With new guidelines from the CDC, plenty of people had questions about what it all means. The 208 asked some of your COVID-19 questions and comments with the experts. After the new guidelines, how are Idaho's entertainment venues are responding? ZZ Top was one of the biggest rock bands of the 1980s. Now one Boise guitar maker mourns the death of one of the members.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put a lot of things on pause over the last year and a half. Just as we were beginning to move forward, we are moving back to recommending masks be worn indoors. Despite the availability of a COVID-19 vaccine, hospitalizations continue to increase, specifically among those who have not had a shot. We hear a desperate plea from an ICU physician at Saint Alphonsus.

Idaho's pandemic strategy has been touted as being very independent, which is kind of the Idaho way, right? How how is that meshing with national medical experts. Private employers have already started requiring their employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and now government agencies are doing the same. It's happening in Idaho, but not by Idaho. They certainly weren't the first pioneers of Boise, but they did provide the city with it's first ribbon of jewels along the river. We're looking back on how Julia Davis Park got its name.

On Thursday morning, Idaho's top health experts warned that the Gem State is on the edge of a fourth wave of the coronavirus. With the new school year about a month away, school districts are still working out plans for face masks and vaccine guidelines for students. The state's budget surplus reached more than $900 million, and Idaho Education Association wants to see some of that money go towards education.

A second ethics investigation into an Idaho lawmaker is set to start next month. The representative at the heart of it says the Idaho Speaker of the House is playing "dirty politics." However, Rep. Scott Bedke said the timeline of events in her accusation doesn't add up. With the delta COVID-19 variant spreading across the country, Idaho is trying to track the dangerous variant.

On July 19, 1989, the Gem State sold its first lottery ticket, to a billionaire of all people. In this 208 Redial, meet the woman who designs some of the Idaho Lottery's scratch tickets. With dozens of murals, Mountain Home is quickly becoming a hidden art gem in Idaho.

Going too far or well within rights? We continue to listen to the debate about the decision some local medical providers announced to their employees: get vaccinated or lose your job. After hearing from Idaho Republicans this week, today we turn to the Democrats. After a year of delays and uncertainties, we're just one week out from the start of the 2020 Olympic Games. While we count down the hours, we're taking a look inside Boise's big kickoff party. We're also bringing back one of our favorites: Feel Good Friday.

After three healthcare systems announced employees are now required to be vaccinated against COVID-19, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin held a press conference about it and spoke to The 208's Joe Parris about her thoughts on the matter. The Treasure Valley is once again being choked with wildfire smoke. One air quality expert told KTVB that it might be around all through the summer and into the fall.

COVID-19 vaccine requirements are now mandatory for some employees, and Idaho's lieutenant governor thinks the state government should step in. Many believe, however, that request is an overreach.   To feed or not to feed? A simple question for McCall's city council that got completely complicated by state code. So is there a new no-feeding ordinance in McCall? Happy birthday to us! Idaho's first television station turns 68 today. While those numbers keep getting bigger, everything else around us keeps getting smaller.

The day after Idaho's major medical providers put a covid vaccine mandate in place, you can expect some fallout from a drop like that, we're hearing from st luke's about what they're hearing. What we're hearing, there's still a lot of misinformation and concern when it comes to the vaccine. Here are some numbers to help straighten it out. And how did a city in the middle of a dry-high desert get the nickname 'The City of Trees'? You can thank some French Fur traders for that and a tree farm that helps keep the namesake alive.