Episode 121 Utah’s Most Haunted: Asylum 49

The largest amount of historical information we’ve been able to find on the Old Tooele Hospital, is from History Goes Bump. Most of the information that you will find when you Google, is just about Asylum 49 being one of the nations top haunted houses and the past/on-going paranormal activity that happens throughout the building.

Our visit to Asylum 49 on opening night was not to do a paranormal investigation, although Jeremy has done several out there with his paranormal group. Our visit to Tooele to record our show was to highlight the haunt and what they are doing with their brand new community center. Okay, we may have gotten into the paranormal a little, because how can you not when you are in one of the most haunted locations in the state of Utah?

Cami and Kimm Andersen, and their family, have been running the Asylum 49 haunted attraction for the past 13 years on the hospital side of the building. It has earned it’s place in “best of” and “scariest” lists across America. They have even been visited by Ghost Adventures twice, in 2011 and 2017. A year and a half ago the nursing home, on the other side of the building, closed and they took ownership of that side as well. Instead of expanding the haunted house, they decided to open a community/wellness center for the people they’ve worked with in the haunt over the years and for the Tooele community. Here is the documentary that they presented at the 2018 FanX Convention, at the beginning of September, which talks a little bit about the relationships they’ve built, some behind the scenes, and the good that Asylum 49 is doing in the community.

During our time at Asylum 49 we had an opportunity to speak with Bryce, the director of operations and creator of the documentary. Dusty, who is Kimm and Cami’s business partner and part owner *and family*, as well as Sherry from Sherry’s Sweets which has opened shop in the kitchen on the community center side. Not only is Sherry’s Sweets opened for business in the community center, they have taken some of the old rooms and created little shops featuring local vendors and artisans. Of course during our visit we got some time with Cami and Kimm as well. We found out how they came into the Asylum in the first place, a bit about the haunt, and some of their own personal paranormal experiences in the building over the years.

Old Tooele Hospital

We were able to take a tour of the haunt prior to it opening.This year they’ve moved it to the opposite side of the building while they work on some stuff on the hospital side, then they will move it back so the community center will have it’s own space. Just a reminder, it is FULL CONTACT! After we recorded our show Cami and Dr. Fear gave us a tour through the old hospital side. Check out some of the pictures we took. None of the photos have been edited, only watermarked.

Asylum 49 Exterior

Entrance to Green Mile @ Asylum 49

The Green Mile @ Asylum 49

Original Operating Room Doors @ Asylum 49

Conference Room @ Asylum 49

One of the surgery rooms @ Asylum 49

Entry to Labor and Delivery @ Asylum 49

Original tub @ Asylum 49

Asylum 49 Rules!

We don’t want to give away too much of our interview or our experiences in the recap. Take a listen and let us know if you would experience the full contact at Asylum 49 and if you’ve had any experiences in these walls! We can’t wait to go back!

You can follow Asylum 49 on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

If you want more of Cami’s paranormal experiences, you can order her and Richard Estep’s book, “The Haunting of Asylum 49” on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Here is the list from Haunted rooms that we talked about; Top 10 Haunted Places in Utah.

We will ALWAYS love your “likes” BUT don’t forget to click that little SHARE button (or retweet) *sharing IS indeed caring* You can find us and subscribe on Soundcloud, Stitcher, or Itunes, and Google Play and TuneIN. Leave us a review and Follow us on the Twitter @tnupodcast, Instagram @Tnupodcast, or on Facebook The New Utah Podcast

Episode 120 Are you a Dude or a Dad?

This weeks guest on the New Utah Podcast is what happens when you find what you love, fight for it, fight through it, have the discipline to fix the small things, then find a way to give all of that back to the community all while eating fig newtons while you do it! Derek Parra, Olympic medalist and sports director at the Olympic Oval, sat down with us for episode 120.

Once upon a time before the gold and silver Olympic medals, Derek was a kid who found a love for roller skating and in-line skates! He honed his talent and became an 18 time world champion and at one time was the fastest in the world! Yes, you read that correctly! Roller skating champion! He traded in his rubber and pavement for steel and took to the ice. Derek took us through his career, from almost quitting to his very inspiring come back story. Derek shared with us his thoughts when he arrived to the Salt Lake Valley, he said that “it feels like home.” After living and training all around the country, Salt Lake Valley is now his home.

Our show happened to fall on 9/11 this year, and it was very serendipitous because Derek was one of 8 athletes to carry in the WTC flag for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics opening ceremony. Derek has made his home in Utah and continues to give back to the community. Through coaching, public speaking, and being involved in programs and the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation at the Olympic Oval. At the Oval you can take up curling, hockey, they offer specialty training, world cup events, free skate events, and if you need to be on steady ground you can run around the track that circles the ice on the outside.

