Utah news

• LDS Church donates $10 million to construct housing for homeless in Salt Lake

  02-11-2017 23:52
  SALT LAKE CITY — The LDS Church announced a $10 million donation to Shelter the Homeless on Thursday for the construction and development of more transitional housing in the Salt Lake Valley.The church has now donated a total of at least $52 million over the past decade to eight groups that serve the homeless in the Salt Lake City."Homelessness affects all sectors of our communities," said Bishop Gérald Caussé, presiding bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sain
  
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• Tooele woman dies after Jeep hits median and rolls

  02-11-2017 23:50
  TOOELE — A Tooele woman died Wednesday after the Jeep she was driving hit the center median of state Route 36 and rolled, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.
  Jennifer Charmley, 33, was driving north between Tooele and Erda around noon when the Jeep struck the concrete center median, and the driver overcorrected twice before the vehicle slid off the left shoulder of the road.
  The Jeep rolled several times along the shoulder before coming to a stop on the road.
  Charmley died at the scene f
  
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• Ghost investigation: Does the Purple Lady haunt Salt Lake's Rio Grande?

  02-11-2017 23:33
  SALT LAKE CITY — Of all the local "haunts," few lay claim to a ghost story as well-known as the one that surrounds the historic Rio Grande Depot and Rio Grande Café.
  The "Purple Lady," as workers call her now, has been the apparent source of numerous ghostly sightings and unexplained phenomena over the decades at the landmark train station, originally constructed in 1910.
  According to lore, the woman was an ill-fated lover whose ring wound up on the train tracks during an argument w
  
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• Op-ed: The needless burdens of occupational licensing

  02-11-2017 23:25
  On Nov. 3, 1896, Utah’s Martha Hughes Cannon defeated her own husband and three other male candidates to become the first female state senator in the United States. Cannon, a successful medical doctor and a staunch advocate for women’s rights and public safety, would no doubt understand the need to balance consumer safety with women’s desire to work in certain fields.State governments require workers in many fields to have licenses to practice, including doctors, beauticians, e
  
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• Rep. Chris Stewart launches Christmas card drive for Utah National Guard

  02-11-2017 23:23
  SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, has launched a holiday card drive for service members of the Utah National Guard currently deployed in the Middle East.
  The drive will run through Nov. 24. Cards can be mailed or dropped off to Stewart's office in Salt Lake City, 420 E. South Temple, No. 390, Salt Lake City, UT 84111; or his office in St. George, 253 W. St. George Blvd., No. 100, St. George, UT 84770.
  "There are around 100 Utah National Guardsmen currently serving in the Middle
  
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• Judge signs order barring state from excluding United Utah Party from election ballot

  02-11-2017 23:22
  SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge Thursday permanently barred Utah from failing to include United Utah Party nominee Jim Bennett from the 3rd Congressional District special election ballot.
  U.S. District Judge David Nuffer also awarded the party $115,000 in attorney fees incurred in its lawsuit against the state.
  The fledgling United Utah Party sued Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, who oversees state elections, after his office rejected Bennett's attempt to file as a candidate because officials had no
  
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• Vandals paint sandstone cliffs at Snow Canyon State Park

  02-11-2017 23:19
  ST. GEORGE — Utah State Parks officials are asking for the public's help to crack down on vandalism at a scenic park in the southwest corner of the state.
  Snow Canyon State Park Manager Kristen Comella says vandals recently sprayed paint on the sandstone cliffs in the White Rocks area of the canyon north of St. George.
  She says the vandals had to hike several miles with the spray paint cans. She says the paint covering about 10 yards is difficult to remove and often requires the use of pow
  
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• LDS Church donates $10M toward homeless housing in Salt Lake Valley

  02-11-2017 22:59
  
  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced it’s donating $10 million toward the construction and development of housing for homeless in Salt Lake Valley.
  
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• Science curriculum changes: long overdue or godless instruction?

