Water for alfalfa, mosquitos at the new prison and more on Behind the Headlines

By Roger McDonough

Published December 2, 2022 at 11:26 AM MST

The new Utah State Prison seen from the south shore of Great Salt Lake. — The new Utah State Prison is seen from Audubon’s Gillmor Sanctuary on the Great Salt Lake's South Shore on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022. Inmates arrived at the site in mid-July, during the summer mosquito season, and some have complained of "getting eaten alive" with bites. They had no access to bug repellent as officials scrambled to mitigate swarms, records indicate.

Today alfalfa takes the spotlight: Why one crop uses more than half of Utah’s water — and how that relates to the plight of the Great Salt Lake. Mosquitoes, as predicted, are wreaking havoc at the new state prison, but addressing the problem could cause harm to an already stressed ecosystem. And state-approved Coyote killing contests in Utah stir controversy.