Blog

Kelly Mendenhall Leads the Utah Foundation Board of Trustees into 2025

Written by: Shawn Teigen

SALT LAKE CITY (Jan. 3, 2025) – The Utah Foundation today announces the 2025 leadership team for its board of trustees, with Kelly Mendenhall, Director of Regulatory and Pricing at Enbridge, appointed as Board Chair. Mendenhall has worked for Enbridge and its predecessor companies for over 25 years. A native of Utah, he has supported the Utah Foundation as a board member since 2017. He was previously the Utah Foundation’s Vice Chair. Utah Foundation President Shawn … Continued

Utah Thrives Podcast | Interview with Steve Waldrip

Written by: Christopher Collard

Utah’s Senior Advisor for Housing Strategy and Innovation and former member of the Utah State House of Representatives talks with Utah Foundation Trustee Thomas Young about the top issue of the 2024 Utah Priorities Project: housing affordability.

Op-ed: Why Utah might be well-positioned to counter hyperpartisanship

Written by: Shawn Teigen

I was initially an Olympics naysayer, routinely asking, “What is the point in spending so much on sports?” During the leadup and throughout the 2002 Games, I realized that maybe I’d sold short the Olympics’ upsides. To me, it became transformational, as the sense of community I’d felt was unlike any I’d seen since moving to the state. Now, I’m a Utah Hockey Club naysayer and cannot wait to be proven wrong again. In my … Continued

Significant Statistics | Utah’s Taxes are Less Regressive than Most

Written by: Staff

On the three-legged stool of taxation – sales, income, and property taxes – Utah is less regressive than most other states. This is important because some Utahns believe that higher-income earners should pay a larger percentage of their income. In contrast, others believe that higher-income earners should pay less since they already contribute the lion’s share of the overall state and local tax receipts. Tax policy is perhaps one of the most widely and hotly … Continued

Significant Statistics | Inflation Stabilized

Written by: Christopher Collard

Inflation has stabilized over the last 12 months between 3% and 4%, though that rate is higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%. The higher rate is likely due to increasing housing costs. Energy inflation levels are near their long-term average while price increases on food and everything else have slowed below their long-term average. The Utah Foundation’s interactive dashboard allows residents is to: Explore current rates. Compare rates for Western and Mountain States … Continued

Utah Thrives Podcast | Utah Priorities Project overview

Written by: Staff

In this podcast, Utah Foundation board member Thomas Young speaks with staff members Shawn Teigen and Christopher Collard about the 2024 Utah Priorities Project, focusing on the fact that people are priced out and fed up. Read the report, Priced Out and Fed Up, here.

Op-ed: Do politicians listen to voters?

Written by: Shawn Teigen

Before the pandemic in February 2020, I was perplexed when “politicians listening to voters” was at the top of Utahns’ concerns in the Utah Priorities Project. The project seeks to uncover the issues that we think the state should do something about. After my initial confusion, that high ranking made a bit more sense. After all, in 2018, Utahns voted to approve three ballot initiatives: Shortly after the vote, the Utah Legislature repealed and replaced … Continued

Utah Priorities Project | What Matters Most to Utahns?

Written by: Shawn Teigen

As Americans, what is our top policy priority? A Pew Research Center survey found that Americans think that President Biden and Congress should focus on “strengthening the economy” in 2024. But what about Utahns? During each gubernatorial election year since 2004, Utah Foundation has sought to understand what matters most to voters through its Utah Priorities Project. For the 2024 Utah Priorities Project, housing affordability topped the list of concerns. Earning enough to pay for … Continued

Op-ed: How schools are fighting a hunger crisis among Utah families

Written by: Shawn Teigen

Many of us consider ourselves food experts. We certainly know exactly what we prefer to eat after all. Food has also gained additional attention over time as it is and has been one of the drivers of recent inflation and perhaps one of the more palpable ones. In response to elevated prices, many people turn toward cheaper and often highly processed food as a household budget release valve. Some may even need to purchase less … Continued

Significant Statistics | Utah Home Prices Cool

Written by: Shawn Teigen

Since 1991, Utah’s home prices have appreciated faster than any other state at 596%. Only Colorado and Montana were even close. The U.S. average has been 312% over the period. Also since 1991, Salt Lake City had the highest metro appreciation at 656%. Only Austin, Denver, and Miami were even close. That said, this past year has seen appreciation cool. In fact, Utah has had the fourth-slowest appreciation at 2%. The U.S. average over the … Continued