Utah news

• Bill intended to streamline teaching licenses sails through committee

  08-02-2018 23:25
  SALT LAKE CITY — Legislation intended to streamline the state's educator license process sailed through the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday.HB46, as amended, sponsored by Rep. Val Peterson, R-Orem, establishes three types of licensure: associate licenses for people completing licensure requirements; professional licenses for people who have met all requirements; and a local education agency or LEA-specific licenses to address local requirements.Peterson said it is important to stre
  
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• Two bills to significantly affect voting in Utah

  08-02-2018 23:15
  SALT LAKE CITY — The House Government Operations Committee approved two bills Wednesday that may drastically affect voting in Utah.HB35, sponsored by Rep. Marc Roberts, R-Salem, would create a pilot program that will make it an option to implement rank-choice and approval forms of voting in certain nonpartisan municipal elections.In rank-choice voting, the voter ranks multiple candidates for one seat from most favorable to least favorable with a numbering system.Approval voting differs fro
  
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• Popular Riverton teacher dies of rare brain disease after community raises $106K

  08-02-2018 22:55
  
  Surrounded by family, Mac Frischknecht took his last breath Jan. 30 after a quick, but brutal, battle with brain disease.
  
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• 'Peter Rabbit' is a fun trip to the theater with your family

  08-02-2018 22:16
  
  "Peter Rabbit" is not a great film that will be remembered as a classic, but it is a fun trip to the theater with your family.
  
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• News report says resigned Utah lawmaker hired escort

  08-02-2018 21:53
  SALT LAKE CITY — Utah legislators responded Thursday to a report that a Utah House member abruptly resigned Tuesday night because it was about to become public that he met an online escort for sex twice last year.The Daily Mail, a British publication, quotes Brie Taylor saying former Rep. John Stanard, R-St. George, paid her $250 for sex twice at the Fairfield Inn in downtown Salt Lake City.The Deseret News has not independently confirmed the allegations.Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-D
  
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• News report says resigned Utah House member paid escort for sex

  08-02-2018 21:53
  SALT LAKE CITY — Utah legislators responded Thursday to a report that a Utah House member abruptly resigned Tuesday night because it was about to become public that he met an online escort for sex twice last year.The Daily Mail, a British publication, quotes Brie Taylor saying former Rep. John Stanard, R-St. George, paid her $250 for sex twice at the Fairfield Inn in downtown Salt Lake City.The Deseret News has not independently confirmed the allegations.Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-D
  
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• Utah man indicted after allegedly getting $58K from 60 fraudulent tax returns

  08-02-2018 21:44
  
  A federal grand jury has returned a 24-count indictment charging a Southern Utah man in an alleged scheme to defraud the IRS through which money obtained was transferred to other co-conspirators in Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.
  
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• Utah shelters working to find homes for thousands of cats and dogs

  08-02-2018 21:29
  
  Some animals are adopted from shelters the week they arrive, others could be there for months or even years.
  
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• Zinke to visit Salt Lake expo Friday for 'major' conservation announcement

  08-02-2018 21:13
  SALT LAKE CITY — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke will once again visit Utah, making a special appearance at the Western Hunting & Conservation Expo on Friday at the Salt Palace Convention Center.A release from the U.S. Department of Interior said Zinke will make a "major conservation announcement" and take questions from the media.This will be Zinke's third visit to the Beehive State in under a year, with him first visiting last May to tour the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase national mon
  
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• Fishing tips to help you catch huge tiger muskies

  08-02-2018 20:15
  
  Huge tiger muskies can be targeted in areas like Pineview Reservoir. Here are a few tips and ideas to help you have success.
  
