The Neal Larson Show

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With a week left before the primary, Neal and Julie are feeling that familiar end-of-cycle fatigue—when everything feels louder than it should and it’s tempting to snap back on social media. But the bigger point Neal keeps coming back to is this: we all still have to live together after Election Day, and the constant anger isn’t helping anyone think clearly. From there, Neal lays out what he sees as the real political problem underneath a lot of Idaho’s “make it make sense” moments—big money and big industry influence, certain lawmakers functioning as reliable bill-killers, and a power structure that leaves regular voters feeling ignored. His prescription is simple and blunt: the May primary is the election in Idaho, turnout is embarrassingly low, and if even a modest number of disengaged conservatives actually showed up (and brought a couple friends), the results would shock people.

Then we get a full interview with gubernatorial challenger Mark Fitzpatrick, who argues he’s building grassroots momentum and says Governor Brad Little is avoiding interviews and tough questions—especially on immigration. Fitzpatrick responds to a hidden-camera clip where Little labels some of Fitzpatrick’s supporters “racist,” calling it a political smear to dodge the immigration conversation. Fitzpatrick also pitches aggressive budget cuts tied to rolling back post-COVID spending, cracking down on fraud (including claims about daycare/benefits abuse), and expanding natural resource development (mining/logging) to grow state revenue—paired with strong anti-illegal-immigration enforcement. The hour wraps with more Idaho political crossfire: Attorney General Raul Labrador publicly dismantling ex-AG Jim Jones’ credibility (especially after the school choice ruling), callers weighing in on hot-button social issues like parental rights and gender policy in schools, and a candid sidebar on how certain political alliances can be a deal-killer with everyday voters—whether candidates realize it or not.

**Highlights**
- Neal’s “make it make sense” thesis: parts of the Legislature are effectively owned by powerful industry money—and it’s showing up in bills getting “drawered.”
- A hard push to boost primary turnout: even moving from ~25% to 30–35% could flip outcomes across Idaho.
- Mark Fitzpatrick interview: immigration, budget cuts, fraud investigations, and a “more public, truth-forward” style of governor.
- Fitzpatrick answers Brad Little hidden-camera remarks accusing some supporters of racism.
- Labrador vs. Jim Jones: credibility, repeated legal/political claims, and why newspapers still platform him.

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We’re in that familiar spot where the Idaho primary is the real election, and there’s simply more happening than any show can realistically hold. A big chunk of the conversation centers on the sudden, statewide panic over Jordan Redmond putting serious personal money into a PAC to support primary challengers—panic that feels a little rich considering how much anonymous, out-of-state “dark money” has been flowing into Idaho for years through friendlier-sounding front groups (like “Defend Public Lands”). The point we keep coming back to: either big money influencing elections is a problem across the board, or people need to stop melting down when the “wrong” side plays the same game—especially when Redmond is at least putting his name on it and daring everyone else to do the same.

We also dig into campaign dynamics closer to home: frustration with candidates ducking debates and controlling “forum” formats, with particular heat around Ben Fermann’s refusal to engage in tougher settings and the sense that momentum may be shifting toward Julianne Young. We touch on the Heart vs. Connor Cook race, the curious alignment of endorsements, and how voters can cut through the noise using tools like the Sunshine Report. Then we pivot to a rare contested judicial race with District Judge Cody Brower, who lays out his background, his courtroom philosophy, and—importantly—why sentencing outcomes (especially in child sex offense cases) often hinge on plea deals and charging decisions made before a case ever reaches a judge.

### Highlights
- The uproar over Jordan Redmond’s PAC vs. the relative quiet about long-running dark money and industry PAC influence in Idaho.
- Why “nice guy” politics doesn’t equal conservative voting—and why that’s driving primary challenges.
- Forum/debate drama in East Idaho races and how “meet the candidate” events are replacing real debates.
- Judge Cody Brower on judicial philosophy, constitutional rights, and how plea agreements can limit sentencing options.
- Practical advice: use the Sunshine Report to track who is funding which messages and candidates.

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We kicked off the morning talking straight about election season in East Idaho—specifically how to spot (and ignore) the deceptive “dark money” mailers that show up dressed in feel-good names like “water champions” or “veterans” groups. Neal’s message was basically: don’t even read the hit piece—flip it over, check the “paid for by,” and if it’s not an actual campaign you recognize, toss it. The bigger point is voter discipline: study candidates, don’t let outsiders or shell groups shape your opinions, and don’t let crossover primary voting decide close races when turnout is the real fix.

