Your Daily Guide

Whale Fest is this Saturday, Oct. 3, and the 9th & 9th whale is the guest of honor. There will be a free community party celebrating the new mural, with crafts, local vendors, and food trucks from 2 to 7 p.m. at the roundabout (900 South and 1100 East). [MATO]

• The new look: The whale is swapping Mike Murdock's rainbow "Point of Reference" art for "Open Your Eyes," a pink-and-blue mural by Jiyoun Lee-Lodge inspired by the Great Salt Lake. The whale will get a fresh paint job every few years. [Salt Lake City Arts Council]
• Before Stephen Kesler's “Out of the Blue” sculpture (the whale's real name) arrived, residents had decorated the roundabout with gnomes, sparking a Team Gnome vs. Team Whale debate. Once the whale landed, some raised a stink, calling it an eyesore. [KUER]
• Salt Lakers have since embraced the whale as one of their own. Runners complete “Whaleathon” marathons around it (the Oct. 24 race is the first city-permitted one), there's an official Church of the Sacred Whale, and one resident even made a baby whale. [Whaleathon, Church of the Sacred Whale, KSL]
• Will you enter the festival's costume contest or the whale call challenge? Costume check-in starts at 1:30 p.m. [Instagram]

Culture Shift at SLC Public Library

The SLC Library’s Board of Directors is launching an investigation into staff claims that leadership changes have left morale low and fostered fear of retaliation. Earlier this year, roughly 30 employees took voluntary buyouts, or what’s known as the “voluntary separation incentive program.” CEO Noah Baskett says he welcomes the independent review. [City Weekly]

• Hear from the CEO himself: We grilled him about the program. [City Cast Salt Lake 🎧]

Local Farm Wants to Sell Land for Housing

Cross E Ranch’s fall festival is back, but it could look a lot different in the future. The owners want to rezone 65 acres for development, including the land where the festival is currently held. They say it would help them keep the rest of the ranch, and its popular festivities, going across the street. [Salt Lake Tribune]

Utah Reads Together

Gov. Spencer Cox and First Lady Abby Cox are kicking off a statewide read-a-thon this morning with students at Guadalupe School on the west side of Salt Lake City, according to a press release. More than 275,000 students and adults are expected to participate at schools, libraries, and businesses across Utah. [State of Utah, X]

Will Rowland Hall Become Student Housing?

Developers bought the brick campus in Salt Lake City's 9th & 9th neighborhood where Rowland Hall students currently learn. That'll change soon, when the school moves into a new building. What should go in the historic building instead? [City Cast Salt Lake 🎧]