6.11.2026 - INTERVIEW: Sen. Jim Risch on polling, Iran, SAVE Act -- Yard Sale Crackdowns, and electoral dirty tricks

6.11.2026 - INTERVIEW: Sen. Jim Risch on polling, Iran, SAVE Act -- Yard Sale Crackdowns, and electoral dirty tricks

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2390029/fan_mail/new] Senator Jim Risch joined Neal Larson and Julie Mason from Washington, D.C. for a wide-ranging conversation that started with rising tension around Iran. Risch argued the regime can’t be trusted to honor agreements, emphasized the difference between the Iranian people and the ruling hardliners, and said the Strait of Hormuz must remain open—both for global stability and because no nation can be allowed to “close” international waters. He also pushed back on the idea that U.S. actions there are designed to strategically choke China’s energy supply, while noting the ripple effects any conflict in the region can create. Back in studio, Neal and Julie dug into how little the public often knows compared to what intelligence briefings may contain, and why politics-driven “certainty” can make honest conversation impossible. From there, the show bounced through several hot-button (and sometimes funny) debates: campaign polling as a tool to shape narratives rather than measure reality, alleged political games around last names and rank-choice voting, and a spirited takedown of what they see as overreaching local regulation—this time sparked by yard sale limits. The hour wrapped with a blunt discussion about public reaction to the Carmelo Anthony/Austin Metcalf case and comments from Jasmine Crockett, with Neal and Julie arguing that excusing violence for political points breaks trust, blocks real lessons, and disrespects victims. ## 2. Highlights - Senator Jim Risch on Iran: the regime “drags its feet” and can’t be relied on—even with a signed deal.   - A sober look at the Strait of Hormuz: why it *has* to remain open and what that means for global energy.   - Neal and Julie push back on “keyboard-warrior certainty,” arguing the public simply doesn’t have the same intel leaders do.   - The “polling vs. propaganda” moment: why campaigns sometimes use polling to *shape* a race instead of measure it.   - The yard sale crackdown debate: “Why are we turning the city into an HOA?” plus a flash poll on how many sales is “too many.”   - A heated response to Jasmine Crockett’s remarks on the Metcalf family—calling it political minimization of real grief. Let’s talk advertising. When you want to advertise on the radio, you call the station, right? But what about Facebook, Instagram, Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, and other streaming platforms? You could try clicking around, reading books, or taking online courses to figure it out—or you can let us handle it. At Sandhill Media Group, we’re your local experts in both radio and digital marketing. Visit SandhillMediaGroup.com today.

6.10.2026 - NFL Streaming Costs, Track Meet Stabbing Verdict, Faith & “Christian” Labels

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2390029/fan_mail/new] Today we bounced between three conversations that all hit the same nerve: what we expect from institutions—and what happens when reality doesn’t match the expectation. First up was Congress stepping into the mess of modern sports broadcasting, where following the NFL can mean juggling a pile of platforms and potentially spending hundreds (even up to $600+ depending on what you count) just to watch the games you want. We’re still not convinced it’s Congress’s job to referee entertainment pricing, but we can at least understand the frustration—especially when hearings highlight how hard the streaming shift is hitting sports bars and small businesses that need reliability, not spinning wheels and frozen feeds. Then we turned to the Carmelo Anthony trial and conviction in Texas stemming from a fatal stabbing at a high school track meet. The self-defense claim hinged on a shove/hand contact, but the discussion came back to a basic point: the ability to walk away matters, and using lethal force in that situation didn’t meet the bar for justification. We also talked about how quickly the public “race-ifies” cases like this—even when the trial itself didn’t center race—and why the bigger lesson is teaching kids how to de-escalate, not escalate. We wrapped with a grab bag of national weirdness: Trump speaking from the Oval Office (and drifting into very Trump construction-detail mode), the ongoing UFO disclosure pressure campaign and why AI-era distrust makes “bombshells” harder to believe, and a surprisingly heated new round in the “are Latter-day Saints Christians?” argument—where we basically landed on: I’d rather live surrounded by God-fearing people than spend my time drawing purity-line boundaries that nobody can ultimately prove. ### Highlights - Why the NFL’s platform fragmentation feels like a paywall maze—and why Congress is suddenly sniffing around it   - The Carmelo Anthony guilty verdict: self-defense claims, walking away, and how the public turned it into a racial flashpoint   - UFO “disclosure” politics in the age of AI: even if they tell us, will anyone trust it?   - The “Mormons aren’t Christian” argument flaring up again—and why that whole fight misses the point   Let’s talk advertising. When you want to advertise on the radio, you call the station, right? But what about Facebook, Instagram, Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, and other streaming platforms? You could try clicking around, reading books, or taking online courses to figure it out—or you can let us handle it. At Sandhill Media Group, we’re your local experts in both radio and digital marketing. Visit SandhillMediaGroup.com today.