Then we shifted into some lighter moments—Mother’s Day ideas, and a Skyline High School chamber a cappella group came in and nailed “Yesterday” ahead of their May 19 concert. After that, we dug into the Mark Hamill/Obama appearance and the backlash over a Trump-death meme, using it as a springboard into a broader conversation about political hatred, double standards, and why so many celebrities torch their own goodwill chasing that rage. The hour also featured Representative Barb Ehardt in-studio and Attorney General Raul Labrador on the phone, covering endorsements, election stakes in East Idaho, the fight for fairness in women’s sports (and how Idaho’s law helped set national precedent), ongoing “culture issue” battles like bathrooms and explicit library content, and the reality of defending these laws in court. We also addressed the messy political twisting around ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) funding votes—how budgets get weaponized in mailers—and closed with a strong push for conservatives to show up, bring friends, and stop assuming someone else will carry the turnout burden.

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### Highlights
- How to spot “Potemkin” political groups and why you should ignore negative dark-money mailers  
- Skyline High School chamber choir performs “Yesterday” + details for their May 19 concert  
- Barbie Hart and Raul Labrador on women’s sports legislation, cultural fights, and defending Idaho laws in court  
- ICAC funding controversy explained: how budget votes get spun for campaign attacks  
- Final takeaway: turnout wins close races—don’t sit this one out

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This morning felt like a full-on smorgasbord: we kicked around the national headlines (including cautious optimism about an Iran deal and Marco Rubio heading to Rome to meet with Pope Leo), but the center of gravity was Idaho politics with the primary just days away. We dug into what’s shaping up to be a high-stakes, faction-defining Republican primary season—especially in races like Julianne Young vs. Ben Ferman and Jim Guthrie vs. David Worley. Neal laid out why five constitutional officers jointly endorsing Senator Jim Guthrie is so unusual, and why it reads like institutional anxiety about that race—especially with longstanding frustration over bills getting “drawered” and lawmakers resorting to “radiator capping” to keep legislation alive.

Secretary of State Phil McGrane joined us to talk election readiness, turnout trends, campaign finance transparency, and crossover voting. He defended endorsing incumbents (including Guthrie) while still emphasizing election integrity and “radical transparency,” and he noted that money this cycle seems more concentrated in a handful of hot races rather than spread statewide. We also opened up a listener flash poll—district by district—where texts and calls reinforced just how engaged (and opinionated) voters are right now. And because we all needed a breather from politics, Scott and Todd from Advanced Window Products stopped by with a one-day offer: $3,000 off when you buy 10 windows, plus talk on Idaho-specific window design, warranties, financing, and even built-in pet doors.

### Highlights
- Neal’s read on the five-constitutional-officer endorsement of Jim Guthrie: unusual, and a sign the race may be tighter than people think  
- Phil McGrane on election operations, campaign finance transparency upgrades, and why big money is clustering in key districts  
- Listener “flash poll” snapshot: who’s voting for whom across multiple eastern Idaho districts  
- Advanced Window Products’ one-day $3,000-off promotion and why climate/altitude matters for window construction in Idaho  

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This episode is a snapshot of what it feels like to live in the political pressure-cooker right now—locally and nationally—where the chaos is constant, social media makes it worse, and people are genuinely asking if something terrible is around the corner. We talk through a string of recent flare-ups (public meetings boiling over, community controversies, and the way online outrage keeps everybody stuck in reactive mode), then pivot into what we *can* actually do with the time we’ve got: put candidates in front of voters, ask real questions, and create a record people can judge later.

A big chunk of the show is about the growing pattern of candidates avoiding debates—and why that matters. Neal Larson and Julie Mason explain the behind-the-scenes effort to host debates, including Senator Jim Guthrie canceling a scheduled debate with David Worley, and Ben Fuhrman repeatedly refusing to debate Julianne Young. Worley and Young join in-studio to lay out contrasts with their opponents—focused on committee “drawer” power, voting records, court-defense arguments, immigration enforcement, and accepting support connected to pro-abortion fundraising. The episode wraps with a broader warning: if Idaho Republicans campaign one way and govern another, it erodes trust and opens the door for Idaho to drift into a Colorado-style political shift—especially with looming ballot initiatives like abortion and marijuana legalization. (Also: a quick lawn-care detour, and a parody ad because we cope how we cope.)

