For decades, Salt Lake City’s Rio Grande district carried the reputation of a scary and blighted area, rife with drugs and crime. Once a bustling transit hub during America’s train era, the district slowly disintegrated into a derelict haven for prostitution and criminal activity, as a highly concentrated and dangerous transient population threatened the wel … [Read more...]
Be Light Candle Co: A Local Company Supports Families Affected by Suicide
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. ~Matthew 5:15 Be Light Candle Co is a Salt Lake City company that makes candles out of 100% soy wax, essential oils, and recycled & repurposed cocktail glasses. Taylor Lamb is passionate about her products, but there is more to this … [Read more...]
Utah’s First Barrel-Aged and Sour Beer Brewery: Toasted Barrel Brewery
“In heaven there is no beer, that’s why we drink it here.” ~Traditional drinking song Something new is brewing in Salt Lake City’s Marmalade District. Just off the 600 North exit from I-15, Toasted Barrel Brewery is transforming a former brine shrimp processing plant and abandoned dance club into Utah’s first barrel-aged and sour beer brewery. Toasted Barrel will complete a t … [Read more...]
A Place Where Old Dogs Can Learn New Tricks—Barley’s Canine Recreation Center
When Heather Newport’s dog, Barley, passed away, she was devastated by the loss of her loyal canine companion. Barley was a chocolate lab that lived to be 15-and-a-half years old—more than 108 in human years. According to Mike Parmley, Heather’s boyfriend, Barley died of old age. “Her organs just started shutting down,” he said. “She had been through a lot of stuff. She had a … [Read more...]
A Different Kind of Rock Star—Justin Wood
When he’s not setting up store openings and trade shows displays as a visual designer for outdoor retail giant Patagonia, you can find Justin Wood hanging by his fingertips at the world’s most renowned bouldering competitions. As a bouldering guru, Justin is a known quantity in the climbing community, especially in Utah. Bouldering is a sport in which climbers scale boulders … [Read more...]
Rally at State Capitol Hails National Monuments, Rejects Trump’s Plans to Shrink Them
Saturday, December 2nd, 2017—The south lawn of the State Capitol Building swarmed with 5000 protesters concerned about the future of two of the country’s largest national monuments—Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante—areas considered by many to be the crown jewels of the nation’s public lands network, and the largest undefiled natural areas remaining in the contiguous 48 st … [Read more...]
Bladesmith Jared Williams Holds an Edge in the World of Custom Knives
Jared Williams is a master bladesmith. In 2016, he was a contestant on the History Channel program Forged in Fire, where he emerged as the winner of the $10,000 grand prize. His creation? A traditional African throwing knife known as a Hunga Munga—a primitive-looking curved-blade dagger with multiple points and edges used by tribal warriors. Bladesmithing is a time-honored s … [Read more...]
Utah’s Disappearing Past
“Don’t it always seem to go, you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” ~Joni Mitchell The 1960s and 70s were a great time to be a kid. Utah was less cosmopolitan back then and our fun was homegrown. I remember the ride from Granger (now West Valley City) to Saratoga Springs, an amusement park and resort on the northwest shor … [Read more...]
Revisiting Utah’s Mining Past
Utah’s Underground Legacy Utah’s mining history is rich in ore, lore, and gore. Tales of lost mines guarded by winged seraphim and the spirits of Native American warriors have become the stuff of legend, recounted in campfire tales at Boy Scout camps and lauded by authors eager to exploit the greedy tendencies of gullible readers. It’s fascinating stuff, and fables, true or not … [Read more...]
Sheep Wool Fertilizer Pellets
In an emerald-green valley in Croydon, Utah, tucked away in Morgan County like a well-kept secret, lies Albert Wilde’s farm. Albert produces a unique product, one that is growing in popularity with gardeners and farmers as it becomes more available and more familiar—sheep pellets. No, not that kind of sheep pellets. Albert’s pellets are made of wool. Albert is revol … [Read more...]