Talk of a new national park and more on Behind the Headlines

By Tom Williams

Published June 16, 2023 at 1:15 PM MDT

This Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019 photo, shows the Mountain Dell Dam, 5 miles east of Salt Lake City. The window-like arches on the outside of the towering Mountain Dell Dam provide an artistic facade that fits with the natural beauty of the Utah mountain canyon where the century-old structure sits. The dam is listed in poor condition because of deteriorating concrete that allows seepage from the reservoir, said David Marble, Utah assistant state engineer.

Does Utah need (or want) a sixth national park, in this case enshrining the Great Salt Lake? Utah’s only abortion clinic outside Salt Lake City is “temporarily” closed, and people are finding that out the hard way. In addition, 81 “high hazard” Utah dams need safety upgrades. Fixing them could cost $450 million.

At 9 a.m. on Friday, Salt Lake Tribune reporters Leia Larsen, Emily Anderson Stern and Sofia Jeremias join Utah Public Radio’s Tom Williams to talk about the week’s top stories.

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Tom Williams

Tom Williams worked as a part-time UPR announcer for a few years and joined Utah Public Radio full-time in 1996. He is a proud graduate of Uintah High School in Vernal and Utah State University (B. A. in Liberal Arts and Master of Business Administration.) He grew up in a family that regularly discussed everything from opera to religion to politics. He is interested in just about everything and loves to engage people in conversation, so you could say he has found the perfect job as host “Access Utah.” He and his wife Becky, live in Logan.

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