Utah news

• Op-ed: The SHARE Act will add needed protections for sportsmen and sportswomen

  12-10-2017 23:49
  A recent guest column ("The SHARE Act shares the potential for more gun violence," Sept. 28) is riddled with false claims about legislation that would help protect the rights of millions of American who hunt and shoot competitively or for sport. The misinformed author of the column, Linda Newell, identifies herself as part of a national gun control group whose radical agenda has been rejected time and again by the people of Utah. When armed with the facts, the people of Utah have always chosen f
  
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• Utahns postponing marriage and kids, opting for smaller families

  12-10-2017 23:45
  SALT LAKE CITYHer mother and older sister each got married at 20, but Aliska Julian was busy nurturing a love of social justice and travel at that age.
  At 25, in between trips to Kenya to run the nonprofit she started with her mom, Julian met an entrepreneur named Nate while dancing to '80s covers at Liquid Joe's in Millcreek.
  The pair wed two years later, when she was 27 and he was 32, then waited another two years to have their first son, Morrissey.
  Julian is among a growing number of Utah wom
  
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• Bestor, Mountain America team up for choir scholarship contest

  12-10-2017 23:42
  SALT LAKE CITY — Composer and performer Kurt Bestor is teaming up once again with Mountain America Credit Union for the fifth annual Kurt Bestor Choir Scholarship Contest for ninth- to 12th-grade choirs.Music and choir departments statewide are invited to submit a musical selection of any genre on Bestor’s Facebook page, facebook.com/KurtBestor, from Nov. 13 through Nov. 19.The public is then invited to watch submitted videos on Facebook and vote for their favorite choir between Nov.
  
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• Utah Rep. Christ Stewart names new chief of staff

  12-10-2017 23:39
  SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, has hired Chris Harmer as his new chief of staff.Harmer is a former infantryman in the Marine Corps and a retired commander in the Navy, where he served as a naval aviator and a strategic planner.He is a graduate of Woods Cross High School, the United States Naval Academy and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.Prior to joining Stewart's staff, he was senior naval analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, a nonpartisa
  
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• Layton man wins Rocky Mountain Power video contest

  12-10-2017 23:37
  SALT LAKE CITY — Nick Dixon of Layton is the grand-prize winner of Rocky Mountain Power’s 2017 Act wattsmart Video Contest.Dixon’s humorous video, titled “Energenie,” depicts a man asking a not-so-helpful genie for riches and world peace, which are granted with suggestions on how to save money and create a cleaner world. The video also includes tips on how Utah residents can live wattsmart. For his efforts, Dixon will receive $10,000 in energy-efficient home upgrade
  
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• Plea deal offered to driver in crash that killed 2 West High students, injured pregnant woman

  12-10-2017 23:36
  SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake man charged in the violent car crash that killed two West High School students and injured a pregnant woman is considering a plea deal.Abraham Miranda, who turned 19 last month, appeared in court Thursday to waive a preliminary hearing where evidence supporting the charges against him would have been presented.As he did, prosecutor Robert Neve informed the judge that prosecutors have offered a deal to Miranda. He has 30 days to accept it.According to Neve, pros
  
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• Why is Utah so Mormon? Googlers want to know

  12-10-2017 22:50
  Why is Utah so Mormon?That’s the question on most Googlers minds, according to recent research from Bazomo.com, a product review website.The website typed in the phrase “Why is [State] so…” to find its answers. When “state” was replaced with Utah, the word “Mormon” topped the list.Utah’s other top phrases included “salty,” “hot,” “hazy” and “conservative.”Other words associated with those, like &
  
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• What's the deal with Amazon's 'mysterious' hidden office?

  12-10-2017 22:49
  Amazon’s been secretly taking a surf break the last two years,The Silicon Valley Business Journal reported (paywall) this week that Amazon has quietly expanded its office in Santa Cruz, California, within the last two years, and no one knows why.The 40,000-square-foot office holds 100 people. But that number may climb to 200, as the office looks to expand.“It's unclear what exactly the team there is working on or why Amazon has picked Santa Cruz as an office location,” accordin
  
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• Negro Bill no more: Board votes to change Moab canyon's name