We don’t want to give away too much in the recap, so take a listen below!

This video is in another language and the only one we could find, but we wanted to remind you how beautiful Derek’s record-breaking performance was in the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Eight U.S. athletes and New York police and firefighters carry the tattered American flag from the World Trade Center into the stadium during the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City Friday, Feb. 8, 2002. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

2002 Winter Olympic Games : Salt Lake City, 02/8/2002, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States — Flanked By Members Of The New York Fire Department And New York Port Authority, One 8 Athlete From Each Of The Winter Sports At The 2002 Olympic Winter Games Holds The World Trade Center Flag As It Is Presented During Opening Ceremonies For The Games. (Photo by Tim De Waele/Getty Images)

We promise you might need tissues for this episode. We certainly did.

Episode 119 Portraits of Mental Health with Cara Jean Means

Your face is flushed. Your palms feel sweaty. You can’t really catch your breath. You have tunnel vision. You want to cry but you aren’t really sure why. Your mind is rushing. You feel like someone is sitting on your chest.

Those are just a few descriptors of what anxiety feels like. This weeks guest, artist Cara Jean Means, walked us through being sympathetic to her husband and his anxiety to experiencing her own and developing empathy for what he was going through. Why is this relevant? Cara Jean currently has an art installation at the Salt Lake Community College South Campus in the George S and Delores Eccles Art Gallery.

Cara Jean met with 11 different people experiencing different types of metal illness and created an art narrative through her painting and to continue the conversation that people are generally afraid to have. Her installation at Salt Lake Community College South Campus is available until September 26th. You can also find Cara Jeans work at the new Granary Row Mural project on 800 S and 300 W in downtown Salt Lake City.

Episode 118 The Artistic Side of Plastic Surgery with Dr. Henstrom

Here at the New Utah Podcast, we get to meet a lot of earth shakers and movers. This week was no different! Dr. Doug “Touchdown” Henstrom of Utah Facial Plastics joined us for a conversation on his journey to facial plastic surgery and where he is going with it.

Why bring in a plastic surgeon you may be asking? Tune in and you will find out!

After playing football for BYU, Dr. Henstrom took off and picked up some training and degree’s from prestigious schools such as University of Iowa, the Mayo Clinic, and Harvard. He isn’t just a doctor, he’s a surgeon! Doug led us through how he found his passion for facial plastic surgery. This included humanitarian work with his father-in-law through the Hirsche Smiles Foundation, going to school to be an ENT, moving his family around the country, and making the decision to come back to Utah.

When you think of facial surgery, you might think of face lifts, Botox, and fillers. Dr. Henstrom and his business partner Dr. Thompson have taken it to a new level at UFP in Draper and Layton, Utah. They are doing ground breaking surgery and training in facial paralysis surgery, doing mind-blowing hair transplant surgeries, otoplasty’s, and MOHS cancer reconstructive surgeries; as well as many more procedures between both offices. Did you know that with a diagnosis of Bells Palsy, 85% of people will see recovery and 15% will not? Also, we learned that 1 in 5000 people will get some type of facial paralysis. Dr. Henstrom is pioneering the surgery to make sure patients know there are options and they are not without hope!

This image is from a recent surgery from Utah Facial Plastics.

Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling, text and closeup

What makes Dr. Henstrom and Utah Facial Plastics stand out from other facial plastic surgery offices up and down the Wasatch Front? Most definitely their bed side manner and lest we forget their amazing social media! They have pioneered transparency in Utah plastic surgery offices on their Instagram and their Facebook. Live streaming procedures and posting before/after photo’s showing the work they are doing makes them stand out; as well as fantastic communication and their amazing support staff in their offices. Dr. Henstrom and Dr. Thompson are also working on continuing education both for themselves as well as the community including education on Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). Two of the questions Dr. Henstrom and Utah Facial Plastics ask when they recognize this could be the situation in their office are, 1. How long have you wanted the procedure and 2. Why do you want to make the change. (age, divorce, to get someone back, to get a job, etc.) Then they proceed from there. Alright, alright, we don’t want to give away the WHOLE interview. We want to make sure Dr. Touchdown gets the props he deserves for the differences he is making in his patients lives.

You can find Dr. Henstrom or Dr. Thompson on their website, Utah Facial Plastics, on their You Tube channel, on their Facebook and on their Instagram,

Episode 117 You Don’t Know Shit

It’s always amazing how things circle back in life. It might seem simple, but to us having Kerry Jackson as our 17th episode, and now 100 episodes later for 117, is pretty magical!

