Madelyn Beck
Reporter, Mountain West °µºÚ±¬ÁÏ BureauMadelyn Beck is Boise State Public Radio's regional reporter with the Mountain West °µºÚ±¬ÁÏ Bureau. She's from Montana but has reported everywhere from North Dakota to Alaska to Washington, D.C. Her last few positions included covering energy resources in Wyoming and reporting on agriculture/rural life in Illinois.
Pre-journalism jobs include (but are not limited to): ranch hand for Icelandic horses, hotel laundress, large caliber brass shell sorter/inventory, salmon processor in Alaska and waitress for a murder mystery dinner theater.
-
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is launching an Indian Youth Service Corps with new guidelines. The corps was established in 2019 as part of an amendment to the Public Lands Corps Act. -
Glacier National Park has re-instituted a mask mandate inside federal buildings, like visitor centers. Officials there say they’re following National Park Service and Interior Department guidance. That is, when the CDC reports a high level of COVID-19 community spread around a park, officials re-institute an indoor mask mandate. Other national parks could bring back mask requirements, too, if rates increase around the West. -
The National Weather Service released its June outlook today. It doesn’t look great for Utah, Nevada, Colorado or New Mexico. Part of all of those states are expected to have higher than normal temperatures and lower than normal precipitation. Parts of northern Idaho and Wyoming are expected to stay cooler in June with more precipitation, but heat up later in the summer. -
Federal reports show Memorial Day gas prices are the highest they’ve been in a decade, adjusting for inflation. Still, AAA has found that half of people won’t cancel summer vacations no matter what gas prices do. But about three quarters said they would make some general changes once gas prices hit $5 a gallon. -
People facing high wildfire risks are more likely to be white, live in pricier homes and have higher incomes. That’s according to new research published in Environmental Research Letters. It suggests that this wealthier group is more likely to face wildfire threats because many of them seek the beautiful views and amenities on the outskirts of bigger cities in the West. -
COVID-19 cases are increasing in most of the country, but it’s hard to say how much. That's due to at-home tests and vaccines, which mean fewer people need to go to a doctor for a diagnoses or aid. These are good signs, but they also make it hard to track the virus, which can be stressful for people who are immunocompromised or can’t get the vaccine. -
This year’s strain of the bird flu is still killing birds in our region, from poultry to hawks. Officials hope the virus dies out later this summer, but until then, they urge bird owners to use good hygiene practices and to protect the birds from other wild species. -
Agencies like the Forest Service often use contract airplanes to drop fire retardant on wildfires. If resources fall short, though, a specialized team of military personnel can help. This year is shaping up to be another extreme fire season, so having this backup may be especially helpful. -
This fire year is on track to be as extreme as the last few. At the same time, some Forest Service areas have had a hard time hiring enough wildland firefighters. -
The Mountain West is as divided on abortion as the nation, itself. States like Colorado have passed legislation to preserve access to abortion, but several others intend to outlaw the practice as soon as possible. That may be sooner than later, given a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that calls for Roe v. Wade to be overturned.
