6.9.2026 - Vacation Roadtrip, Faith Identity, GOP Leadership

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.

6.4.2026 - Potato Farming, Social Media, Idaho History

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2390029/fan_mail/new] Neal Larson is out traveling with his family, so Julie Mason runs the show with Adam Hall (a.k.a. “HOA Adam / Car Show Adam”) and special guest  Tehren Likes —better known online as the **Rocky Mountain Farmer**. Tehren shares how a simple drone purchase turned into a massive YouTube presence (130,000+ subscribers) by leaning into a niche most farming channels ignored: **potatoes**. The conversation gets real about what farming actually looks like—only a couple months in the tractor, and the rest of the year fixing broken equipment, managing pivots, cleaning ditches, pulling pumps, and trying to keep a high-cost operation moving. They dig into the eye-watering economics: $500k+ tractors, million-dollar machines, and fuel burns that make everyday gas complaints look silly. They also get into the water picture—how rainfall helps, why too much water can rot potatoes, and why drought and water uncertainty still hang over everything, even when you’re under contract and *have* to plant. Tehren explains crop rotation (potatoes into wheat, hay for weed pressure), why Idaho grows world-class potatoes (soil + climate), and where the industry is heading after a brutal pricing year—selling potatoes for pennies compared to break-even. The hour wraps with talk of an Idaho potato grower association forming to help stabilize the future. In the second hour, Julie and Adam preview special upcoming programming for the **50th anniversary of the Teton Dam flood**, then bring in Adam’s daughter **Paisley** to talk about being a paid page at the Idaho Legislature—what she did day-to-day, what she learned seeing government up close, and how school phone policies look from a student’s perspective. --- ### Highlights - How Tehren Likes  built “Rocky Mountain Farmer” by filling a potato-content gap on YouTube   - The true rhythm of farm life: tractors for a season, repairs and maintenance the rest of the year   - Big ag costs: half-million-dollar tractors, million-dollar combines, and $1,700 fuel fill-ups   - Water realities: rainfall benefits, rot risk for potatoes, and ongoing curtailment concerns   - Paisley’s Idaho page experience: committees, floor sessions, and behind-the-scenes Capitol work   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.

6.3.2026 - McGrane Complaint, Rubio Clashes, Teton Dam Stories

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2390029/fan_mail/new] Neal Larson and Julie Mason kick off the morning with some light banter—vacation plans to Seattle, food quirks, and a reminder that National Donut Day is coming (with a throwback to Neal’s infamous donut-choking moment). Then we dig into the bigger issue: Senator Scott Herndon filing a complaint against Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane over election-season mailers and how those costs were allocated. We talk through why this matters—less about “gotchas” and more about the unique optics of the state’s top elections official getting deeply involved in endorsements, donations, and political network-building. Since the Secretary of State can’t investigate himself, the complaint heads to Attorney General Raul Labrador, and we kick around what the “why” might be behind McGrane’s unusually active primary season (including the possibility he’s plowing the field for a future statewide run). From there, the show bounces between serious and spirited: we unpack the “retroactive standards” people apply to policies like House Bill 93 (parental choice tax credit), push back on a clip claiming “Christianity is a feminist religion” with a candid discussion about scripture, doctrine, and political co-opting of faith, and then hit national politics with Marco Rubio’s sharp exchanges in a Senate hearing—especially his no-nonsense framing that the U.S. government isn’t a “charity” and his detailed rebuttal to senators trying to score points for social media. The hour also includes a moving preview of Friday’s pre-taped special with Dr. Nathaniel Gee on the 50th anniversary of the Teton Dam collapse, plus powerful listener call-ins sharing firsthand memories of the flood’s devastation, miracles, and aftermath. ### Highlights - Senator Scott Herndon’s complaint against Secretary of State Phil McGrane and why it automatically routes to AG Raul Labrador   - The “propriety vs. legality” question: endorsements, campaign spending, and the elections-referee optics problem   - A gripping preview of the Teton Dam 50th anniversary coverage—and emotional listener stories of survival and loss   - Marco Rubio’s Senate hearing moments: “We are not here to play social worker…we are here to win”   - Calling out political re-framing: when critics grade policies against standards they were never designed to meet   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.