Meridian weighs sewer lines for Nampa land, Giving Machines end at The Village, and Friday's Food Lovers Fest

Welcome to issue eighty-five. Today is sunny and in the mid-80s, the last warm stretch before Saturday drops to the low 60s.

Today: Meridian weighs running sewer and water lines to a Nampa development, the Giving Machines come back with The Village at Meridian as their final stop, and Jon Pardi's Nampa show (which we listed last week) has been pushed to May. Plus Friday night football and a brand-new food festival at Kleiner Park. Know someone who should be reading this? Forward them the sign-up link →

Let's get into it.

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🧠 Trivia: Downtown Meridian's old Modern Woodmen of America hall at 77 E. Idaho Ave. was dedicated on Jan. 3, 1902, with lodge meetings held on the upper floor. To get upstairs, members climbed an outside stairway on which side of the building: the north, the south, or the west?

(Answer at the bottom.)

Five picks for the next week, all new to the Scoop, and all in Meridian. We read each venue address before it went in this box. (The Village at Meridian's grand-opening weekend runs through Sunday; yesterday's issue had the details.)

✅ No weather or air-quality alerts showed up in today's Idaho Press weather feed. The National Weather Service file for Meridian itself was last updated Tuesday, so read that as "we found nothing," not "there is nothing." NWS Boise is the place to check before you commit to outdoor plans.

Friday, October 9 — Meridian

Overnight low in the upper 40s. Sunrise is at 7:51 a.m., sunset at 7:14 p.m.

Mostly sunny with a light southwest breeze, so Food Lovers Fest and the football crowds get a gentle evening. The NWS point forecast for Meridian said 88° for today, but that file is three days old. Today's live forecasts are lower: Idaho Press has 86° for the Nampa area and Idaho News 6 has 85° for Boise. We went with 86°, and the NWS number is the high end, so plan for the mid-80s and pack a layer for kickoff.

The rest of the week (NWS, from Tuesday's file; treat it as directional): Saturday mostly sunny and 64 (Idaho News 6 says 62 and partly cloudy), a 22-degree drop. A 30% chance of showers arrives Saturday night with a low near 39, Sunday tops out at 59 with a 20% chance of showers, Monday is 57, and Tuesday is 60 with patchy morning fog. Saturday's Halloween hangout is a hoodie day.

The Meridian City Council talked Tuesday about something it has never done: building water and sewer lines to serve land that is outside its boundaries and in another county. According to BoiseDev, Nampa staff asked Meridian to consider serving part of a mixed-use development in Canyon County, southwest of Ustick and McDermott roads, because Nampa would face extra costs to build the lines itself. The request covers 114 acres east of Highway 16, planned for warehouses, flex space and manufacturing in the north and apartments and single-family homes in the south.

The money is the hook. The developer would pay 25% to 50% of the sewer costs, which BoiseDev says could save Meridian $2.7 million to $5.5 million on top of the $33.1 million McDermott trunk line it is already extending. Staff say the extra load would be under 1% of sewer capacity. City code now allows out-of-city service only for health and safety problems, so the council would have to rewrite the rule first, and members could still say no to any request. No vote was taken. Mayor Robert Simison said Meridian would rather see Nampa decide first, and Nampa's council hasn't discussed it yet. Read more →

Source: BoiseDev, published Oct. 7.

🗳️ Your call: would you pipe Meridian's sewer to someone else's subdivision?

The Giving Machines, the vending-style charity kiosks where you "buy" a gift that goes to a nonprofit, are back in the Treasure Valley after three years of visits. According to Idaho News 6, they open Nov. 19 at Boise Town Square for two weeks, then move to Indian Creek Plaza for two more, and The Village at Meridian is the final stop on the tour. The station didn't give dates or exact placement for the Meridian stretch, so we'll pass those along when they're announced.

This year's charity partners are five local nonprofits and two international groups. New donation categories include school supplies, a fish farm and a family comfort kit, and organizers say about 75% of the people who give are families with children. Nothing to do today but know where you'll be shopping this winter. Read more →

Source: Idaho News 6, published Oct. 8.

A correction for anyone who saw our Oct. 5 listing: Jon Pardi's Saturday, Oct. 10 concert at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa has been postponed because of illness. According to Idaho News 6, the show is now set for May 8. Tickets you already bought will be honored on the new date, and refunds are available where you bought them. Pardi also moved his Loveland, Colorado, and West Valley City, Utah, shows to May 13 and May 20.

It's the one regional item we run today, because it affects Meridian ticket-holders with a Saturday night suddenly open. Read more →

Source: Idaho News 6, published Oct. 7.

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🧠 Trivia answer: the south side.

According to the City of Meridian's walking-tour history, the Modern Woodmen of America hall at 77 E. Idaho Ave. was dedicated Jan. 3, 1902, and lodge meetings were held on the upper floor, reached by an outside stairway on the south side. The group had organized in June 1899 and reorganized in 1901. The foundation is lava rock, a material used in many local buildings of the era, and a basement social hall had its own stairway from Idaho Avenue. The ground floor went to Vickers & Sims Hardware for many years, then Louderbough Hardware, before the building was remodeled and renamed the Heritage Building. Read the city's history →

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