  02-11-2017 22:56
  SALT LAKE CITY — Over objections that national science education standards push a political agenda on global warming and do not include instruction of intelligent design as a counterpoint to teaching evolution, the State School Board voted Thursday to start a process to reconsider science standards for Utah elementary and high schools.
  The Utah State Board of Education voted 10-4 to open the standards, which are 7 to 15 years old.
  Some board members, such as Linda Hansen and Kathleen Riebe
  
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• How a BYU professor is studying recent quakes to help prepare Utah for when the big one hits

  02-11-2017 22:44
  PROVO — Kevin Franke has visited a half-dozen major earthquake sites worldwide in as many years, studying recovery and rebuilding in the devastated areas and projecting how ground waves, soils and structures are intertwined when it comes to a quake's impact.
  The Brigham Young University civil and environmental engineering professor hopes improved engineering codes and standards, based on understanding a quake's hazards, in turn help increase safety and save lives.
  "Even the type of soil th
  
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• Salt Lake City wins $50,000 grant to restore Utah Pickle Co. building

  02-11-2017 22:17
  SALT LAKE CITY — The city announced Thursday that it had won a $50,000 grant to help restore the 123-year-old Utah Pickle Co. building in the Granary District.
  Salt Lake City was one of 25 across the country competing for funding through the Partners in Preservation: Main Streets grant campaign sponsored by American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
  Eleven historic sites will receive a total of $1.5 million to fund preservation projects. The winners were chosen thro
  
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• BLM seeking nominations for advisory councils

  02-11-2017 22:13
  SALT LAKE CITY — The Bureau of Land Management is seeking nominations for open positions on 17 of its 36 resource advisory councils. Applications will be accepted until Dec. 1.
  The councils, which are composed of residents chosen for their expertise in natural resource issues, help the bureau carry out its stewardship of 245 million acres of public lands.
  Each council consists of 10 to 15 members. Individuals may nominate themselves or others. Nominees, who must be residents of the state o
  
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• Prescribed burn set for Cache County’s Elk Valley

  02-11-2017 21:52
  LOGAN — Fire management personnel with the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest will begin the second phase of a prescribed burn in the Saddle Creek area in Cache County between now and Nov. 19, weather permitting.
  The burn area is in Elk Valley, approximately 5 miles north of Hardware Ranch State Park in the Blacksmith Fork river drainage.
  The area and adjacent roads will be closed on the day of the burn and the day after. Hunters and other visitors should contact the Logan ranger district
  
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• Man found dead outside Murray apartment complex

  02-11-2017 21:43
  MURRAY — A man was found dead outside a Murray apartment complex Thursday morning.
  Now, police are trying to identify him and figure out what happened.
  The unidentified man, believed to be in his 30s, was found outside the complex at 59 E. Gilbride Ave. (4255 South).
  "There's no evidence to suggest what caused his death," said Murray police detective Kenny Bass.
  Investigators don't know if the man had any direct ties to the apartment complex.
  Anyone with information about the incident is a
  
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• Clearfield teacher charged with abusing 6 students

  02-11-2017 21:41
  CLEARFIELD — A substitute teacher at a Clearfield elementary school has been charged with numerous counts of inappropriately touching students.
  Mark Glenton Bedel, 62, of Kaysville, was charged earlier this week in 2nd District Court with eight counts of aggravated sex abuse of a child, a first-degree felony.
  Prosecutors say Bedel "touched six male children ranging from 7 to 9 years of age" while acting as a substitute teacher on Sept. 27 at Clearfield's Wasatch Elementary School, 210 Cent
  
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• Missing American Fork man died of drowning, autopsy confirms

  02-11-2017 21:18
  SOUTH SALT LAKE — An American Fork man who went missing over the summer before his body was found floating in Mill Creek had alcohol and marijuana in his system, according to the Utah State Medical Examiner's Office.
  Whether it was enough to cause 30-year-old Paul Heiner Swenson to drown, however, remains unknown.
  South Salt Lake police Thursday announced the medical examiner's office had determined drowning was the cause of death and there were no signs of foul play. But the investigation
  
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• Proposal would require visitors to reserve trip to Arches National Park

  02-11-2017 21:12
  
  In an attempt to deal with problems associated with rising tourism, the National Park Service proposed a new plan Wednesday that would put in place a reservation system for visitors traveling to Arches National Park during its high-visitation season.
  
