toward family this holiday season.

For Fish, who is grateful for the strong family ties that help fuel her advocacy, the holidays are complicated. Columbus Day, now known more correctly as Indigenous People’s Day, Halloween with its “Injun” outfits, and Thanksgiving.

“I would like to see people redefine what Thanksgiving means to them,” Fish said. “People need to really consider the story of the Dakota 38, basically the biggest mass execution in the U.S. If that was something students were learning in schools around the same time as Thanksgiving, it would have an impact,” she said.

Through her work, Fish urges educators to avoid normalizing or idealizing interactions between colonizers and Native Americans, bringing awareness to the history of colonization, which eroded more than 500 years of tribal sovereignty.

“If we had a little bit more perspective on this, what was actually happening during colonization, people would be able to move about the holiday with a little bit more grace. Native Americans don’t want to end a holiday that brings families together. Of course, it’s not our goal,” she explained. “But we’d like to see a reality check of what happened and what it means. It’s a bitter reminder that our histories are not taught and not valued. We can be more mindful.”

Rosalie Fish (second from right) with her siblings. PHOTO COURTESY OF ROSALIE FISH

Rosalie Fish stands in a canoe during the Cowlitz Canoe Journey. PHOTO COURTESY OF ROSALIE FISH

The Duality of Choice

Recently, I gave the keynote speech at a corporate leadership conference.

“I stand before you today, a seasoned woman with broad and diverse experience in a breadth of environments. I am a woman who has maneuvered through generations in the workplace,” I shared.

It’s true—I’ve shared space with Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964), Generation X (born 1965-1979), Generation Y (born 1980-1994), Generation Z (born 19952009), and Generation Alpha (born 2010-2024). I’ve faced the ever-changing challenges for women.

Far too many women, wherever they are in the life of their career, have experienced feelings of invisibility, being undervalued, judged, discounted, and/ or overlooked. With great regularity, women are confronted with a plethora of mixed messages in the workplace, both professional and personal. And we devote way too much time struggling to interpret their meanings.

The 2016 film Hidden Figures is based on the professional lives of three accomplished African American mathematicians (Katherine Goble Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson), who were critical to NASA winning the Space Race and relegated to second class status. Their names, accomplishments, and contributions were omitted from official documents during their employment at NASA. They were prohibited access to onsite facilities during that time, though they were crucial to putting Americans on the moon.

Still today, women remain overwhelmingly faced with no-win situations and a tremendous amount of judgment in the workplace. Often, female intention is misinterpreted. Negotiating for a salary is seen as opportunistic self promotion, and assertiveness is misconstrued as aggression. Alternatively, women who are warm and compassionate may be viewed as too soft. It seems that women are expected to be all things. Nice, kind, and compassionate, not too young or too old. A woman in a leadership role must make tough decisions, visibly take charge, and lead the workforce by personal example. Is it a problem to solve or polarity to manage? If a problem, then whose? Social scientists term these situations “ambivalent

BY CHERIE BUCKNER-WEBB

sexism.” When women face ambivalent sexism, they’re compelled to choose between being liked but not respected, or respected but not liked. Men seldom face such a dynamic. When ambivalent sexism exists in an organization, women who adhere to stereotypical feminine roles meet with benign approval, but are not seen as drivers. Women who don’t follow traditional scripts may be respected for outcomes, but not particularly appreciated.

The same behaviors can be judged quite differently based on the gender of the person exhibiting them. It takes excessive amounts of energy for women to stay in the game, and we lose talent when we diminish and exhaust women by offering two irreconcilable demands, which drains productivity, stifles development, and suffocates creativity.

At 71, I’m a proud woman who is still standing. I’ve learned from personal experience, and from a cadre of phenomenal women leaders with whom I’ve engaged. I will be ever grateful for their advice and example: being congruent, seeking good counsel, engaging authentically, and “speaking the truth and shaming the devil.”

We know better. Let’s do better.

Katherine Goble Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) played critical roles at NASA during the Space Race.

SOFIA HUERTA

From Idaho to Soccer’s Biggest Stage

BY DAVE SOUTHORN

She was one of the best to ever put on cleats in the state of Idaho, but So a Huerta had to be patient to earn the chance of a lifetime.

A 2011 Centennial High graduate, Huerta was a standout collegiately at Santa Clara and immediately began a pro career in the United States, with two stops in Australia. e daughter of a Mexican-born father and an American mother, she played for Mexico’s national team at 19.

But her goal was to one day suit up for the red, white, and blue that is the powerhouse United States Women’s National Team.

She got the chance in 2017, making seven appearances over the next two years. She didn’t play for the United

States again until 2021, as she sought out a role that t her and the national team, shifting from an attacking position to one more defense-focused. is summer, it paid o . Huerta made her Women’s World Cup debut on July 22, becoming the rst Idahoan to appear in the biggest women’s soccer tournament in the world. She also is the rst woman to play for and against the United States, having done so with Mexico a decade ago.

“ e one thing I heard and really have taken in is just ‘enjoy this time,’” Huerta said July 25 in New Zealand. “It’s really easy to just think about the next game…it’s still such a great opportunity to be here.”

ough the two-time defending World Cup champion Americans were

shocked by Sweden in the round of 16, ending repeat hopes, it was a major achievement in an impressive career for Huerta, 30.

Huerta currently plays professionally with OL Reign, a Seattle-based team in the National Women’s Soccer League. As of September 6, she had 31 career assists, tied for the most in league history.

