City Cast Salt Lake

Back to school season is raising difficult questions about back to school safety for legislators, educators, school board members, and students themselves. Plus, the sunscreen drama of TikTok has finally hit Utah. Salt Lake Tribune reporter Andy Larsen joins host Ali Vallarta to round up city news, and share picks of the week.Get tickets to this weekend’s Utah Beer Festival.Browse the Utah Jazz regular season schedule.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC and Twitter @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s lots of talk about how close the mountains are to Salt Lake City, but how many of us are really taking advantage of nearby trailheads? Prolific hiker Brandon Miller hiked 54 trails in 54 days, and he tells host Ali Vallarta the best local hikes for any occasion — from dog-afraid to dog-friendly, or with a 7-year-old in tow. Plus, we offer a few overnight hike suggestions, for the backpacking-curious.Here’s a list of the trails we mentioned in this episode: Donut Falls Trail Dog Lake Lake Blanche Trail Cecret Lake Trail Lisa Falls Trail Frary Peak Trail Mt. Timpanogos Lower Red Castle Lake Avenue Twin Peaks Mount Olympus Trail Provide feedback on the DWR’s proposed changes to spearfishing.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC and Twitter @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

School starts next week for the Salt Lake City School District. Do you have back-to-school jitters? Host Ali Vallarta checks in with John Arthur, a 6th grade teacher at Meadowlark Elementary, about school closures, new leadership at the district, and how teachers are feeling as they open their classroom doors.Help local teachers buy supplies for their classrooms.Listen to our conversation with John Arthur about the school voucher program.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC and Twitter @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starbucks employees in Cottonwood Heights made headlines when they became the first in Utah to formally unionize with Starbucks Workers United. But now, just one year later, some of those same employees are working with the National Right to Work Foundation to decertify their union. Host Ali Vallarta asks KUER politics reporter Sean Higgins what the hell happened to turn the tide.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC and Twitter @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Ali Vallarta is on a quest to go to every bar in Salt Lake County, and she decided to knock out every ‘Bout Time Pub & Grub in the valley in one day (there are nine) with her BFF Shireen Ghorbani. What makes this franchise so special? And which ‘Bout Time is best? They discuss. Track Ali’s journey to visit every bar in Salt Lake County @everybarslc or via this spreadsheet.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC and Twitter @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Salt Lake City Corporation plans to turn downtown Main Street into a pedestrian promenade, and they want to know how big we can dream. Lead producer Emily Means joins host Ali Vallarta to break down city business, read local gripes, and share picks of the week. Plus, you have homework: Send us questions for our mailbag episode!Take the city’s Main Street survey TODAY.Attend the opening of Tatau: Marks of Polynesia.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC and Twitter @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Utah is known for a lot of things: the greatest snow on earth, fry sauce, national parks — and getting scammed. Year after year, Utah is named one of the top states for fraud and was even one of the first to set up a white collar crime registry because of this. Deseret News Features Writer Meg Walter joins host Ali Vallarta to categorize Utah’s various scammers and figure out who’s to blame. This episode originally aired on Nov. 28, 2022.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC and Twitter @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Salt Lake City grows, “gentrification” is often thrown around as a dirty word. But is it always a bad thing? Alessandro Rigolon, University of Utah professor of city planning, joins host Ali Vallarta to talk about what gentrification actually looks like in this city and how to lessen its violent impacts. Learn more about Salt Lake City’s Thriving in Place plan.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC and Twitter @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Tuesday, the Utah Supreme Court is hearing arguments to determine whether the injunction currently blocking Utah’s abortion trigger law can be upheld under Utah’s constitution. While we won’t get an answer for weeks (or maybe months), the ongoing battle over the legality of abortion in our state is causing stress for patients and providers. Host Ali Vallarta asks Rachel Dyer, the executive director of Exhale Pro-Voice, what we can learn from the conversations being had on the post-abortion textlines right now. Of note: You can still get an abortion in Utah, up to 18 weeks of pregnancy. Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC and Twitter @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The new mayor of Denver recently declared a state of emergency around homelessness to unlock more resources. Could — and should — Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall do the same? Plus, what plans are in the works for sanctioned camping? Andrew Johnston, Salt Lake City’s director of homeless policy, answers some of host Ali Vallarta’s burning questions about the city’s approach to our homelessness crisis. Register for Dr. Sarah Canham’s community consultation on the stigma of homelessness.Listen to our conversation with SLC Mayor Erin Mendenhall on homelessness.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC and Twitter @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices