Tantalising new evidence has suggested that there may be a salty lake below a glacier on Mars. While brine at freezing temperatures does not sound like the most hospitable of environments, it is difficult to resist pondering whether organic life could survive – or even make some kind of living – there. But what sort of life form could it…
Category: Utah
As Colorado River Water Users Conserve, Utah Wastes More
AS THE COLORADO River basin reels from the effects of climate change, new data from the United States Geological Survey shows residents in the seven states that share the Colorado River are collectively using less water. But there are key differences in use among the states. Residential water users in Utah are using more water, even as the state proposes a…
Plans for Utah Pipeline to Tap Colorado River Hit a Snag
A proposed pipeline would funnel Lake Powell water 140 miles to a growing region of Utah, but opponents question if imported water for the beleaguered Colorado is the best way to meet demand. A CONTROVERSIAL PIPELINE project that would pump Colorado River water to a rapidly growing corner of Utah passed a regulatory goal and also hit a regulatory snag on the…
Could Clinton win Utah?
The last time Utah gave its Electoral College votes to a Democratic presidential candidate was 1964. This was also the last time the Republican Party nominated a nationalist candidate who was unpalatable to a majority of the population. Like Donald Trump in 2016, the underlying premise of the 1964 campaign was that Barry Goldwater would lead the nation into nuclear…
Bear River: The Biggest Dam Project You’ve Never Heard Of
UTAH’S BEAR RIVER is an odd creature. Its headwaters and its mouth are only 90 miles (145km) apart. But the river takes its time spanning those points, flowing 500 miles over a tortuous path. It begins high in Utah’s Uinta Mountains, then spills north into Wyoming and Idaho, looping around the Wasatch Mountains. Near the town of Soda Springs, Idaho, the…
Are startups the answer to inequality?
A new study finds that Texas is among the national leaders in “economic dynamism.” That’s a technical term: it means businesses starting and closing, workers changing firms or moving to new opportunities. According to the Economic Innovation Group, a think tank and advocacy group in Washington, D.C., dynamism is a more illuminating measure of economic health than typical metrics like the unemployment rate.…
Utah Voters Approved Medicaid Expansion, But State Lawmakers Are Balking
Utah residents may have thought they were done fighting about Medicaid expansion last November. But when Utah lawmakers opened a new legislative session in late January, they began pushing through a bill to roll back the scope and impact of an expansion that voters approved in a ballot measure. That scaled-back version of Medicaid expansion passed the Utah House on…
States begin requiring or considering quarantine for traveling Arizonans
(The Center Square) – As Arizona’s COVID-19 case growth rate increases, residents hoping to travel elsewhere may be required to quarantine for two weeks before they arrive. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment updated their list of locations where travelers would need to quarantine for 14 days after arriving in their state. In addition to Alabama, Arkansas, and Maryland, officials added…
Hechinger Report: What online preschool looks like in Mississippi
A free online preschool pilot program is wrapping up in Mississippi, and program officials say early results are promising, indicating the new offering may boost kindergarten readiness. The pilot is run through the non-profit Waterford Institute, which launched the first online preschool offering in Utah in 2009. The program, UPSTART, received an $11.5 million Investing in Innovation (i3) grant from the…
Journalism branding: Impact on reporters’ personal identities
It’s common for a news agency to request or require its journalists to use social media to promote their work and help market the company brand. Often, reporters, editors and columnists maintain two or more accounts on social media platforms to try to keep their professional lives separate from their personal ones. In many cases, journalists have a love-hate relationship with social…