“I’ve faced a lot of adversity in my career and there were de nitely times where I wasn’t sure if it was going to be possible for me to be named to a World Cup roster or Olympic roster,” Huerta said following OL Reign’s June 24 win, three days after being named to the World Cup team. “Going to my rst big tournament at 30, it feels crazy, but it just shows that I have a lot of perseverance and resilience.”

PHOTO BY JANE GERSHOVICH - OL REIGN

ALL THE SHINY THINGS IN THE NEST Writing from a Place of Curiosity

BY HEATHER HAMILTON-POST

Once we disconnected DirectTV and all of our favorite sitcoms were canceled, my husband and I began watching a greater variety of shows. We found ourselves amidst a pandemic and entangled in programming that wouldn’t normally garner our attention, including a BBC comedy called The Detectorists, which centers around two eccentric men and their metal detectors, plodding across the countryside in search of buried treasure. Heartwarming and magical, one of the conceits of the show is that magpies will steal shiny objects. Fantastic, certainly, even if it isn’t true.

For me, good stories work in the same way. I see a glimmer of something everywhere I go, which isn’t a problem until I’ve held up my family because I needed to ask the young train conductor on our tourist excursion 50 billion questions about whether or not he envisioned this as his life’s work. It’s annoying, sure, but this natural curiosity enables me to find the story, both for the magazine and in my broader writing life.

In times of abundance, a magpie will cache excess food, burying their bounty for leaner times. I have a note on my phone that does the same, a word or a phrase that strikes me enough to come back to, to ruminate on, to savor. I like to luxuriate in an idea, an extravagance afforded by a publication like IdaHome

Like the magpie who mimics human speech, it is the job of the writer to turn the idea, the anecdote, the infatuation, into the narrative. You’ll see this in the magazine sometimes, places where I (or other writers) have followed my obsessions—that something shiny—all the way to a story.

Recently, I had the good fortune of participating in an Orion workshop taught by Hannah Dela Cruz Abrams, a talented writer with a knack for inspiring students, pushing us to offer up the very most of ourselves, to look inward at the tender places that cower behind. There were 12 of us, and each Sunday for three hours, we showed up from our corners of the world. We were a global group from different backgrounds, decades, and professions. The writing that emerged, in only six sessions, was astounding. I was in awe of my fellow students for their work, yes, but also for the lives they inhabit, alternate spaces in which they are geologists, lawyers, mothers, human rights activists, botanists, and so much more.There are histories of trauma and triumph, joy, heartbreak. Each came to this place of writing by following a thousand different, meandering paths. Stories abound in a group of writers, but what IdaHome has taught me is that they’re actually everywhere.

Remarkably, magpies can recognize their own faces when they look into a mirror. Good writing allows us to see ourselves in the stories being told. It reflects the broader human experience in a way that surprises and delights us. Whether we’re writing about California Condors, female farmers, celebrities, sports, art, or anything in between, a reader sees something essential reflected back.

I have a tattoo on my arm that reads Nothing is wasted, a gentle reminder to myself to make something out of all of it. It turns out that magpies are actually afraid of the shimmer, but I’m not. Go toward the shine.

ASHLEY CAMPBELL Remembers a Career Forged by Loss, Love, and Reinvention

BY APRIL NEALE

Ashley Campbell has walked the re of watching a loved one succumb to Alzheimer’s. More than any of her seven siblings, Glen Campbell’s daughter made a name for herself in music, paying homage to her late father

in the 2015 “Remembering” lyrics that will stop anyone who has battled this disease with a family member in their tracks.

“We can talk until you can’t even remember my name/ Daddy don’t you worry, I’ll do the remembering.”

Glen Campbell’s legacy for his daughter was to urge her to remain faithful to her eclectic musical instincts, just like his own. “He always warned against the bullsh*t and told me, ‘Just don’t let anyone tell you who you are. You decide that for yourself, and don’t let anyone tell you what music to make or what you should be making. Just make music you want to make, and chances are other people will want to hear it too.’ I miss playing music with him and the possibilities we could have had of collaborating together. But as a daughter, something that stands out to me was that, no matter the time of the day or what was going on, when I walked in the room, and his eyes found me, they lit up with such visible love. I feel incredibly blessed to have always felt so loved whenever he looked at me,” Ashley said.

In the searing documentary, “Glen Campbell, I’ll Be Me,” Ashley established herself as a powerful voice for raising awareness about the ght to nd a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease. “I give speeches and go around to various events within the healthcare world. I try to share my stories since I’m not a doctor or a scientist,” she said. “What I can do is

relate my human experience with this disease that is unfortunately so common these days. It’s nice for people to hear, whether they’re in the healthcare industry or not, the experience rsthand from a family member versus the experience from a hired caregiver.” is summer, Ashley left Nashville behind and moved to London armed

“What I can do is relate my human experience with this disease that is unfortunately so common these days.”

Ashley Campbell attends Alzheimer’s Association New York City Chapter’s 2015 “Forget-Me-Not” Gala at Pierre Hotel on June 8, 2015 in New York City. SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

with exciting new material and ready to introduce an LP with or Jensen, her collaborative musical partner turned romantic partner. Jensen, a guitarist, songwriter, and singer from New York City, was introduced to Ashley as a guitar teacher who had just moved to Nashville when the two met. “I wanted to hunker down and study gypsy jazz guitar to ignite my passion for it and honor my dad,” she said. e pair hit it o right away, musically and personally, and started a duo called Campbell/Jensen.

