KSL's Inside Sources

One Tooele County teen is taking flight for New York City. Alex Harris will take his skills of flying massive balloons to the Big Apple for the 100th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. He's only 18 years old and has been preparing for this feat since he was 4. Greg and Holly discuss his journey and the coolness of this special adventure.

Who doesn't like a good cruise? No need to cook, clean, or do anything, really. Just hop on a boat and be pampered for days on end. And you get to see some pretty cool places in the process. Americans are hopping aboard the cruise ship trend -- AAA says a record number of us are planning cruise vacations next year.

Elizabeth Smart is joining the push for a 3-digit emergency number for people who find themselves victims of sexual abuse. It would be similar to 9-1-1 and 9-8-8 and would connect callers with trained professionals who can help in these situations. State Senator Heidi Balderree is working on a bill that would create this number here in Utah; she joins Inside Sources to talk about her proposal.

We all figured the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk wouldn't go to trial for a couple of years. But 2029? That's a lot further out than we originally thought. Tyler Robinson's defense team now says they won't be ready to go to trial until 2029. They say the case is super complex, so they need more time. KSL Legal Analyst Greg Skordas explains.

Early voting is underway across the state and mail-in ballots are already being returned. This morning, we learned from the Lieutenant Governor that statewide turnout so far is 6.45%. That's nothing compared to several states that'll be key to who controls Congress; many of those places are seeing record turnout so far. As we get closer to the election, it has us wondering more about the peaceful transfer of power that's such a key part of our constitutional republic. But Deseret News opinion editor Jay Evensen says our elections have become so toxic; he joins the show to explain how not conceding a race plays into this. Greg and Holly also discuss some of the Utah midterm elections they're keeping their eyes on.

As we get closer to Election Day, Inside Sources is interviewing candidates running in Utah's biggest races. In this edition of Meet the Candidate 2026, hosts Holly Richardson and Greg Skordas speak with the Democratic candidate for Utah's 4th Congressional District, Jonny Larsen. He answers questions about his campaign, his top priorities should he be elected, and why he thinks he's the one to give CD-4 a voice in Congress.

Producer note: Republican incumbent Representative Mike Kennedy will join Inside Sources on Thursday, October 29th at 10 am to share more on his campaign.

For years now, people have complained about the cleaning fees and cleaning chores often required for Airbnbs. In fact, it's driven many people back to traditional hotels. But now, the company says it will limit the chores guests are required to do. Consumers are very happy about the change; hosts… are not. Inside Sources executive producer Andy Cupp has been a long-time user of Airbnb joins the conversation.

The outrage over President Trump's deals with Russia continues to grow today, and a lot of the anger is coming from within his own party. It's coming from both current and former members of Congress, including former Senator and Presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Deseret News congressional correspondent Cami Mondeaux joins Inside Sources with details.

Mail-in voting has been in the crosshairs for several years, with lots of unsubstantiated claims of fraud and misuse. But a new audit out from the Utah Legislature finds that there is no evidence of widespread fraud with mail-in voting. In fact, the audit found that vote-by-mail actually increased participation, especially in rural counties.

This morning, Utah's Lieutenant Governor announced that the Department of Justice would be sending an unknown number of election monitors to the state to monitor the upcoming election. LG Deidre Henderson posted the announcement on social media, saying she doesn't know where the poll watchers will go or how many will come, but that they will be required to follow Utah law. Greg and Holly discuss what poll watchers do, the laws around them in our state, and how this isn't an unprecedented move by the DOJ.

- Election Security: SLCo investigating case of missing ballots; Davis County takes proactive approach to ballot transparency
- Meet the Candidates 2026: Salt Lake County District Attorney
- Ask the Attorney: Should a new Utah Supreme Court Justice recuse himself from the redistricting lawsuit?
- Local food banks facing budget troubles due to high prices, increased demand
- 5 common foods in grocery stores see the most price fluctuation -- why?
- The housing market continues to struggle with higher prices and rising interest rates
- The changing economics of higher education
- Negative political ads in Ohio gubernatorial race get national attention
- 'How you like them apples?'

It's National Apple Day! Whether you prefer them whole, in a pie, or as a cider, there are so many ways to enjoy this delicious fruit. Greg and Holly discuss their favorite kinds of apples before discussing the rest of Holly's Fun Facts and Greg's Closing Arguments.

Negative political ads are nothing new -- they've been around as long as politics have been around. We all say we hate them, but they do work a lot of times; that's why we still make them. But a new attack ad from Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican gubernatorial candidate in Ohio, against his Democratic opponent Amy Acton has a lot of people on both sides of the aisle frustrated and concerned with the state of our political ads.

