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Happy Tuesday, Meridian!
Welcome to issue eighty-nine. Today is sunny and around 63, but the morning starts with a frost advisory, so scrape the windshield and cover the tomatoes. Plan for the warmer end of the forecast this afternoon.
Today: the Meridian police chief makes his case for the city's license plate cameras, an adaptive ballet class opens its doors in town, and a frost advisory hangs over the valley. Plus a witch-themed paint night, a free Thursday playdate and a free Halloween night with a zombie shooting screen. Know someone who should be reading this? Forward them the sign-up link →
Let's get into it.
In this issue
🧠 Trivia: Meridian had a schoolhouse before it had a town plat. According to the City of Meridian's History Center, in what year did the first school open here: 1885, 1893, or 1903?
(Answer at the bottom.)
The ice cream shop that makes money when it's cold
28 Wishes sells ice cream in Los Angeles. Below 70°F, sales fall about 20%. The weather is out of their hands. Rent isn't.
So the owners started putting about $20 a day into Kalshi weather markets, taking the cold side. The days that keep customers away now pay something back.
This is hedging. Big companies have done it for decades, buying protection against bad weather, fuel spikes and rising rates. It used to take a broker, a trading desk, and an order size no corner shop could meet.
Kalshi opens it up. Contracts on weather, fuel prices, inflation, tariffs and regulation, starting at a few dollars. Take a position on the outcome that would hurt you. If it hits, the payout softens it. If it doesn't, the contract expires and the good month was the point.
Six picks, all with a Meridian address. Nothing new made the cut for today itself, so the list starts tomorrow. Bring a jacket for the evening ones.
Wednesday, October 14
OCT 14 · Witch Hoop with Michelle — 6 to 8 p.m. · 📍 The Angry Easel Paint Studio, 301 NE 3rd St. · A beginner-friendly paint party where you make a witchy hoop to take home. Materials are provided, all ages are welcome, and you can bring your own refreshments. The ticket price wasn't listed. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Thursday, October 15
OCT 15 · Bubbles' Big Playdate — 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. · 📍 The Learning Experience, 6241 N. Linder Rd. · A free weekly Thursday playdate with a snack and lunch included. RSVP is required, so sign up before you show up. · 📅 Add to Calendar
OCT 15 · Paint Party at Stella's Ice Cream — 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. · 📍 Stella's Ice Cream, 1492 N. Webb Way Ste 150 · You paint an approximately 11-inch round door hanger, supplies included, and kids are welcome. Register by Oct. 14 at Laddalovecreations.com. The price wasn't listed. · 📅 Add to Calendar
OCT 15 · Game Night Live Trivia — 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. · 📍 Pit Stop Sports Bar and Grill, 704 N. Main St. · Two games of three rounds each, built on game-show formats with word jumbles and picture rounds. Free to play. · 📅 Add to Calendar
OCT 15 · Thursday Night Karaoke — 9 p.m. to midnight · 📍 The Dalton Royal, 3161 E. Ustick Rd. Ste 110 · Karaoke on what the venue calls the best sound and visual system in the state. Open to all ages, though the venue suggests 15+ after 9 p.m. because of occasionally explicit lyrics. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Saturday, October 17
OCT 17 · The Haunting at Valkyrie Arms — 5 to 9 p.m. · 📍 320 SW 5th Ave. · A free Halloween night with vendors, food, a costume contest with prizes and candy. The zombie-shooting screen is $10 for two rounds, ages 10 and up, with a waiver and a parent for anyone under 18. · 📅 Add to Calendar
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⚠️ Frost Advisory from the National Weather Service in Boise, covering the Lower Treasure Valley, from midnight Tuesday until 10 a.m. Wednesday. Lows of 33 to 35 are expected both mornings, cold enough to damage tender plants left uncovered. NWS Boise has the details.
Tuesday, October 13 — Meridian
63°
Overnight low near 34°. Sunrise is at 7:55 a.m., sunset at 7:08 p.m.
Sunny after a frosty start. The NWS point forecast file for Meridian itself was last updated Oct. 6, so the afternoon number comes from Idaho News 6's live Boise strip, which says 63 and sunny. Plan for the low 60s, and for a warmer finish than the cold morning suggests.
The rest of the week (Idaho News 6 forecast): Wednesday is 66 and sunny, Thursday climbs to the upper 60s or low 70s, and Friday reaches the mid 70s. Dry weather is expected through the weekend. Keep the covers on the garden one more night.
The police chief defends Meridian's plate-reader cameras
Meridian Police Chief Tracy Basterrechea defended the city's automated license plate readers in a guest post on the city's website, according to Idaho News 6. He acknowledged misuse of the technology elsewhere but said Meridian has guardrails: the Axon cameras log a plate only when a vehicle passes through, the city controls the data and keeps it for 30 days (cut from 60 this summer) unless it becomes evidence, and no agreements exist to share it with other agencies. Employees need training and certification, and the department runs random audits.
The chief wrote that "rejecting technology because of a few bad actors is never the answer." The story notes the privacy worry that repeated plate reads can reveal a vehicle's movements over time, and that Kuna pulled its Axon cameras in September while Caldwell expanded its network. Read more →
Source: Idaho News 6, published Oct. 12.
Quick poll while we're on the cameras:
Meridian's police chief says the city's plate-reader cameras are staying, with a 30-day data limit. Where do you land?
An adaptive ballet class opens in Meridian
LEAP Adaptive Ballet, a class for children with physical, developmental and sensory disabilities, added a Meridian session this month, according to Idaho News 6. Founder Savannah Lehman, a physical therapy assistant who started the program nearly a decade ago in Oregon, runs it Fridays from 5 to 5:45 p.m. at Inspired Dance Studio, and the Meridian class still has space.
Lehman adjusts each class to the kids in the room, and says she wants children to feel included rather than overlooked: "Dance is for everybody, if you have a body, you can dance." The story doesn't give a street address, so families can reach her through the program's Facebook or Instagram pages. Read more →
Source: Idaho News 6, published Oct. 12.
Frost advisory through Wednesday morning
The National Weather Service in Boise issued a Frost Advisory for the Lower Treasure Valley that runs from midnight Tuesday through 10 a.m. Wednesday, with lows of 33 to 35 both mornings. Idaho News 6 reports there is a 40% chance of 30 to 32 degrees from Mountain Home through the western Magic Valley on Wednesday. Frost can kill sensitive outdoor plants left uncovered, so cover the tomatoes, bring in the potted herbs and unhook the hose.
The good news: highs climb back into the 60s today and 70s by Friday. Read more →
Source: Idaho News 6, published Oct. 12; advisory text from NWS Boise.
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Frost advisory, day one: the dog has a plan, the humans have a credit card.
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🧠 Trivia answer: 1885.
According to the City of Meridian's History Center, the first school here opened in 1885, years before the town had a plat. The plat was filed in 1893, and Meridian incorporated as a village in 1903 when its population was only about 200. Today the city is Idaho's second largest, which makes that one-room beginning easy to forget. Read more →
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