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.
President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which he signed on July 4, could lead to an estimated 188,000 Utahns losing health insurance and an increase of the national deficit by more than $3 trillion, The Tribune reported.
I want to hear from you: How will the “Big Beautiful Bill” impact your life?
For Kiley Wren Ryan, a student and single mom of three in Utah, the impact felt heavy — and personal.
“I’m trying to build a career that helps fix the very systems failing families like mine,” she writes in an op-ed published this week. “But while I’m in school, I’ll rely on Medicaid and SNAP just to get by. And now, even those supports are under attack.”
As she attends schools and looks for work, she worries about being able to “climb out of survival mode,” she writes.
“Recent legislation from House Republicans doesn’t just target safety nets — it threatens the institutions many of us count on to secure better futures … That’s what makes this bill feel so personal. These aren’t abstract policy shifts. They’re direct threats to the few supports I have while I try to improve our lives. I’m not asking for handouts — I’m asking for a fair shot. For dignity. For a system that doesn’t punish people for trying to climb out of survival mode.”
In Moab, Times-Independent reporter Andrew Christiansen spoke to a few advocates who had warnings about the bill and its impacts:
Matt McCullough, rural hospital improvement director with the Utah Hospital Association, said the bill would effectively slash “21 cents out of every dollar” hospitals get from Medicaid, driving reduced services — like maternity care — and shrinking local workforces.
“These are real people who need care,” he said. “They need access to care in these rural communities, and this bill really does not support them and their families.”
Glenn Bailey, executive director of Crossroads Urban Center in Salt Lake City, said his organization’s two food pantries now serve between 12,000 and 13,000 people a month — a figure that has grown as more residents rely on emergency aid.
“This is absolutely the wrong time to make cuts in the safety net, particularly in food resources that help … the most vulnerable people in our community,” he said.
A Quick Thank You!
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Opinion sections of the The Salt Lake Tribune.
It’s been a little over a year of Inside Voices! I wanted to take a quick moment to thank you for reading — and for sharing your perspectives.
Just like when I started as Voices editor back in 2023, we know that polarization is high. Too many spaces reward incendiary language and bad-faith arguments. But research shows that people are aware of and deeply concerned about this divide — and that learning even a bit about someone else’s lived experience can greatly reduce this polarization.
At The Tribune, we’re still working to create the kind of public forum that disrupts the outrage machine and instead fosters curiosity, builds trust and creates connection.
We’ve seen a positive impact, and I hope you’ll continue to help us reach this goal by reading and sharing your own insight. And I hope you’ll let me know what you like about this newsletter, what you might not like and what you’d like to see in future editions.
If you do like this newsletter, the highest compliment would be to share it with your friends, family, coworkers and neighbors so they can subscribe, as well!
Utah Voices
(Jud Burkett | Special to The Tribune) Construction continues on a four-story condominium building in the Lone Rock Condominium complex in Hurricane, Thursday, March 20, 2025.
The following excerpts come from op-eds recently published in The Tribune.
Utah’s housing shortage is ‘a full-blown emergency’
“Affordable housing is not some fringe issue. It is economic infrastructure,” writes Bill Knowlton, a local real estate attorney and affordable housing developer. “It is a public health intervention — with residents in affordable, stable housing experiencing 18% fewer emergency room visits. It is criminal justice reform – with individuals with stable housing exhibiting dramatically lower rates of recidivism. It is education policy — because housing affordability, stability, quality and neighborhood characteristics are strongly linked to students’ school readiness, attendance and test-score performance. And it is the moral test of any society that claims to care about families.” Read more.
Federal funding cuts to genetic research will be ‘devastating’
“As biomedical researchers, now retired, we are horrified by the deep cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) proposed in the Trump administration’s budget for 2026,” write Jerry Kaplan and Dana Carroll. “These cuts would cause immense and largely irreversible damage to the successful American scientific enterprise … It would also end the training of the next generations of investigators. This is particularly sad for Utah, which has had a leading role in genetic research.” Read more.
A fear that discrimination ‘will only get worse’
“Perhaps the tide of public outrage is rising as we realize that if this happens to one of us, it can happen to any of us — to members of my family and perhaps members of yours, too,” writes Sharon Ellsworth-Nielson. “Anyone this administration deems an enemy can be arrested or ‘disappeared.’ You don’t have to be an undocumented immigrant to be a target. No one is entirely safe, not even those with power and standing.” Read more.
How a Planned Parenthood in rural Utah helped one Utahn ‘find hope’
“Without that trip to Planned Parenthood to give me hope, I wouldn’t be here,” Emma Phelps wrote in May. “Beyond reproductive care, they helped me create an escape plan from my abuser. They gave me mental health resources, were there for me when I was abandoned by family and friends, and, above all, reminded me that I was in charge of my body and my health. Cedar City, Logan and St. George are all college towns full of students just like I was — students who are far from home, scared, hurt and just as deserving of support. The loss of these clinics and their services in these communities is truly devastating.” Read more.
Pat Bagley’s ‘special way of speaking to Utah’
“The arc of Pat’s career says a lot about our history over the past 45 years,” writes George Pyle. “Back then, the cultural conservatism of Utah was something to make fun of, in a neighborly way. Holding up a mirror might be enough to get people to rethink their prejudices and habits. If you do it gently enough, maybe you can get some folks to rethink and even slightly change some of their most old-fashioned and outdated policies. More recently, stuff has gotten real.” Read more.
Share Your Perspective
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) A pioneer-themed float from Salt Lake Holladay North Stake at the Days of ’47 Parade in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 24, 2023.
Ahead of Pioneer Day, I want to know: What does being a Utahn mean to you?
From Bagley’s Desk
Chicken Feed | Pat Bagley
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].