SALT LAKE CITY–A magazine owner desperate to keep his publication alive has admitted to attempting to rob a bank here as he tried to find funding–and was finally driven “over the edge” by a smirk.
Bob Dankquist, 67, once the proud publisher of Utah Now & Then, was arrested after attempting — and “spectacularly failing” — to rob a High Desert Bank branch in Salt Lake City, according to UtahStories. His motive? To save the free local magazine he had dedicated his life to, and which, despite its popularity, was financially strangled by a generation addicted to “free content” and influencer marketing, the publication reported.
“I just wanted to keep it going,” Dankquist reportedly told police, according to UtahStories. “Thirty years of building something Utahns loved — and I couldn’t even get a dollar out of them.”
Quirky History
The publication said that for decades Utah Now & had been a beloved fixture on coffee shop counters and dentist office tables, filled with stories celebrating Utah’s quirky history, local artists, and mom-and-pop shops. But when readers were asked to pay as little $1 for an issue, “the support dried up faster than the Great Salt Lake,” according to UtahStories.
“Every time we featured a small business, their sales went up. I’d ask if they wanted to advertise, help cover printing costs. They’d say, ‘Oh, we already spent our budget for this year on social media influencers.’ People who take selfies with sandwiches!,” Dankquist told UtahStories. “And the worst of all were the PR people. They all wanted free promotion, like I should work for nothing while they get paid. And when they pretended to be content providers offering to ‘help’ my website — oh, that really made my blood boil.”
Wife, Dog Leave Him
Dankquist said he had remortgaged his house to cover the wages of his two loyal employees, while his wife, fed up with the mounting debt, left and took the dog with her.
Dankquist decided he had one option left, according to UtahStories. “I binge-watched Ocean’s Eleven, Heat, Inside Man and The Town as well as a few episodes of America’s Dumbest Criminals for balance. I figured I could pull this off,” he told the publication.
According to police and UtahStories, Dankquist pawned his grandmother’s ring, bought a battered handgun from a “shady secondhand dealer,” put on a mask and entered the bank branch only to find no tellers, no lines, just one glass encased office where a young man in a BYU t-shirt was enjoying Casual Friday.
A Banker’s Smirk
According to UtahStories, what followed transpired this way.
“Hands up! Give me all your cash!” Dankquist yelled, trying to sound tough.
“The banker glanced up and laughed. ‘Is this, like, a hidden camera thing?’” he asked.
“Humiliated and frustrated, Bob waved the gun in the air but fumbled with its safety, realizing too late he didn’t actually know how to use it,” UtahStories said. “The banker’s smirk pushed him over the edge. Bob hurled the gun at him. It missed, shattering the glass office wall.”
The bank employee calmly dialed 911, and when police arrived, they found Dankquist seated on the floor, weeping.
A Bed and a Hot Meal
“At least in prison I’ll get a bed and a hot meal,” he sobbed according to UtahStories. “Maybe I can start a prison paper. Cellblock Chronicle or something.”
According to the report, loyal readers of Utah Now & Then have started an online petition to “Keep Bob’s magazine alive.” At press time, donations amount to $12.43.
