1 million and counting: Take note: As of last July, the U.S. Census Bureau's population estimate for Salt Lake County has topped 1 million. Utah County has pushed beyond 484,000. It and Washington, Iron, Tooele and Wasatch counties all rank among the nation's top 100 fastest-growing in percentage terms. Utah cannot stop population growth. What it can do is grow smarter by better managing sprawl. Otherwise, highly populated areas of the Beehive State will run out of water and will be unable to clean up the air.

Welcome back, wolf pack: They're baaaack. Maybe. State wildlife officers are trying to confirm the sighting of a pack of five wolves near Dutch John Airport in Daggett County, and determine if the animals have taken up residence in the state. If wolves are calling Utah home, it will be the first confirmed wolf pack in Utah since approximately 1930, when the last native wolves were exterminated to protect livestock. If they're truly back we should bid the wolves welcome, from a safe distance.

Welcome back, beacon: It was a Salt Lake City landmark, welcoming travelers from afar, and giving locals a heads-up on the downtown weather. For decades, a weather beacon topped the radio tower on the Walker Center at 171 S. Main Street, once one of the tallest buildings in town. Red for rain, flashing red for snow. Blue for fair skies, flashing blue for clouds. Generations of city residents relied on it. And then it was gone, a victim of the dreaded "progress" in the early 1980s. And now it's back, a welcome flash from the past, thanks to a retro-renovation of the building by a new and nostalgic owner.