“And we’ve got our rst album coming out in November. It’s rare to be able to work together when your personal lives are so entwined, but we communicate well. And it just works. We’re lucky that way,” Ashley said.

e collaboration has opened new doors in Europe for Ashley, who recently showcased her superb range in a Spanish show where she covered Edith Piaf classics like “La Foule” alongside Jensen.

Ashley, who says she’s always had an explorer’s attitude, has always been enamored with Europe and the U.K., and feels more at home amongst di erent cultures. “It can get a little over-commercialized here, especially in Nashville. When I go over and play in the U.K. and certain European places, it just feels like they’re hungry for it. ey listen, and they appreciate everything,” Ashley said, adding that she also still loves performing stateside.

Boise is the only American booking in a long list of U.K. dates for Ashley

this fall and winter; the Alzheimer’s Association, Greater Idaho Chapter will receive a portion of the proceeds from the 140th Boise Chamber Gala that Ashley headlines on October 19, 2023.

e Alzheimer’s Association, which provides information, resources, a 24/7 telephone helpline, local support groups, and educational programs at no cost to families, also advocates at the state and federal level for public policies that increase research funding and support those a ected by Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. Ashley’s appearance, along with the September Walk to End Alzheimer’s, help to fund these e orts.

Ashley is eager to return to the Gem State, where she previously toured with her dad. I’m looking forward to being back in Idaho,” she said.

Thor Jensen and Ashley Campbell are collaborating creatively and as partners. The pair have relocated to London. PHOTOGRAPHY BY NATIA CINCO.

Delia Dante’s Leap of Faith Woman on Fire

BY APRIL NEALE

Artist Delia Dante’s work fills Boise and beyond with arresting sculptures, including commissions like “Me Deuce” in Barbacoa Grill and the newer Árbol De La Vida” in Coa De Jima. The latter, a 3,500 pound twisted tree filled with symbols and supported by a fortified foundation, was made to stand as a centerpiece in the historic venue. Dante, a TIG welder, creates three-dimensional art to inspire, and she hopes that other women will give “the fire arts” a chance.

“A big part of my business mission is education. Working in this medium is something that changed my life, and I want other people to know about it and experience it because it’s incredible for any artist to learn about,” said Dante, a former junior high art teacher who switched from a secure teaching position to a more high-wire existence as an artist after breaking bread with the late Robert Castoro, the former owner of Barbacoa Grill.

“I had gone to that restaurant for several years before it burned down and just was in awe of it. I thought it was a spectacular space and experience in Boise. And I thought if I could get one little piece on the wall, I would feel like I’ve arrived,” Dante recalled. She got her chance in 2010. “I taught myself how to TIG weld and I took a sabbatical from teaching for a year to see if I could do this art gig for real. Robert and I hit it off, and he had me doing all the other metalwork, including the cross. The ‘Me Deuce’ was already reserved for another artist,” Dante explained.

The rebuilt Barbacoa needed a powerful focal point, and ‘Me Duece’ has become a Boise landmark art piece.

PHOTO BY DELIA DANTE

As luck would have it, the other artist could not conceptualize the piece. Castoro approached Dante three months before the restaurant opened and asked if she could do a 14-foot sculpture in two months. “I figured I would win big at the races, or they’d run me out on a rail in my town. There was no in-between. It’s important for growth to be a bit fearless in your life,” Dante laughed. “I’m forever grateful to Robert and Martine Castoro for giving me a shot at that.”

Now, Dante’s FireFusion Fine Art Gallery and Studio serves as exposure for other artists, including one of her mentors, John Killmaster, and as inspiration for her daughter and others to immerse themselves in the abundance of Boise’s art scene. She hopes the City of Boise will get back to supporting galleries in a more focused effort that celebrates visual arts in the same way as performing and musical arts.

“As a gallery owner, I see a lot of galleries struggling. Look at Garden City. They’re killing it with all kinds of support, including First Fridays. For Boise, I don’t know the answer,” Dante said.

Still, she’s doing her part to keep Boise’s art community as vibrant as the joyful trips to the Boise Art Museum she remembers on the First Thursday events of her youth.

“I’ve created a gallery with an offering to the local artists to display. I want [my daughter] to grow up in a community of artists, especially strong women artists. I want her to see that and be in that community feel—having people come and experience the art, communication, and a shared experience,” Dante explained.

Above:From her downtown studio space and gallery, Dante creates in copper, steel, and enamel. PHOTO COURTESY OF BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY

Right: “Can’t Take It With You: My Selfie” sculpture. PHOTO BY KAREN DAY

Below Left: The ‘Árbol De La Vida’ is the main installation at Coa de Jima in downtown Boise. PHOTO BY DELIA DANTE

Below Right: Dante’s penny murals are hand enameled and embedded into concrete. PHOTO BY KAREN DAY

Wonder Women of WWAMI

Female medical educators and students areworking to ensure a solid future forIdaho patients

BY JODIE NICOTRA

When she was an undergraduate at Washington State University, Bailey Vail discovered a passion for supporting people with mental illness. After graduation, she continued this work in Boise, Idaho, as a case manager, helping people with mental illness rebuild their skills and learn to participate and thrive in society.

Only then did Vail discover the severe shortage of psychiatrists in Idaho. This discovery was one of the reasons she applied to the University of Washington School of Medicine’s (UWSOM) WWAMI program for medical school.

A unique medical education program, WWAMI stands for the states in partnership with UWSOM: Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. WWAMI partners with the University of Idaho to provide access to public medical education to the citizens of Idaho. This partnership is key

to bolstering the number of physicians in Idaho, especially in rural areas.