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• Pair of red pandas moving to Hogle Zoo this spring

  08-02-2018 20:01
  SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's Hogle Zoo is expecting a bit of panda-monium this spring.Zoo officials announced Wednesday two red pandas — a 3 ½-year-old male and a 7-year-old female — will be moving to Salt Lake City. It's hoped the pair will eventually breed. It's been 10 years since the zoo had a red panda on display.The pandas — currently at Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, Arizona — will move into the Janet Q. Lawson Red Panda exhibit once it's ready to open. Lawson is
  
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• Salt Lake lawmaker seeks $300,000 for opioid prevention curriculum for middle, high schools

  08-02-2018 19:59
  SALT LAKE CITY — A state lawmaker asked the Utah Legislature's Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee for $300,000 Thursday to develop secondary school curriculum to address the state's opioid abuse, addiction and overdose crisis.Rep. Joel Briscoe, D-Salt Lake City, said the appropriation would be used over two years to update existing curriculum on addiction developed by the Genetic Science Learning Center at the University of Utah.As recently as 2015, Utah ranked seventh in the nat
  
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• South Jordan needs acts for Battle of the Bands

  08-02-2018 19:17
  SOUTH JORDAN — The city is looking for professional and student musical groups to compete in the SoJo Summerfest's Battle of the Bands.The contest will offer $14,000 in prizes split among four bands — $3,000 for first place and $1,000 for second place in the student category, and $7,000 for first place and $3,000 for second place in the professional category.Interested contestants must submit an application and submit audition videos by April 2 at sjc.utah.gov.The top five bands from
  
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• Man who survived 100-foot fall in slot canyon back to climbing again

  08-02-2018 19:09
  
  It was Aug. 26, 2017, when Brig Murdock hooked himself to the rope as he prepared to rappel down a 100-foot cliff into a southern Utah slot canyon. It was a procedure Murdock had carried out countless times, but on this particular day, as he leaned back, all of a sudden the walls of the canyon were rushing up on either side of him.
  
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• Resigned Utah House member paid escort for sex, Daily Mail reports

  08-02-2018 18:54
  SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah House member abruptly resigned Tuesday night because it was about to become public that he met an online escort for sex twice last year, according to the Daily Mail.The British publication quotes Brie Taylor saying former Rep. John Stanard, R-St. George, paid her $250 for sex twice at the Fairfield Inn in downtown Salt Lake.Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, issued a brief statement Wednesday, saying Stanard stepped down for family reasons. Hughes' office had
  
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• Son of Warren Jeffs who fled FLDS says polygamy should be decriminalized

  08-02-2018 18:52
  
  Roy Jeffs, who left the FLDS sect nearly four years ago and no longer practices polygamy, said a change in law would avoid the stigmatization of families who are practicing their faith.
  
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• Salt Lake man involved in severe head-on crash charged with child abuse

  08-02-2018 18:40
  SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake man who prosecutors say was driving under the influence of drugs when he was involved in a crash, severely injuring his young granddaughter who was not in a car seat, has been charged with child abuse.William James Uckerman, 57, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with child abuse, a third-degree felony; two counts of DUI, a class A misdemeanor; not having insurance, a class C misdemeanor; and driving on a suspended license, a class C misdemeanor. He was
  
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• Bills legalizing 'free range' parenting, removing sales tax from food advance

  08-02-2018 18:32
  
  A bill designed to protect parents who let their kids play alone advanced on Utah's Capitol Hill Wednesday. So did a measure that would remove state sales tax from food.
  
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• Westminster home to 18 Pyeongchang Olympic athletes

  08-02-2018 17:32
  
  Westminster College will be sending 18 students to the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.
  
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• Jay Evensen: The other side of Medicaid expansion

  08-02-2018 17:14
  Mary Mayhew wants Utahns to hear the other side of the Medicaid expansion debate.Chances are you've heard one side — the one about how expanding Medicaid in Utah would extend health coverage to people who fall in the unfortunate category of being not quite poor enough, not married, not pregnant or not old enough to qualify. Obamacare allowed states to expand coverage to people earning up to 138 percent of the poverty level, with the federal government paying most of the cost (phasing down
  
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• Utah's Jive Communications swallowed by GoToMeeting in $357M deal