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### Highlights
- Senator Jim Guthrie cancels a scheduled on-air debate; David Worley comes in anyway and discusses “drawer” politics and Senate procedure.
- Julianne Young says she prepared early for a debate format again this cycle, but Ben Fuhrman still won’t debate.
- Discussion on candidates taking money/appearing at a pro-abortion fundraiser and what that signals to primary voters.
- Concern over “values vs wallet” framing and the argument that some issues are worth defending in court.
- Reminder to voters: use tools like the Sunshine Report, saved debates/forums, and voting records—don’t let Facebook fights drive your ballot.
- Notes on upcoming events with Attorney General Raúl Labrador and end-of-show parody content.

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Neal Larson and Julie Mason set the table for a busy stretch of primary season, including a live, in-studio debate between Representative Stephanie Mickelsen and challenger Kelly Golden. Before the debate, we talked through how fried and combustible everything feels right now—local controversies, international tensions, and the reality that in Idaho, most races are effectively decided in the Republican primary. Neal made the case that conservatives can’t afford complacency and warned about candidates running with an “R” while signaling they don’t intend to govern like Republicans once elected. We also dug into a fiery Box Elder County, Utah blowup over a proposed Kevin O’Leary-backed AI data center—an example of how fast public trust can collapse when residents feel steamrolled, even when the project is framed as part of an America-vs-China tech race.

In the debate itself, Mickelsen leaned on her experience—especially on water policy—arguing the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer agreements require constant management and that some negotiations are constrained by downstream stakeholders only willing to commit in short windows. Golden emphasized trust and durability, arguing we need better data and longer-term certainty so farmers aren’t stuck in a cycle of renegotiations and curtailments. They also clashed on immigration enforcement (e-verify, 287(g), and what Idaho should do versus the feds), and spent significant time on abortion policy—Mickelsen focusing on clarifying statutory language to protect physicians treating life-threatening pregnancy complications, and Golden backing Idaho’s current Defense of Life Act and warning against broad “health of the mother” language. They closed with quick hits on medical marijuana (both opposed) and school choice/tax credits (Mickelsen said she’ll support it as settled law after the Idaho Supreme Court ruling), then finished with a direct question to each other about civic engagement and whether “the machine” drowns out grassroots voters.

### Highlights
- A frank conversation about Idaho’s primaries being the “real election,” and why turnout and organizing matter right now  
- Box Elder County, Utah erupts over an AI data center vote—local control vs national-tech-race urgency  
- Water fight: long-term certainty, curtailment frustration, and what’s actually driving basin negotiations  
- Immigration: E-verify reliability, 287(g) costs, and where state enforcement should begin/end  
- Abortion: physician clarity and statutory language vs keeping current law tight with minimal exceptions  

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Today’s show was a mix of election-season levity and serious policy talk. We kicked things off with a parody ad imagining challenger Larry Golden trying to compete with the built-in name recognition of Brit Raybould by “upgrading” his last name into a full-on Southeast Idaho heritage sampler—funny because it’s a little too true about how politics can work around here. We also gave listeners the practical stuff: how to text in for the election “tools” packet (sample ballot, voting info, data sheets) and how to get the parody link again—plus some real talk about why it’s hard to pick keywords when autocorrect is out there sabotaging everyone.

From there, we dug into actual races and issues. James Lamborn joined us in-studio to talk about his run against incumbent Rick Cheatum (with Mike Seville also in the mix), laying out a strongly conservative platform—budget cutting and oversight, opposition to medical marijuana and abortion initiatives, and a hard line on Second Amendment “incrementalism.” Later, Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield came on to talk campaign dynamics (including the IEA’s posture toward Republican leadership), why Idaho’s 1994-era school funding formula doesn’t match modern needs, and her interest in moving toward a weighted-student model. She also addressed how AI is already in schools and why the state is trying to build guardrails instead of pretending it isn’t happening.

### Highlights
- The Larry Golden / Brit Raybould parody: name recognition, LDS-culture references, and election-season sanity breaks  
- Lamborn outlines his platform: budgets, union funding oversight, pro-life stance, anti-medical-marijuana concerns  
- Critchfield on education funding: outdated 1994 formula, weighted-student funding concept, and AI “guide rails”  
- Behind-the-scenes frustration: candidates declining debates/interviews and why voter-facing accountability matters  
- Culture-war issues (bathroom/locker room debates) framed around child safety and how adults complicate solvable problems  

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Enjoy the latest Neal Larson Show Parody!