Residents like Vail embody hope for the future of medical practice in Idaho, which according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, ranks 49th in the country for the number of physicians per capita.

But that’s not Idaho’s only shortfall. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the state also has the lowest percentage of women physicians in the country—just 26%, compared with 37% nationwide.

This gender imbalance makes a difference. A 2021 Pediatrics article cited several studies testifying to the unique strengths of female physicians. Compared to their male counterparts, women are more likely to follow clinical guidelines, focus on preventive care, and build partnerships with their patients. Statistically, these factors tend to make for better patient outcomes.

Mentorship of female medical students is critical to their success. And despite Idaho’s gender imbalance, it has some powerful female leaders working to secure the future of medical education in the state.

Mary Barinaga, MD, assistant clinical dean for WWAMI and clinician at Full Circle Health in Boise, works with doctors all over the state to set up medical student rotations.

“I’m kind of a talent scout,” said Barinaga, who is also a WWAMI alumna. “I’m looking for doctors in this state who are passionate about teaching the next generation of doctors.”

Barinaga has her work cut out for her. As the Idaho Capital Sun reported, recent legislative actions and governmental interference in the practice of medicine aff ecting care of pregnant women in Idaho are among the factors causing doctors to depart.

Left: Mary Barinaga and Rhegan McGregor, Center: Bailey Vail, Right: Paula Carvalho

“We’ve seen this really have a profound effect in the last year where providers are leaving the state, especially doctors who take care of women,” Barinaga said. “We’re seeing hospitals decide not to deliver babies anymore, and hospital systems where all their maternal fetal medicine and OB specialists are leaving the state. And that really has me worried for the patients and citizens of Idaho.”

In her new role as president-elect of the Idaho Medical Association, Barinaga advocates for physicians and patients across the state to be able to continue practicing evidence-based care.

“I look forward to working with our legislators in trying to find solutions to help keep a strong physician workforce in the state and help families and communities in Idaho keep access to high quality care,” she said.

EDUCATING THE NEXT GENERATION OF IDAHO DOCTORS

Another Idaho-based WWAMI alumna, Paula Carvalho, MD, sees attracting and keeping residents in Idaho as key to bolstering the medical workforce.

“If you train in a residency program in a community, you’re pretty likely to stay there,” Carvalho said. “So to attract doctors to Idaho we need to have more rotations for clerkships for third and fourth-year students and more residencies in family medicine and specialists.”

As academic section chief of pulmonary critical care at the Boise VA Medical Center and director of the clerkship program at the hospital, one of Carvalho’s main educational goals is to ensure uniform education across different WWAMI sites.

“We want the student in Wyoming to get the same caliber of education as the student in Seattle or the student in Fairbanks, Alaska,” Carvalho said.

Carvalho and others from the simulation program at the University of Washington created a lab at the Boise VA, where students can practice medical procedures on robots before trying them on real patients.

“It’s a fascinating science, simulation,” Carvalho said. “And you don’t hurt anybody. So when a student says ‘Well, we should do this as the next step in this emergency,’ the teacher can say ‘Go ahead, try it out.’ If it doesn’t work, they’ll find out, but in a way that hasn’t hurt a patient.”

TRAINING A RURAL MEDICAL WORKFORCE

For a state like Idaho, where 35 of 44 counties are rural, trained physicians who practice rural family care are critical to creating better healthcare outcomes for patients. Several recent studies highlight the importance of recruiting female doctors, especially to rural care, where relationshipbuilding is key.

WWAMI’s TRUST (Targeted Rural Underserved Track), which aims to create a workforce of rural physicians, is one such recruiting tool.

These recruiting efforts are paying off.

Rhegan McGregor, a fourth-year WWAMI student, joined the TRUST program because she saw the vital role doctors played in her rural hometown of St. Marie’s, Idaho, and wants to give back.

“What I really appreciate and love about rural health care is the relationships you can establish with your patients,” McGregor said. “As a doctor, you have to take on different roles because of the lack of resources. So you do more health navigation for these patients and try to figure out how to get them the care they need.”

McGregor, like other rural doctors, is in it for the long haul to the benefit of future Idaho patients.

“I love the full spectrum of health care, from the time you’re born to the time you pass away,” she said. “I love the fact that as a family practice doc, you can create those relationships and be there for the ups and downs. You get to go alongside patients for their journey throughout life.”

Protestors gathered at the Idaho State Capitol to rally for reproductive rights. Since the near total ban on abortion, doctors are leaving the state. PHOTO BY KAREN DAY

GO-GETTERS AND TRAILBLAZERS

A Conversation with Boise Mayor Lauren McLean

BY HEATHER HAMILTON-POST

When Josh Davis (you may know him as the owner of JD’s Bodega) tried to get Boise Mayor Lauren McLean on a skateboard at the grand opening of Molenaar Skate Park, she hesitated, then adapted. “It was a little risky because I’m in knee rehab,” she said. “And then this kid said, ‘Mayor, take my scooter.’ So I grabbed it and rode it around for a little while instead.”

In many ways, that resilience, the ability to reconsider in the moment, is the story of her first term. Even today, Mayor McLean joins the interview on the heels of a fire drill that had her pulling picnic tables together in the park to continue an interrupted meeting. “And the weather today is gorgeous!” she exclaimed. Since the beginning, McLean’s remained committed to uncovering the silver lining.