  08-02-2018 16:28
  OREM — The company that operates the popular GoToMeeting digital conferencing service announced plans Thursday to acquire Orem-based Jive Communications in a deal valued at $357 million.Jivewas founded in 2006 and has carved out a successful niche in the voice-over-internet and unified communications sector, acquiring 20,000 customers, building a workforce of 600 (mostly in Utah) and earning $80 million last year.LogMeIn, the parent company to cloud-based services that include GoToMeeting,
  
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• 'She wasn’t letting him off the hook': Deseret News reporter talks to HLN TV about Deserae Turner case

  08-02-2018 14:00
  Deseret News reporter McKenzie Romero spoke with national news network HLN this week about a Utah case that recently saw a judge order prison for a teenage boy who shot a 14-year-old girl in the head and left her to die.Two teenage boys admitted to shooting Deserae Turner in the head in February 2017. She was found in a ditch in Smithfield.Turner was put into a medically induced coma. Her family said she had "a very long road ahead" once she came out of the coma, according to the Deseret News.Bo
  
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• Hey, where's all the snow?

  08-02-2018 12:00
  Mount Olympus, covered with light dusting of snow, looms over the Salt Lake Valley on Wednesday. According to the National Weather Service, Thursday and Friday will be sunny and unseasonably warm, with highs in the low 60s and lows in the low 40s and high 30s. A weakening storm is expected to bring clouds and a few showers Saturday and high temperatures dipping to around 50.See the world through the eyes of award-winning photojournalists. Click through the gallery above to view the unique images
  
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• Man struck by car hospitalized

  08-02-2018 08:41
  SALT LAKE CITY — A man was hospitalized in critical condition after being struck by a car Wednesday night.Lt. Justin Hudson with Salt Lake City police said the victim was crossing the street in the middle of the block outside of the crosswalk at 135 West 1300 South when he was hit by a passing motorist around 9 p.m."The driver did not see him and attempted to avoid him but they struck him," he said.The victim was unconscious on the pavement when emergency responders arrived and was transpo
  
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• Escape from North Korea: Journey of faith lands couple in Utah

  08-02-2018 07:09
  OREM — Jiyeon Song excitedly moves through a pile of 20 or so presents at her baby shower hosted by a friend from church. The 34-year-old expectant mother doesn't just remove the wrapping, but she tears through cardboard and plastic product packaging to fully reveal what's inside. She removes an elephant-shaped humidifier from a large box, balanced carefully on her knees, and proudly holds it up for the crowd to see, eyes beaming behind round-rimmed glasses.A few months ago, Song hadn't ev
  
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• Bill regulating sale and labeling of CBD oil, allowing doctor recommendations, passes committee

  08-02-2018 05:57
  SALT LAKE CITY — A bill that would instruct the Utah Department of Agriculture to regulate the distribution and sale of CBD oil, as well as allow for physicians to recommend the substance to their patients, passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday with a favorable recommendation.SB130, called the Cannabadiol Product Act, would help the state reign in problems of unreliable labeling of products purporting to be CBD oil while simultaneously increasing access to the
  
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• Red, white and blue: Celebrating the 2018 Winter Games

  08-02-2018 05:20
  Members of the Sundance ski patrol and ski team make their way down the slopes with Big Betsy — a giant American flag commissioned by the nonprofit group Follow the Flag — at Sundance Ski Resort on Wednesday, to kick off the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The flag, which measures 78 feet by 150 feet, was flown in Grove Creek Canyon in Pleasant Grove on July 4th and is the largest free-flying flag in the United States. The 2018 Winter Games kick off Friday.See the w
  
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• New deal means Twilight Concerts Series to return this summer

  08-02-2018 05:16
  SALT LAKE CITY — The sun hasn't set on the capital city's summertime music program after all. An 11th-hour deal has revived Salt Lake City's annual Twilight Concert Series — albeit with a few changes.Mayor Jackie Biskupski announced Wednesday the resurrection of the series for 2018. Speaking at a news conference at the Finch Lane Gallery in Salt Lake City, she explained that the Salt Lake Arts Council Foundation had entered into a one-year agreement with locally based Broadway Media,
  
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• 'Food Alley' development to bring 17 restaurants to SLC in 2019

  08-02-2018 05:13
  
  Looking for somewhere you can find more than a dozen restaurants serving a variety of foods all under one roof? Salt Lake City soon will have what you seek.
  