PS. He STILL hates chickens!

This week we had the opportunity to head back to DINK studios in Kerry’s basement where the Geek Show Podcast records their show. Kerry was most excellent enough to be our guest co-host for this episode! We had a great chat about podcasting in the second half of the show. Kerry has been podcasting for 10 years with Utah’s award winning Geek Show Podcast, and we wanted to pick his brain on things like equipment, managing and producing a show, analytics, format changes, and the like!

One of the questions we get asked here and there is, “how many listeners do you have?” We never know what to say because the analytics and tracking for podcasting is still in its infancy. It was comforting hearing a seasoned podcaster say that there is still no real tracking data for podcasts. Is it improving? Yes, but slowly. The analytics just aren’t out there, and Kerry said that any ratings for entertainment broadcasting (radio, podcasting, etc.) is horrible. One of the many great things about Kerry is that he is always furthering his education and researching what he does, both in radio and in podcasting.

We had to ask, is a good podcast the same as a successful podcast and vice versa? That is a big fat no. So, what makes a good podcast? We decided that relate-ability is the verdict, not the numbers. What makes a good podcast to you?

Some of the advice that Kerry gave regarding recording/starting a podcast includes; making changes should always be discussed and not done on a knee-jerk reaction, evaluate your length and content throughout your show, and evaluate topicality such as news and events. Also, don’t let anyone fool you, people ARE still listening to radio! The numbers say at least 90% of people are still listening.

Kerry shared with us some of his favorite podcasts in no particular order:

This week we also got to chat a bit with Kerry about what is coming up for FanX (formerly known as Salt Lake Comic Con) this September. We wanted to know what the new committee that Kerry, Jay Whittaker, Val Cameron, and other local notables are part of will be doing to make sure that up coming FanX events are successful and safe going forward. We definitely look forward to seeing the changes and betterment!

You can follow Kerry on Twitter (RFH/Geek Show Podcast) and Facebook (Radio from Hell/Geek Show Podcast).

Episode 116 Cruise adventures with Chris and Bre

We are always excited when our previous guests want to come co-host with us!

Chris and Bre are back from their cruise and they had a great adventure! They are trophy winners… They rode some horses… and they needed bathrooms in Catalina. Get it together America. Then they moved their kids to college. We wish tons of luck to Cass in her second year and Chan in her first! The gardens are doing well. The fires are starting to slowly clear up. And of course we had to do a best of Utah list from MentalFloss.com!

This week we were joined by the talented Utah stand-up comedian and stand-up guy, Travis Tate! Yes he has been on three times now, and yes, he is still Chris 2.0! We love having him come sit down with us and co-host.

Travis is now hosting his own podcast and you can find him and make sure to subscribe at Late to The Party with Travis Tate!

This weekend he will be at the Ogden WiseGuys doing two shows. You can also follow him on FACEBOOK and find him at upcoming shows at the WiseGuys throughout Utah!

Episode 115 Field trip to the Farmers Market

We feel fortunate that we get to venture out in to our community and meet awesome people! This weeks episode is extra special. We always talk about how amazing the downtown Salt Lake farmers market is and a few of us have been, but this week we were all able to take a field trip to the market together! We touched base and interviewed some of the vendors on how this season is going! We also had some time again with Alison, the market director, to talk about the Tuesday Harvest market that started on the 7th! And of course we ate some great food and had some coffee from some of our favorites!

You can now visit the market two times a week; Tuesdays at Pioneer Park 4-dusk as a smaller more intimate food only market (until September) and Saturdays is the regular the full market Pioneer park from 8-2pm.

Also, it’s that time of year again. We would love to see a vote for the BEST PODCAST on the City Weekly Best of 2018 list!! We know we are up against the giant Geek Show Podcast (which we love and support) but your votes mean the world! Also there are tons of awesome guests we’ve had that you can write in like our friends at WaterPocket Distillery for best spirit, Sugar House Distillery for best Distiller, Mountain West Cider for best hard cider, and Talisman Brewery for best brewery!! Click on the photo for the survey!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SC2LNLB

Episode 113 Pioneer Day and Manly Beards unite!

First and foremost we must share with you the awesomeness that is The Beards. No they aren’t local, but they have beards and they make us laugh with their songs!!

I feel like we should end it there…

But, we can’t. You know what is fun? All of Utah’s state symbols! We decided since it was Pioneer day, although Utah becoming an ACTUAL state is a different date, that it would be fun to run through the list and talk about why Utah celebrates Pioneer Day.

