City Cast Salt Lake

It was a big week for Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, from making national headlines over new pride flags to releasing her proposed $512 million budget. Host Ali Vallarta and executive producer Emily Means break down the highlights and lowlights. Plus, touring the Walker Center, a great sauna place, and tusks up for the Utah Mammoth.    Resources and references: Book a tour for the Walker Center.  Check out the SLC Mayor’s budget breakdown. [Hey Salt Lake]   Download PDFs of SLC's new flag designs. Buy Project Rainbow’s “Not A Flag” merch. Attend Sweet Street’s 9-Line bike ride. Try the PLUNJ bathhouse.  Become a member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we are around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm. Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.  Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:  Aura Frames - Get $35-off plus free shipping on the Carver Mat frame with Promo Code CITYCAST Salt Lake City Arts Council Salt Lake City Government Red Butte Garden Asher Adams Live Crude - Get $10 off your first CRUDE purchase with promo code CITYCASTSLC. Workshopslc.com - use code CITYCAST for 20% off.

It’s patio season! Deck enthusiast Diana Martinez joins host Ali Vallarta to count down the best bars, restaurants, and cafes for working remotely in the sun, happy hour, or a long brunch. Get more from City Cast Salt Lake when you become a City Cast Salt Lake Neighbor. You’ll enjoy perks like ad-free listening, invitations to members only events and more. Join now at membership.citycast.fm.  Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC. Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:  Aura Frames - Get $35-off plus free shipping on the Carver Mat frame with Promo Code CITYCAST Salt Lake City Arts Council Salt Lake City Government Red Butte Garden Asher Adams

Utah’s flag and fluoride bans go into effect today, but host Ali Vallarta and executive producer Emily Means explore some sneaky workarounds. Plus, where to see baby bison, a local  savant, and Benson Boone in SLC.  Resources and references: As Utah’s fluoride ban begins, health officials urge Utahns to protect their teeth [Utah News Dispatch] Here are 5 ways Utahns can get fluoride after tap water ban takes effect [Salt Lake Tribune] Baby bison at Antelope Island [KUTV 2] Become a member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we are around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm. Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC. Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:  Aura Frames - Get $35-off plus free shipping on the Carver Mat frame with Promo Code CITYCAST Salt Lake City Arts Council Salt Lake City Government Red Butte Garden Asher Adams

Utah's Medicaid program has been fully expanded for five years, with no work requirements since COVID hit. But now the state's Dept. of Health and Human Services wants to add them. Host Ali Vallarta asks Stephanie Burdick, a consumer representative on Utah's Medicaid advisory committee, what's on the table and how it could impact all of us. Resources and references: Dental care resources for Medicaid patients ProtectMedicaidUtah.org The next public hearing for Medicaid expansion work requirements is Wednesday, May 14, 2025, from 4-6 pm. Get more from City Cast Salt Lake when you become a City Cast Salt Lake Neighbor. You’ll enjoy perks like ad-free listening, invitations to members only events and more. Join now at membership.citycast.fm.  Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC. Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:  Aura Frames - Get $35-off plus free shipping on the Carver Mat frame with Promo Code CITYCAST Salt Lake City Arts Council Salt Lake City Government Red Butte Garden Asher Adams Cozy Earth - Use code COZYSALTLAKE for 40% off best-selling sheets, towels, pajamas, and more. Live Crude - Get $10 off your first CRUDE purchase with promo code CITYCASTSLC. Workshopslc.com - use code CITYCAST for 20% off.

Did you blink and miss the 3.9-magnitude earthquake last week? It’s a gentle reminder to get ready for "the big one” scientists expect to hit Salt Lake one of these days. Host Ali Vallarta chatted with Taylorsville prepper Emily Cottam about her tips for putting together a 72-hour kit and preparing for hard times. This episode first aired March 27, 2023. Get more from City Cast Salt Lake when you become a City Cast Salt Lake Neighbor. You’ll enjoy perks like ad-free listening, invitations to members only events and more. Join now at membership.citycast.fm.  Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC. Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:  Aura Frames - Get $35-off plus free shipping on the Carver Mat frame with Promo Code CITYCAST Salt Lake City Arts Council Salt Lake City Government Red Butte Garden Asher Adams

