Utah News - The Salt Lake Tribune

Orem footballer who collapsed undergoing heart surgery

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:18:43 MDT

Orem footballer who collapsed undergoing heart surgery

by Bob Mims The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 20, 2013 10:18AM MDT

An Orem High School football player who collapsed during a practice last week was undergoing surgery Monday to repair an unspecified heart defect. Alpine School District spokeswoman Rhonda Bromley said Monday that Ben Smith, a 16-year-old sophomore, was brought out of a medically induced coma late Saturday night. “He responded well,” Bromley said, indicating the boy was aware of family and his surroundings. Bromley said Smith’s operation at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo was expect...

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UHP: Five hurt in I-80 rollover upgraded to serious condition

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:18:43 MDT

UHP: Five hurt in I-80 rollover upgraded to serious condition

by Bob Mims The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 20, 2013 10:18AM MDT

Two women and three men, all members of the same family, were in serious condition Monday, the day after their Ford Explorer rolled repeatedly on Interstate 80 in Tooele County. Utah Highway Patrol spokesman Joe Dougherty said only a 38-year-old female passenger was believed to have been wearing a seat belt when the SUV crashed about 6:30 p.m. Sunday on eastbound I-80 just north of Grantsville. Troopers believe the vehicle was traveling about 90 mph when it drifted off the left side of the road,...

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Utah police to update Susan Powell disappearance today

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:16:11 MDT

Utah police to update Susan Powell disappearance today

by Nate Carlisle The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 20, 2013 10:16AM MDT

West Valley City police plan to provide an update in the Susan Powell case at a 3 p.m. press conference. The notice from the police department did not offer any details on what will be said. Powell was last seen on Dec. 6, 2009, at her West Valley City home, which she shared with her husband, Josh Powell, the only person of interest ever named in the case. Josh Powell killed himself and their sons last year. Josh Powell claimed he left his wife at home as he took his sons, then ages 4 and 2, o...

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Funeral set Thursday for Frances Monson, wife of LDS president

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:13:53 MDT

Funeral set Thursday for Frances Monson, wife of LDS president

by Bob Mims The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 20, 2013 10:13AM MDT

Funeral services are set Thursday at downtown Salt Lake City’s Salt Lake Tabernacle for Frances J. Monson, wife of Mormon church President Thomas S. Monson. Mrs. Monson, 85, will be eulogized at noon. No public viewing was planned but the public is invited to attend the funeral service itself, officials of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced on Monday. Further details on the funeral, it’s speakers and burial plans will be released later this week. ,Mrs. Monson died last Fri...

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Utah Regents approve boosting college presidents’ pay up to 24 percent

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:11:02 MDT

Utah Regents approve boosting college presidents’ pay up to 24 percent

by Lindsay Whitehurst The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 20, 2013 10:11AM MDT

Utah public college presidents would get raises of up to 24 percent in July under a plan approved by the Utah Board of Regents Friday. The extra money is designed to bring relatively low presidential salaries closer to rates at similar schools, which Utah Commissioner of Higher Education David Buhler said is necessary to attract the best talent. “Higher education salaries are international. Sometimes we’re in an international market,” he said. “We understand the economy is still not booming [b...

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Utah to cut ribbons on two new veterans nursing homes

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:08:37 MDT

Utah to cut ribbons on two new veterans nursing homes

by Kristen Moulton The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 20, 2013 10:08AM MDT

For decades, Utah’s aging veterans who needed full-time care lived in a geriatric wing at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Salt Lake City, if not in a civilian nursing home. Now the state is finishing the last of four nursing homes that give aging and disabled veterans — as well as their spouses — an even better choice. New 108-bed nursing homes are being dedicated this month and next in Ivins and Payson, the last of those planned for the foreseeable future. The new homes should serve Utah’s nee...

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Utah forecast: After wet weekend, a drying trend ahead

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:07:57 MDT

Utah forecast: After wet weekend, a drying trend ahead

by Bob Mims The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 20, 2013 10:07AM MDT

Utah’s wet weekend is giving way to drier conditions as the new week gets under way. The National Weather Service predicted Tuesday along the Wasatch Front would feature partly cloudy skies and high temperatures in the upper-70s, after a forecast for Monday calling for diminishing thunderstorms and rain showers and highs in the mid-60s. That warmer and drier trend came in the wake of a cool and rain-laden weekend in northern Utah. The NWS reported that the Wasatch Mountain valley town of Liberty...

