Madelyn Beck
Madelyn Beck is Boise State Public Radio's regional reporter with the Mountain West News 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 issues 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.
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A new survey of several Mountain West states found that 85% of respondents are concerned about our Democracy. Research firm Morning Consult talked with nearly 1900 people. Most were also concerned about misinformation and expect more violence similar to what we saw on January 6. -
A new report shows that rental prices are cooling off for the first time in several months. Apartment List, which is a national rental marketplace, found that rental prices have started to stagnate, or in some cases, even drop. That’s normal for the fall months, but especially welcome in a year that’s had unprecedented increases in rents across the Mountain West. -
The UN Climate Conference, also called COP 26, is underway in Glasgow, Scotland. The global discussion around climate change may affect Mountain West energy sources and trade in the long term. -
Wildfire season is winding down across much of the Mountain West as cold weather moves in. But it’s the perfect time to set controlled, or prescribed, fires to burn unwanted dead trees and underbrush that fuel larger wildfires. -
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for a complicated groundwater case this week, which could have implications for the Mountain West. The case involves Mississippi alleging that Tennessee takes too much water from an aquifer that runs beneath both states. Several western states have argued against the suit, not wanting to further complicate water law between their states. -
The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that there was a 14% dip in hydropower in the U.S. this year. The vast majority of that decline is in the West. Less moisture and higher temps meant lower reservoir levels and decreased the ability to get energy from hydro dams. While utilities have long prepared for droughts, they’re becoming more frequent due to climate change. -
The judges found EPA permits in Idaho factory farms didn’t require enough monitoring of waste, and could lead to manure in waterways. -
The U.S. Interior Department is expanding access to hunting and fishing on about 2.1 million acres of Fish and Wildlife Service land. That’s nearly the size of Yellowstone National Park. While hunters and anglers applaud the efforts, other conservation groups believe that refuges shouldn’t have hunting or angling at all. -
Fentanyl test strips and better data may be a few of the many solutions to the opioid epidemic and the Mountain West's spike in overdose deaths. -
In the high-stakes fight against fentanyl-induced drug deaths, one remedy is fairly simple: blue and white strips of paper. Fentanyl test strips work like a pregnancy test. One line shows up if there’s fentanyl in a solution. Two lines if there’s none. But where are they needed most?