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• Man wanted in Murray killing arrested in Oregon, charged with murder

  02-11-2017 20:24
  SALT LAKE CITY — A man who police say shot and killed another man in the parking lot of a Murray business has been arrested in Oregon and charged with murder.
  Lucas Marc Deprey, 19, who is listed as homeless and goes by the monikers "Chucky" and "Jesse James," had a $1 million arrest warrant issued for him Thursday on charges of murder, a first-degree felony; possession of a weapon by a restricted person, a second-degree felony; and obstructing justice, a second-degree felony.
  Deprey was b
  
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• Where to cut your own Christmas tree in Utah

  02-11-2017 20:08
  
  With Halloween come and gone, it’s time to start thinking about the upcoming Christmas season. If you want to cut your own Christmas tree on U.S. Forest Service land, here's where you can go in Utah.
  
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• Police treating woman's death at Park City hotel as homicide

  02-11-2017 19:49
  PARK CITY — A woman was found deceased in a Park City hotel room Thursday, and police are calling it a possible homicide.
  Just before 1:30 a.m., police were called to the Park Regency Resort, 1710 Prospector Ave., on a report of "a suspicious circumstance," said Park City Police Capt. Phil Kirk. When they arrived, police found the woman's body in a room.
  The woman's identity had not been released as of Thursday morning.
  Officers put up police tape across a wide area around the hotel as the
  
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• Paul Swenson death a result of drowning, medical examiner finds

  02-11-2017 19:48
  
  An American Fork man whose body was found in a South Salt Lake creek after a massive search died by drowning, according to a medical examiner’s report released Thursday.
  
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• Roy day care provider sent to prison for infant's death

  02-11-2017 19:46
  OGDEN — A Roy woman has been sentenced to prison after a jury found her guilty of child abuse homicide.
  Tisha Lynn Morley, who turns 37 next week, was sentenced Wednesday to spend at least five years and up to life in prison for the death of 8-month-old Lincoln Penland.
  Morley was caring for Lincoln and his 3-year-old brother at the Tots & Tykes Daycare, 2563 W. 3900 South, in February 2014 when prosecutors say she slammed the baby's head on a changing table in frustration. A medical e
  
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• Spanish Fork man converts rare Volkswagen into unique camper

  02-11-2017 19:30
  
  The Volkswagen Vanagon Syncro is rare and could go anywhere. A Spanish Fork man put the time and money into his and is proving that there's no road too tough for the vehicle.
  
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• Police investigating suspicious death at hotel in Park City

  02-11-2017 19:10
  
  Police are investigating a possible homicide after a woman was found dead inside a hotel room Thursday morning.
  
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• Nonviolent criminals in Duchesne County can now serve time out of jail

  02-11-2017 18:47
  
  The Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office is expanding its ankle monitoring program in an effort to reduce incarceration in Utah.
  
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• Utah Rep. Chris Stewart says it's fair to call Russian Facebook ads cyberwarfare

  02-11-2017 18:11
  SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Chris Stewart says cyberwarfare is a "fair description" of the ads Russian operatives placed on Facebook to influence American voter behavior.
  The Utah Republican said the posts were not designed to promote Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, but to cause division and animosity as well as distrust in democracy.
  "It's not like, 'This is Igor. Please vote for Hillary.' It's not something that obvious," Stewart said Thursday on KSL Newsradio.
  "They were
  
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• A.M. notes: Astros take Game 7, Trump responds to NYC attack, Utah doctors use robotic arm

  02-11-2017 17:50
  Here’s a look at the news for Nov. 2.Astros take Game 7, win first World SeriesThe Houston Astros won their first World Series championship on Wednesday night, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 in the final game of the series.Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said the fans made this victory worth it, according to USA Today.“Our fans were waiting for our process to start working and the players to start coming up,’’ he said after the game.Astros star George Springer s
  