“This first term has been marked by incredible challenge, a lot of hard work, and turning those challenges into opportunities so we can deliver for Boise,” McLean said. Enter challenge number one, a global pandemic that picked up while she was still assembling her team. “We were making decisions nobody ever anticipated, and I was juggling my intention to deliver on the issues that brought me here,” she explained, adding that she found inspiration in the way the community rallied together during that time.

During the election, she ran on a platform that promised, among other things, that she’d work hard and fast to deliver homes for Boise. Now, McLean says the city is catching up. “We’re in get ahead mode now. I made a commitment to ensure that everyone who works in Boise has access to a home that’s affordable in Boise,” she said. “This week, we broke ground on what will be over 100 homes for families on State Street. Ten percent of those will be for families exiting homelessness.”

And there’s more. McLean notes apartments on the Boise Bench set to open in October, a public/private partnership with a first floor daycare and easy access to the bus line, and an upcoming partnership with Boise State University and the Urban Renewal Agency for development that will bring a variety of homes at different prices. “We’re seeing the fruits of this hard work and collaboration start to come together, and it’s pretty exciting,” she said.

McLean describes the role of mayor as deeply fulfilling, not in spite of the challenges, but often, because of them. “So much of the job of being mayor is to be present in the community and in common cause with the people and to have conversations and listen to folks. A big part of my life is centered around how much I love this community and love living here. I’m still mayor when I’m out running or mountain biking or taking a walk on the Greenbelt. But I get to do those things in a really special place. And the people that I’m encountering appreciate the city in the same way. It’s a job that’s easy to balance because I love it so much,” she said.

McLean says she speaks often with young girls who want to share their career aspirations, and teenage girls concerned about Idaho politics. “I impress upon them that Boise has a place for everyone,” she said. “I look around and see an incredible medical community of women, practicing doctors, attorneys, and women leading companies, female leaders at the City of Boise. We live in a special place surrounded by super special women that have always been go-getters and trailblazers. We always will if we don’t give up on this place that is rightly our home. There’s so much opportunity here.”

Former Idaho Governor Cecil Andrus once advised McLean to “always be hungry. To work hard to take advantage of opportunities I had in service to get stuff done. And that’s really the approach I’ve taken these four years,” she said. approach I’ve taken these four years,” she said.

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Exploring the Intersection of ART, AI, and EDUCATION

Boise State University’s Jen Schneider Leads the Way

BY HEATHER HAMILTON-POST INTERVIEW BY KAREN DAY

The desire to create is perhaps the greatest impulse of humanity. Together and as individuals, we offer up our art in a variety of mediums as a way to express ourselves as a way to tell the world that we exist. We bare it all through paintings and collage, sculpture, essay, photography, song, or social media.

“But what does it mean to create in this new economy?” asks Jen Schneider, Associate Dean of the College of Innovation and Design at Boise State University. “Who are the creators?”

These questions, and a host of others, are on Schneider’s mind as she navigates a world suddenly buzzing with discussion around artificial intelligence and what place it might have in educational spaces like BSU. And while it may feel new, Schneider notes that already, AI is being used in digital environments to streamline user experience in subtle ways that many people may not even recognize.

“We are in our infancy with regard to AI. We’re in an AI race right now among these big players, and a lot of them are not sharing that information. It’s also really complicated technologically,” Schneider said.

But the tools are easy to learn, which is one reason it has taken off so quickly. “So many people don’t think they’re artists or designers, but you can produce amazing images and use those in a variety of ways that people would find really exciting,” she said.

Like any tool, there are problems too. “There are really serious biases in generative AI products because they feed off the internet, which is full of racism and sexism and bias,” she said. “All the more reason to make sure we have diverse experts working on these problems.” Scheider anticipates that, because AI is so applied, it will offer an appealing entrypoint for women and people of color into computer science, a field still dominated by white men.

Her college is focused on trying to prepare for the future, so when ChatGPT and others hit the scene, leaders turned to them for help navigating uncertain waters. Schneider, who has worked in nuclear power, nanotechnology, and climate change policy, has experience guiding people through substantial technological changes, although she says that AI is moving at an unprecedented rate.

Schneider isn’t worried about the technology piece for digital natives, essentially born with phones in their hands. “For students, the knowledge is there, but do they have the skills to prompt it well? To evaluate whether something is a good piece of information? To determine if ChatGPT is writing well or if an image is appropriate? They’re going to need more education to be skilled, effective users,” she said.

Luckily, Schneider says the college is well positioned to help students interact with technologies in meaningful ways that preserve their humanity. “AI can help with some of the lift, including the bureaucracy and the reporting, which frees us up to do the things we want to do,” she said. The college will offer training for faculty and curriculum for students to familiarize them with the technology and address some of the complicated ethical, social, and political questions surrounding a world so influenced by AI.

“We have a lot of good examples from the past of disruptive technologies that we think students can learn from. We just need to guide the ship, and bring the expertise to bear on what this new world of generative AI means,” said Schneider.

IMAGE GENERATED BY AI

LIFELONG LEARNERS THRIVE at Boise State’s Osher Institute

BY SONYA FEIBERT KUHN

When she was 10, Kathryn Baerwald decided there were two things she would be when she turned 65. The first was that she was going to become eccentric. The second? That she would take oboe lessons.

True to her younger self, Baerwald began taking oboe lessons when she turned 65. “I’m a huge believer in lifelong learning,” she said.

