In partnership with
📣 Sponsored by: this slot is open. Own a Meridian business and want a few thousand neighbors to hear about it? This line — and the Thursday Local Business Spotlight — are available. Hit reply or start here →
Happy Friday, Meridian!
Welcome to issue ninety-nine. Today is wet, windy and around 55, a good 15 degrees colder than yesterday, so the jacket you ignored on Thursday has officially won.
Today: Costco finally names its opening day, the old feed mill behind City Hall gets pitched as a performing arts center, a big new restaurant is proposed in front of Scheels, and West Ada checks its homework on school screen time. There's a softball game with a badge on both sides of the field tonight and trick-or-treating all weekend. Know someone who should be reading this? Forward them the sign-up link →
Let's get into it.
In this issue
🧠 Trivia: Meridian's population roughly quadrupled in the 1990s, from 9,596 people at the 1990 census. What did the 2000 census count: 19,500, 34,919 or 52,000?
(Answer at the bottom.)
Institutional Partner. Cash-Flowing Real Estate. Your Opportunity.
Invest in single-asset private real estate opportunities alongside a $12B AUM owner/operator. Lightstone invests 20% or more of the equity in every offering, with a $100K minimum investment for accredited investors.
Any message that includes model/proforma/targeted figures need a disclosure at the end such as: "This communication is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. Any such offer or solicitation will be made exclusively through the definitive offering documents. All investments involve risk of loss, including the potential loss of principal. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Any targeted returns or projections are forward-looking statements, are based on current assumptions, and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially.
Five picks over the next few days, plus four heads-ups, and every one has a Meridian address. Next week (Oct. 26-30) is quiet on every calendar we can see, so Halloween weekend is the next big stretch. A few listings skip the price, so check the event page before you go.
Friday, October 23
OCT 23 · Meridian Police vs. Meridian Fire Softball Game — 7 to 9 p.m., $5 adults, kids free · 📍 Storey Park, 205 E. Franklin Rd. · A friendly "Battle of the Badges" that raises money for the Boise Blast Cox 12U girls softball team, with a concession stand for snacks, drinks and hot chocolate. Bring a jacket; it will be cold. · 🗓️ Add to Calendar
OCT 23 · Boise State Basketball Bash — 6 to 7:30 p.m. · 📍 Meridian Scheels, 700 S. Wayfinder Ave. · Four Boise State basketball players sign autographs and pose for photos, with discounts on Bronco gear and a free yard sign while supplies last. Cost wasn't listed, but it appears to be a come-as-you-are retail event. · 🗓️ Add to Calendar
Saturday, October 24
OCT 24 · All-Ages Paint Party — 1 to 3 p.m., ticketed (price not listed) · 📍 The Angry Easel Paint Studio, 301 NE 3rd St. · A step-by-step acrylic class where everyone leaves with an 11 x 14 canvas. Materials, aprons and brushes are provided, and sitting together means buying your tickets in one transaction. · 🗓️ Add to Calendar
OCT 24 · 6th Annual Trunk or Treat at The Goddard School — 4:30 p.m. start (end time not listed), free · 📍 2009 S. Wells Ave. · Free and family friendly, aimed mostly at ages infant to 6, with an ocean-themed trunk contest, storybook pumpkins and allergen-friendly buckets. · 🗓️ Add to Calendar
Sunday, October 25
OCT 25 · Storey Park Trunk-or-Treat — noon to 8 p.m. · 📍 Storey Park, 205 E. Franklin Rd. · Trunk-or-treating, local vendors and kids' activities, per BoiseDev's weekly roundup. We couldn't open the organizer's own page, so double-check the details before you load up the car. · 🗓️ Add to Calendar
Heads up: save the date
OCT 31 · Homes of Idaho "Wicked" Trunk-or-Treat — 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. · 📍 N. Records Way and E. Village Pkwy, across from Kleiner Park · Music, vendors, a costume contest and candy. · 🗓️ Add to Calendar
OCT 31 · Halloween Fun at Earth Brite Rocks & Crystals — 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. · 📍 112 E. Fairview Ave. · The Earth Brite Rock Hounders Club promises fun, games and raffles. · 🗓️ Add to Calendar
NOV 14 · Meridian Friends Church Holiday Bazaar — 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. · 📍 1021 W. Pine Ave. · Handcrafted gifts and decor, baked goods and brunch items, a coffee trailer and a raffle, with proceeds going to a Women's Retreat scholarship fund. · 🗓️ Add to Calendar
NOV 17 · Meridian Chamber Man & Woman of the Year Luncheon — 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. · 📍 Galaxy Event Center, 1385 S. Blue Marlin Ln. · Lunch while the Chamber names its Man, Woman and Ambassador of the Year, with Boise Rescue Mission CEO Jen Barth as the speaker. Ticket price wasn't listed. · 🗓️ Add to Calendar
The goat-herding company that hedged a wage law
For US businesses with big payrolls. Western Grazers in California hedged a state wage-law change on Kalshi. If a new rule would raise your costs, you can hold a position that it passes, so the payout offsets the hit. Federally regulated, from a few dollars.