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I-15 near Beaver restricted during bridge project

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:53:03 MDT

I-15 near Beaver restricted during bridge project

by Bob Mims the Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 20, 2013 08:53AM MDT

If you plan on driving through Beaver County along Interstate 15 this week, you might want to add a little more time to your travel plans. Utah Department of Transportation crews began work late Sunday to move a replacement bridge north of Beaver near mile post 116. That project is expected to take until sometime this Thursday to complete. In the interim, I-15 traffic through the area will be reduced to one lane, crossing over to the opposite side for motorists to navigate the construction zone....

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Rewind: News you may have missed over the weekend

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:15:09 MDT

Rewind: News you may have missed over the weekend

the Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 20, 2013 08:15AM MDT

Welcome to Weekend Rewind, a glance back at The Salt Lake Tribune’s top news stories, photos and opinions you may have missed over the weekend. Top stories this past weekend In surprise to the NSA, Utah Data Center may pay tax on electricity • Under a bill the 2013 Utah Legislature passed, the National Security Agency’s new Bluffdale data center might be taxed on the millions of dollars of energy it is expected to consume, providing a potential windfall for an obscure state authority. ...

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Utah’s newest trail opens at Provo Canyon

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:15:09 MDT

Utah’s newest trail opens at Provo Canyon

the Associated Press

Published May 20, 2013 08:15AM MDT

Orem • Utah’s newest trail has opened for foot, bike and horse use. Utah County officials on Saturday celebrated the opening of the 17-mile Murdock Canal Trail that starts at the mouth of Provo Canyon and ends at Thanksgiving Point. After an opening ceremony in Orem, formal ribbon-cutting ceremonies were held at six stops along the trail: Lindon, Pleasant Grove, Cedar Hills, American Fork, Highland and Lehi. The 15-foot-wide paved trail for pedestrians and bicycles, and an adjacent trail for hor...

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Photos: Mount Ogden Kennel Club’s AKC All Breed Dog Show

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:58:03 MDT

Photos: Mount Ogden Kennel Club’s AKC All Breed Dog Show

by Kim Raff The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 20, 2013 07:58AM MDT

Canines compete in Mount Ogden Kennel Club’s AKC All Breed Dog Show at the Cache County Fairgrounds in Logan on May 19, 2013.

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Mill Creek Canyon goal: Dispersed recreation

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:41:28 MDT

Mill Creek Canyon goal: Dispersed recreation

by Mike Gorrell | The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 20, 2013 07:41AM MDT

The trouble with Mill Creek Canyon is that most visitors go to the same places at the same times. So even though traffic counts are much lower there than in Big Cottonwood or Little Cottonwood canyons, cars inevitably bunch up at a few picnic areas and trailheads during the summer and at a gate by the Maple Grove picnic area during the winter. Finding a way to disperse those crowds was the primary goal of a study the consulting firm Fehr & Peers completed last year for Salt Lake County. Not onl...

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Paul Rolly: Dick Cheney and me, what a pair

Mon, 20 May 2013 06:42:09 MDT

Paul Rolly: Dick Cheney and me, what a pair

by Paul Rolly tribune Columnist

Published May 20, 2013 06:42AM MDT

I met former Vice President Dick Cheney when he was a Wyoming congressman in the 1980s and I was an officer for the Utah Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. We were on a panel at an SPJ conference in Denver. The discussion centered on the government’s need for secrecy versus the public’s right to know. While there were four people on the panel, including a couple of academics, the discussion quickly devolved into a debate between Cheney and me because we were the most passionate...

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Suburban Utah sees huge spike in poverty

Mon, 20 May 2013 06:28:55 MDT

Suburban Utah sees huge spike in poverty

by Cathy Mckitrick The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 20, 2013 06:28AM MDT

Half a century ago, those who could moved to the suburbs to escape concentrated poverty in America’s urban cores. But a new book released today shows that between 2000 to 2011, the rise in suburban poverty rose 64 percent, more than twice the growth rate of poverty in cities. By 2011, almost 16.4 million suburban residents nationwide lived below the federal poverty level — now surpassing the number of impoverished city dwellers by 3 million, according to Confronting Suburban Poverty in America,...

