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Idaho ranks 50th in physicians per capita and 44th in primary care access. So what’s the real plan to fix it?

In this episode, I sit down with Representative Dustin Manwaring to break down Idaho’s Undergraduate Medical Education (UME) strategy, the proposed 36-month rollout, and how it intersects with the $1 billion Rural Health Transformation Grant.

We talk through the core problem the working group set out to solve and what “Train Here, Stay Here, Grow Here” actually means in practice and how it connects with workforce pipelines, residency expansion, and long-term retention?

We also dig into the definition of “rural.” Critical access hospitals? Small towns near metro hubs? Urban hospitals that support rural areas? How the taskforce defines rural will shape who benefits and how federal dollars are distributed.

Plus:

• How the UME plan intersects with the $1B rural investment
• What legislators are watching to ensure accountability
• Whether Idaho’s low resident-to-medical-student ratio limits retention
• The future of WWAMI and how new legislation could shift seat allocations
• Whether Idaho eventually needs its own full medical school

If this plan works, what will Idaho’s physician landscape look like 10 years from now?

This is a forward-looking conversation about workforce, access, and how policy decisions today shape healthcare for the next generation.

Find Alexis on Instagram and JOIN in the conversation: https://www.instagram.com/the_idaho_lady/

JOIN the convo on Substack & STAY up-to-date with emails and posts https://substack.com/@theidaholady?r=5katbx&utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-page

Send Alexis an email with guest requests, ideas, or potential collaboration.
email@thealexismorgan.com

Find great resources, info on school communities, and other current projects regarding public policy:
https://www.thealexismorgan.com

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Who actually has the power over elections in the United States — the federal government, the states, or the president?

Alexis takes you go back to the Constitution itself. Because here’s the truth: many adults have never been taught (or have near forgotten) how the Constitution is structured, where power is assigned, or why federalism exists in the first place. (This is a super basic/quick overview). When we don’t understand that structure, modern debates about elections can feel confusing, emotional, and disconnected from reality.

Alexis walks through the basics most people missed:

• how the Constitution is organized
• what the Articles actually assign to Congress, the President, and the courts
• where federalism lives in the text
• how the Bill of Rights — especially the 10th Amendment — draws a clear line between federal and state power

From there, she gets concrete about elections: who runs them, who sets guardrails, and why the president has no constitutional authority to administer or centralize elections.

To help frame today’s tensions, she puts two books into conversation — The Divided States of America by Donald F. Kettl and American Covenant by Yuval Levin — exploring whether federalism is a system that’s breaking down… or one that’s doing exactly what it was designed to do.

This episode isn’t about personalities or partisan talking points. It’s about structure, limits, and why understanding the Constitution changes how we see current events.

Because policy isn’t abstract. It’s personal. And federalism is where our disagreements are meant to live.

Find Alexis on Instagram and JOIN in the conversation: https://www.instagram.com/the_idaho_lady/

JOIN the convo on Substack & STAY up-to-date with emails and posts https://substack.com/@theidaholady?r=5katbx&utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-page

Send Alexis an email with guest requests, ideas, or potential collaboration.
email@thealexismorgan.com

Find great resources, info on school communities, and other current projects regarding public policy:
https://www.thealexismorgan.com

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When special education isn’t fully funded, the cost doesn’t disappear...it gets absorbed by families, classrooms, and educators.

In this solo episode of The Purple Zone, I unpack what underfunded special education actually looks like on the ground: for students whose needs go unmet, for teachers navigating behavior and safety challenges without enough support, and for families trying to advocate for their children in complex systems they didn’t design.

Through two personal stories and Idaho-specific context, this episode explores:

• how funding gaps create real tradeoffs for all students, not just those in special education,
• why some families experience far more strain than others when support falls short,
• how unmet mental health and behavioral needs show up in classrooms, and
• what changes when schools have the staffing, resources, and partnerships they need.

This isn’t a conversation about blame; it’s about design. Special education is a legal mandate, but it’s also a shared responsibility. When it’s underfunded, districts are forced into impossible choices, families carry heavier burdens, and educators are stretched thin.

And yet, partnership still matters. When schools and families work together, especially in times of constraint, the experience for students can change.

If you want to understand why special education funding affects the entire school community, and why addressing it is urgent...not someday, but now...this episode is for you.

Because policy isn’t abstract. It’s personal.

Find Alexis on Instagram and JOIN in the conversation: https://www.instagram.com/the_idaho_lady/

JOIN the convo on Substack & STAY up-to-date with emails and posts https://substack.com/@theidaholady?r=5katbx&utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-page

Send Alexis an email with guest requests, ideas, or potential collaboration.
email@thealexismorgan.com

Find great resources, info on school communities, and other current projects regarding public policy:
https://www.thealexismorgan.com