SLC’s 999 Ride Has a Problem + Gen Z Is Leaving the LDS Church

Southern Utah got hammered by monsoon storms, and the footage doesn’t fully capture how fast things can turn. We walk through the Bryce Canyon flash floods that stranded hikers across multiple trails, the rescue delays caused by lightning, and the death of a hiker found near the Fairyland Loop area. If you hike Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, or slot canyons, we also get practical about what “predictable” danger looks like after a dry winter and a summer of burn scars, plus why checking the National Weather Service Utah flash flood forecast should be a default step before you head out.Then we pivot to a story that’s been sitting in Utah conversations all summer: new research showing Gen Z women leaving the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at rates that would’ve sounded impossible a generation ago. We unpack the headline numbers, the overlapping drivers researchers point to (politics, same-sex marriage, women’s roles in leadership, purity culture), and the tricky causality question that keeps this from being a simple hot take. The takeaway isn’t outrage bait, it’s a real signal about where Utah culture may be heading.We also talk about Salt Lake City’s 999 ride: how it started, why it draws huge crowds, and why increased SLCPD enforcement and resident complaints have pushed it to a tipping point. A public panel laid out the core problem clearly: no organizer means no permits, no traffic control plan, and no single point of accountability. Plus quick hits on Meta’s landmark teen safety settlement, Dolly Parton’s Utah literacy connection, Flock camera arrests, and the coming Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monument cuts.Subscribe wherever you listen, share this with a Utah friend, and leave a review if you want more reporting like this. What part of the 999 ride debate do you think matters most?50% Off Minky Couture Blankets: softminkyblankets.com/SMALLLAKECITY Please be sure to like, review, follow, subscribe and share the podcast with your friends and family! See you next time Support the showSmall Lake City Calendar, add for all the events coming up straight to your iCal, Google Calendar, or Outlook: https://42b1ul.share-na2.hsforms.com/2NEaCwuBsSH-fY1z5Hr7DkgJoin the Small Lake City Discord: https://discord.gg/TYNzMhCxeKSubscribe to the Newsletter! https://www.smalllakepod.com/newsletter-landing-pageInstagram: @smalllakepodYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@SmallLakeCityPodcastTikTok: @smalllakepod