Jon Reed

Last year, Steven Phelps taught math at Lakeridge Junior High in the Alpine District. But once he saw his district’s plan to return to in-person classes five days a week, plus a roster of 36 kids and little ability to keep them six feet apart, he and his wife decided he was better off leaving. 

Utah has long struggled with large class sizes, which can be difficult for teachers to manage and students to stay engaged. But during the coronavirus pandemic, where keeping people apart remains the primary method of preventing the disease from spreading, schools face even greater challenges ensuring students and teachers can stay safely distanced.

Utah’s juvenile justice system has come a long way since 2016, when a state analysis found it was locking up most minors for low-level offenses and keeping them in detention for too long.

With big crews and lots of moving parts, it can be hard to maintain social distance on a film set. Because of that, film production has been one of the hardest hit industries during the coronavirus pandemic, and one of the slowest to return. But over the last few months, in Utah, it’s begun to show signs of life.

With the start of a new school year less than a month away for some of Utah’s public schools, most have at least a rough plan for what their returns will look like. 

Demonstrations for police reform continued Saturday night in Salt Lake City, as more than 100 people gathered at the Capitol waving banners displaying “Black LIves Matter” and “White Silence = Violence.”

It’s been known for months that the coronavirus is disproportionately impacting people of color. In Utah, the Latinx population is by far the hardest hit. They make up nearly 41% of the state’s cases, yet only 14% of the population. 

Utah’s medical community is calling on state officials to mandate wearing face masks in public. In a press conference Friday, representatives from the state’s largest health care systems said they’re concerned about recent spikes in coronavirus case numbers, and worry the state’s hospitals could soon be overrun. 

Once the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the U.S., major events like conferences and concert tours were postponed or outright canceled. But as Utah reopens, pulling back restrictions on large gatherings, some are beginning to come back. 

Plans are moving ahead to tackle traffic on one of Utah’s most crowded ski roads — LIttle Cottonwood Canyon, which takes drivers from the east side of Salt Lake County up to ski resorts like Alta and Snowbird. 

Beyond the increasing cost of attendance, college students face a barrage of other mandatory fees, ranging from textbooks to administrative taxes. And at at least two Utah public colleges, those additional fees have been on the rise over the past decade. Some are also getting tacked on unfairly, according to a state audit released Tuesday. 

A team of recent graduates from Brigham Young University have designed a low-cost, portable ventilator. Originally intended to help newborns in developing countries, the design just received a fast-tracked approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and can now be used in the fight against COVID-19. 

After weeks of calls to reduce the city’s police department budget, the Salt Lake City Council voted Tuesday night to do just that, though not by nearly as much as what residents have been calling for. 

Over the last week and a half, Utah has seen what the state health department called a “concerning spike in coronavirus cases.” While officials there attributed much of the increase to the state’s economy reopening, roughly a third of the new cases are also tied to an outbreak at a meat packing facility in Cache Valley.

In the wake of mass protests in Utah and across the country over police brutality and racial injustice, the NAACP is pushing for widespread legislative changes to law enforcement agencies across the country. 

The Salt Lake City Police Department met with leaders of the state’s black community Tuesday to hear about their concerns over police brutality. Officers also explained the tactics they use, such as how they are trained to use force and conduct internal investigations. 

More than 1,000 protesters marched through the streets of Salt Lake City for the second time in three days, as a new citywide curfew went into effect and Gov. Gary Herbert declared a state of emergency because of civil unrest.

Updated 9:47 a.m. MDT 6/1/2020

Salt Lake City officials launched a massive cleanup effort on Sunday, the day after intense protests through downtown Salt Lake City left a wake of damage, including spray painted graffiti on the State Capitol, smashed windows and overturned and burned two cars, including a police cruiser. 

Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said Sunday morning the city’s streets are “quiet and calm” after Saturday’s protests against police brutality turned violent.

But Mendenhall cautioned against prematurely lifting a citywide curfew that went into effect 8 p.m. Saturday and is scheduled to last until 6 a.m. Monday.

A controversial concert protesting social distancing measures was effectively shut down Friday after a Utah District Court judge issued an injunction against it being held.

State and local leaders are working towards issuing guidelines for how Utah’s K-12 public school districts and charters can reopen in the fall. 

Members of Utah’s Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee met Wednesday to discuss up to $380 million in possible cuts to the state’s education funding. The hearing is part of a larger effort from Utah lawmakers to balance the state’s budget, which is projected to lose up to $1.3 billion in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.