News

Updated 12:24 a.m. 4/26/20

The Utah Republican Party hosted a virtual state convention Saturday to pick their nominees for the June primary. People running for office also had a chance to qualify for the ballot by collecting signatures. Candidates pre-recorded their speeches and the party posted them to its website earlier this week. Delegates voted using an app called Voatz, or called in their votes if they had technical problems. Roughly 93% of delegates voted, according to Utah GOP Chair Derek Brown. 

Utah’s Republican and Democratic parties are holding virtual state conventions this weekend, where delegates will decide which candidates each party puts on the primary ballots in June. 

Gov. Gary Herbert’s legal team is reviewing whether the compounding pharmacy from which the state of Utah purchased a controversial anti-malaria drug to treat COVID-19 ever had state and federal approval to mass produce the medication, the governor’s office said Friday. 

The Utah Legislature voted to appropriate more than $1 billion in federal money Thursday toward the state’s coronavirus response. 

Utah’s Coronavirus Community Task Force has a new subcommittee focused on addressing the needs of minority communities in Utah. 

The Utah Legislature passed a bill during Thursday’s special session that protects businesses and people from civil lawsuits, if someone thinks they caught COVID-19 from a person or business. 

The state of Utah has bought $800,000 worth of a controversial anti-malaria drug to treat COVID-19, according to records obtained by KUER. 

KUER, NPR Utah will add a third reporter to its growing statewide coverage project, the station announced today. Lexi Peery, a print and radio journalist based in St. George, is set to join the station’s Southwest Utah bureau in June as part of KUER’s ongoing partnership with the national service program Report for America.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert unveiled the “Healthy Together” app Wednesday to help the state track the spread of COVID-19. People who decide to download it can fill out a questionnaire about their symptoms and whether they’ve been in contact with anyone who had COVID-19.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in San Juan County more than tripled in the past week — and most of those are on the Navajo Nation. The number of cases went from 11 on April 15 to 34 on Wednesday, and only two of those are off the reservation.

Updated 1:31 p.m. MDT 4/22/2020

The anti-malaria medication hydroxychloroquine has entered center-stage in the conversation about the coronavirus crisis. President Donald Trump is touting it, health providers are testing it, and experts say it most likely won’t work as a COVID-19 treatment. With so much information and contradiction, here is a breakdown of what the medication is, how it’s being studied and where Utah and federal officials stand on the drug as it relates to COVID-19.

Normally, the sound of chimes in the Capitol calls representatives to the House chamber to debate and vote on bills. Now, it brings them to their computers. 

Health care providers are on the frontlines in the fight against the coronavirus. As they head in to work each day to confront a virus that is both unpredictable and highly contagious, it’s highlighting the need for them to be taken care of as well. 

Restaurants and bars were among the first and hardest hit businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. To assist, a number of financial lifelines have been extended, including low-interest loans from federal, state and local governments. 

The state of Utah is negotiating the purchase of hydroxychloroquine to treat 200,000 coronavirus patients, despite little evidence that the anti-malaria drug works against COVID-19. 

Hundreds of people gathered at the Salt Lake City and County Building Saturday protesting local and state policies that have shut down non-essential businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

ST. GEORGE — The first positive case of COVID-19 within the Utah National Guard was confirmed nearly a month ago: a soldier who was deployed outside of the state.

San Juan County relaxed its public health order restricting leisure travel on Thursday, one day before Gov. Gary Herbert announced Utahns can visit state parks outside of the county they live in. 

The Utah Legislature passed a bill Friday granting immunity from lawsuits to health care providers that give their patients experimental drugs to treat diseases causing a public health emergency. The immunity also covers any medication used for a different purpose than the Food and Drug Administration has approved it for. 

KUER NPR Utah welcomes politics reporter, new role for producer

Utah’s primary elections in June could be held entirely through mail-in ballots, unless counties create drive-up polling options, under a bill passed by the Legislature Thursday. 

Updated 5:52 p.m. MDT 4/16/2020

The governor would have to notify legislative leadership of an executive action during a pandemic at least 48 hours before they announce it, under a new bill passed by the Utah House of Representatives Thursday. 

ST. GEORGE — When Washington County Commissioner Victor Iverson signed on as Greg Hughes’ running mate on Tuesday, he became the first Southern Utahn to enter the race for the governor’s office in 2020.