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• Heart Gallery shines spotlight on 'beautiful kids who deserve a family'

  02-11-2017 17:22
  SALT LAKE CITY — If a picture is worth 1,000 words, the portraits on display Wednesday night at the state Capitol could fill volumes.
  The Heart Gallery, put on now for 13 years by the Adoption Exchange, featured portraits from 41 children awaiting adoption in Utah.
  "It's an amazing event to see kids come together and see these beautiful portraits of themselves," said Kathy Searle, director of programs with the Adoption Exchange, a local nonprofit child welfare organization.
  "They've never
  
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• Police ID driver who died when pickup slammed into Draper building

  02-11-2017 16:31
  
  Draper police released the name of a man who died when the pickup truck he was driving plowed into a vacant building in Draper early Thursday morning.
  
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• Driver dies after truck crashes into vacant Draper restaurant

  02-11-2017 16:06
  DRAPER — A 29-year-old man was killed early Thursday when the pickup truck he was driving crashed into a vacant restaurant.
  The man, whose name was not immediately released, was traveling at a very high rate of speed along Minuteman Drive when he apparently lost control of the truck and crashed into the old Virg's Restaurant, 12458 S. Minuteman Dr. (100 East), said Draper Police Sgt. Chad Carpenter.
  The truck partially went through the building. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
  
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• Jay Evensen: The president is coming — brace yourself

  02-11-2017 16:05
  For a civic leader just about anywhere in America, one of the worst sentences to hear may be, “The president has announced he’s coming to town.”That could be trumped (pardon the pun) only by this sentence: “And he’s going to make a controversial announcement.”So, Merry Christmas, Utah!The White House announced last week that President Trump is planning a trip to Utah in December to announce a reduction in the sizes of both the Bears Ears and the Grand Staircas
  
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• Feds reduce case against ex-UTA board member Terry Diehl to 1 charge

  02-11-2017 14:01
  
  Attorneys for a former Utah Transit Authority board member accused of financial crimes say federal prosecutors have led them on a "wild goose chase" to defend him against charges the government can't and now won't try to prove.
  
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• Pickup driver dies after crashing into vacant building in Draper

  02-11-2017 13:39
  
  The driver of a pickup truck died after his vehicle slammed into a vacant building in Draper early Thursday morning.
  
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• In our opinion: Effective response from authorities doesn't diminish the pain of loss in U. shooting

  02-11-2017 13:05
  The shooting death of a student at the University of Utah has left a veil of grief over the campus after a tense and anxious night in which students sought shelter while police swarmed in search of the gunman. The tragic loss of 23-year-old ChenWei Guo will reverberate in the coming days as authorities try to make sense of a pointless and callous crime. The nature of the swift and effective measures taken by campus officials and law enforcement agencies to secure the safety of students and emplo
  
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• Heart Gallery features 41 Utah children hoping to be adopted

  02-11-2017 05:45
  
  If a picture is worth 1,000 words, the portraits on display Wednesday night at the Utah State Capitol could fill volumes.
  
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• New dinosaur suggests ancient link between Utah and Spain

  02-11-2017 05:23
  
  Scientists have announced the discovery of another new species of dinosaur in southeastern Utah.
  The extinct creature's fossilized skeleton is impressive for its enormous size, and because it suggests an ancient connection between Utah and Spain.
  
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• Audit: Uintah County special district violated open meeting laws, lacked controls over spending

  02-11-2017 05:00
  
  A Uintah County special service district that oversees transportation potentially violated open meetings laws on multiple occasions and had inadequate spending controls on payroll, credit cards, meals and travel, a new state audit says.
  
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• State GOP chairman says party dropping SB54 lawsuit

  02-11-2017 04:37
  
  The Utah Republican Party is dropping its lawsuit against the state over the controversial law know as SB54 that allows candidates to bypass the party's nominating process, state GOP Chairman Rob Anderson said Wednesday.
  
