Jon Reed

At a press event Friday, Rep. Ben McAdams spoke about legislation he recently introduced to fund research grants aimed at understanding why suicide rates are on the rise, particularly in Utah.

With an eye toward addressing mental healthcare in Utah and beyond, the Huntsman family announced today a gift of $150 million to the University of Utah to fund a new institute focused on the issue.

Friday marked the beginning of open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare. And this year, Utahns will have more options. 

Salt Lake County announced it is hopping on the 100% renewable energy bandwagon. Officials passed a resolution Tuesday to transition the county to total net use by 2030, still making use of some traditional energy sources while adding enough renewables to offset them. The county joins a slew of other Utah communities that have committed to similar goals, including Salt Lake City, Park City, Summit County and the city of Moab. 

The largest private coal company in the country, Murray Energy Corporation, filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, leaving workers at its 15 active mines across the country — including one in Utah — wondering how the move will affect their livelihoods. 

Bulldozers have begun flattening out the 800 acres that will one day be home to a Tyson Foods meat packing facility, the first for the company west of the Rocky Mountains. The company is one of the largest food processors in the country and expects to employ 800 people when the plant opens in 2021, with entry level jobs starting at a minimum of $16/hour.

With winter quickly approaching, Salt Lake City’s homeless service providers are turning to the community for support. Operators of the city’s two brand new shelters – The Gail Miller Resource Center for men and women, and the Geraldine E. King for women – as well as a third coming in November, are calling for everything from volunteer time to winter clothing, particularly gloves and socks. 

As protesters chanted and blew whistles at the first Utah Inland Port Authority Board in months, the port’s new director tried on Thursday to calm public anger and ease confusion over the proposed transportation hub in Salt Lake City’s northwest corner. 

As the Inland Port Authority Board prepares to meet for the first time since protestors interrupted its July meeting, opponents of the proposed trade hub in Salt Lake City are calling for a review of the potential environment impacts.

Utah leaders met at the Capitol Wednesday to discuss what they say could be a major breakthrough in opioid addiction prevention. 

Utah’s population is expanding. Yet, for some school districts in quickly growing communities — Ogden, Murray, and Salt Lake City — the numbers are moving in the opposite direction. In the Logan City School District, the annual October enrollment count has dropped for at least the seventh year in a row. 

A new public engagement report by the non-profit planning group Envision Utah said people are concerned about the inland port. Chief among those worries are air quality and other environmental impacts. But the report also noted that there is a lot of confusion about who maintains control over the land and development process.

The Salt Lake City Council met Tuesday night for the first of two public meetings this month. Apart from the standard fare on the agenda — things like budget amendments, road closures, and zoning changes — they also talked about adding new less-lethal shotguns to the Salt Lake City Police Department’s arsenal.

The Utah Department of Health is holding public hearings this week on the latest installment of the state’s Medicaid expansion program. The move comes after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sent out an informal rejection in July to several states considering plans like Utah’s, forcing state lawmakers to regroup. 

For decades, Mario and Emma Melendez have lived and worked in Salt Lake City. Originally from the Mexican state of Tlaxcala, east of Mexico City, they came to Salt Lake by way of Phoenix, and have rented all their lives. But on Thursday, they moved into a house that, for the first time, they can call their own.

A Utah-based drug maker announced today it has taken its first step towards curbing price spikes and shortages of generic drugs in the pharmaceutical industry. 

Setting environmental goals these days isn’t just about projecting an image — for many companies, it’s also good for business.

It’s become a familiar talking point in Utah: The state has one of the fastest growing, most diverse economies in the country. Its slew of hungry companies is starved for workers. Yet as urban Utah continues to grow, rural communities across the state are struggling to hold onto their jobs, falling ever behind a shifting economy. 

Future medical cannabis users and sellers now have a better idea about how much they might pay to join Utah’s medical marijuana program. After more changes to the cannabis program were announced during last week’s special session, the Department of Health unveiled the range of fees it aims to charge for registration, background checks, and yearly licensing. 

For a growing number of companies, there’s green on the horizon in Utah — and not just because of its business-friendly climate. Increasingly, they’re drawn to the state’s sunny skies, which are becoming more and more a viable source of renewable energy. 

For the past 12 years, officials in Utah have dubbed September the start of idle free season, an annual reminder for residents to turn off their cars. On Monday, the tradition continued as Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, along with other state and local leaders and the non-profit Utah Clean Cities, made this year’s announcement at a press conference at the Capitol. 

Growth is coming to the Wasatch Front. 

That was the refrain at Planners’ Day, part of the Utah League of Cities and Towns annual three-day convention in downtown Salt Lake City on Thursday.