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• Utah school districts could use local property taxes for technology under bill

  08-02-2018 04:43
  SALT LAKE CITY — School districts could use local property tax revenues for capital projects or debt service for technology programs and projects under SB144, which was endorsed Wednesday by the Senate Education Committee.The legislation, sponsored by Majority Whip Sen. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, would give local school boards the option of using the taxing authority they use to pay for building needs to address technological needs."As we move into the 21st century with a school system that h
  
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• Child injured in crash on Mountain View Corridor in Bluffdale

  08-02-2018 04:29
  
  A child was injured in a crash near 14115 South Mountain View Corridor, officials said.
  
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• Medical cannabis bill that 'bridges the gap' between sides has good chance of passing, insider says

  08-02-2018 04:10
  SALT LAKE CITY — A Republican insider who has met with Rep. Lee Perry says he's confident the lawmaker will come up with a "workable medical marijuana program in the state" and that there is a good chance of it being passed and ultimately dissuading Utahns from voting for an initiative that aims for legalization of medicinal cannabis to a greater extent."Lee Perry and some members of the Senate have tried to find something that bridges the gap between (legislation from Rep.) Brad Daw, and
  
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• 1 in critical condition after crash on Mountain View Corridor in Herriman

  08-02-2018 03:50
  
  At least one person is in critical condition after a crash near 14115 South Mountain View Corridor.
  
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• Ogden hospital opens residential treatment center for substance use disorders

  08-02-2018 03:11
  WASHINGTON TERRACE, Weber County — Michael Neal used to stay in bed all day."I let the house and yard go to pot," he said. Any time he got up, it was for a drink — up to five, 30-packs of alcohol a week."I was not functioning," the 47-year-old who is totally blind said Wednesday.But that was five months ago, and thanks to 31 days of inpatient treatment beginning in September at MountainStar Healthcare's Ogden Regional Medical Center — and continuing support from friends he made
  
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• Want to attend 'Hamilton' in Salt Lake? Here are tips on how to score tickets

  08-02-2018 03:01
  
  Want the best chance of getting "Hamilton" tickets when they go on sale Friday morning? Follow these steps.
  
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• Utah lawmakers approve rooftop solar compromise bill

  08-02-2018 02:51
  SALT LAKE CITY — A bill to puts into law a complicated compromise eked out among the solar industry, clean energy advocates and Rocky Mountain Power on rooftop solar tax credits cleared a legislative committee Wednesday.Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, is sponsoring SB141 to institutionalize what he described as a "grand compromise" among the players in an intense and protracted battle shaping the destiny of rooftop solar systems in Utah.Bramble's measure, which he said will be substituted with
  
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• Bill removing state sales tax from food advances to Utah House

  08-02-2018 02:44
  SALT LAKE CITY — A bill eliminating the state sales tax on food and raising the rate on all other purchases slightly to ensure no revenue is lost was approved Wednesday by the House Revenue and Taxation Committee.The 8-3 vote advancing HB148, sponsored by Rep. Tim Quinn, R-Heber City, to the House came after a change requiring candy to be taxed at the full rate in an attempt to reduce consumption.That change was from the committee chairman, Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, who said he was unde
  
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• Giant American flag takes a trip down Sundance ski slope

  08-02-2018 02:28
  
  The giant American flag that hung in a canyon in Pleasant Grove over the Fourth of July went on an adventure Wednesday morning.
  