Here are the lists from KSL of the best waterfall hikes and some of Utah’s Drive-In Theaters that are left that we talked about. Do you have a favorite?

Alright, we hope you learned something and had a laugh.

Don’t forget to throw out the gray bacon and get your chores done!

Episode 112 The Great Salt Lake Fringe

Once upon a time in a land far, far away a performing arts festival started in Edinburgh, Scotland called the Fringe Festival. Established in 1947, it has grown over 71 years and expanded world-wide with over 200 festivals! You might be asking yourself why you need this history?

This week we had the Nina Vought, founder of Utah’s very own Fringe Festival, join us! It might not be 71 years old, but in it’s short 4 years it has grown from a few shows over a weekend, to 250 over 10 days!

Nina Vought is so much more than just the founder of The Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival. Nina is also a theatre professor at Westminster College in Salt Lake City. With a dream of being an academic gypsy, her roots have now been planted pretty deep in Utah with her husband, who team teaches with her at the college! Nina got real with us and let us know how much heart and soul and countless hours are put into even just a simple 15 minute performance at the Fringe Festival. This is a place for performances to be work-shopped and quite possibly improved at a future festival. Nina said, “the fringe festival does for theater what Sundance does for independent film.” She explained to us that it takes a village to put on this festival, and one of the coolest bits of information about the GSLFF is that all ticket sales go BACK to the performers and that is clearly stated in the 2 rules of the Fringe Festival, which all must abide!

1. It is non-curated. Based on a first come first serve for applications.

2. All ticket sales go to the performers.

The festival goes from August 2-12th with dance and theatre performances at the Gateway in downtown Salt Lake City. Ticket prices starting at $10 or you can buy a performance pack! *which we definitely suggest.* It is said that the Fringe Festival is like Disneyland for theater lovers! We can’t argue with that.

You can learn more about the Great Salt Lake Fringe HERE. You can follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates. We will do a follow up show with Nina and her husband about yoga, the vegan classes they teach, and living a green life in Salt Lake City!

Episode 111 Incident Management with Jay Whittaker

This week the stars aligned and we had the privilege of sitting down with actor/podcaster/comedian, Jay Whittaker. Jay is a transplant to Utah from the Air Force and after much contemplation of moving back home to California, we are glad we get to call him a Utahn.

Where does one start in a conversation with someone that does SO much? Well, first you start on the Oregon Trail, you move slowly to MySpace, then you invent “BitWhitts” and of course you finish up with giving some sound advice for your local community.

Jay also reminded us that no one, we repeat no one, wants to get robbed in flip-flops!

Jay has been part of the GeekShow Podcast for the past 5 years. He has been finding his role in the Utah geek fellowship by being passionate and relatable. Jay recently started his own podcast, The Incredibly Vocal Minority Podcast to have a broader voice in Utah and beyond. Jay is also a staple in the Utah stand-up comedy community, performing on the regular and hosting shows and open mic night at WiseGuys in Ogden, Salt Lake City, and West Jordan as well the Dry Bar in Provo. Jay has also had the opportunity to travel the country to numerous comedy festivals! You can find some of his routines on his YouTube Channel, the link is below.

This is one of our favorite videos of Jay. It really gives a sense of how chill and fun he is, and how much he loves life… and pizza. The Little Caesars pretzel crust pizza should come back, by the way.

We don’t want to give away too much of our interview in the recap, but it was nice to be able to sit and chat about race relations in Utah, traveling back and forth to Utah and choosing a home, birds, LeBron and the Lakers, his son, and his upcoming projects.

You can find Jay Whittaker * that’s with TWO “t’s”* on his website; It’s Jay Whittaker, YouTube Channel, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and we will keep you up to date on his new music project; Big Lil Kid!

Some of Jays upcoming dates:

July 20/21st: Hosting at WiseGuys in Salt Lake for Adam Ray.
July 26-28th: Hosting at WiseGuys in Salt Lake for Joey Diaz.
August 17/18th he will be in Boston
September 14/15th he will be at WiseGuys in West Jordan.
September 18/22nd he will be in Arizona

We will ALWAYS love your “likes” BUT don’t forget to click that little SHARE button (or retweet) *sharing IS indeed caring* You can find us and subscribe on Soundcloud, Stitcher, or Itunes, and Google Play and TuneIN. We would LOVE for you to leave us a review and Follow us on the Twitter @tnupodcast, Instagram @Tnupodcast, or on Facebook The New Utah Podcast

The New Utah Podcast

The Utah you really want to know about.

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