Hugo Rikard-Bell
Politics ReporterHugo is one of KUER’s politics reporters and comes to us from the ABC Northern Territory in Australia where he covered rural affairs and politics. He earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural science from the University of Adelaide and spent half a decade working as a ranch hand across Australia. He became a journalist to see the world a bit which landed him in Salt Lake City, Utah! When he’s not in the news room you can find him in his garage tinkering on one of his bikes.
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When it comes to prediction markets, if it “walks like a duck and quacks like a duck,” Gov. Spencer Cox said. “It's a duck” — meaning the apps are gambling, and should be banned in Utah. -
Utah Democratic congressional hopefuls met at the downtown branch of the Salt Lake City Library to discuss issues like taxing the rich, the war in Gaza, Israel’s influence on the U.S. and income inequality. -
Utah's legislative session is 45 days long, and lawmakers are in the final day's sprint to beat the midnight deadline. Lawmakers got most of their promised court reforms — but were they able to get the rest of their priorities? -
The bill would give judges more discretion in sending juveniles convicted of aggravated murder to adult prison and also changes the way the state collects some data on reoffenders. -
Una propuesta para ampliar la definición de reincidencia e incluir arrestos y tiempo en la cárcel está generando advertencias de que podría distorsionar las estadísticas delictivas — y terminar desinformando la formulación de políticas de seguridad pública. -
Funding key pieces of Gov. Spencer Cox’s proposal made the early budget while reshaping existing dollars to focus on high‑utilizers, emergency shelter and behavioral‑health services. -
A proposal to broaden the definition of recidivism to include arrests and jail time is prompting warnings that it could distort crime statistics — and end up misinforming public safety policy.
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A memo from the White House said a child safety AI bill from state Republican Rep. Doug Fiefia was “an unfixable bill that goes against the Administration’s AI agenda.” -
A final determination still needs to be made by the lieutenant governor after signatures are verified and after the window for signers to remove their names if they choose. -
Republican Rep. Nicholeen Peck finds it hard to believe Medicaid isn't being used to cover abortion in some way, so she’s proposed a bill to make clinics that offer the procedure ineligible for Medicaid. -
Utah lawmakers are considering a bill with a provision to let judges transfer certain juvenile offenders to adult prisons. The proposal has sparked sharp debate among attorneys, advocates, and those who’ve witnessed the dangers young people face behind bars. -
After months of investigating, Ray Ormond was finally able to enter a home where he suspected a toddler was being abused. He had to chase down a drug case to solve a child abuse case. A new bill in the Legislature hopes to change that.