The Kentucky Derby is this weekend, and our money is on Journalism! Host Ali Vallarta and executive producer Emily Means explore Utah’s horseracing scene and why, according to Utah’s Supreme Court, horses are an exemption to gambling. Plus, SLC enforces a ban on astroturf, the leaked Hockey Club name, local May Day, and Crumbl v. Warner Music Group. Resources and references: Utah Gov. Cox issues drought executive order, urges Utahns to conserve water [Utah News Dispatch]  Weekly lawn watering guide  The May Day party at Jordan Park Become a member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we are around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm. Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.  Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:  Aura Frames - Get $35-off plus free shipping on the Carver Mat frame with Promo Code CITYCAST Salt Lake Sewciety Cozy Earth - Use code COZYSALTLAKE for 40% off best-selling sheets, towels, pajamas, and more. Live Crude - Get $10 off your first CRUDE purchase with promo code CITYCASTSLC. Workshopslc.com - use code CITYCAST for 20% off.

It's May in Salt Lake, when the sunshine — or lack thereof — can make or break your patio experience. Host Ali Vallarta, producer Ivana Martinez, and Hey Salt Lake newsletter editor Terina Ria bring you a guide to what to expect and how to make the most of this month, from cheap margaritas to a mobile book shop to a killer zipline deal. Plus, if you take advantage of the plant sales this month, don’t miss our episode on gardening advice for plant killers and renters. If you're new here, welcome! We’ve put together a starter pack for you, with episodes and articles to welcome you to the City Cast Salt Lake community.  For even more tips on how to make the most of May in Salt Lake, check out Hey Salt Lake’s take on what to do this month.  Become a member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we are around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm. City Cast Salt Lake is made possible by our awesome sponsors, the Salt Lake City Arts Council, Aura Frames, and Salt Lake Sewciety. We’re also powered by our members, who enjoy an ad-free version of the show. Find out more about how to become a member of City Cast Salt Lake. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Check out our options. Reach us at saltlake@citycast.fm.

Host Ali Vallarta is obsessed with "The Pitt," a new medical drama that chronicles one 15-hour shift in a downtown Pittsburgh emergency room. But how closely does it mirror Salt Lake ERs? Local emergency medicine Dr. Aly Smith shares how the cases and the institutional issues stack up. Get more from City Cast Salt Lake when you become a City Cast Salt Lake Neighbor. You’ll enjoy perks like ad-free listening, invitations to members only events and more. Join now at membership.citycast.fm.  Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC. Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:  Aura Frames - Get $35-off plus free shipping on the Carver Mat frame with Promo Code CITYCAST Salt Lake Sewciety

A law that neuters Utah's public sector labor unions is getting a second chance at death. Host Ali Vallarta and executive producer Emily Means give the latest update on the Protect Utah Workers referendum. Plus, a huge weekend for scammers, an early Mother’s Day event, and the origins of SLC’s sticker machines.  Resources and references: State auditor: Employee stole more than $100,000 from a Salt Lake County liquor store over more than three years  [Salt Lake Tribune] Utah couple arrested, accused of smuggling $300M in oil into US from Mexico [KSL] For a discount on Mother’s Day brunch & flower arrangement tickets visit shopsatsouthtown.com/events promo code MOMSQUAD. Become a member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we are around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm. Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC. Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:  Aura Frames - Get $35-off plus free shipping on the Carver Mat frame with Promo Code CITYCAST Salt Lake Sewciety Cozy Earth - Use code COZYSALTLAKE for 40% off best-selling sheets, towels, pajamas, and more. Live Crude - Get $10 off your first CRUDE purchase with promo code CITYCASTSLC Workshopslc.com - use code CITYCAST for 20% off.

An idea to bury the train tracks dividing the east and west sides of SLC could bring $12 billion of economic impact to Salt Lake County. But that doesn't mean the Rio Grande Plan has the greenlight. Host Ali Vallarta asks Taylor Larsen, one of the project's organizers, where it fits with other big developments on the horizon and what's next. Required listening: how the Rio Grande Plan came to be. Get more from City Cast Salt Lake when you become a City Cast Salt Lake Neighbor. You’ll enjoy perks like ad-free listening, invitations to members-only events and more. Join now at membership.citycast.fm.  Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC. Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:  Aura Frames - Get $35-off plus free shipping on the Carver Mat frame with Promo Code CITYCAST Salt Lake Sewciety