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We’re officially in that “two-and-a-half weeks to Election Day” stretch, and it feels like the volume keeps turning up—forums everywhere, social media at peak car-wreck energy, and a lot of people showing sides of themselves that aren’t exactly their best. We talked through why we keep coming back to voting records and scorecards, even when people hate them: it’s the scoreboard. Context matters, sure, but pretending the score doesn’t exist just protects politicians from accountability. Neal also shared some numbers he ran that suggest East Idaho’s voting outcomes in Boise don’t match how conservative the region actually is, and that the only real fix is turnout—especially from conservatives who’ve been a little too apathetic while moderates/left-leaning voters show up consistently.

We also hit the fatigue point Julie mentioned—how exhausting it is watching people fight without decorum, and how frustrating it is when candidates run as Republicans while not actually intending to govern anywhere near the party platform. From there we got into why the longer-form debates have mattered (dark money, misleading campaign claims about votes and budgets, and how soundbites can distort what really happened). We closed out with a strong Studio 4 Cover performance from Ruth Holland (Ruthie dot Holland), a quick local note on the Shilo Inn closure in Idaho Falls, and then a wider-ranging grab bag: AI’s growth pains and energy demands (and why INL/nuclear keeps coming up), skepticism about AI tools “steering” results, and a reminder that “unfunded promises” from politicians deserve the same scrutiny as unfunded mandates. We ended on a sharp example of why taxpayers are skeptical: a Valley View school land deal under criminal investigation after trustees approved paying $5M for land appraised at $2.87M—exactly the kind of thing that makes “we need more funding” a harder sell.



### Highlights
- Why voting records/scorecards are the “scoreboard,” and why context can’t replace accountability  
- East Idaho’s conservative identity vs. what the voting data suggests happens in Boise  
- Studio 4 Cover: Ruth Holland performs Adele’s “When We Were Young” (and nails it)  
- Shilo Inn in Idaho Falls closes abruptly; questions for the Snake River Event Center  
- AI: data centers, power/water concerns, and why the “energy problem” may be solved by AI (or nuclear)  
- Valley View school land purchase raises fraud concerns and a criminal investigation

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Today’s show was one of those “no time to breathe” mornings: Neal Larson and Julie Mason set the stage for a live, in-studio legislative debate—complete with Facebook Live, listener texts, and a back-and-forth candidate question segment—because they genuinely believe these races deserve real scrutiny beyond campaign mailers. Before the debate, Neal and Julie also talked candidly about frustrations with party politics in Bingham County and why they still feel an obligation to examine races even when certain candidates refuse to show up.

The main event was the debate between Representative Barb Ehardt and challenger Connor Cook. Cook, an Idaho Falls firefighter/paramedic, framed his candidacy around service, listening, and what he sees firsthand—mental health strain, public safety gaps, and pressure on schools—while arguing the state budget is tighter than leadership admits and that “cut, cut, cut” thinking has consequences. Ehardt emphasized a record built around family-first priorities, constitutional principles, women’s sports and privacy protections, and tax relief—especially property tax reform—while rejecting claims she’s out of touch and pushing back on what she called misinformation and outside political spending. The conversation hit hot points: endorsements and labor ties, the Republican platform, bathroom/privacy policy, property and income tax approaches, Medicaid work requirements and mental health funding, and the role of out-of-state money and PACs in local races.

### Highlights
- Cook defended accepting AFL-CIO-linked support as solidarity from firefighters, while Ehardt distinguished her firefighter endorsement as tied to policy work and committee relationships.
- A major clash on fiscal direction: Cook argued Idaho’s budget situation is being downplayed; Ehardt argued Idaho remains fiscally strong and adjustments reflect post-“inflated” revenue years.
- Property taxes were a centerpiece: Ehardt reiterated interest in eliminating property taxes on a primary residence and floated the sales-tax tradeoff conversation as a starting point.
- Medicaid and mental health: Cook said cuts create real-world fallout that ends up in ERs and jails; Ehardt said mental health reductions were executive-branch driven and that the legislature is working to restore support.
- Both candidates voiced openness to limiting out-of-state political money—while also pointing out money flowing into the race on both sides.

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