Utah Stories Contributors

Mike Jones

Mike has been a Utah stories contributor of photography and articles since 2012. In his spare time he enjoys hiking, nature and portrait photography, whisky and craft beer tastings.

Earlier this year he earned his masters degree in library science with a concentration in archiving from Emporia State University.

“My favorite thing about Utah has got to be the history,” Mike says. “There are so many weird and interesting things that have happened here. The outdoor scene is pretty great as well; summer or winter, there’s always something to do, and lots of great people to do it with.”

The reason he likes contributing to Utah Stories? “The people I get to meet. I get to play an active role in spreading the news about what makes Utah great, and I get to do it with my camera.”

M. Shane Richins

M. Shane Richins was born in Utah and is now a small business owner in the Salt Lake valley. In between those endpoints, he has moved around a bit, mostly within Utah, but has also lived in other states and has done some world traveling. In the end, he found that Utah, with it’s extremely varied terrain, is the most magical.

As far as writing goes, his passion is comedy. As far as reading goes, he is a big fan of non-fiction, specifically books about science and skepticism. Beyond literature, he loves outdoor sports such as rock climbing, paddle boarding and hiking with his dogs. In the past few years, Shane has involved himself in music and is learning to play guitar and bagpipes. When the world wasn’t ending, if he wasn’t in the mountains, he could be found around music; either listening to local musicians, playing at a jam, or dancing to music somewhere.

Shane really wants to experience everything, and there is much to experience and share in Utah.

Kristen Clay

Storyteller Kristen Clay founded the original, award-winning Ogden and Salt Lake City Ghost Tours in 2002. Impressed by Utah’s rich culture and history, Kristen set out to study its stories. As she began interviewing the merchants and residents of Northern Utah, she came across the usual tales of pioneers, immigrants, hardships, and survival, but was surprised to hear many bizarre and interesting ghost stories among them. In addition to being creator, and director of Story Tours: Ogden and SLC Ghost Tours, Hysterical History Tours, and custom storytelling concerts, Kristen has circled the globe as a storyteller, actor, writer, teacher, and perpetual student.

She is known for bringing various cultures alive to audiences around the world. She has a passion for healing and inspirational stories that she is often privileged to share in schools, prisons, rehab facilities, and youth-in-custody.

Kristen is the co-author of three books. Haunted Salt Lake City, Spooks and Saints, and the recently released, Ghostly Tales of Salt Lake City for middle-grades.

Her greatest joy is watching her audiences and readers make connections with different cultures and experiences, then remember their own stories.

Commenting on - Californicaiton of Utah: Utah’s Homeless Problems and Drug Epidemic

UTAHSTORIES.COM The Californication of Utah - Utah Stories The number of homeless in Salt Lake is increasing with the increase of housi...

Comment from: Psivast

Makes me wonder if one of the reasons they don’t like the shelters, is because they can’t use drugs/alcohol when there. If these homeless people are addicts, then it’s only logical to suppose that’s the biggest motivating factor in their decision making process. As a former drug addict, I know the power of these chemicals and the destruction they create in the mind. Get rid of the drugs/alcohol then you can work on solving the problem.

Comment from: Sun

Street homeless live very simple and modest life. It’s really a minimalist type of life. They don’t need much, so they don’t ask for much. They find a camping spot, and it becomes their new home with new stories and memories. They prefer being left alone as they are. The only thing they really want and think about all day long is fentanyl. 99% of street homeless are fentanyl addicts, and there is no solution for it. Large majority of them will die from fentanyl overdose, or drugs related violence in this decade. Homeless encampments are nothing else but open drugs markets. Very sad.

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