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The Salt Lake Tribune •

In Utah, here’s what a new Black-owned bank will offer customers

(Sorina Szakacs | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jaime and Michael in their furniture store in Orem. Holladay Bank & Trust helped finance their small business over the years, a focus it will keep as it becomes Black-owned Redemption Bank. When Jaime and Michael Hansen were in their 20s, their dream was to buy the furniture business where Michael was working. “We met with these different bankers and they made it sound like it was this difficult, daunting process,” Jaime Hansen said. “It was kind of frust...
The Salt Lake Tribune •

Why is the first Black-owned bank in the West in Utah?

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah business leader Gail Miller and Ashley Bell, chairman and CEO of Redemption Holding Company, along with co-founder Dr. Bernice King, cut the ribbon for Redemption Bank in Holladay on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. As COVID-19 began to shut the world down, Ashley Bell worried about America’s small businesses. He helped shape the Paycheck Protection Program while working in the first Trump administration, with the idea that banks “would be the first way to re...
The Salt Lake Tribune •

Here’s how a small Utah bank charmed customers for 50 years — as it becomes the West’s 1st Black-owned bank

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Ron N. Spratling Jr., founder of Holladay Bank & Trust, poses with his daughter Katie Spratling inside the bank established in 1974. Katie Spratling will remain as the bank’s president, following the bank’s acquisition by Black-owned Redemption Holding Co.In an age when customers do their banking on their phones, few young people have had the experience of walking into a local branch — something David Amott remembers well from childhood.“Once a quarte...
The Salt Lake Tribune •

Kennedy Center’s new dance director, who criticized ‘woke’ ballet culture, has some history in Utah

(Kennedy Center) Stephen Nakagawa, recently installed as dance director for The Kennedy Center. Nakagawa is a former dancer for Salt Lake City's Ballet West II.A former dancer in the apprentice program of Salt Lake City’s Ballet West has landed a prestigious — and controversial — job in the world of ballet, as the new dance director for the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.Stephen Nakagawa, who was appointed to the Kennedy Center job in August, danced for Ballet West II from 2013 to 2015,...
The Salt Lake Tribune •

Salt Lake City barbecue spot Blatch’s closed after Avenues fire injures chef

(Francisco Kjolseth | Salt Lake Tribune file photo) Chris Blatchford, owner and pitmaster of Blatch's Vegan BBQ, in a 2022 photo. Blatchford passed out while working on Sept. 3, 2025, leading to a fire that destroyed much of the equipment in his Salt Lake City business. A Salt Lake City vegan barbecue business has been shut down, after the pitmaster’s medical emergency led to a fire that destroyed much of his equipment.Chris Blatchford, owner and pitmaster for Blatch’s Vegan BBQ, was treated at...
The Salt Lake Tribune •

Utah had more wildfires this summer than in past years. Here’s why.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) A fire scar in the Pine Valley Recreation Area, seen on August 13, 2025, after the Forsyth Fire hit the area in June. It was one of more than 900 wildfires recorded across Utah this year. The summer’s wildfire season in Utah is expected to tally more fires and more acreage burned than in the previous two years — but what surprised officials was how many fires were caused by human activity.Officials from the state’s Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands a...
The Salt Lake Tribune •

Salt Lake City should get a taste of fall weather this week. Here’s why.

(Rick Egan | Salt Lake Tribune file photos) Fall-like weather — like this view of people floating on the Great Salt Lake — is forecast for this week across many parts of Utah.After summer temperatures in the 90s across norther Utah last week, this week’s weather is expected to be around 10 degrees cooler, the National Weather Service predicts.Monsoon season is here, meteorologists say, bringing not only temperatures closer to autumn levels but heavy clouds, afternoon showers and possible thund...
The Salt Lake Tribune •

New data ‘dashboard’ can help shine a light on Utah’s domestic violence problem, officials say

(Sorina Szakacs | The Salt Lake Tribune) Lindsey Boyer, director of South Valley Services, spoke on behalf of advocates for domestic violence victims, at Veterans Memorial Park on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025. The Utah Department of Public Safety unveiled a dashboard that displays data collected from domestic violence assessments law officers have conducted over the last two years. Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, also spoke at the event.For the last two years, law enforcement officers in Utah who respond...
The Salt Lake Tribune •

A community springs up to help a Utah preschooler who needs a bone marrow transplant

South Jordan • Kiri Duke-Rosati wrapped one hand around his father’s neck, and shouted into the microphone as loud as his 3½-year-old lungs would let him: “Play ball!”Kiri’s appearance with his family at Wednesday night’s Salt Lake Bees game in South Jordan was one of six events held that day as part of a campaign mobilized to find a donor whose bone marrow can slow the progression of Kiri’s rare condition.The campaign has grown into a community, made up of thousands of people who have signed up...
The Salt Lake Tribune •

Canyons School District’s board votes for a property tax increase, because of inflation

(Sorina Szakacs| The Salt Lake Tribune) Residents gather in front of the Canyons School District after the board meeting to increase property taxes on Aug. 5, 2025.Sandy • The Canyons School District’s board voted unanimously to approve a property tax increase of about 6% — after hearing from residents who say the district needs to cut its budget rather than take more tax money.“This is ridiculous,” said Deborah Burk, a resident who spoke at the board’s Tuesday meeting, who said she has seen he...
The Salt Lake Tribune •

Classics for babies: A Utah writer’s board books introduce Shakespeare and Tolstoy to young readers

