This is your daily news rundown for Thursday, March 12. In this edition:
- Former Utah congressman Merrill Cook died this week
- Three Utah cities were named some of the nation's "allergy capitals"
- Here's who's running for seats in Utah's new congressional districts
Former Utah congressman Merrill Cook dies at 79
Former U.S. Congressman Merrill Cook died this week at age 79.
Cook represented Utah’s Second Congressional District in Washington from 1997 to 2001.
He then continued running for various seats of office, often funding his own campaigns and running independently of his Republican party.
A public memorial service for Cook will be held in July on the grounds of the Utah State Capitol.
These Utah cities are some of the nation’s ‘allergy capitals’
The U.S. is getting longer, more intense pollen seasons — and according to a new study, three Utah cities are some of the most challenging to live in with pollen allergies.
Climate change has brought warmer temperatures, which in turn means plants start growing sooner and produce more highly allergenic pollen.
In the study, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America looked at the largest 100 cities in the contiguous U.S., measuring factors like pollen levels, medicine use, and access to local allergists or immunologists.
Provo and Ogden were both in the top ten, with Salt Lake City close behind at 13 — and close neighbor Boise, Idaho was ranked as the top “allergy capital” in the nation.
Here’s who’s running for Congress in Utah so far
With Utah’s congressional map set in place for November’s election, the pool of candidates for the state's four districts is taking shape.
The new 1st Congressional District, centered on Salt Lake County, is of particular excitement for Democrats, who have spent years without much of a foothold in the Republican-dominated state.
So far, eight Democrats have filed to run in the primaries for District 1, including former Rep. Ben McAdams, Salt Lake City councilwoman Eva Lopez Chavez, and state Sen. Nate Blouin.
In the three safe Republican districts, incumbents like Celeste Maloy and Karianne Lisonbee are facing challengers from their own party. Rep. Burgess Owens, however, announced last week he would not seek reelection.
Candidates have until Friday to file to run for a seat — a later deadline than usual, as lawmakers pushed it back so they could appeal the court ruling that created the current map. That appeal was unsuccessful.