  12-10-2017 22:35
  SALT LAKE CITY — The U.S. Board of Geographic Names voted unanimously Thursday to change the name of Negro Bill Canyon to Grandstaff Canyon in a nod to local support for eliminating the racially offensive moniker.The canyon, a popular recreation area outside Moab, was named after William Grandstaff, a black cowboy who ran cattle in the area in the 1870s.Mary McGann, a Grand County Council member who fought for the change, praised the board's decision."I am very pleased with what the board
  
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• Police: North Logan mayoral candidate 'targeted' in campaign sign theft

  12-10-2017 22:33
  NORTH LOGAN — In the race for North Logan's next mayor, neither candidate really sees their opponent as an adversary."We're good friends and respect each other," John Bailey said, "and (we) have worked together on the City Council for eight years.""We've tried really hard to make sure this was not a negative campaign," added fellow mayoral candidate Nancy Potter. "We didn't want anything like that."That's why both were perplexed this week to learn that someone took about 50 of Potter's sig
  
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• Crews battling large fire in Murray

  12-10-2017 21:53
  
  Crews are battling a large building fire that is billowing thick black smoke near I-15, officials said.
  
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• Board approves plan for some students to experience 'Hamilton'

  12-10-2017 21:50
  SALT LAKE CITY — A member of the Utah State Board of Education raised concerns Thursday about a partnership that will provide $10 tickets to a Salt Lake performance of "Hamilton" as part of an educational program for rural and low-income students.Board member Lisa Cummins, during a discussion of the agreement among the parties teaming to provide a student matinee of the hit Broadway musical on May 4, 2018, cautioned that the State School Board needs to be careful about "what we put our nam
  
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• Former Salt Lake County Recorder Gary Ott has stage 4 Alzheimer's, attorney says

  12-10-2017 21:20
  
  The legal battle between former Salt Lake County Recorder Gary Ott's family and his girlfriend and former employee will be open to the public, a judge has ruled.
  
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• Deal for ex-USC player drops sex assault charges to misdemeanors

  12-10-2017 21:12
  
  The former Brighton High and USC football standout accused of sexual assault at a party pleaded guilty to reduced charges Thursday.
  
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• 4-year-old girl killed after SUV crashes into tree in Salt Lake City

  12-10-2017 21:03
  
  A 4-year-old girl died after her mother crashed an SUV into a tree Wednesday night, police say.
  
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• Looking to do some fall fishing? Try Strawberry Reservoir

  12-10-2017 20:13
  
  Kids, big and little, enjoy fall fishing at Strawberry. Lure choices and locations can be vital in finding and catching trout.
  
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• The 'best worst movie' was filmed in Utah. Here's the story behind it

  12-10-2017 19:55
  SALT LAKE CITY — In the summer of 1989, Italian director Claudio Fragasso brought his crew to the Beehive State, distributed an awkwardly translated script to fledgling Utah actors and within a month filmed what has come to be known as the “best worst movie.”Called “Troll 2,” the film had no affiliation with the 1986 dark comedy “Troll” and actually had nothing to do with trolls.Instead, “Troll 2” focuses on a suburban American family that go
  
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• Sutton Foster, Hugh Bonneville tabbed as Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert guests

  12-10-2017 19:30
  
  Two-time Tony Award-winning actress and singer Sutton Foster, as well as British actor Hugh Bonneville, will highlight the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s Christmas concert in December, the choir announced Thursday morning.
  
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• 4-year-old girl dies after mother's SUV hits a tree

  12-10-2017 19:27
  SALT LAKE CITY — A 4-year-old girl is dead after police say her mother crashed into a tree overnight.The mother was driving west on 2700 South just before 10 p.m. Wednesday when her SUV crossed over the oncoming lanes and struck a tree near 1400 East, according to Salt Lake Police Lt. Dave Craycroft.The child, 4-year-old Lila Johanson, was taken to Primary Children's Hospital, where she later died, Craycroft said.The mother sustained minor injuries, Craycroft said. Additional information a
  
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• Arby's is bringing back these two rare sandwiches

  12-10-2017 18:45
  Arby’s is about to have even more meats.The fast-food chain announced this week that it’ll test elk sandwiches after releasing venison sandwiches to its stores nationwide, according to USA Today.The venison sandwiches, which come with a berry sauce, will be available Saturday, Oct. 21, in 3,300 different locations.Arby’s Chief Marketing Officer Jim Taylor told USA Today that the store’s venison sandwiches, which were released last year in six states and sold out quickly,
  
