Plus: How Utah could ‘reverse decades of progress’ in health equity
(AP) In this April 22, 1952 file photo, a gigantic pillar of smoke with the familiar mushroom top climbs above Yucca Flat, Nev., during nuclear test detonation.
Happy Saturday, and welcome to Inside Voices, a weekly newsletter that features a collection of ideas, perspectives and solutions from across Utah — without any of the vitriol or yelling that’s become all too common on other platforms. Subscribe here.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve heard from Utahns across the state who are set to be impacted by President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”
This week, we heard from someone who feels one part of the bill is “long overdue.”
Mary Dickson, a Salt Lake City downwinder who suffered thyroid cancer and underwent surgery and radiation treatments in her late 20s, says the expansion and two-year extension of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990 “is a bittersweet victory, one that is wrapped in grief.”
“When I received the call that the expansion had passed, I broke into tears that were a mixture of gratitude and relief, mingled with sorrow,” she wrote in an op-ed published this week. “I called my younger sister who is now eligible, only to learn that her cancer has now been found in her bladder, breast and brain.”
While she’s grateful for the expansion and extension, Mary writes that the work is far from done. She says she will “continue to work side by side pushing for justice for communities that were cut from the bill.”
“But what is justice?” she asks. “Is there any real justice when the needs of so many remain unaddressed, when so many have already died waiting and more will continue to die? What we all feel so painfully is the hard reality that no amount of compensation will ever bring back what we’ve lost and the loved ones we’ve buried and continue to mourn.”
I’m grateful for her honesty in sharing her unique perspective, and I hope you’ll read her commentary.
Want to share your own experience? Take a look at our op-ed guidelines and reach out to [email protected] with any questions.
Utah Voices
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The fluoride station at the Big Cottonwood Water Treatment Facility on Monday, April 21, 2025.
The following excerpts come from op-eds recently published in The Tribune.
How a fluoride ban ‘could reverse decades of progress’
“Utah recently became the first state to ban fluoride,” writes Susan Nowell, a doctor of physical therapy with 20 years of experience in rural and urban healthcare. “This state-wide legislation bans municipalities from adding fluoride to public drinking water. Many constituents see the action as a win for freedom of choice. To the contrary, this legislation bars local governments from independent choice regarding community water. It limits the reach of preventive dental care.” Read more.
How one local project is ‘making a real difference’ for GSL
“To be clear, Great Salt Lake, the Colorado River and many of our state’s natural treasures are still in crisis,” writes Anna McEntire, the managing director of the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air at Utah State University. “But, the connections that have been placed around these issues — communication, context and nuanced in-depth knowledge — have been strengthened. The lesson here is that collaboration itself is a solution — a system we can build and maintain to support awareness, responsiveness and better decision making. It’s worth recognizing that in a time when journalism is too often underfunded or under attack, this project has done what journalism aspires to do at its best: not just report the facts, but move the conversation forward.” Read more.
We ‘need to know a lot more about how the ‘No Kings’ shooting’
“If any of the 10,000 or more protesters at the June 14 ‘No Kings’ demonstration in downtown Salt Lake City had stopped off on their way to the event for a beer or other libation, state law would require them to produce a driver license to be scanned by the bartender,” writes The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board. “Which means that it is far easier to get a permit to hold a massive event on the capital city’s central avenue — and bring along some armed ‘security’ folks — than it is to get a drink in Utah. We need to decide if that’s any way to run a city. And, to know that, we need to know a lot more details about how the events of that day unfolded.” Read more.
Share Your Perspective
It’s been one year of Inside Voices! Let me know what you like about this newsletter, what you might not like and what you’d like to see in future editions.
I’m always looking for unique perspectives, ideas and solutions that move our state forward. Learn more about our guidelines for an op-ed, guest essay, letter to the editor and more here, and drop me a note at [email protected].