A growing number of Salt Lakers are lacing up for adult sports leagues to get active and socially connected.

Why it matters: Team sports have become one of the fastest-growing exercise categories, with 20% of U.S. adults — up from 11% in 2020 — now saying they play, according to a CivicScience survey shared with Axios.

What we're hearing: Dave Marquardt, who founded Beehive Sport and Social Club in 2011, said many people join because they're new to town and want to make friends. Others want to support their mental health or blow off steam after work.

• If someone is seeking a competitive outlet, Marquardt sends them elsewhere.
• "That's not what we do," he told Axios. "We try to create a comfortable atmosphere for people of all backgrounds ... to socialize and have fun."
• Some even find love — more than 50 couples who met through the sports league have tied the knot over the years, according to Marquardt.

By the numbers: League participation has surged 171% since 2019, according to Marquardt. He projects a 19% jump from 2024.

• The league offers a dozen sports, but kickball and softball are the most popular.

Zoom in: Stonewall Sports, a popular adult league geared toward LGBTQ+ players and allies, launched in Salt Lake City in 2019 after chapter founder Jacob Buck moved from Chicago and sought ways to build community.

• Buck told Axios it's "a great place for people to get out of their comfort zone" beyond bars and clubs.

State of play: Getting outside with friends (and without screens) has become especially important to younger adults, said Galen Beers, executive director of the Sport & Social Industry Association.

• The most popular sports last year were volleyball (30% of total players), soccer (18%) and softball (15%), per preliminary data from the trade group, which counts roughly 150 leagues as members.

💭 Kim's thought bubble: I've played kickball and pickleball through Stonewall Sports since moving to Salt Lake City in 2022, connecting with people I would have never met otherwise.

Share with an athlete

We asked for your perspective on dog poop disposal, and WOW, did you deliver.

The big picture: There is little consensus on whether dog owners are duty-bound to carry their poop bags home, or if it's acceptable to toss them in another resident's trash can.

Yes, but: Even the poop-dumpers agree that bags should be carefully tied before being left in a stranger's bin.

Here's what some of you had to say, edited for grammar and brevity:

• "Trash can owners are being stingy and over possessive (of something that technically doesn't even belong to them). They should be thrilled [that] irresponsible dog owners aren't letting dogs poop in yards." — Ann C.
• "No poop in my garbage can, please. Smells awful." — Tag M.
• "I do appreciate being able to dispose of the bags because it takes a hand to carry it, and if I need to scratch my nose or something, I have to juggle to manage it." — Jean R.
• "I love dogs, but the smell of their poop makes me gag. No, really. So I HATE it when people use my trash can to deposit their poop bags. It makes an already stinky thing much worse." — Leslie P.

More responses

Salt Lake County has about 10 full-time local reporters for every 100,000 people, according to data from Muck Rack and Rebuild Local News, a local journalism nonprofit.

The big picture: Many Utah neighborhoods lack adequate news coverage for everything from school board meetings and elections to local sports and cultural events.

By the numbers: About two-thirds of U.S. counties have a below-average number of local journalists, per a new project to illustrate "the stunning collapse in local reporting" as old business models falter.

• The U.S. now has 8.2 "local journalist equivalents" (LJEs) for every 100,000 people, down 75% from 2002 on average.

The intrigue: Counties like Grand (64.1), Summit (61.2) and Garfield (37.8) have smaller populations, but far more journalists per 100,000 people than Salt Lake County.

How it works: The findings are based on Muck Rack's data about journalists and media outlets nationwide as of Q1 2025, used to show reporters "most likely covering local communities."

Share with a news junkie

🧑‍🍳 Nature's Bakery is opening a large plant in northwest SLC this week, with 200 employees set to make billions of snack bars per year. (KSL.com)

💧 Mineral companies near the Great Salt Lake will be required to use less water now that the lake has dropped to levels that trigger conservation restrictions under state law. (FOX 13)

🙈 Utah students may bring banned books to school under a new statewide policy, but the titles are forbidden for use in class projects. (KUER)

💸 Vote Save America, Crooked Media's political initiative, is putting $20,000 into a campaign against GOP lawmakers in Utah. (Utah News Dispatch)

• The company produces the popular podcast "Pod Save America."

The next few weeks could bring a celestial triple feature to Utah's skies.

What's happening: The Alpha Capricornids shower, which is capable of producing fireballs brighter than the stars, peaks tonight, according to the American Meteor Society.

• So do the Southern Delta Aquariids, which deliver faint but steady meteors best seen around 3am, the society says.
• Meanwhile, the Perseid shower, one of the year's most anticipated, is ramping up ahead of its mid-August peak.

State of play: The moon is waxing but still a crescent, and the skies are mostly clear all week.

• Face south to see the show tonight.

Viewing tips