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• Hotel worker says he warned hotel before Las Vegas shooter opened fire on crowd

  12-10-2017 18:38
  A hotel worker reportedly said Wednesday that he told hotel dispatchers to call police about a gunman in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino before the shooter began firing his weapon on a crowd of people in Las Vegas, according to CBS News.The maintenance worker, Stephen Shuck, said he heard gunshots while investigating a jammed door on the 32nd floor, the same floor where shooter Stephen Paddock fired upon a crowd of more than 20,000 people, killing 58 and injuring more than 500 others.Shuck sa
  
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• Sutton Foster, Hugh Bonneville announced as Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert guests

  12-10-2017 18:20
  SALT LAKE CITY — Broadway star Sutton Foster and acclaimed British actor Hugh Bonneville were announced as this year’s Mormon Tabernacle Choir annual Christmas concert featured guest artist and narrator Oct. 12 on “The Doug Wright Show.”Foster, known for her Tony Award-winning roles in “Anything Goes” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” and Bonneville, known for playing the role of Robert Crawley in the hit drama series “Downton Abbey,” wil
  
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• A.M. notes: UVU remains largest Utah school, LDS Church responds to BSA move, Trump to sign executive order

  12-10-2017 17:49
  Here’s a look at the news on Oct. 12.UVU still largest Utah public universityUtah Valley University remains the largest public Utah university with 37,282 students, according to the Deseret News.A new report outlined the population sizes of each Utah school. In total, more than 180,000 students attended college this fall, which is a 2.78 percent increase from last year, the Deseret News reported.The data show that more Utah students are attending college full time.UVU saw a 6.5 percent inc
  
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• Ex-linebacker Osa Masina pleads guilty to reduced charges in sex assault case

  12-10-2017 17:35
  SALT LAKE CITY — The former Brighton High football standout accused of sexual assault at a party pleaded guilty to reduced charges Thursday.Asked how he pleaded to three counts of sexual battery, all class A misdemeanors, the 6 foot 4 football player leaned down to the microphone to respond, "Guilty, your honor."Masina, now 20, was originally charged in September 2016 with forcible rape and two counts of forcible sodomy, all first-degree felonies.Masina had been set to appear before a jury
  
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• UTA may need another $10M on Provo-Orem bus line due to cost overruns

  12-10-2017 17:22
  
  The $190 million price tag for the Provo-Orem bus rapid transit project has jumped $14 million, and all but about $4 million of the budget contingency has been spent, a UTA committee was told Wednesday.
  
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• Jay Evensen: Would you pay more taxes to fund a jail?

  12-10-2017 17:05
  How much support would Salt Lake County residents give Operation Rio Grande when they are asked to pay more in taxes for a new jail?No politician, Democrat or Republican, likes to use the T-word in Utah, and even though we’ve all seen a fair share of tax increases in recent years, it’s harder to make the argument when it concerns a jail or the homeless.You can make a good case for more money to build schools, even if voters don’t always agree. Schools provide something positive
  
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• Huntsmans hoping to make Russian ambassadorship 'a positive journey'

  12-10-2017 16:42
  
  Mary Kaye Huntsman says there's some trepidation about the Huntsman family's move to Moscow, as Jon Huntsman Jr. begins his service as U.S. ambassador to Russia. It's not the challenge of improving relations; it's leaving beloved family.
  
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• Huffington Post shares the 'most photo-worthy' and 'Instagrammable' spots in Provo

  12-10-2017 16:20
  The Huffington Post recently toured Provo and posted about it on Instagram.The online news outlet said Provo is “pretty photogenic” in an article that highlighted the “most photo-worthy" and "Instagrammable" spots in the Utah County city.“Travelers may automatically think of Salt Lake City when considering a visit to Utah,” The Huffington Post reported. “However, if spectacular scenery, cozy eateries and rich history are your travel goals, then Provo deserves
  
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• Mary Kaye Huntsman on what it's like to be a diplomat's family

  12-10-2017 16:05
  SALT LAKE CITY — Even for a family that has moved 15 times, Mary Kaye Huntsman says there's some trepidation about the Huntsmans' move to Moscow, as Jon Huntsman Jr. begins his service as U.S. ambassador to Russia.It's not so much the steep challenge of improving U.S.-Russia relations that weighs heavy on her mind; it's leaving behind their adult children — two daughters, Abby and Mary Anne, are expecting — as well as the couple's aging parents and "the warmth of people at home
  
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• California woman watches from Utah as wildfire heads toward neighborhood

  12-10-2017 16:05
  
  Jeanne Funk and her husband, Elliot, arrived in Salt Lake City Saturday to watch their grandkids, house-sit and visit friends, but they learned Tuesday their own house and others around it were under an evacuation order in California.
  