Baerwald’s aunt helped jumpstart young Kathryn’s curiosity. “She had a master’s degree, and her husband taught at Marquette University, so she was able to take classes there,” Baerwald shared. “Up until she died, she was taking classes towards her PhD. She set this example of how important it is to keep learning, to keep exercising your brain.”

A retired lawyer who spent most of her 45-year career serving not-for-profit institutions, including as the deputy general counsel of Georgetown University, Baerwald has lived well by her aunt’s example. For the last few years, she’s been taking classes at the Osher Institute at Boise State University. Baerwald and her husband connected with Osher when they moved to Boise from the DC area. It’s turned out to be an incredible way to connect with people in a new city.

“Osher provides a kind of community,” she explained. “It’s a great way to meet people. My husband and I have made a lot of friends.”

For Baerwald, there’s always more to learn. She’s become better acquainted with the fauna of Idaho through courses on raptors, taken courses on gothic fiction that opened her mind to the genre, and is currently taking a course on the 1619 Project and Critical Race Theory. “I’ve deliberately taken courses on topics that introduce me to something new,” she said.

Outside of classes, she also serves on a curriculum committee to bring and recommend speakers to Osher and volunteers as a Guardian Ad Litem for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). “My job is to represent the voice of the kids,” Baerwald shared of her role.

Baerwald continues to play the oboe, contributing music to her church and the Capital City Mulligan Band. As for becoming eccentric? “Most of my friends, family, and acquaintances are of the opinion that I reached that goal long before I hit 65,” she said.

Above: Baerwald practiced law for 45 years. Now, she’s learning the oboe and deliberately seeking courses that introduce new topics. PHOTO COURTESY OF KATHRYN BAERWALD

Below: Bae Emilson, once the director of programs at BSU, now serves her community through volunteering and board service. She appreciates the way Osher broadens her knowledge through engaging courses.

PHOTO BY KAREN DAY

Baerwald is in good company with Bae Emilson, a fellow knowledge-seeker and volunteer extraordinaire at the Osher Institute. In Emilson’s retirement, the former director of programs at BSU has served on the advisory board and headed committees that support Osher’s programming. She also serves on a board with St. Luke’s and supports volunteers there.

Like Baerwald, Emilson is taking the class on the 1619 Project and Critical Race Theory. She gets excited talking about the instructor, Dr. Richard Bell, a professor from the University of Maryland. “He’s a wonderful presenter,” she shared. “It’s exactly what makes Osher so engaging: I get to take what I know on the surface and dive deeper.”

Emilson is also taking a class on Rockamanoff and discovering more about the music she loves. Even with more familiar subject matter, it’s an opportunity to learn and satiate her curiosity.

“This is a place where you can learn and explore,” she said of Osher. “There’s everything from art history to science and technology. Having that range of programs in one place is enormously valuable.”

Emilson recalls how Osher quickly pivoted at the beginning of the Covid pandemic to continue serving the community.

“In a very short period, Osher flexed and developed the capacity to deliver programs online. I’ve talked with people for whom that was a lifeline,” she said.

Does Emilson have a favorite class? “It would be really hard to pick a favorite!” she said. Emilson highlights Dr. David Adler, a constitutional scholar whose presentations have given her new insights into the Constitution as a living document.

Artist Kellie Cosho shares Emilson’s enthusiasm for Dr. Adler’s classes, as well as Dr. Sheldon’s. Name a class, and Cosho has, or is, likely taking it. “I take about all of them,” she said. “I love the history classes.”

Cosho is a painter who’s been creating art since she can remember. You’ve likely seen her paintings around Boise, including on the Boise State University campus and at Boise Open Studios Collective Organization.

As Cosho describes it, for the last 20 years she’s painted to please herself. Along the way, she’s garnered a fan base that appreciates her colorful, engaging artwork. Most recently, Cosho has been working on a series of abstract paintings that bring to life an idea that came to her in a dream.

By her estimate, Cosho’s been featured in at least 32 galleries in the Northwest. That number might pale in comparison to the number of continuing education classes she has taken. Cosho was, as she described it, “a member of Osher before it was Osher.” A sociology major in college and a lifelong artist, she started taking classes because she was excited to keep learning.

Echoing her Osher colleagues, Cosho said, “Even when I think I know something, there’s more to learn. There’s always something you don’t know.”

Cosho is committed to the lifelong pursuit of learning. Between bringing her next painting to life and soaking up new insights at Osher, she’s making good on that commitment. Let the learning continue.

Kellie Cosho, an artist featured in galleries throughout the northwest, has taken nearly every Osher class. Now, alongside continuing Osher classes, she ‘paints what interests her.’ PHOTOS BY SONYA FEIBERT KUHN

Martine Castoro and the Art of Intrigue

BY APRIL NEALE

Local artist Martine Castoro is a master of mystery. Her artwork, which appears in Barbacoa, Coa De Jima, and the soon-toopen Coa Del Mar in Eagle is evocative, spirited, and glamorous, showcasing her love of old Hollywood, connection to horses, and the beauty of the California coastline.

Though Martine honed her natural talent in art school, netting a successful career in Los Angeles doing book and album covers, movie posters, and graphic art pieces for the iconic Sunset Boulevard retailer Tower Records, she considers herself an Idaho girl too.

“My family’s had a home in McCall for 50 years. I spent summers and winters in an A-frame up in McCall, but I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I met my second husband, Robert Castoro, and we opened Ti Amo on the Laguna Beach stretch of the PCH,” she said.

After they sold their California venue, the Castoros opened Barbacoa and filled it with Martine’s art. When an electrical fire claimed the restaurant on New Year’s Day in 2010, Martine was devastated.

