Andrew Christiansen - The Salt Lake Tribune

(Photos courtesy of Logan Monson and Dan Gardner) Republican incumbent Rep. Logan Monson, left, and challenger Dan Gardner are seeking the Republican nomination for Utah House District 69 in this year's primary election.

Utah’s House District 69 primary: What two Republican candidates say about affordability, public lands

By Andrew Christiansen | June 4, 2026, 1:53 p.m.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) People line up to take a photo under Delicate Arch inside Arches National Park near Moab on Thursday, April 9, 2026.

Arches sees busiest April since 2021 in first season without timed entry

By Andrew Christiansen | June 2, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Tourists line up to enter Arches National Park near Moab on Thursday, April 9, 2026.

Arches shuttle proposal gains momentum with $1.5 million in state, county funding

By Andrew Christiansen | May 23, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) People gather at Delicate Arch inside Arches National Park near Moab on Thursday, April 9, 2026.

Arches timed entry likely reduced visitation, but Grand County’s tourism economy still grew

By Andrew Christiansen | May 11, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Grand County Justice Court in Moab on Wednesday, April 8, 2026.

‘No reasonable cause’ for 5 discrimination complaints against Grand County, Utah agency says

By Andrew Christiansen | May 7, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Tourists line up to enter Arches National Park near Moab on Thursday, April 9, 2026.

Arches sets record March visitation as park adjusts to seasonal demand

By Andrew Christiansen | May 3, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

(Andrew Christiansen | The Times-Independent) A controlled blast expands part of the open pit at Mariana Minerals’ Copper One site in Lisbon Valley during a ceremonial event marking the company’s ongoing restart of mining operations.

Autonomous copper mine restarts in southern Utah as hiring expected to increase

By Andrew Christiansen | April 29, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

(Levi Sim | Utah State University) Community members, students and officials gather April 22 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the opening of Utah State University’s new education building in Monument Valley, part of the Navajo Nation in southeastern Utah.

New USU building expands college access in Monument Valley

By Andrew Christiansen | April 25, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

(Maria Sykes) Ren Hatt is pictured in 2021 at Hell’s Backbone Grill. Hatt, who served as mayor of Green River from 2022 to 2025, died Dec. 5 after being reelected for a second term.

‘Ren’s gone. Now what?’: For this small Utah town, the death of their mayor still lingers

By Andrew Christiansen | April 19, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

(National Park Service) Traffic backs up near the entrance to Arches National Park on April 10. Grand County is exploring a potential shuttle system with other stakeholders in part to address congestion at the park entrance and along Highway 191.

Grand County explores Arches shuttle as key questions remain unresolved

By Andrew Christiansen | April 14, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

(Department of Energy) An aerial view of the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) site north of Moab, where more than 16 million tons of radioactive mill waste have been removed as part of a decades-long cleanup effort.

Moab celebrates end of uranium tailings pile after decades of work

By Andrew Christiansen | April 10, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

(Grand County Sheriff’s Office) An image of a vandalized petroglyph panel near the Tusher Tunnel area northwest of Moab. The agency said Sunday, March 22, that it is still investigating the damage.

Petroglyph vandalism near Moab under investigation

By Andrew Christiansen | March 25, 2026, 3:53 p.m.

(National Park Service) Traffic was light at the entrance to Arches National Park on Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 18.

Arches National Park drops timed-entry reservations for 2026

By Andrew Christiansen | Lizzie Ramirez | The Times-Independent | February 20, 2026, 12:27 a.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) An aerial view shows the Echo Canyon development site along the Colorado River southwest of Moab in 2023. Two advocacy groups filed a lawsuit on Feb. 10, challenging the project’s preliminary municipality certification and the state law that enabled it.

Utah law shifts power from elected officials to developers, according to lawsuit over controversial project near Moab

By Andrew Christiansen | February 14, 2026, 1:00 p.m.

(Grand County Search and Rescue) A screenshot of drone footage showing Grand County Search and Rescue crews reaching hiker Austin Dirks after he became trapped in quicksand in Courthouse Wash on Dec. 7.

Hiker rescued after becoming trapped in quicksand in Arches backcountry

By Andrew Christiansen | December 12, 2025, 6:10 p.m.

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Raji Krishnan and Erlen Dsang snap photos of each other at Delicate Arch in Arches National Park as the sun sets, Tuesday, May 16, 2023. In April 2023, Arches National Park implemented a timed entry system to pace visitors' arrival times to alleviate overcrowding and congestion among some 1.8 million visitors a year.

Utah leaders presented federal officials with a ‘wish list’ of national park changes. Here’s what was on it.

By Brooke Larsen | Andrew Christiansen | December 5, 2025, 10:58 p.m.

A retired National Park Service ranger discovered white spray-paint graffiti last week along the Devils Garden Trail in Arches National Park.

‘My heart sank’: Spray-painted vandalism found on Devils Garden Trail in Arches National Park

By Andrew Christiansen | November 11, 2025, 1:27 a.m.

(U.S. Geological Survey) The Colorado River near Cisco. A proposed change to a Green River water right could allow some of the water to be used for a planned residential community here.

‘From ghost town to our town’: Developer wants to build in rural Utah — and take water from the Colorado River to support the town

By Andrew Christiansen | November 8, 2025, 1:00 p.m.

(Andrew Christiansen | The Times-Independent) Crews reopened the Velvet-Wood mine portal on Nov. 6 for the first time since the site closed in 1984.

Velvet-Wood uranium mine construction begins

By Andrew Christiansen | November 7, 2025, 7:57 p.m.

(Zak Podmore | The Salt Lake Tribune) Heap leach pads and ponds at the Lisbon Valley Copper Mine in San Juan County on Nov. 12, 2020.

EPA lifts drinking water protections to advance Utah copper mine expansion

By Andrew Christiansen | November 1, 2025, 12:00 p.m.

(Bureau of Land Management via Facebook) A vortex of wind and flame forms during the Deer Creek Fire near La Sal on July 12, a blaze that burned nearly 18,000 acres and is now at the center of a PETA request for additional animal-cruelty charges.

PETA urges authorities to add animal cruelty charge in Deer Creek Fire case

By Andrew Christiansen | October 15, 2025, 10:37 p.m.

(Simon Kadula) Moab resident Becca Jordan after her team set a world record at the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale World Cup of Wingsuit Flying in the Czech Republic.

Moab skydiver helps all-female team set wingsuit world record

By Andrew Christiansen | October 8, 2025, 12:00 p.m.

(Utah Fire Info via Facebook) The Deer Creek Fire burns south east of Moab, Thursday, July 10, 2025.

Charges filed in Deer Creek Fire that burned nearly 18,000 acres, sparked firenado

By Andrew Christiansen | October 4, 2025, 12:00 p.m.

(Doug McMurdo | The Times-Independent) The Colorado River flows through Professor Valley outside of Moab on Aug. 30.

‘No water available’: Coalition warns Colorado River could drop to critical lows, calls for 9 urgent reforms

By Andrew Christiansen | Brooke Larsen | October 1, 2025, 10:10 p.m.

(Andrew Christiansen) Grand County Commission Chair Bill Winfield said during the July 15 meeting that a nearly $2 million general fund transfer was necessary to balance the 2025 budget, warning of potential future cuts.

Falling Grand County tax revenue forces nearly $2M budget transfer

By Andrew Christiansen | July 21, 2025, 12:04 p.m.