Salt Lake City keeps getting compared to other Western cities, but the closer you look, the more the comparison breaks down. The mountains aren’t a weekend trip from here, they’re a backdrop you can touch, and that single detail changes how people visit, how they meet, and how the local economy grows.

We’re joined by Kaitlin Eskelsen, CEO of Visit Salt Lake, to talk about what destination marketing really looks like when it’s done at scale. We dig into the behind-the-scenes work of booking conventions at the Salt Palace, building a sports tourism engine through Sport Salt Lake, and creating event moments that make people rethink what a “conference city” can be. Kaitlin also explains why the organization focuses on exogenous spend, how that money moves through local small businesses, and why tourism can feel invisible until you understand the numbers.

Then we look forward to the 2034 Winter Olympics and what the lead-up can unlock, from storytelling and athlete visibility to mobility improvements and a tighter, more connected visitor experience. We also get personal about how people actually remember travel, including Caitlin’s book The VX Society and the simple idea that the peak moment and the goodbye are what stick.

If you care about Salt Lake City, tourism economics, convention strategy, sports events, or the future of the Wasatch Front, this conversation will give you a sharper lens. Subscribe, share this with a friend who still thinks Salt Lake is “far from the mountains,” and leave a review with your favorite takeaway.

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A downtown eyesore locals jokingly called “Sears Lake” is finally turning into something real, and that’s only the start of a packed week. We break down the long-awaited redevelopment of the former Sears site near 300 West and 400 South, where Intermountain Health is beginning environmental remediation ahead of a new hospital campus. After years of stalled potential, the cleanup alone feels like the first domino, and the location near TRAX, the Gateway, and the Granary District could change the gravity of that corridor.

Then we get into a genuine transit win: Frontrunner is slated for a major upgrade, with new commuter trains expected to be built right here in Salt Lake City by Stadler. We talk about what a proposed $328 million contract means, how it connects to UDOT’s double tracking project, and why frequency is the real quality-of-life feature riders care about even if the timeline stretches out a few years.

The mood shifts when we zoom out to the escalating data center debate in Utah. Packed public hearings in Tooele County, wastewater permit concerns tied to wetlands connected to the Great Salt Lake, a county moratorium, and the still-paused Stratos project in Box Elder County all point to a bigger question: who gets to decide how land and water are used as Utah becomes a data center hub?

We wrap with the local culture pulse check: Cafe Rio admits fans are right and promises a return to the original sweet pork barbacoa, the Utah Talons go back-to-back, extreme heat safety tips, and a quick look at the Winter Classic plans. If you like smart local news with strong opinions and receipts, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

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You can be fit, tough, and motivated and still get wrecked by a simple mistake like the wrong breakfast. We sit down with ultra runner and nutrition coach Jesse Rich to trace the real path from “I don’t like running” to finishing and competing in ultramarathons, including the hard-earned lessons that only show up when you’re deep into a 50K or staring down a 100-mile day.

Jesse breaks down the moment that changed everything: a brutal Speedgoat 50K where stomach issues turned a promising start into survival mode. That failure pushes him into formal nutrition education and years of trial, error, and refinement in sports nutrition for endurance athletes. We talk hydration, electrolytes, sodium, carbohydrates, and why “training the gut” is a skill you build on long runs, not a gamble you take on race day. If gels make you gag or your stomach shuts down late, you’ll recognize yourself here.

We also zoom out to the bigger world of trail running and ultrarunning: how the sport has exploded, how UTMB has become a global target, and why even high-level athletes can struggle to make the economics work. Jesse shares how he turns his experience into a coaching career, what kinds of athletes reach out for help, and how family life, aging, recovery, and time constraints change the way you train. The thread that ties it together is simple: consistency wins, fueling is performance, and “white space” might be the most underrated training tool we have.

If you’re training for your first ultra marathon, chasing a PR at a local trail race, or trying to stop blowing up in the final hours, this conversation gives you a smarter way forward. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s training, and leave a review with your biggest fueling question.

