The Store

Carmen Jones is the Branch Manager at WaFd bank here in Price Utah. I went into the bank to open my new business checking account and while there sat down with Carmen in her office to talk about her experience in Eastern Leaders Academy, what it was like growing up in Carbon and Emery counties, and her passion for volunteering and teaching financial literacy.

Andrew Lasslo is the pastor of New Life Ministries - a non-denominational Christian church in Helper Utah. Their church service is held every Sunday at 10:00 AM at 5194 US Highway 6. For more information visit their website newlifeutah.com. 0:00 Introduction 0:14 Having a Clean Heart and Acting Rightly 0:35 Membership and Love First 0:44 Personal Journey of Turning to God 0:54 Partnership in Minis...

Rikki Epperson is the Executive Director of Community Rebuilds based in Moab Utah. The mission of Community Rebuilds is to build energy-efficient housing, provide education on sustainability, and improve the housing conditions of the workforce through an affordable program. 0:02 Introduction to Community Rebuilds 0:07 Financing Options and Partnerships 0:16 History and Growth of Community Rebuilds...

Davina Smith is a 2024 candidate for the Utah State House of Representatives for District #69, which is the largest house district in the state, covering roughly a quarter of the state’s land area in southeast Utah. Originally from Monument Valley, Utah, Davina is an enrolled member of the Diné tribe (the Navajo Nation). Her career experience includes producing documentary films, working as the Di...

C.J. McManus is a radio DJ at AJB Broadcasting, which runs both Jack FM 100.1 and True Country 104.9 based out of Price Utah. C.J. is also currently serving as the Stage Host for this year’s Helper Saturday Vibes event series. 01:09 Getting to Know C.J. 03:15 Community and High School Closure 05:05 Reasons for Staying in Carbon County 08:13 Career in Media 14:12 Transition to Radio DJ 42:00 Involv...

Bryan Carman is an industrial designer, builder, artist, and writer from Adelaide, Australia. He also happens to be one of my best and oldest friends. We met over ten years ago at a sustainable design-build school in New Mexico. We've had countless conversations over the years but this is the first we've ever recorded. In it, I ask Bryan about his many different lines of work, passions and endeavo...

Asia Raine is a Helper-based silversmith, jewelry maker, memory recovery professional & podcaster. Her podcast ‘Letters to the People’ focuses on exploring the experiences of those impacted by cults. I went to Asia’s house to hear about her work as an artist, teacher and entrepreneur. She also shared with me what she has learned through her healing journey as a survivor of satanic ritual abuse, to...

Brad came to the Store to tell me about what he learned at the recent GAIN (Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear) conferene he attended. We also talked about the Eastern Leaders Academy pilot program he helped start last year, and what else is involved in his job as facilitator of engagement between Utah State University Eastern and the local community in Price.

Than Woodward came up to the Store to tell me about his path to becoming a lawyer and why he returned home to Price after spending many years away. He also shared his perspective on what makes Carbon Democrats unique and his vision for how the local party can evolve to better advocate for the people, support quality candidates running for office, and help to heal the political divide in our commun...

I went to the Carbon School District office to talk with Superintendent Mika Salas. Mika told me about her journey as an educator that led to her becoming Superintendent and gave me a bird's eye overview of the district. We discussed all of the progress that has been made in our school district in recent decades as well as the ongoing challenges facing students and faculty alike.

At the Price River Water Improvement District office, Jeff Richens educated me on why the PRWID special district was created and what came before it, how our municipal water and sewer systems work, and why the recent tax increase came about.

Amanda McIntosh is the President of HOPE Squad of Carbon, Emery and Grand Counties - a non-profit dedicated to suicide prevention. Amanda and I discussed how rural southeast Utah is uniquely affected by depression and suicide and what initiatives the HOPE Squad has undertaken to offer love and support to members of our community who may be at risk.

I went to Larry's office at the Carbon County Administration Building to learn about the problems he's working to solve, the inherent challenges that come with being an elected official, and to better understand the complexity of our county's budgets and taxes.

Jade Powell is the Deputy Director and Tamara Dockstader the Community Development Program Manager at the newly-rebranded Southeastern Regional Development Agency (SERDA), formerly known as SEUALG (our Association of Local Governments). They gave me an overview of the wide range of programs and services offered by the agency and their work doing economic and community development throughout southe...

My friend and neighbor Chris Haycock came up to the Store to tell me all about his 15 years of work with the community-based Active Re-Entry program, which assists individuals with disabilities throughout southeast Utah to live independently within their own communities. We also talk about our mutual efforts to help revitalize and envision a future for our small town.

Lenise is the current Mayor of Helper City and is also on the ballot for a Carbon County Commissioner seat this year (we recorded this epsiode before she had decided to run). We met at City Hall on Main Street to reflect on her time in office and talk about what's ahead for Helper.

I got on a call with Joshua Nielsen to learn about his work at the Utah State Tax Commission and their recent involvement with Carbon County's property tax assessment issues.

Gillan Bishop has been in office for three years as the Carbon County Assessor and has lately been mired in controversy over his handling of the county's property tax assessments. Many individuals and groups have expressed disapproval of Bishop's job performance, some even calling for his resignation. In this episode I get to know Gillan personally, learn about his work and try to see these recent...