Tuesday evening, June 1, 2021
State
Gov. Spencer Cox Declares June As Pride Month
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox issued the state’s first ever official declaration Tuesday recognizing June as Pride Month. "We should all strive to be more inclusive and accepting of the LGBTQ+ members of our community," Cox wrote. Rob Moolman, CEO of the Utah Pride Center, said he hopes the move "is going to be a signal to other leaders and elected officials that this work is here to stay, and this community needs to be recognized and needs to be brought into the decision making." Moolman also acknowledged the Salt Lake City government for working to support the LGBTQ+ community for years before the state issued a pride month declaration. — Sonja Hutson
Utah Hosting Virtual Job Fair Thursday
Utah is partnering with its colleges and universities to host a virtual job fair Thursday. The state’s Department of Workforce Services said more than 5,000 open positions will be included as part of the fair. There will also be nearly 250 employers. Jobs will fall into categories like ones for recent graduates or teleworking options. State officials said openings in industries like health care, education and retail will be highlighted. The fair runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. People can pre-register at jobs.utah.gov. — Ross Terrell
More Than 2,000 People Cited For Speeding During Memorial Day Weekend
Over Memorial Day Weekend, Utah Highway Patrol issued more than 2,000 citations or warnings for speeding. That’s down about 42% compared to last year’s holiday weekend. Officials said they ticketed 66 people for going over 100 miles per hour. Forty one people were also caught for driving under the influence. It was 54 last year. — Ross Terrell
Northern Utah
COVID-19 Could Soon Become A Nuisance Like The Common Cold
In the coming decades, COVID-19 could become a mostly mild seasonal nuisance instead of a global pandemic. That’s according to new research from the University of Utah, published in the medical journal Viruses. The researchers’ models predict that as more people become exposed to the virus or vaccinated, only children will be encountering it for the first time. From then, mild cases could be more common. U researchers said the models do not account for every possibility, like vaccine-resistant variants. — Caroline Ballard
House Filled With Explosives Demolished In South Jordan
A house in South Jordan was demolished and burned Tuesday by the South Jordan Fire Department. It had previously been filled with hazardous materials and explosive devices. Last summer, the house’s owner was arrested after a standoff with police. Court documents said the amount of explosive material inside could have flattened it and neighboring houses. Bomb squads detonated much of the material then, but some of it remained. The demolition was meant to reduce the possibility of further explosions or injury. — Caroline Ballard
Southern Utah
Energy Developers Eyeing Bears Ears Land For Drilling
Energy developers and uranium miners are eyeing parts of the original Bears Ears National Monument. Utah conservation groups say oil and gas companies have nominated over 40,000 acres of land inside the original monument for drilling since January, and miners have staked at least four new claims since March. The federal government is not leasing public land for energy development right now, but if it does later this year, the land near Bears Ears could come up for auction. That’s one reason advocates are urging President Joe Biden to enlarge the monument soon. Read the full story. — Kate Groetzinger, Bluff
Region/Nation
U.S. Supreme Court Rule On Tribal Police Authority
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that tribal police can search and detain non-native people traveling on public roads through reservation lands if they are suspected of violating state or federal laws. The ruling, however, does not allow tribes to charge or prosecute non-natives in most cases. It used to be that if a tribal cop pulled a non-native over, they most likely couldn’t detain them or even search them — even if they had a strong suspicion that the driver was committing a crime and that’s a restriction that doesn’t exist for non-tribal police. — Nate Hegyi, Mountain West News Bureau