Michelle Quist is a conservative columnist for the Salt Lake Tribune, and she's on the paper's editorial board, too. She's also Mormon. And she's found herself at odds with parts of those communities. Some of her recent columns have dealt with the #MeToo Movement, the death penalty and guns. She's made a habit of challenging Utah's moral compass. More about Michelle Quist: https://www.sltrib.com/staff/mquist/

Michelle Quist is a conservative columnist for the Salt Lake Tribune, and she's on the paper's editorial board, too. She's also Mormon. And she's found herself at odds with parts of those communities. Some of her recent columns have dealt with the #MeToo Movement, the death penalty and guns. She's made a habit of challenging Utah's moral compass. More about Michelle Quist: https://www.sltrib.com/staff/mquist/

This week, we took a little field trip up to the state capitol where KUER’s Nicole Nixon and Julia Ritchey have been basically living the past few weeks while they cover the 2018 Utah Legislative Session. In a state like ours, a lot of the time the politics are pretty predictable, but every year there are surprises, so we got the inside look from Nicole and Julia.

This week, we took a little field trip up to the state capitol where KUER’s Nicole Nixon and Julia Ritchey have been basically living the past few weeks while they cover the 2018 Utah Legislative Session. In a state like ours, a lot of the time the politics are pretty predictable, but every year there are surprises, so we got the inside look from Nicole and Julia.

Most of the lawsuits filed in Utah are debt collection suits, usually in the realm of a couple hundred dollars, and nearly all of the debtors being sued (98.5 percent of them to be exact) don't get legal help. But if you don’t answer the suit — and “answer” means something really specific here — you’re giving all the power to the debt collector. There’s a group of BYU students and their professor who are trying to help debtors. KUER's Lee Hale joins Doug Fabrizio to talk about it. Original story

Most of the lawsuits filed in Utah are debt collection suits, usually in the realm of a couple hundred dollars, and nearly all of the debtors being sued (98.5 percent of them to be exact) don't get legal help. But if you don’t answer the suit — and “answer” means something really specific here — you’re giving all the power to the debt collector. There’s a group of BYU students and their professor who are trying to help debtors. KUER's Lee Hale joins Doug Fabrizio to talk about it. Original story

Americans love their national parks. But the agency that oversees them, the National Park Service, is facing budget cuts. And, worse, they’re $12 billion behind on a growing to-do list that includes repairing guard rails on steep cliffs and replacing broken campsite toilets. Their solution? Higher entrance fees. But KUER's Judy Fahys explains it's not that simple. Original Story: http://kuer.org/post/looking-fixes-national-park-fans-worry-fees-will-climb-12b-do-list-wont-go-down#stream/0

Americans love their national parks. But the agency that oversees them, the National Park Service, is facing budget cuts. And, worse, they’re $12 billion behind on a growing to-do list that includes repairing guard rails on steep cliffs and replacing broken campsite toilets. Their solution? Higher entrance fees. But KUER's Judy Fahys explains it's not that simple. Original Story: http://kuer.org/post/looking-fixes-national-park-fans-worry-fees-will-climb-12b-do-list-wont-go-down#stream/0

These days it’s perfectly normal for lawmakers at the state and federal level to be on Twitter. President Trump, of course, tweets frequently. And Utah’s representatives are no different. Local lawmakers Todd Weiler and Jim Dabakis are both Twitter users with lots of followers. But what does it mean when a politician blocks someone on social media? Should that even be allowed to happen? KUER’s Julia Ritchey joins Doug Fabrizio to talk about it. Original story: http://kuer.org/post/when-online

These days it’s perfectly normal for lawmakers at the state and federal level to be on Twitter. President Trump, of course, tweets frequently. And Utah’s representatives are no different. Local lawmakers Todd Weiler and Jim Dabakis are both Twitter users with lots of followers. But what does it mean when a politician blocks someone on social media? Should that even be allowed to happen? KUER’s Julia Ritchey joins Doug Fabrizio to talk about it. Original story: http://kuer.org/post/when-online

Doing away with the death penalty is usually thought of as a liberal cause, and the arguments are often about the morality of executing someone, or wrongful convictions. But now some conservatives are lining up against capital punishment too — for reasons of their own. KUER’s Whittney Evans joins Doug Fabrizio to talk about why. Original Story: http://kuer.org/post/death-penalty-repeal-groups-including-republicans-say-utah-moving-closer-ending-executions

Doing away with the death penalty is usually thought of as a liberal cause, and the arguments are often about the morality of executing someone, or wrongful convictions. But now some conservatives are lining up against capital punishment too — for reasons of their own. KUER’s Whittney Evans joins Doug Fabrizio to talk about why. Original Story: http://kuer.org/post/death-penalty-repeal-groups-including-republicans-say-utah-moving-closer-ending-executions

It’s not uncommon to pay over a hundred dollars for a science or math textbook — and new editions are frequently published. For students struggling to pay for higher education, a pricey textbook can mean the difference between going to class and dropping out. KUER’s Lee Hale joins Doug Fabrizio in the studio to talk about the problem. Original Story: http://kuer.org/post/end-hundred-dollar-textbook#stream/0

It’s not uncommon to pay over a hundred dollars for a science or math textbook — and new editions are frequently published. For students struggling to pay for higher education, a pricey textbook can mean the difference between going to class and dropping out. KUER’s Lee Hale joins Doug Fabrizio in the studio to talk about the problem. Original Story: http://kuer.org/post/end-hundred-dollar-textbook#stream/0

KUER’s Nicole Nixon has been looking into the sexual dynamics at Utah’s State House. She spoke with some of the women — legislators and lobbyists — who work there. With powerful men in media and politics around the country facing allegations of sexual misconduct, the Utah Legislature — so far — has been spared a major scandal. But the people Nicole talked to describe a condescending and sexist culture on the hill. Original Story: http://kuer.org/post/amid-sexual-harassment-reckoning-women-utah

KUER’s Nicole Nixon has been looking into the sexual dynamics at Utah’s State House. She spoke with some of the women — legislators and lobbyists — who work there. With powerful men in media and politics around the country facing allegations of sexual misconduct, the Utah Legislature — so far — has been spared a major scandal. But the people Nicole talked to describe a condescending and sexist culture on the hill. Original Story: http://kuer.org/post/amid-sexual-harassment-reckoning-women-utah