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• 9 telltale signs you're a Utah driver

  12-10-2017 16:00
  
  Are you contributing to the "Utah driver" stereotype? Find out now.
  
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• The survivors: A story about coping with a tortured past

  12-10-2017 15:45
  SALT LAKE CITY — It is a crisp Tuesday morning in downtown Salt Lake City, but steaming mugs of chai await the women who trickle into the sparsely furnished room, adorned in their finest clothing.One wears a bright yellow babub, an African-style dress with a billowing skirt and puffy sleeves. Another sports a traditional Congolese headscarf embroidered with roses. Bangles encircle a third woman’s arm. They jingle softly as she pulls out her knitting.The others follow suit. As they si
  
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• 4-year-old killed after SUV crashes into tree in Salt Lake City

  12-10-2017 15:32
  
  A four-year-old child died and a woman was injured when the SUV they were traveling in crashed into a tree in a Salt Lake City neighborhood Wednesday night, police say.
  
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• In our opinion: The ongoing need for anti-bullying efforts

  12-10-2017 14:05
  Bullying tied to a victim’s sexual orientation is cruel and wrong. It appears to have been a factor in the tragic case of a 13-year-old Moab girl who took her own life in January after months of harassment by other teenagers. The case has since moved in a couple of unique directions, with prosecutors apparently looking into criminal charges against three teenage boys suspected of bullying the girl, while her mother has begun pushing for adoption of a local effort to deal with such cases kn
  
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• Community health centers anxiously await congressional action on expired funding

  12-10-2017 07:30
  SALT LAKE CITYWayne County is so sparsely populated, Evan Christensen says, that it is considered "not only rural, but 'frontier.'"
  "People really don't understand until they get out here," he says. "It's beautiful, magnificent countrybut it is remote."
  Christensen, CEO of Wayne Community Health Centers, is no stranger to the complex hurdles faced when trying to hire medical professionals to serve such a scattered population. That's why he's anxiously hoping that uncertainty over federal funding
  
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• Utah company rescues employees from devastation in Puerto Rico

  12-10-2017 06:44
  
  A Utah company with an office in Puerto Rico is feeling the need to help their employees anyway they can after Hurricane Maria. But instead of just sending supplies they did something a little unconventional.
  
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• Community health centers anxiously await congressionsal action on expired funding

  12-10-2017 05:57
  SALT LAKE CITYWayne County is so sparsely populated, Evan Christensen says, that it is considered "not only rural, but 'frontier.'"
  "People really don't understand until they get out here," he says. "It's beautiful, magnificent countrybut it is remote."
  Christensen, CEO of Wayne Community Health Centers, is no stranger to the complex hurdles faced when trying to hire medical professionals to serve such a scattered population. That's why he's anxiously hoping that uncertainty over federal funding
  
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• Leaders at Salt Lake homeless summit praise Rio Grande plan; expert calls it 'misguided'

  12-10-2017 05:47
  SALT LAKE CITYTo a crowd of hundreds of homeless providers and stakeholders Wednesday, homeless advocate Pamela Atkinson described what she saw on the streets the day before Operation Rio Grande launched Aug. 14.
  Among people too "sick" to stand up and walk to get the sandwiches she was handing out, Atkinson said she saw "a half-dozen shooting up as I went by," and "nine drug deals in action."
  "They were so bold," she said. "One of my homeless friends buying drugshe heard my voice ... and he loo
  
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• Remains found in Salt Lake's Millcreek Canyon ID'd as missing man

  12-10-2017 04:43
  MILLCREEKRemains found by hikers in Millcreek Canyon last week have been identified as those of a man who walked away from a Salt Lake mental health hospital in December.
  Blake Richardson, 24, had been missing since Dec. 10, the Unified Police Department said Wednesday on Twitter.
  On Thursday, the hikers were near Dog Lake, between Millcreek and Big Cottonwood canyons, when they came across the skeletal remains, the UPD reported.
  Their dog ran off the trail into some brush and didn't come back r
  
