|
| What Salt Lake's Talking About |
| | 2026 Pothole Palooza Results | Salt Lake City filled about 3,500 potholes in the annual Pothole Palooza, a weeklong push to repair and inspect city-owned roads. The lighter winter meant fewer repairs than last year, which saw about 5,900 potholes filled. [FOX 13] | | RedWest Comeback Draws Mixed Reactions | The RedWest Music Festival is coming back to the Utah State Fairpark on Oct. 16-17, nearly a year after severe weather forced an evacuation and a festivalgoer died. Organizers are offering discounted tickets to last year’s attendees, but some are still frustrated about how everything was handled. [Salt Lake Tribune 🔒] | | Avoid Mammoth Ticket Scams | The Utah Mammoth made it to the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs, and tickets are on sale now, though at limited availability. The team is urging fans to buy only from authorized sellers like SeatGeek to avoid scams. [KSL] | | Salt Lakers Want to Retire … at College | Utah's population is getting older, but there aren't many options for aging in place. Could going back to school be an option? [City Cast Salt Lake 🎧] |
|
|
|
| Is Salt Lake County Too Big? |
| | It's been a minute since the 2026 legislative session ended, but I'm still obsessed with the drama that unfolded on the final night, when the Senate passed a bill after the midnight deadline and had to void the results. | | That bill was HB 212, which FOX 13 reporter Ben Winslow coined the "Salt Lake County divorce bill." Lawmakers seem keen to revisit the idea in the future, so let's talk about this proposal that asks: Is Salt Lake County too big? | | The Basics of the Bill | The TL;DR of this 352-line legislation is it provided a pathway for a group of cities to leave a county and form their own. It's a pretty high bar that includes population requirements, a feasibility study, and approval from a majority of voters in both the "old" and "new" counties. | | The bill specifically applies to counties with a population greater than one million residents. That means only Salt Lake County qualifies (at 1.2 million residents), though Utah County is inching closer with about 800,000. | | What’s the Right Size for a County? | Back to this idea that Salt Lake County's too big. Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, sponsored the bill. During his presentations, he kept saying — and I'm paraphrasing here — that as government gets bigger, it moves further away from who it represents. | | “ What happens is the county continues to grow and provide certain services, and they don't get as much feedback from what people really want. It becomes this sort of invisible layer of government that doesn't have a very good check and isn't well connected to people.” | Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan |
| | Who Wants To Leave? | Here's the burning question for me: What cities want to leave Salt Lake County? Teuscher said he's talked with some mayors about it, but he "[doesn't] think there are any cities that are willing to go on the record right now to say that." | | I decided to go big and ask every municipal mayor in the county — all 23 of them — if they've discussed or considered leaving Salt Lake County. You can see what your mayor said on our website, but the gist is all of the ones who responded said nope, not us. | | What Happens Next? | HB 212 failed this session, but Teuscher said this is a long game for him. There's been whispers that the Legislature may revisit it in a special session, but Teuscher doesn't expect that. | | In the meantime, Salt Lakers will ponder: What's the proper size of a county government? Or maybe that's just what keeps nerds like me awake at night. | | |
|
|
|
| | | Spend a night under the stars at Red Butte Garden & Arboretum's Outdoor Concert Series, featuring more than 30 shows packed with world-class music. There's no better way to spend your summer. Enjoy stunning views, a garden setting, unparalleled sound, and a picnic-with-friends vibe at the city’s premier outdoor venue. See the lineup now at redbuttegarden.org/concerts | |
|
|
|
| | | | - 🎟️ The Art of Spirits: Tour, Tasting & Bottle Painting with Sugar House Distillery | April 25 | Sugar House Distillery
|
|
| | | |
|
|
| City Cast Salt Lake executive producer Emily Means wrote today’s legislative bill article. |
|
|
|
|
