Utah news

• Health officials report only 1 person with elevated lead in Sandy after fluoride contamination event

  20-03-2019 23:03
  SANDY — Salt Lake County Health officials say two weeks of testing involving more than 700 residents showed only one individual with elevated levels of lead in a blood sample in the aftermath of a fluoride contamination event in early February.The free testing was offered from Feb. 23-March 8 to affected residents in a portion of Sandy where fluoride concentrate entered the drinking water system due to a pump malfunction Feb. 6 after a power outage.According to a press release from the Sal
  
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• UTA sees 16% increase in ridership on free fare days

  20-03-2019 23:00
  SALT LAKE CITY — More than 20,000 commuters left their vehicles at home and took advantage of free rides on mass transit on Feb. 28 and March 1.According the the Utah Transit Agency, the free fare days resulted in a 16 percent increase in boardings for the entire system.During February, the agency said there was an average of 151,933 boardings systemwide. On Feb. 28, that figure jumped to 171,664, and on March 1, 181,365 passengers took mass transit.Compared to 75,479 average weekday board
  
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• Utah man threatens to kill judge so he can go back to prison, charges state

  20-03-2019 22:55
  WEST JORDAN — A West Jordan man was charged Wednesday with threatening to kill a judge just so he could be sent back to prison.John Alden Powell, 43, is charged in 3rd District Court with threatening a judge, a third-degree felony.Powell used a phone at a 7-Eleven, near 1300 West and 7000 South, on Monday to call 911 to report that he "was upset that he was charged and convicted of another crime so he was going to kill the judge in that case," according to charging documents. The court doc
  
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• Yuck! Salt Lake City No. 1 in country for rise in heartworm cases in dogs

  20-03-2019 21:38
  SALT LAKE CITY — With spring comes the blossoming of flowers, the colorful buds popping out on trees and, yes, the onslaught of mosquito larvae, or wigglers, that grow into adults capable of drinking 1½ times their body weight.They also spread heartworm disease from dog to dog and cat to cat, and put Salt Lake City No. 1 among the top 10 cities in the country for the month of February for percentage increase in the number of dogs testing positive for the disease."Heartworm prevalenc
  
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• Judge again rejects Utah gun enthusiast's attempt to block federal bump stock ban

  20-03-2019 21:29
  SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge has again rejected a Utah gun enthusiast's attempt to block a new rule that bans a gun accessory known as a bump stock in the U.S. starting next Tuesday.U.S. District Judge Jill Parrish denied Clark Aposhian's request for a preliminary injunction last week, concluding he isn't likely to win the lawsuit he filed against the government on its merits.Aposhian, chairman of the Utah Shooting Sports Council, appealed the ruling to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeal
  
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• Charges: Utah woman in stolen truck with stolen dog led police on 120-mph chase

  20-03-2019 20:43
  TOOELE — Police say a woman in a stolen vehicle with a stolen dog led them on a chase that reached speeds of 120 mph before an officer used his car to stop her, according to charging documents.Wendianne Crystal Howk, 24, who is listed in court documents as homeless, was charged Tuesday in Tooele's 3rd District Court with theft by receiving stolen property, a second-degree felony, aggravated assault, a third-degree felony, failing to stop at the command of an officer, a third-degree felony,
  
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• Man killed in South Salt Lake auto-pedestrian crash identified

  20-03-2019 18:40
  SOUTH SALT LAKE — Police have identified a man who died after being hit by two cars on March 9.But why the man was in the street, or even in that area, was still unknown Wednesday, said South Salt Lake police officer Gary Keller.William Eric Moellmer, 51, of Kearns, was hit about 5:30 a.m. on March 9 near 3300 South and West Temple. He man was first hit by an SUV, and then by a Jeep, according to police. Both drivers stopped and cooperated with authorities.Keller said Moellmer was not dres
  
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• Charges: Two Utah men attacked teen co-workers in mink farm scuffle

  20-03-2019 17:12
  MANTI — Two men face felony charges after allegedly attacking two teen boys during a scuffle at a mink farm where they all worked.Rudy Aguado, 28, of Mount Pleasant, and Oscar Manuel Garcia, 21, of Chester, Sanpete County, were each charged Tuesday in 6th District Court with aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony, and aggravated assault act with force/violence to injure, a third-degree felony.According to an affidavit written in support of the men's a
  
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• Utah Sen. Mitt Romney chastises President Donald Trump for disparaging remarks about late Sen. John McCain

  20-03-2019 05:12
  SALT LAKE CITY — Sen. Mitt Romney chastised President Donald Trump on Tuesday for the latest denigrating remarks he made about the late Arizona Sen. John McCain."I can't understand why the President would, once again, disparage a man as exemplary as my friend John McCain: heroic, courageous, patriotic, honorable, self-effacing, self-sacrificing, empathetic, and driven by duty to family, country, and God," the Utah Republican tweeted.During an Oval Office meeting with Brazil's President Jai
  