In surprise to NSA, Utah Data Center may pay tax on electricity

Mon, 20 May 2013 06:07:31 MDT

In surprise to NSA, Utah Data Center may pay tax on electricity

by Nate Carlisle The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 20, 2013 06:07AM MDT

Under a bill the 2013 Utah Legislature passed, the National Security Agency’s new Bluffdale data center might be taxed on the millions of dollars of energy it is expected to consume, providing a potential windfall for an obscure state authority. The NSA is protesting the possible tax, even though a Utah attorney said he informed the agency about HB325, and the top U.S. electronic spy agency voiced no opposition until an official emailed Gov. Gary Herbert’s staff weeks after Herbert signed the ...

Gun-toting Utah teachers to parents: Your kids safe with us

Mon, 20 May 2013 06:07:31 MDT

Gun-toting Utah teachers to parents: Your kids safe with us

by Lisa Schencker The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 20, 2013 06:07AM MDT

One Utah teacher’s worst nightmare goes something like this: A gunman slips into his school, draws weapons, aims and fires at his kids. “I can think of nothing worse than having to witness my students being killed or maimed without me being able to at least attempt some sort of intervention,” the teacher said. “I might even die in the process, but, in my opinion, going down shooting would be better than standing in front of them helplessly.” Every day, the Davis School District teacher carries a...

Victim’s three daughters get a day of magic

Mon, 20 May 2013 05:58:10 MDT

Victim’s three daughters get a day of magic

by Marissa Lang The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 20, 2013 05:58AM MDT

Kearns » The little girls seated at Tinkerbell’s green-slippered feet hung on the pixie’s every word. They stared up at her in awe: This blond fairy flown straight out of a Disney movie with wings and magic dust and a giggle that rang like wind chimes in the breeze. She asked the birthday girl a question. “Have you ever lost something?” she said. “Has anyone here lost something?” Hands shot into the air. But not Aliveah Montoya’s. As the children clamored to tell the fairy princess what they’d ...

SNAP Challenge, eating on $4 per day, starts Monday

Mon, 20 May 2013 01:01:02 MDT

SNAP Challenge, eating on $4 per day, starts Monday

by Cathy Mckitrick The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 20, 2013 01:01AM MDT

While some Utahns can easily spend $4 a day on a latte or frappucino, others must stretch those four bucks to fund their entire daily food intake. The average food-stamp benefit is $4 per day, and on Monday the SNAP Challenge kicks off in participating areas around the United States, including Utah where the advocacy organization Utahns Against Hunger is hosting the week-long effort. SNAP stands for the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. On its website, Utahns Against H...

Wyoming man dead after officer-involved shooting in Evanston

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:46:05 MDT

Wyoming man dead after officer-involved shooting in Evanston

by Janelle Stecklein The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 19, 2013 08:46PM MDT

An Evanston, Wyo., man died after a brief crime spree around town ended when authorities shot him. Police said Naim “Keith” Labaki, 43, fired a shot outside a home in the 800 block of Uinta Street about 2 p.m. Saturday and then fled in a white Ford Explorer. Police said a short time later, Labaki showed up at Sports World on Front Street in Evanston, demanding an additional weapon. When employees refused, he went to his vehicle, pulled out his gun and fired a single shot into the store, police...

Hatch has plan to attack public-lands pot farms

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:26:54 MDT

Hatch has plan to attack public-lands pot farms

by Matt Canham The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 19, 2013 07:26PM MDT

Washington • Somewhere in the remote wilderness of southern Utah on land controlled by the federal government, members of a Mexican cartel are putting new marijuana plants in the earth in hopes of reaping a multimillion dollar harvest this fall. And it eats at the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Sue Thomas. “They have taken over our public lands. They have no stake in Utah,” she said. “They are here to use and abuse our public lands for their own profit,” she said. These illegal flash farms a...