Monday morning, Jan. 20, 2020
STATE
Marchers Rally For Women
Drawing attention to missing and murdered indigenous women, hundreds marched in downtown Provo Saturday as part of the fourth annual Women’s March. Native American have the highest rate of homicide of all races in Utah at 8.3 per 100,000 residents, according to the state’s Department of Vital Records. Speakers also discussed sexual assault and healthcare for women and nonbinary people. Similar marches were held around Utah and the United States. Read the full story— Sonja Hutson
Families Reunited In First Ever Event In Utah
Utah hosted a family reunification program in conjunction with the Mexican consulate in Salt Lake City, the Mexican state of Michoacán and the U.S. State Department.. The 15 participants will be able to reconnect to family members who aren’t able to visit Mexico because of their immigration status. Read the full story — Rocio Hernandez
Police Investigating Motive In Mass Shooting
Grantsville police are investigating the motive of a fatal shooting of four family members at their home Friday night. Police arrested a boy who they say opened fire inside the home, killing three children and a woman. He was arrested at a nearby hospital where a fifth shooting victim was taken, and is expected to survive. Investigators believe the victims are all related to one another. Authorities have not released any identities. Read the full story — Sonja Hutson
Sidelined HIV Campaign
Agencies are trying to to figure out how to have sex-positive health campaigns in an overwhelmingly conservative state like Utah. That's most evident in the new HIV prevention campaign featuring condoms with suggestive state-themed phrases that was quickly halted last week by Gov. Gary Herbert. But Christy Porucznik, an associate professor at the University of Utah’s School of Medicine in the Division of Public Health, said in an interview with KUER the controversy itself has sparked an important conversation about HIV prevention. Read the full story— Caroline Ballard
Deadline Approaches For Ballot Requests
About a third of Utah's registered voters are at risk of not being able to participate in March's Super Tuesday presidential primary if they don't request ballots. State and county election officials have been sending letters in an effort to get the message out to independent voters before it's too late. The state has nearly 510,000 independent voters who aren't automatically sent a ballot. The Republican primary is closed, so voters who want to cast a ballot in the GOP race must register with the party by Feb. 3. The Democratic primary is open, so independent voters have until Feb. 25 to request that ballot. — Staff and wire reports
Bloomberg Says He Could Turn Utah 'Blue'
Michael Bloomberg said he could be the first Democrat since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 to convince a majority of Utahns to turn blue in a presidential election. The Salt Lake Tribune reports the former New York City mayor told about 700 supporters gathered Saturday in Utah that he's committed to changing the mindset of Democrats who believe the state is too red and therefore is ignored by the party. — Bob Nelson