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• Bill calls for report projecting future need for nurses in Utah

  08-02-2018 02:21
  SALT LAKE CITY — A state council that secures and stabilizes the state's supply of health care providers would get a new mandate under SB147, projecting the future demand for nurses in Utah.The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden, also would require reporting to the Legislature's Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee.The statewide report would examine the demand regionally and drill down to rural Utah, providing information "that would allow us to make data-driven de
  
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• Lawmaker proposes delaying Utah's controversial DUI law to 2022

  08-02-2018 02:19
  SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah lawmaker wants to delay what would be the nation's toughest DUI law for four years, though she would rather do away with it all together.Rep. Karen Kwan, D-Murray, filed HB345 on Wednesday proposing to put off Utah dropping the legal blood alcohol content for driving from .08 percent to .05 percent until 2022. The law is set to take effect Dec. 30."There can be some grave consequences to this. I'm not sure we have fleshed those out as a state," Kwan said. "At this p
  
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• Fight the man on International Clash Day with these 5 songs

  08-02-2018 02:03
  
  Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski proclaimed today Clash Day in the city.
  
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• West Valley officer hit by fleeing vehicle

  08-02-2018 01:59
  WEST VALLEY CITY — A West Valley police officer suffered minor injuries Tuesday night after being hit by a fleeing vehicle.Police were dispatched just before midnight to the Egate Apartments, 2309 W. Fly Catchers Lane, on a report of several men acting suspiciously and "ducking down inside of a car," said West Valley police spokeswoman Roxeanne Vainuku.As the officers approached a silver Hyundai four-door car, the driver put the car into gear and drove forward, bumping the leg and hand of
  
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• Man who kidnapped, murdered Santa Clara father gets 75-year sentence

  08-02-2018 01:39
  SALT LAKE CITY — After more than a year of hardly any movement in the court system, the case of a Washington County man accused of kidnapping a Santa Clara man and leaving him in a remote area of Arizona where his body was found a month later reached a sudden resolution Wednesday.Francis Lee McCard, 56, of Washington City, was indicted in federal court on Monday with kidnapping resulting in death. He is accused of kidnapping David Heisler, 30, of Santa Clara, from his home on June 27, 2016
  
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• Reptile rescuer accused of abandoning snakes, spiders at warehouse

  08-02-2018 01:37
  MIDVALE — A well-known reptile rescuer is under investigation, accused of abandoning dozens of venomous snakes, poisonous spiders, alligators, turtles and other creatures at a Midvale warehouse for two weeks.James Dix, owner of Utah's Reptile Rescue Service, denies abandoning the animals at the warehouse at 641 W. 6960 South. In a phone interview from his hospital bed at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Dix said he had a heart attack and that is why he hasn't been able to care for t
  
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• Todder suffers minor injuries after being hit by car

  08-02-2018 01:30
  HERRIMAN — A 2-year-old boy hit by a car in front of a day care on Wednesday is expected to make a full recovery, according to police.The toddler appeared to have ony suffered minor scrapes on his arms, according to Unified police.The incident happened about 11 a.m. at 4628 W. Box Meadow Circle. A father was picking up his son at a home day care, said Unified police detective Ken Hansen.After the man strapped his son into his car seat, he began to drive away. What he didn't notice was a 2-
  
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• Small-business owners converge on Utah Capitol to visit with lawmakers

  08-02-2018 01:17
  SALT LAKE CITY — Small-business owners from around Utah converged at the Capitol on Wednesday for an event hosted by the National Federation of Independent Business and the Utah Taxpayers Association.Small-business owners listened to speakers talk about bills that might affect them this year, as well as information about how to navigate the Capitol and Legislature's website to contact their lawmakers.Steven VanBibber, who owns a manufacturing company in Orem called Precision Assembly, said
  
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• Cadaver dogs show interest in vehicle in search for missing Eureka couple

  08-02-2018 00:44
  
  A search of the property of the relatives of a missing Eureka man turned up some clues, but nothing that pointed definitively to the fate of the man or his girlfriend.
  
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• 2-year-old child expected to be OK after being run over by truck

  08-02-2018 00:00
  
  A 2-year-old boy is expected to make a full recovery after he was run over by a pickup truck Wednesday morning, police said.
  
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