News of Death Every city has a place where the downtrodden congregate. In Salt Lake, Pioneer Park is that place. I would see drug use and violence, but on one spring day I saw something new. A man in a chef toque was meditating under a tree. I saw him there daily. My curiosity grew and one day I sat in silence beside him. After awhile he turned and smiled at me with a sublime … [Read more...]
How to Distinguish Between “Fact” and “Fake”
History of Fake News In 1993, The Weekly World News printed an edition with the sensational headline: HILLARY CLINTON ADOPTS ALIEN BABY, replete with a photo of mother and child. This and other cringe-worthy headlines were standard fare at the time, and readers couldn’t get enough of them. Back then, such obviously fraudulent information was known by most to be a hoax, and … [Read more...]
Trappers and the Ogden Valley
Jim Bridger Spins The Yarn “One hundred Cheyenne warriors, arrows drawn, fire in their eyes, riding on the fastest mustangs you ever did see were right on my heels! I could feel the ground rumble as they chased me right into a steep canyon. I looked around at walls and Indians on every side. There I was, surrounded, boxed in ...” “What happened next, Mr. Bridger?” an eager … [Read more...]
Sip o’ the Week – Park City’s 4th Annual Shot Ski Event
Park City Shot Ski Are you doing anything on Saturday, October 12th? If you have no plans, perhaps you’d like to take part in setting a world record? That’s the date that Park City Sunrise Rotary Club and High West Distillery are refilling glasses for Park City’s 4th Annual Shot Ski Event. Participants will line up at 2:00 pm along Park City’s Historic Main Street to tip … [Read more...]
My Personal Renaissance at the Utah Renaissance Faire
I vividly remember the day I realized that people in costume make me uncomfortable. It was Halloween in High School and a friend of mine had dressed up so thoroughly, that he had obscured his identity. Even though I knew it was him, I couldn't visually recognize him underneath the costume. It disturbed me, deeply. As irony would have it, I have spent the last three summers … [Read more...]
The Road Less Traveled: Utah Stories
Next month is a big anniversary. It will be ten years in May since I decided to ditch my lucrative graphic design work, coding work, videography gigs and assorted stints with my former employer and make an attempt to operate Utah Stories full time. I had had enough of programming, and I wanted to spend at least half my time producing journalism. I wanted to talk to people … [Read more...]
Sugar House Fireworks: Independence Day Tradition Coming to an End?
The Sugar House 4th of July fireworks show has been a tradition in our community for decades. Each year it is estimated that the show draws 20,000-30,000 people or more from our community, along with people from nearby cities and counties. Until 2009, the fireworks were paid for by the city, but Salt Lake City pulled funding from the show in 2009, prompting a push from … [Read more...]
Food Not Bombs: More Than an Event, It’s a Lifestyle
When Keith McHenry’s phone rings, it may be people calling the Hunger Hotline. The toll free 800 number assists callers in locating their local Food Not Bombs chapters, offers tips on how to collect and cook food, how to start a local chapter, and what to do if the police try to stop your group from sharing food and other information about Food Not Bombs. “We receive from … [Read more...]
5 Questions Answered by 6 Utah Breweries
We checked in with some of our favorite breweries to see what is happening in 2018. Questions: How many barrels are you brewing annually? What is your flagship/or top selling beer? What is the most unique beer you came up with last year? What is the number one thing you’d like to see changed in Utah liquor laws? Anything else you’d like to update about your … [Read more...]
A Utahan Goes on a Bike Trip to Europe and Discovers European Beer
Trip to Europe: In my early twenties, a girl I studied with asked me where I had “traveled.” I replied that most summers we traveled to Lake Powell, and sometimes we had family reunions where I traveled to Saint George. I told her that three times I visited cousins in Oregon, traveling through Idaho to get there. She told me she had traveled to Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, and … [Read more...]