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109 degrees. That’s not a hot day, that’s a line in the history books, and Salt Lake City just crossed it. We recap a week where Utah breaks its all-time heat record, watches foothill fires flare up under extreme conditions, and then gets hit with monsoonal storms that turn burn scars into fast-moving flood threats. If you’ve been feeling like the weather is getting sharper and less predictable, we talk through what happened, why it matters, and how record heat, wildfire, and flash flooding now stack on top of each other in a single season.\n\nWe also slow down for a story that deserves real space: the death of 1st Lieutenant Tyler James Fienn, a 25-year-old with deep ties to Southern Utah University and the Utah Army National Guard, killed in an Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack in Jordan. We reflect on what Utah lost, what his life represented, and why it’s important not to let big conflict become background noise.\n\nFrom there, we pivot to the part of summer that helps us breathe again: Pioneer Day on July 24. We run through the Days of ’47 Parade, the rodeo, the Salt Lake Art Museum grand opening, and the wonderfully chaotic Pie And Beer Day tradition, plus quick hits on concerts and local updates. We also cover a major NHL contract rule change that could shape the Utah Mammoth offseason strategy, especially around Clayton Keller.\n\nIf you want a smart, local weekly update that mixes Utah news, events, sports, and the realities of climate and water, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who lives along the Wasatch Front, and leave a review, what part of this week hit you the hardest?

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A pink, flower-filled brunch cafe in Woods Cross sounds like it came from a mood board, but the real story starts with something way less glamorous: an 18-year-old handing out flyers and landing 27 house cleaning clients. Angie, the founder of Plated Dreams, walks us through the long road from early responsibility and nonstop work to building one of the most distinctive brunch experiences in Utah. If you care about small business, restaurant entrepreneurship, or creating spaces that pull people together, this conversation gets refreshingly real. 

We dig into the behind-the-scenes decisions most guests never see: why Utah restaurant hours and closed days matter more than you think, how a 1031 exchange creates a do-or-die timeline, and what it takes to look at an old McDonalds and a Wells Fargo and see a community development instead of a mess. Angie also shares the pivot from a children’s play center concept to a retail hub, plus the hard lesson she watched play out with tenants: you cannot open a business and not be there. 

From there, we get into Plated Dreams itself: designing a London-inspired space that feels like you “left Utah for an hour,” building a from-scratch brunch menu that evolves with customers, and pricing food honestly when you are buying raw ingredients and making everything to order. We also talk about the emotional side of hospitality, handling harsh reviews, and why giving a team the chance to make things right matters. Angie closes with what she’s building next with the Brunch Club and a wild Mother’s Day win: 421 guests on 35 tables in five and a half hours. 

If you enjoy founder stories, Utah food and drink, or practical lessons on running a restaurant, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

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Pioneer Day week is almost here, and Salt Lake City is about to hit that uniquely Utah blend of tradition, chaos, and genuinely great summer energy. We’re one week out from July 24, so I’m laying out a clear game plan for the Days of 47 Parade downtown, the Days of 47 Rodeo nights at the fairpark, and the alternative tradition that keeps getting bigger every year: Pie and Beer Day. If you’re new to the city, consider this your cheat sheet for what’s happening, when to show up, and how to actually enjoy it without getting overwhelmed. 

There’s also a brand-new reason to be downtown: the Salt Lake Art Museum (SLAM) grand opening. It’s free, it’s inside a beautifully restored historic building, and it’s dedicated exclusively to Utah artists, past, present, and future. We talk about why this museum matters, what the opening exhibitions highlight, and how it fits perfectly into a July 24 afternoon before or after the parade. 

Then we pivot to the headline that lit up every Utah group chat: CNBC ranking Utah among the worst states for quality of life. We break down the criteria and the numbers behind it, including air quality on the Wasatch Front, primary healthcare access, childcare availability and cost, and other factors that shape daily life here. To round out the week, we hit quick local stories like Cherry Peak Resort listing for $22.5 million, a hopeful Main Street redevelopment after last summer’s fire, current Utah wildfire updates, and a standout Salt Lake City Summer League performance that has fans excited. 

If this weekly Salt Lake City update helps you plan your week, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it.

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Detroit-style pizza doesn’t just travel well, it exposes weak restaurant habits fast. If the dough is off, if the timing slips, if the team phones it in, the whole thing falls apart. That’s why I wanted to sit down with Sean from Via 313 and talk about what happens when a sharp, specific food concept grows up and scales without losing the edge that made people care in the first place.

We get into the Via 313 origin story, starting with two brothers from the Detroit area, a trailer on 6th Street in Austin, and an opening night problem that feels impossible until you solve it (yes, they forgot the pizza cutter). From there, we unpack how a cult following gets built, why Detroit-style pizza is often confused with deep dish, and what makes the style so addictive: crispy edges, cheese to the corners, sauce on top, and a texture that hits different when it’s done right.

Then we zoom out to the Salt Lake City food scene and the broader Utah restaurant market. We talk about the “Utah has no good food” stigma, why it’s outdated, and why hospitality and experience matter more than ever when people spend real money to dine out. Sean shares what he looks for in great service, why authentic brands win, and how standards and consistency make scaling possible. We also shout out local favorites and drop a practical ordering roadmap for your first Via run, plus where to find locations and how to follow what’s coming next.

