Southern Utah

The lawsuit argues the approval of the highway near St. George breaks multiple federal laws, including the act that established the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area.

A new plant that cleans and recycles more sewage is another big step toward stretching Washington County’s limited water supply. It highlights the massive effort and big money it’ll take to keep the St. George area growing in the desert.

The Milken Institute put southwest Utah’s largest city in its top spot for the first time. The ranking highlights St. George’s job growth and wage growth, both among the nation’s highest in recent years.

A plan to build a highway through the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area near St. George is back. But public lands law experts from across the country question if the Trump administration is missing Congress's original intention.

The contentious highway would run through Red Cliffs National Conservation Area near St. George, a landscape that’s home to the threatened Mojave Desert tortoise.

For Garfield and Kane counties, the years since Grand Staircase-Escalante was established have seen large increases in populations and jobs.

The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute has reduced its Washington County future population forecast. That could have ripple effects for southwest Utah’s water needs.

Tour buses, RVs and trailers that exceed size limits won’t be allowed on the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway as of June 7.

“I just don't buy anything that's not something that I need to breathe, live and survive,” said one St. George resident about affording her apartment. Rents in this part of southwest Utah have doubled in the past decade.

In Washington County, projects like townhome developments are less common than they were two years ago. In 2023, two out of every five new homes built in Washington County were condos and townhomes. Now, it’s just one in five.

The new Zion Discovery Center is under construction on Zion National Park’s less-crowded east side. The park hopes it will relieve congestion in Zion Canyon and offer visitors a different experience.

The great horned owl was partially covered in concrete. Sanctuary workers removed the concrete after several grooming sessions. Its feathers are frayed, but the bird is expected to be released in late spring or early summer of next year.