A bachelorette season vanishes three days before it airs. A Utah murder case ends with a fast jury decision. People are reportedly seen in handcuffs at the Salt Lake City airport. If you felt like Utah hit the national feed on every app at once, you’re not imagining it, and we sort through what actually happened and why it matters.

We start with the Kouri Richins verdict, a major Utah court story that has pulled in true-crime attention far beyond the state. We talk through what the jury decided, what comes next with sentencing, and why this case feels so specifically Utah even if you can’t quite put it into words. Then we dig into the Taylor Frankie Paul situation, from MomTok fame to a finished season of The Bachelorette getting pulled after footage from a past domestic violence incident resurfaced. It’s messy, it’s human, and it forces a real conversation about what networks will overlook until the optics shift.

From there, we hit the week’s fast-moving Salt Lake City news: reports tied to an ICE detention facility and possible deportation flights, BYU backing off an honor code hair requirement for an Indigenous student’s traditional braids, ski season closing dates, and a huge downtown development move as Western Governors University buys property tied to the Sheraton Hotel closure. We also talk about new arts infrastructure in South Jordan, a Granary District park proposal that carries complicated history, the latest on Utah’s congressional map fight after Prop 4, and Netflix dropping yet another Utah polygamy abuse documentary.

If you like sharp, local reporting with the bigger cultural picture, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What story from this week do you want us to dig into next?

Have a Question? Ask it here!

50% Off Minky Couture Blankets: softminkyblankets.com/SMALLLAKECITY

Use cod TROLLEY26 for 30% off a day pass at momentumclimbing.com/trolleysquare/reservations

Please be sure to like, review, follow, subscribe and share the podcast with your friends and family! See you next time

Support the show

Join the Small Lake City Discord: https://discord.gg/RRXGR7kP

Subscribe to the Newsletter! https://www.smalllakepod.com/newsletter-landing-page

Instagram: @smalllakepod
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SmallLakeCityPodcast
TikTok: @smalllakepod

A neon green building with purple doors shouldn’t feel terrifying, but for years Salt Lake City drivers couldn’t shake the same question: why does a “working daycare” look abandoned, silent, and sealed off from the world? Fun Time Kidz Kare at 1248 South 300 East became a piece of modern Utah folklore because locals claimed they never saw a single child walk through its doors. That one observation was enough to turn a commute time curiosity into a viral internet mystery.

We follow the moment the story catches fire on Reddit in 2015, then spreads into a full scale online investigation: a suspiciously slapped together daycare website, a near identical cloned site in another state, phone calls that end in hang ups, and eerie anecdotes like a mail carrier insisting the kids are always “napping.” As the crowd sourced sleuthing ramps up, so do the theories, from cartel front to CIA safehouse to trafficking ring. Even mundane details get weaponized, including licensing citations and a bizarre discovery in import records showing 8,818 pounds of plastic jewelry shipped to the daycare, a clue the internet tries to bend into something far darker.

Then the story collides with real life. Threads get deleted for witch hunting, a “Storm Fun Time Kidz Kare” raid event gains traction, police issue warnings, and the people connected to the property report repeated harassment and break in attempts. Finally, officials and local reporting offer a grounded explanation that flips the scariest details on their head, including why the windows might be covered and why only a few children are ever seen.

If you’re into true crime adjacent mysteries, internet culture, urban legends, and Salt Lake City history, this deep dive will change how you think about “creepy places” and the stories we build around them. Subscribe for more, share this with a friend who loves local lore, and leave a review with your theory: what detail convinced you most along the way?

Have a Question? Ask it here!

50% Off Minky Couture Blankets: softminkyblankets.com/SMALLLAKECITY

Use cod TROLLEY26 for 30% off a day pass at momentumclimbing.com/trolleysquare/reservations

Please be sure to like, review, follow, subscribe and share the podcast with your friends and family! See you next time

Support the show

Join the Small Lake City Discord: https://discord.gg/RRXGR7kP

Subscribe to the Newsletter! https://www.smalllakepod.com/newsletter-landing-page

Instagram: @smalllakepod
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SmallLakeCityPodcast
TikTok: @smalllakepod

Have a Question? Ask it here!

50% Off Minky Couture Blankets: softminkyblankets.com/SMALLLAKECITY

Use cod TROLLEY26 for 30% off a day pass at momentumclimbing.com/trolleysquare/reservations

Please be sure to like, review, follow, subscribe and share the podcast with your friends and family! See you next time

Support the show

Join the Small Lake City Discord: https://discord.gg/RRXGR7kP

Subscribe to the Newsletter! https://www.smalllakepod.com/newsletter-landing-page

Instagram: @smalllakepod
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SmallLakeCityPodcast
TikTok: @smalllakepod