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Author Jennifer Adams is interviewed in her home in Salt Lake City, Monday, July 28, 2025.Most people would not consider “Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble” to be a nursery rhyme. But Utah children’s author Jennifer Adams does.Adams and illustrator Alison Oliver have used the witches’ opening couplet from “Macbeth” as the focus of the latest in their series of BabyLit books — board books that introduce classic literature to rea...
The Salt Lake Tribune •

New rail freight facility opens, part of inland port project, which officials tout as an economic booster

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Officials and guests cut a ribbon during the opening of a BNSF intermodal facility in Salt Lake City, Thursday, July 31, 2025.A new railroad facility, welcoming freight trains carrying goods from California into Utah, had its grand opening Wednesday — an event that had state officials evoking the history of the Transcontinental Railroad and the prospect of the 2034 Winter Olympics.Thursday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony for a 43-acre intermodal rail facility, b...
The Salt Lake Tribune •

Winds from the south bring smoke from two major wildfires to Wasatch Front

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Skies over Salt Lake City, Monday, July 28, 2025. Smoke from wildfires — one in south-central Utah, the other near the north rim of the Grand Canyon — has made its way to the Wasatch Front, weather forecasters say.Wasatch Front residents are breathing in smoke from wildfires in south-central Utah and the Grand Canyon area, according to the National Weather Service.Smoke from the Monroe Canyon Fire in Sevier County and the Dragon Bravo Fire on the North Rim...
The Salt Lake Tribune •

Utah’s ‘Pioneer Week’ starts with a cattle drive through downtown Salt Lake City, ahead of the Days of ’47 Rodeo

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Cattle are led to the Utah State Fairgrounds ahead of the Days of 47 Rodeo in Salt Lake City, Monday, July 21, 2025.Gov. Spencer Cox, first lady Abby Cox and a crew riding ranch horses drove a herd of longhorn cattle through downtown Salt Lake City on Monday — kicking off the week of the Pioneer Day holiday celebrations and promoting the Days of ‘47 Rodeo. The Coxes were joined by Days of ‘47 board members and women from the Utah Cowgirl Collective — some...
The Salt Lake Tribune •

How a Utah cookbook author built a big online community, and won the Oscar of the food world

Carolina Gelen looks into her cameraphone with a timid smile, holding a cocktail glass in each hand, which she fills with a pink concoction that she calls the “truly perfect summer dessert.”In the video posted July 7 on Instagram, Gelen — wearing a linen shirt with peach-colored stripes, her wavy brown hair falling to her shoulders — tells her followers that in Romania, her native country, the dessert is called “spuma” (Romanian for “foam”), but she renamed it “raspberry mousse.” The dessert mad...
The Salt Lake Tribune •

A Utah music teacher gets a big cash prize from singer Barry Manilow

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Riverton High School's performing arts director Jason Weimer, second from right, poses for a photo with Barry Manilow as Weimer receives an award from the Manilow Music Project, an organization that supports local music programs, before Manilow's concert during his farewell tour at the Maverik Center in West Valley City on Monday, July 14, 2025.West Valley City • Jason Weimer went to the Maverik Center on Monday night and got a $10,000 check and a handshak...
The Salt Lake Tribune •

How to take a sweet road trip on Utah’s ‘Fruit Way,’ and enjoy fresh produce close to the farm

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Peaches and nectarines for sale at Paul's Patch on U.S. 89, in Perry on Thursday, July 3, 2025. U.S. 89 between Brigham City and Willard is known as "Utah's Famous Fruit Way," and a popular destination for day-trippers looking for farm-fresh produce. Bountiful • Six days a week — and sometimes seven — Jamie Skinner sells fresh fruits and vegetables from her stand, Skinner Produce Farmer’s Market. “Sometimes we are open on Sundays if we have leftover produce,”...
The Salt Lake Tribune •

Developer behind Sugar House Park hotel seeks new building height allowance for project

The developer who wants to put a hotel on one of Salt Lake City’s most scenic corners is asking policymakers to increase the allowed building height on the parcel.John Potter, CEO of Magnus Hotel Management, wants to put a seven-story, 95-foot-tall hotel on the southeast corner of 2100 South and 1300 East, immediately adjacent to Sugar House Park. The site was once home to the Sizzler restaurant, which was demolished last year. On June 18, Potter submitted an application to the city that would i...
The Salt Lake Tribune •

Thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses expected to fill Orem arena for convention

(Jehovah's Witnesses) An actress depicts Mary, the mother of Jesus, in an image from an episode from "The Good News According to Jesus," produced by the Jehovah's Witnesses. The group has scheduled its annual convention for the UCCU Center in Orem, June 20-22 and 27-29, 2025.Para leer este artículo en español, haz clic aquí.Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Intermountain West are holding their annual convention in Orem’s UCCU Center this month — which means hundreds of volunteers, wearing neon vests an...
The Salt Lake Tribune •

Se espera que miles de testigos de Jehová llenen el Orem arena para la convención

(Testigos de Jehová) Una actriz representa a María, la madre de Jesús, en una imagen de un episodio de "Las Buenas Nuevas Según Jesús", producido por los Testigos de Jehová. El grupo ha programado su convención anual en el Centro UCCU en Orem, del 20 al 22 y del 27 al 29 de junio de 2025.To read this story in English, click here.Los testigos de Jehová en el Oeste Intermontano están celebrando su convención anual en el Centro UCCU de Orem este mes — lo que significa que cientos de voluntarios, ve...

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