The National Weather Service forecast for Meridian we can read was last refreshed Monday midday, so we cross-checked it against Idaho News' live Boise strip and its Thursday-morning weather alert story, which agree on a cold, wet Friday. We didn't find a watch or warning for the Meridian area, but a flash flood watch covers the Boise Mountains burn scars through Friday morning.
Friday, October 23 — Meridian
57°
Low tonight: 34° (from the older NWS run). Sunrise is around 8:09 a.m., sunset around 6:51 p.m. (both calculated, not from NWS).
A 40% chance of showers before noon, then mostly sunny, with a gusty northwest wind after Thursday night's cold front. Idaho News' Boise strip says 55 with rain, so Boise runs about 2 degrees cooler this time; plan for 55 to 57, and for an umbrella that you can actually keep hold of. Highs drop more than 20 degrees from Thursday.
The weekend and beyond (NWS older run, with Idaho News): Saturday is mostly sunny and near 58, matching Idaho News' sunny 58 for Boise. Sunday looks near 64 and Monday near 62, but those two come from the older NWS run, so check back. NWS Boise →
South Meridian's Costco gets an opening day
Mark your calendar for Thursday, Nov. 5, at 8 a.m.: that's when the new Costco at 203 E. Tower Ln., near Lake Hazel and Meridian roads, opens its doors. Costco has posted the date on its website and on signs at the site, which sits very close to the Meridian-Kuna city line.
It's the company's fifth Treasure Valley warehouse, at about 200,342 square feet, and it's bigger than most Costcos largely because it includes a fulfillment center for delivering large items to homes. More retail buildings and drive-thrus are planned nearby, and a separate proposal for hundreds of homes and apartments next door is in the works. What's planned on the 19 acres next to it →
Source: BoiseDev, published Oct. 20.
🗳️ Quick one: the doors open in 13 days. When are you going?
South Meridian's Costco opens Nov. 5 at 8 a.m. When are you going?
The old feed mill as a performing arts center
The Meridian Development Corp., the city's urban renewal agency, is looking at turning the Old Fashioned Feed Mill (it backs up to City Hall, across from the planned Heritage Square) into a performing arts center. The MDC board voted Oct. 14 to accept a six-month feasibility study by Babcock Design, and chairman Dave Winder called it a "prudent first step."
The preliminary drawings are ambitious: a two-story building with a 7,857-square-foot auditorium with mezzanine seating, a second black-box theater, a gallery, a scene shop, classrooms and a possible outdoor amphitheater. What they don't include is a seat count or a price tag. The property's owners, the Zamzow family, would have to agree to sell and find a new home for the mill, funding still has to be found, and everyone involved calls the plans "very early" and conceptual. Read more →
Source: BoiseDev, published Oct. 20.
A big restaurant is proposed in front of Scheels
An application filed with the City of Meridian proposes an 8,539-square-foot restaurant and bar at 716 S. Wayfinder Ave. in Ten Mile Crossing, on the undeveloped lot in front of Scheels. The applicant is MorHood, LLC, whose members also own Crave Kitchen and Bar in Eagle, which opened in June 2020, and the proposed floor plan resembles that restaurant's: a bar on one side of the entry, a big dining room on the other and a private dining room.
Here's what we don't know: the application doesn't name the restaurant or describe its concept, and BoiseDev's story doesn't mention a hearing date or review timeline. The reporter couldn't reach one of the owners for comment. Read more →
Source: BoiseDev, published Oct. 21.
West Ada reviews its school device rules
A few months in, West Ada School District is still collecting data on its Intentional Device Use Framework, guidance on when and how students use school-issued devices, aimed at cutting screen time during periods that aren't teacher-led. It is not official district policy yet, and it's separate from the district's cellphone rules, including the phone vaults.
The district uses a tool called Lightspeed Digital Insights to track device time, apps and time of day. Chief academic officer Rhonda McDonough says preliminary data is encouraging and shows usage below the district's targets, and parent survey results are expected in early November. The story gives no actual screen-time numbers, so the "encouraging" is the district's word for now. Read more →
Source: Idaho News (KBOI), published Oct. 22.
Meme of the Day
Brought to you by Meridian Local Scoop. What's faster than word of mouth? The Meridian Local Business Spotlight! Keeps you up to speed on what's happening around town — and connects local businesses to our community.
The CBD Brand that Actually Does What It Says
When it comes to CBD brands, CBDistillery sets itself apart. Since 2016, their products have been made with:
Non-GMO, US-grown hemp
No corn syrup
No artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or sweeteners
Special Deal for Our Readers: Save 50% on orders of $75+ with code NEWS50!
🧠 Trivia answer: 34,919.
Meridian counted 9,596 residents in 1990 and 34,919 in 2000, about 3.6 times as many people in ten years. The count hit 75,092 in 2010 and 117,635 in 2020, which makes Meridian the second-largest city in Idaho, behind only Boise. Read more →
How did we do today?
How did we do today?
🎁 Support the businesses that support Meridian
Every contribution helps us cover more local restaurants, small businesses and nonprofits making a difference around town — and keeps the Scoop free, independent and light on ads. Join the neighbors who've already chipped in.
Choose the option that's most convenient for you:
You're reading Meridian Local Scoop. Forward it to a neighbor — they can subscribe at meridianlocalscoop.com.