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• Former NSA, CIA chief warns of 'complicated' world during talk at UVU

  12-10-2017 04:12
  OREMBuckle up. It's going to be a tough century.
  That was the parting advice Michael Hayden, former director of the National Security Agency and CIA, gave students at Utah Valley University at the end of his speech Wednesday morning.
  "I'm old enough to claim I've lived in a world more dangerous than today," he told students, referring to the Cuban missile crisis. But, he added, "I've never lived in a world more complicated, and I really mean that."
  Instead of concentrating on the daily stories o
  
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• 50 campaign signs stolen; North Logan mayoral candidate 'targeted,' police say

  12-10-2017 03:47
  
  Nancy Potter and John Bailey say they wanted to keep the race for North Logan mayor a clean, friendly one. That's why both are baffled that someone would steal about 50 of Potter's campaign signs overnight.
  
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• Wednesday's Child: Luka dances for peace of mind

  12-10-2017 03:33
  
  Luka is a 17-year-old who has a passion for the performing arts. For him, it's not about performing for an audience; it's about performing for peace of mind.
  
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• Wednesday's Child: Luca dances for peace of mind

  12-10-2017 03:33
  
  Luca is a 17-year-old who has a passion for the performing arts. For him, it's not about performing for an audience; it's about performing for peace of mind.
  
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• UTA may need another $10 million on Provo-Orem bus line due to cost overruns

  12-10-2017 03:24
  SALT LAKE CITYThe $190 million price tag for the bus rapid transit line through Provo and Orem has jumped $14 million, and all but about $4 million of the budget contingency has been spent, a UTA committee was told Wednesday.
  That means the Utah Transit Authority, managing the project known as BRT that will provide quick bus service to BYU, Utah Valley University and other locations along a 10.5-mile route, may have to come up with another $10 million.
  No action was taken by the agency's Finance
  
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• Paralyzed dancer leaps back into life — his own way

  12-10-2017 03:01
  
  A young Utah man had big dreams of dancing professionally, but a devastating accident changed those plans. Now, he's leaping back into life.
  
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• UVU still biggest public Utah university with 37,000 students

  12-10-2017 02:19
  SALT LAKE CITYThe head count at the state's public colleges and universities exceeded 180,000 students this fall, a systemwide increase of 2.78 percent over the previous year, according to figures released by the Utah System of Higher Education on Wednesday.
  The number of students at the state institutions increased by 4,869 students. The growth comes on top of a like increase in head count of 4,739 a year ago.
  The new enrollment figures also indicate that more Utah students are attending colleg
  
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• Op-ed: Don't let hysteria take away our freedoms

  12-10-2017 02:15
  In the short time since the Las Vegas Massacre, we have again seen much of the media using the tragedy to call for more gun control if not an outright ban on individual ownership of weapons. Honestly, sometimes being an American makes me tired. The hysteria of a momentary crisis seems to always lead to the plea from many to "give us a king" as we seek to buy a little safety by giving up more freedom. We did that after 9/11 when we enacted the Patriot Act. We did it when we interred Japanese-Amer
  
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• Work to repair portion of Nebo Loop Scenic Byway begins Monday

  12-10-2017 01:52
  SPANISH FORKWork to repair a slump that occurred on the northern part of the Nebo Loop Scenic Byway during the winter of 2016 will begin Monday.
  The project is being done by the U.S. Forest Service and Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest in partnership with Utah County Public Works Department.
  Utah County has selected Harrison Field Services of Moab as the contractor. Once work begins, access through the construction area will be limited to one lane of traffic through the end of Utah's general d
  
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• Police: Bones found near Dog Lake belong to Blake Richardson

  12-10-2017 01:48
  
  Human bones found earlier this month in Millcreek Canyon belong to Blake Richardson, Unified Police said Wednesday.
  
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• Disabled rights activists in Utah target Hatch, urge his support

  12-10-2017 01:36
  SALT LAKE CITYMembers of Utah's Disabled Rights Action Committee would expel Sen. Orrin Hatch from Congress unless he shows more support for people with disabilities.
  They issued a failing report card at a press conference at the Federal Building on Wednesday, urging support from the seven-term Republican senator.
  "He has dropped the ball," Lopeti Penimaani, chairman of the local organization, said. "He's not just ignoring us, but he's working against us."
  The group was recently shut down by Hat
  
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