“The original restaurant was open for two years and it burned down the one day we were closed. I lost 53 paintings and had been preparing for a gallery show, so I kept putting pieces on the walls,” she said.

The fire claimed most of the space, including menus brought from Ti Amo and signed by President Bush, Mick Jagger, Ellen DeGeneres, and others. “Those were irreplaceable. I have just one left that survived,” Martine said.

But the job of an artist is to create, and the show must go on. At the historic Coa De Jima, home to a 3,000 pound metal tree sculpture created by local artist Delia Dante, Martine’s art also fills the walls. There and at each of the restaurants, her sensual portraits and whimsical sculptures pay tribute to the life she has cultivated so richly with details like the Instagram stars of the Barbacoa women’s bathroom and embellished high heels niched into glossy pink onyx walls.

Like Martine, even Barbacoa’s bathroom mirrors, originals from the

first restaurant that changed to pink and orange in the fire’s heat, exude mischief. “We added the [fake] peephole in the men’s room that looks into the women’s room; it’s a video that gets naughtier through the night,” she said.

On Barbacoa’s walls, there are portraits of Martine and Robert in a hat and a wig. “He gave me the rose in the portrait because while we were dating, he brought me a white rose every day, and I blew him a kiss,” she explained.

The spirit of playfulness is alive in Coa de Jima too. Martine explains that, like Barbacoa, you must examine the art to figure out which are the men’s and women’s restrooms. She’ll do the same for Coa Del Mar. “Something fabulous but completely different,” she said. “Local artist Filip Vogelpohl is creating a massive chandelier for Del Mar. Our palette will be creams, lots of light, and mother of pearl. No more dark.”

If intrigue is the name of the game, Martine is clearly winning. “There are so many surprises and secrets,” she said.

PHOTO BY KAREN DAY ARTWORK IMAGES COURTESY OF MARTINE CASTORO

JUST A MINUTE: Local Filmmakers on Fast Track

BY HOLLY COOK

Budding lmmakers Bella Hall, age 20, and Gracie Hall, 21, have more industry experience than some lmmakers gain in a lifetime. e sisters recently won a short lm contest sponsored by Coca-Cola with a 60-second short lm, now playing nationwide in AMC, Cinemark Cineplex, and Landmark Cinemas before rst-run movies like Barbie and Oppenheimer

Born and raised in Boise, the Hall sisters had a natural inclination towards lmmaking. As young girls, the skits Bella and Gracie created for their parents quickly developed into video skits, which evolved into lmmaking for an audience. By age 12 or 13, the sisters were competing in i48, an Idaho short lm competition, completed start-to- nish in 48 hours.

“Having i48 as our intro to lmmaking was really helpful for us in a lot of ways because we are used to fast turnarounds,” Bella explained.

e duo nurtured their passion for lmmaking throughout high school, applying to compete in the All-American High School Film Festival, held in New York City. In 2021, the pair headed across the country, obtaining permits to lm at historic landmarks like Grand Central Terminal and Central Park. During the three-day shoot, Bella and Gracie relied upon their ability to work quickly, completing a lm and meeting inspiring lmmakers from all over the world.

After graduating high school, the decision about what to study in college was an easy one for Bella and Gracie. Both majored in Film and Television Arts at Boise State University, where they heard about the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films Program. e competition allowed ve nalists to write, lm, and produce a

to Success

short lm on an $18,000 budget. Bella and Gracie were selected as nalists out of more than 600 entrants across North America. e Hall sisters quickly assembled a crew of over 55 people, including many current BSU lm students and recent graduates. For the next nine months, they worked diligently on the lm, with Gracie acting as writer and producer and Bella directing.

e lm was shot locally at Cinemark Majestic Cinemas in Meridian, where the crew worked overnight on back-to-back, twelve-hour shoots.

“One of the most exciting things about the experience was navigating the moving parts, between logistical processes and the approval process of working with a global brand,” said Gracie. “It let us keep our ngers on the pulse of how fast-paced that kind of collaboration is.”

Winning the Coca-Cola competition gave the Hall sisters lasting con dence in their abilities. While they both nd inspiration in writers and directors like Greta Gerwig, the sisters’ unique bond shines through when they speak about each other and the work they produce together. “ ere’s this innate trust in working together that feels really natural and wonderful. It’s like a built-in friendship,” said Gracie, about working with her sister Bella.

Now college graduates, the next project for the Hall sisters is already underway. Bella and Gracie are working on their rst feature-like lm, a fantastical comedy they plan to take on the lm festival circuit.

e inspiring sibling duo believes others can achieve similar success. “It really is about believing in yourself, your passion, and your vision. You are your number one cheerleader. If you believe it, you can,” said Gracie.

Gracie and Bella Hall on set for Expand at the Cinemark Majestic Cinemas.

PHOTO BY CHANDLER THORNTON.

April 2023. CinemaCon red carpet. Expand, the 60 second Coca-Cola spot, premiered at the Colosseum in Caesars Palace. GETTY IMAGES

Tina is keeping

in theroom.

Tina keeps her power bill lower and a wave of good energy flowing through her space by swapping bulbs to LEDs. More tips at IdahoPower.com/Save.

BY TIM ATWELL

Alicia Go was 14 years old when her friend’s mom gave her the keys to a classic Corvette. It was a Stingray, one of the most sleek and iconic cars ever built, featuring an eye-catching frame and elongated hood. is was a vehicle that rst caught the imagination of gearheads when it hit the market in the 1960s, and it has remained a cultural icon ever since, even appearing in the 2017 addition to the Fast and the Furious franchise, e Fate of the Furious.

