Matilyn Mortensen

“With everything going on in today's political world and in the world in general with our pandemic, what would she think? What would she tell me to do? What kind of actions would she be taking and what kind of actions should I be taking and am I taking? I need to carry on her legacy. It's almost like, I don't want her to haunt me.”  

Communities like Bryce Canyon City, just outside of Bryce Canyon National Park in Southern Utah, rely heavily on tourism. With the coronavirus putting a pause on international tourism, community leaders and business owners are looking for ways to bring more Utahns to town. 

“All of the things together, like being pregnant in a foreign country while mourning the loss of my brother, felt like the hardest thing I've ever done. And I've done hard things before as we all have. But for me, these were the hardest together and the timing of them and I felt so alone.”

The first round of results from this year’s primary election are in and as expected, many of the races are too close to call, including the four-way Republican primary for the Governor’s seat.

When Gonca Soyer and her family moved to Cache Valley a few years ago, they decided to invite their friends and neighbors to join them in celebrating for each night of Ramadan — a holy month where Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset and then gather with family, friends and community members to eat and pray and spend time together in the evening. 

Social distancing guidelines have made accessing healthcare challenging and in some cases impossible for people who have a disability or a chronic illness. And even when people could in theory access that care, the risks of infection leaving home creates may make them reluctant to venture out. One of these people struggling to access care is Lou McKee of Salt Lake City. 

As concerns about shortages of personal protective equipment and hospital overcrowding during the coronavirus pandemic grew, Utah’s governor issued an executive order last month stopping all elective surgeries in the state. For one Cedar City family, this means their five-month-old baby is awaiting a postponed cleft lip and palate surgery.

After being closed for over a month, the Uintah County Library began a “soft opening” this week. The library staff is continuing to work to provide community resources, while social distancing.