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• Logan City Council shelves vote to ban plastic bags

  20-03-2019 03:13
  SALT LAKE CITY — The Logan City Council decided on Tuesday to delay a vote on an ordinance that would restrict stores from distributing plastic bags."The volume, the tonage of plastics that is currently sent out to our landfill is massive, and whatever we can do to minimize that, to reduce it, to recycle that plastic adds years to the life of our landfill and is a great environmental benefit to our community," said Councilman Herm Olsen, who encouraged the council to vote in favor of the o
  
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• Photos: Be full of the joys of spring

  20-03-2019 03:00
  Jonathan Goodfellow enjoys the afternoon sun as his dog, Heath, suns his belly in Sugarhouse Park on Tuesday. The spring equinox — when the sun will be directly in line with the equator — will occur Wednesday at 3:58 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time. For those in the Northern Hemisphere, the equinox marks the beginning of spring, with daylight hours continuing to lengthen until the summer solstice in June. For those south of the equator, it's the beginning of autumn. Wednesday's weather w
  
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• Utah lawmakers could call themselves into special session over tax reform, but won't have to

  20-03-2019 01:58
  SALT LAKE CITY — With all the talk at the end of the 2019 Legislature of a special session this summer to finish work on tax reform, little has been said about the new power lawmakers have to call themselves back into session."It does give independence we didn't have before," Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said of the amendment to the Utah Constitution approved by voters last November.But this time, it will be Gov. Gary Herbert who calls lawmakers back into special session to pic
  
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• Woman dead after head-on crash in Sardine Canyon

  20-03-2019 01:02
  MANTUA, Box Elder County — A woman was killed and two men were injured Tuesday afternoon in a head-on crash in Sardine Canyon, troopers said.Witnesses reported a pickup truck crossed the median and was traveling north in a southbound lane on U.S. 91 in Sardine Canyon in an area known as Dry Lake about 2:15 p.m., according to the Utah Highway Patrol.Another driver swerved to avoid crashing with the truck, the UHP said, then saw the pickup truck strike an SUV.The 32-year-old man who was driv
  
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• Hikers find human remains in two Utah cities on same evening

  20-03-2019 00:40
  OGDEN — Authorities in two Utah cities are investigating after two separate groups happened upon human remains on Sunday.Late Sunday afternoon, a group visiting a remote area just east of Toquerville came across human remains and contacted authorities, Washington County Sheriff's Sgt. Nate Abbott said."It's in a pretty remote place, a bit of a rough spot to get into, so we contacted our search and rescue to assist us in being able to access it and to assist with the recovery of the individ
  
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• University of Utah researchers helping to develop better hearing technology

  20-03-2019 00:38
  SALT LAKE CITY — A group of Utah researchers is making inroads into technology that may help deaf people hear.Engineers from the University of Utah are part of a global team of researchers who received a $9.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to create and produce a surgically implantable device that will one day allow the deaf and hard of hearing to understand and be able to listen to more precise sound than previously developed hearing aids.This system will use a new v
  
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• Utah law enforcement and emergency services train for active shooter situations

  20-03-2019 00:17
  SALT LAKE CITY — Law enforcement and emergency agencies gathered Tuesday at Salt Lake Community College to take part in an active shooter drill inside the school.The officers trained with realistic gunshot noises, simulated ammunition and hostage situations. The victims in the simulation consisted of volunteers, including theater students who helped create simulated wounds with makeup."It's as real as we can make it without putting safety in jeopardy," said Sgt. Nicholas Street, public inf
  
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• Judge tosses ex-Provo councilman's 'malicious' prosecution suit

  20-03-2019 00:16
  PROVO — A judge has dismissed a civil rights lawsuit from a former Provo councilman who argued prosecutors filed bogus fraud charges against him in order to force him from office.Steven Turley had claimed "malicious prosecution" on the part of the Utah County Attorney's Office, plus abuse of process, civil conspiracy and a violation of Utah rules of professional conduct.After tossing several of Turley's claims last year, a 4th District judge dismissed remaining allegations on Friday, court
  
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• UVU, Mountainland Technical College pen agreement for 'seamless educational pathways'

  20-03-2019 00:08
  OREM — Utah Valley University and Mountainland Technical College have signed a series of agreements to create "seamless educational pathways" from the technical college to the university.The agreements in culinary arts, nursing, automotive technology, and web and mobile phone development mean Mountainland students will not have to repeat classes when transferring to UVU, making it easier and faster to graduate.Mountainland's one-year certificates are workforce-based, which should help stud
  
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