For years and years, there was a push to send kids to college. Then college got more expensive and the pay for having a college degree didn't always keep up. It's created this interesting situation where people really wonder if college is worth it nowadays. And with everything getting more expensive, we think it's a fair question: is a college education worth the cost? The changing economics of higher education was the focus of a discussion from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute this morning. The speaker at that event is our friend Dr. Michael Kofoed, associate professor of economics at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He joins us in the studio for a discussion on the changing economics of higher education.

The housing market continues its slog amid higher prices and higher interest rates. Axios reports that Salt Lake City home sales have dropped by 11% since last year. And nationally, September was the worst month for pending home sales; ever since the National Association of Realtors began tracking the data in 2001. For a check-in on how the market is actually doing and whether or not people should lose hope, Holly and Greg speak with Russell Faucette, owner of The Stern Team and principal broker of Omada Real Estate.

While food banks deal with challenges of higher prices for goods, so do the average consumers. We're all dealing with higher prices for groceries, but not all groceries are created equal -- some foods see more price volatility than most. Greg and Holly discuss the five foods that consumers are having the hardest times paying for right now: ground beef, eggs, coffee, butter, and chocolate chip cookies.

With the way the economy's gone over the last several years, more and more Utah families are seeking help from food banks and community services. And that has those services stretched thinner than ever. Now, we're learning that one food bank in Provo may not be able to help all the families who need support unless it can raise $100,000 by the end of the month. For more on this story, Greg and Holly turn to Jessica Miller, Chief Impact Officer of Community Action Services and Food Bank.

This morning, we learned that a review of people who signed a petition to repeal Prop 4 -- which dealt with redistricting -- found that a new member of the Utah Supreme Court signed his name. Justice Michael Menssen signed the petition roughly seven months before his appointment to the court, yet he's heard argument relating to the redistricting lawsuit; he hasn't stepped back. Should he recuse himself from that case? KSL Legal Analyst Greg Skordas shares his thoughts.

Salt Lake County has the highest number of criminal prosecutions in the state. So, who should oversee that whole operation? In this edition of Meet the Candidate 2026, hosts Holly Richardson and Greg Skordas speak with the top two candidates running to be the next District Attorney of Salt Lake County, incumbent Democrat Sim Gill and Republican challenger Kent Davis. They speak about their campaigns, what they hope to bring to the office, and how they believe their office should work with law enforcement to ensure our communities stay safe and secure.

There are some concerns around election security this morning. With less than two weeks to go until Election Day, we're learning that the Salt Lake County Clerk is investigating missing ballots that may have been stolen from mailboxes. At the same time, Davis County is taking a proactive approach to transparency for ballot processing. KSL Reporter Cameron Elliott begins our conversation with details on this new investigation into missing ballots in Salt Lake County.

It was quite a scene in Utah County last night after protestors were removed and taken into custody during a county planning commission meeting on data centers. KSL obtained video of the incident, which shows Utah County Sheriff's Officers tackling several people to the ground and putting them in handcuffs. Greg and Holly discuss what we know about the event and how it shows strong feelings still exist around data centers in the state. They revisit the topic later on and get the Sheriff's Office side of things.

• Senator Mike Lee defends DOJ investigations into voter information, which LG Deidre Henderson is pushing back on
• U.S. Education Secretary visits Utah, speaks on role of states in education
• Meet the Candidates 2026: 3rd Congressional District
• Your Voice, Your Vote: Voter confidence remains shaky ahead of midterm elections
• President Trump signs order, establishes new task force on women's health
• Report: women and men use artificial intelligence in different ways and for different reasons
• New report sheds light on the role culture plays in fertility rates
• Unicyclist on 30,000-mile journey rides through Utah

One Guatemalan engineer is a pro at riding a unicycle, and he's on the trip of a lifetime right now from Alaska to Argentina. Right now, he's riding through Utah! Greg loves to ride his bike, but a unicycle? Not so much.

Fertility rates around the country continue to drop, even in a family-friendly state like Utah. We know that we have to maintain a population balance in order to keep a functioning society, so what can be done to improve the fertility rates without destabilizing things even more? A new report out this morning from the Institute for Family Studies and BYU's Wheatley Institute asks these very questions and looks at the role of culture when it comes to having babies. For more, Inside Sources welcomes IFS research associate and co-author of the report, Peter Foreshaw Brookes.

A new Pew Research poll finds that men and women use artificial intelligence in very different ways. From the very beginning of the report, the researchers found that men use chatbots more than women and that women are more likely to use AI for a variety of things, including work. But overall, women are still much more skeptical about AI. Greg and Holly share their own thoughts and reasons for using AI, and they read listener comments sharing similar reasons.