6.9.2026 - Vacation Roadtrip, Faith Identity, GOP Leadership

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2390029/fan_mail/new] Neal Larson and Julie Mason are back in the studio after Neal’s roadtrip loop through the Northwest, including a strong recommendation to put the Route of the Hiawatha Trail on the bucket list—an easy-to-plan, beautiful ride with a memorable tunnel stretch. From there, the conversation shifts into heavier territory: the Pentagon’s chaplain-faith categorization list that initially placed The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints outside a “Christian” umbrella. Neal walks through why that distinction lit a fuse politically (and personally), how he defines “Christian” in a straightforward way centered on belief in Jesus Christ, and why neither the government nor outside critics are the authority on someone’s faith—while also acknowledging the Pentagon likely approached it as a logistics document and later corrected course. The show then checks in on a Capitol Hill hearing focused on the Southern Poverty Law Center, reacting to testimony and allegations that SPLC money and influence have been used in ways that fuel division, including claims about funding flows tied to extremists and the labeling of mainstream conservative groups. After the break, Neal and Julie bring on Mark Fuller—current first vice chair of the Idaho Republican Party—who announces his run for IDGOP chair. Fuller frames his candidacy around behind-the-scenes “servant” leadership, stricter rule-following, rebuilding stable staffing and fundraising (including recurring small-dollar giving), and managing internal party factionalism through a more collaborative, council-style process rather than winner-take-all “team” politics. ## Highlights - Neal’s takeaways from the Route of the Hiawatha Trail and why it’s worth planning. - The Pentagon chaplain listing controversy and the renewed debate over LDS Christians. - Capitol Hill hearing reactions: SPLC allegations, “manufactured outrage,” and corporate gatekeeping concerns. - Mark Fuller enters the IDGOP chair race, focusing on rules, fundraising, and internal unity-through-process. Let’s talk advertising. When you want to advertise on the radio, you call the station, right? But what about Facebook, Instagram, Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, and other streaming platforms? You could try clicking around, reading books, or taking online courses to figure it out—or you can let us handle it. At Sandhill Media Group, we’re your local experts in both radio and digital marketing. Visit SandhillMediaGroup.com today.