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• Ghost investigation: Does the 'Purple Lady' haunt the Rio Grande, or do other restless souls?

  02-11-2017 03:38
  
  Of all the local "haunts," few lay claim to a ghost story as well-known as the one that surrounds the historic Rio Grande Depot and Rio Grande Café.
  
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• Man dies after he was hit by UTA train in Murray

  02-11-2017 03:06
  MURRAY — A man in his 20s has died after he was hit by a TRAX train Wednesday afternoon.
  The victim, whose name has not been released, had just stepped off of a train car at the Murray Central station, at the intersection of Vine and Cottonwood streets. He was wearing headphones when he was hit by a train pulling into the stop, said Utah Transit Authority Police Chief Fred Ross.
  Crews rushed the man to a hospital, Ross said. He died there from his injuries.
  Ross said he wasn't sure how fas
  
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• Utah's St. Mark's Hospital debuts robotic spinal surgery tool

  02-11-2017 02:41
  MILLCREEK — Thanks to new developments in robotics, patients who need spinal fusions now have access to a less-invasive, more-precise surgery with a significant drop in the time needed for recovery and pain management, a St. Mark's Hospital surgeon said Wednesday.
  On Oct. 6, St. Mark's Hospital became the second hospital worldwide, and first community hospital, to complete spinal fusion surgeries on patients using a tool called the Globus Medical ExcelsiusGPS — a surgical robotic arm
  
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• Police talk man safely down from freeway bridge

  02-11-2017 02:28
  
  A man threatening to jump off a highway bridge led to a closure of I-215 for more than an hour before officers were able to safely apprehend him Wednesday afternoon, police said.
  
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• Police safely talk man down from freeway bridge

  02-11-2017 02:28
  
  A man threatening to jump off a highway bridge led to a closure of I-215 for more than an hour before officers were able to safely apprehend him Wednesday afternoon, police said.
  
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• Trying to cure the opioid epidemic without drugs

  02-11-2017 02:00
  
  Trying to cure the opioid crisis without a magic pill. Without a pill at all. One alternative for chronic pain has the government spending millions on Utah research.
  
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• Man dies after being hit by TRAX train in Murray

  02-11-2017 01:52
  
  A man who was hit by a TRAX train on Wednesday afternoon has died from his injuries, according to UTA spokesman Steve Allnatt.
  
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• Intermountain Medical Center teaches people to 'Stop the Bleed'

  02-11-2017 01:38
  MURRAY — A growing number of mass-casualty incidents in the United States has the limited number of medical personnel focused on educating the public to help save lives.
  Oftentimes in emergency situations, the people who are professionally trained to help are busy with other priorities, and, chances are, no one else is allowed to enter the scene for quite a while.
  "The people already there are all we've got," said Dr. Mark Stevens, a trauma surgeon at Intermountain Medical Center. "We need
  
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• LGBTQ presentation at Moab high school draws controversy

  02-11-2017 01:30
  
  Comments and activities during a workshop led by an LGBTQ activist drew anger from parents after a presentation last month at Grand County High School.
  
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• Police: Individual in clown suit stabbed woman before fleeing Halloween evening

  02-11-2017 00:58
  
  Police in Hurricane are looking for an individual they say stabbed a woman while dressed as a clown Halloween evening.
  
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• Photos: Draper unveils marker honoring former park caretaker and baseball fan

  02-11-2017 00:54
  Shirley Ballard, left, Draper Mayor Troy Walker and City Councilman Alan Summerhays, right, unveil a marker dedicated to Ballard's late husband, Lynn, during a ceremony at Draper Park on Wednesday. Lynn A. Ballard, who died in 2008, was the caretaker of the park and its baseball diamond for 25 years. According to the plaque on the marker, Lynn Ballard served on the Draper Park Association, and played baseball, softball and umpired many games at the park. The monument also recognizes the early Dr
  
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• Police ID man killed, left in West Jordan street

  02-11-2017 00:51
  
  Police were investigating a suspected homicide early Wednesday in West Jordan where a man's body was found in the street.
  
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