If you like smart food talk with real operator insight, hit subscribe, share this with a friend who argues about pizza, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What’s the one restaurant you’d be genuinely sad to lose in your city?

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Utah summer can feel like two stories happening at once: the mountains and red rock are calling, while wildfires and heat keep raising the stakes. We start with a clear update on the state’s biggest blazes, including the Babylon Fire in San Juan County crossing 100,000 acres and becoming the largest active wildfire in the United States. I break down what “containment” really looks like on the ground, why conditions have been so brutal, and what the growing list of closures means for anyone planning time in Canyonlands, the Manti LaSal National Forest, or BLM areas near Indian Creek and Dark Canyon.

Then we pivot to something Salt Lake City does better than almost anywhere: making a holiday your own. July 24 is coming fast, so I lay out the essential guide to Pioneer Day, the Days of 47 Parade and rodeo, plus the alternative tradition that has become a true local classic, Pie and Beer Day. If you’ve ever wondered how to experience the day without forcing yourself into one lane, this is your roadmap for downtown, the Ballpark celebration, and the neighborhood events that make the city feel connected.

We wrap with a genuinely big win for the West Side: Salt Lake City lands an $11.5 million Bezos Earth Fund grant to bring shade and water-wise green space to the 9 Line Trail and to remake the Fleet Block brownfield into a public oasis. I also hit quick updates on Jazz summer league standout Darren Peterson, Salt Lake City School District enrollment declines and possible school closures, the shutdown of Provo Canyon School’s girls campus, and a key development in the Charlie Kirk murder case. Stay with me to the end for a preview of my upcoming conversation with Sean Ladle from Via 313 on why Detroit-style pizza from Austin is making a serious bet on Utah. Subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find local reporting that actually fits the way we live here.

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A museum director who still gets asked “What’s your favorite dinosaur?” might sound like a dream job, but Jason Cryan’s story is more surprising than that. Jason leads the Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City, and his path runs from a Vermont childhood shaped by the outdoors, to tropical entomology, to building genetics labs and advocating for teams of scientists inside major natural history museums. The throughline is curiosity, and the willingness to change course when the “right” career ladder stops feeling right.

We talk about what makes NHMU a true science museum: two million plus specimens, real research programs, and exhibitions grounded in evidence. Jason shares how systematics works in plain language, from taxonomy and biodiversity discovery to phylogenetics and DNA sequencing, and why asking better questions matters more than having fast answers. Then we zoom out to museum leadership, grants, public trust, and why informal science education can be one of the highest-impact forms of STEM learning.

You’ll also get a tour of what makes the Natural History Museum of Utah unique in the Intermountain West, from dinosaurs through time to the Great Salt Lake gallery, plus the strategy behind rotating special exhibitions like the immersive Bug World collaboration. We close with behind-the-scenes research happening right now, and a reminder that discovery can happen anywhere, even in a Salt Lake City backyard.

If you enjoy conversations about science, museums, Utah history, and how curiosity shapes a life, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

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The biggest story in Utah right now is fire, and it’s changing how all of us should think about summer. We break down the latest on the Cottonwood Fire near Beaver, now stretching across an area that puts it in the conversation with the most significant wildfires in Utah history. You’ll hear the real-world impacts, from closures and evacuations to the early estimate of structures lost, plus why officials say this wasn’t a surprise after an exceptionally dry winter and low snowpack.

We also get into a moment that should be a statewide public service announcement: a private drone flight over the fire area reportedly forced crews to ground helicopters. That’s not a minor inconvenience, it’s a safety issue that can cost property and lives. If you’re planning weekend trips, we talk about what to avoid, how to stay flexible with smoke and changing conditions, and why backyard fireworks are a bad bet this year.

Then we shift gears to sports and momentum. Utah Mammoth GM Bill Armstrong makes a move that signals the rebuild is over by acquiring Vincent Trocheck, a proven two-way center with face-off strength, penalty-kill value, and championship-level experience. We dig into what it means for the roster, the young core, and why expectations should rise heading into the October opener.

Finally, we share a surprisingly moving engineering update from Temple Square: the Salt Lake Temple’s seismic base isolation system is complete, letting the building move during a major earthquake while reducing damage from ground shaking. We wrap with a quick July Fourth weekend guide, World Cup watch party vibes across the valley, and a preview of our upcoming conversation with Natural History Museum of Utah executive director Jason Cryon. If this helps you, subscribe, share the show, and leave a review so more people around Salt Lake City can find it.

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