6.8.2026 - Marine Sniper Journey, License Plate Readers, Community Safety

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2390029/fan_mail/new] Today’s show had a little bit of everything: Julie Mason and Adam Hall held down the fort while Neal Larson was out, and we started with an incredible conversation with veteran Brandon Seine. Brandon walked us through his path from small-town Montana to the Marines—boot camp at Camp Pendleton, infantry life, and the intense sniper indoc process that really tested his limits. He shared what it felt like to go from “peacetime military” to the reality of post‑9/11 deployment, including the early days in Kuwait when they were literally dropped into the desert with almost no infrastructure and waited for the moment things turned real. From there, Brandon explained his transition into private contracting—protecting U.S. interests overseas and later moving into executive protection and then cybersecurity at Microsoft. That career arc helped shape what he’s building now: **HYV Social**, a veteran-founded app designed to solve a real problem—disconnection and isolation—by making it easier for people to find nearby friends and discover events in real time, without ads, without algorithms, and with strong privacy controls (including user-controlled data retention). In hour two, Idaho Falls Police Chief Bryce Johnson joined Julie and Adam to answer listener questions and explain what **Flock** cameras are (license plate readers), how Idaho law limits their use and retention, and why the department believes they’re a major tool for catching violent offenders and solving serious crimes—while also addressing concerns about surveillance, misuse, and accountability. --- ### Highlights - Brandon Seine’s Marines timeline: Montana → boot camp → infantry → sniper indoc → post‑9/11 deployment realities   - How Brandon went from overseas dignitary/security contracting to Microsoft security—and why that led to building **HYV Social**   - HYV Social’s core idea: real-time nearby connections + discoverable events, built to get people off the phone and into real life   - Chief Bryce Johnson breaks down Flock/license plate readers: constitutionality, 30‑day retention, and how they’re used to solve crimes   - Quick hits: Idaho Falls kratom sales ban (city-level), alcohol ordinance cleanup, right-on-red vs red-arrow clarification, and local crime trends Let’s talk advertising. When you want to advertise on the radio, you call the station, right? But what about Facebook, Instagram, Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, and other streaming platforms? You could try clicking around, reading books, or taking online courses to figure it out—or you can let us handle it. At Sandhill Media Group, we’re your local experts in both radio and digital marketing. Visit SandhillMediaGroup.com today.

6.5.2026 - INTERVIEWS: Nathaniel K Gee, Jay Calderwood

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2390029/fan_mail/new] On the 50th anniversary of the Teton Dam disaster, we spent the hour walking back through the *whole* story with Dr. Nathaniel Gee—dam safety engineer and author of *Failure and Fortitude* [https://www.amazon.com/Failure-Fortitude-Politics-Shaped-Disaster/dp/1462151345]—starting with why the dam got built in the first place. We talked about the very human mix of ambition and pressure that pushed Teton forward: a political era where every district wanted a dam, elections that turned on local LDS culture as much as policy, and the hard truth that even after authorization, funding could be used as leverage. Nathaniel connects dots most of us only hear in pieces—local oral histories, Washington power plays, and the technical decisions inside the Bureau of Reclamation that set the stage for a project built on notoriously bad geology. From there we got into what went wrong technically (and why): fractured rock, massive grouting surprises, cost and environmental pressures, and a “new” key trench approach that left the core unprotected by proper filtering—basically letting water move material, not just seep. We also talked about what happened when the dam failed on June 5, 1976: the heartbreaking first fatality story, the near-impossible evacuation success that kept the death toll to 11, and what community looked like when 25,000 people needed help immediately—neighbors, churches, and radio becoming the backbone of recovery. We also heard directly from Jay Calderwood, who was on a bulldozer on top of the dam as it gave way—an eyewitness account that still stops you in your tracks. We closed with the question a lot of East Idaho keeps circling back to: could Teton be rebuilt? Engineering-wise, yes—but it wouldn’t be cheap, and the real debate is whether the benefits justify the cost. --- ### Highlights - How political strategy, appropriations power, and LDS cultural dynamics helped push the dam from idea to reality   - The engineering turning point: fractured foundation, unexpected grout needs, and a key trench design without proper filter protection   - Why only 11 lives were lost despite catastrophic flooding—and what that says about warnings, timing, and community response   - Jay Calderwood’s firsthand story escaping the collapsing dam while backing a dozer away from the break   - The rebuild question: a safe dam is possible, but the geology makes “cheap” impossible—so it becomes a benefit/cost fight Let’s talk advertising. When you want to advertise on the radio, you call the station, right? But what about Facebook, Instagram, Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, and other streaming platforms? You could try clicking around, reading books, or taking online courses to figure it out—or you can let us handle it. At Sandhill Media Group, we’re your local experts in both radio and digital marketing. Visit SandhillMediaGroup.com today.