“It made me fall in love with it. I wanted it to be my rst car,” Alicia said. She laughed ruefully. “Instead, I got a 94 Geo Metro.”

Her friend’s mom let her drive the Stingray to convince Alicia’s grandpa to buy it. Her grandpa John owned Go ’s Auto Wrecking in Payette, Idaho, and was a gearhead through and through.

“My grandpa used to be a mechanic,” said Alicia. “So anytime he was working on something, I was always there trying to help him out.”

Alicia spent her younger years shadowing John on the job and learning the ins and outs of the business. Working alongside her great uncle Louie, Alicia gained the practical skills necessary for the complex, and often physically demanding, art of auto mechanics.

She brought those skills with her when she moved to Nampa and found work as a tech at Valvoline. In less than a year, she was promoted to manager. Soon after, she was asked to run a whole shop.

C S G GRAY

“I was determined. Just doing whatever I needed to to make it clear I was here for the long run,” Alicia said.

Now, Alicia manages a team of ve people at a Boise location. She focuses on training her sta and keeping the shop running smoothly, but she also nds joy in helping the customers that enter the shop.

“I love it. ere’s just something di erent every day,” Alicia said. “Just being able to have that knowledge to help somebody else that might not know much.”

It’s been three years since Alicia moved to the Boise area, and in that time she’s worked her way up to managing a franchise location, leading a team ve, and honing the craft

that she inherited from her grandpa. However, it’s not all about work and ambition.

She still dreams of one day owning a 1967 Stingray, but Alicia’s gaze has shifted more recently to her passion for two-wheeled vehicles. Her new favorite hobby involves riding and tinkering with motorcycles.

Listening to Alicia’s laid-back tone as she describes her hobby, it’s clear that she handles her motorcycle like she handles her work, keeping an eye on the road in front of her and enjoying the ride.

“I’m pretty content with what I’m doing now,” Alicia said. “On the side, I’d love to work on motorcycles, but it’s not something I want as a career. I’m on a pretty good path where I’m at now.”

PHOTOS BY KAREN DAY

BY ARIANNA CRETEAU

Lydia Rose Miller is a rodeo queen, but make no mistake about it, she is pure cowgirl. As the 2023 Miss Rodeo Idaho, she follows in her mother’s boot-shaped footsteps, a journey that has been challenging and emotional. “If you would have told 15year-old me when I competed in my very rst contest, that one day I would be Miss Rodeo Idaho and getting ready to compete for Miss Rodeo America, she probably would have just said that you’re crazy and kind of just walked away,” she laughs.

is is especially true for Miller because of the unique twists and turns in her journey. A year before she was crowned, she was announced as the 2022 Miss Rodeo Idaho, until a scoring error was discovered, making Miller the runner up. Although she was elated for her friend, losing the title was devastating. After the roller coaster of emotions, she was ready to give up competition.

In the midst of selling her queening wardrobe, Miller felt certain that she’d never wear the belt buckle that had meant so much to her. A friend asked her to reconsider, and after prayer and a heartfelt conversation with her mentor, she was ready to rewrite her story and become the girl who would win after months of disappointment and doubt.

While Miller has always worked hard to be a helping hand for others, it was her community and support system that gave her the push she needed to compete again last minute. An unstoppable force, sweeping 6 out of 8 categories at the 2023 competition gave Miller the undeniable win. And then it was onto queen life, where she traded horses for plane rides, at least some of the time.

e duties of Miss Rodeo Idaho are as demanding as a full time job. Trips, rodeo appearances, and other duties are nonstop fun for Miller. “I absolutely love it! We are still in the middle of our summer run right now. I have some more favorite rodeos to go to and it’s just been amazing. But at the moment, I am working on representing the state of Idaho at rodeos doing my job,” she said.

Miller is also a proud fth-generation cattle rancher. Her family handles beef cattle, Texas longhorns, and an elk farm. “It’s a huge honor to be a part of ranching and to carry on the family tradition and this Western way of life that my dad’s family grew up in. It’s a huge part of our world. We rely on agriculture,” she said. Miller and her two siblings plan on continuing the family legacy for future generations, and after her rodeo role, she has plans to return to school to pursue a degree in Agribusiness.

“It’s an honor to represent our state and get a chance to represent at the Miss Rodeo America pageant for a chance to bring that title back to the Gem State,” she said. e National Miss Rodeo pageant is December 2023 in Las Vegas.

“No matter the ask at hand, whether it’s helping a neighbor out at a branding, or raking hay out in the eld, I’m willing to jump in and get my hands dirty. Hard work is something that I don’t shy away from,” Miller said. “I feel like that’s something that makes me more than just a rodeo queen, more than just a pretty face.”

For now, even running errands isn’t the same for the local star who gets recognized around Buhl, Idaho, not as the girl who won and then didn’t, but as the reigning queen—Miss Rodeo Idaho 2023.

“It’s an honor to represent our state and get a chance to represent at the Miss Rodeo America pageant...”

PHOTO BY KAREN DAY

PHOTO BY ART OF APERTURE PHOTOGRAPHY

In less than an hour from anywhere in the Treasure Valley, you can drive to some of the most beautiful spots on earth. To make this fall’s travel even more special, enjoy the ride in a Ford F-150 from the place where you’re always welcome.

Where Ford Begins in Idaho