UPR News

The Intermountain Power Agency in Millard County is replacing its coal run generators with a natural gas and hydrogen power plant. As planning continues, the Utah Foundation released the “Plugging into the Future of Electricity” report. This report details how the switch came as California, where IPA exports its power, decided to no longer accept coal energy.

Medical cannabis pharmacies in Utah sell products containing Delta-8 THC, despite FDA warnings of serious health risks. The Utah Inland Port Authority creates a new entity to issue bonds — over objections from two of its own board members. Southwest Utah sees a surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths as vaccination rates remain low. And the names of hundreds of Utahns, including some police officers and public officials, are disclosed in a leak of apparent membership rolls of the anti-government Oath Keepers militia.  

The Franklin’s Bumblebee was recently listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The bee, which hasn’t been seen since 2006, is found only in small areas of Southern Oregon and Northern California. It has what is believed to be the most limited distribution of any North American bumblebee species. 

On a warm August morning, a group of volunteers gathers in the high desert about 20 miles outside of Gunnison, Colorado. Here, surrounded by sagebrush and armed with branches and stones, they are ready to help restore a critical wildlife habitat.

The time it takes for officers from the Salt Lake Police Department to respond to an emergency have been increasing. As of August 21, the response time by the department for a priority one call was a little over 17 minutes compared to 11 minutes in January of this year.

A través de un esfuerzo colaborativo con la Universidad Estatal de Utah, el Equipo de Recolección de Cache tiene como objetivo reducir el desperdicio de alimentos y la inseguridad alimentaria al recolectar el exceso de productos agrícolas de propietarios de árboles y huertos alrededor de Cache Valley.

Through a collaborative effort with Utah State University, The Cache Gleaning Team aims at reducing food waste and food insecurity by collecting excess produce from tree owners and orchards around Cache Valley.

Fall yard cleanup can be a drag, especially as the days get shorter and the weather gets dreary. Luckily, when it comes to making your yard a haven for wildlife over the winter, experts suggest messier is better.

Utah State University is part of the National Science Foundation funded Transformation Network. This network includes eight universities, and over 50 partners across five states all collaborating on ways to improve community resilience. 

October marks the beginning of a new calendar for those who measure and manage the West’s water. KUNC’s Alex Hager reports much of the West remains in drought at the beginning of the new “water year.”

Major changes are coming to the U.S. Department of Education's Public Service Loan Forgiveness program that could have a big impact on Utah graduates.

Idaho hospitals are rationing care because of the strain from the pandemic. Some groups are questioning the use of age as one of the determinants for who gets medical attention, or how promptly.

The music was loud and fans were even louder as Alex Boyé performed at the Ignite The Light concert at the Cache County Fairgrounds on September 30th.

The U.S. senate’s energy subcommittee on water and power held a hearing in Washington DC Wednesday. They heard from water experts from several western states about ongoing drought conditions. 

There’s an eerie stillness inside a wildfire burn scar. The ground, once lush with life, is a gray mat of ashy soil. There are no leaves or needles to rustle in the breeze. The trees are little more than blackened toothpicks, reduced to their skeletons. 

For many people, autumn is a favorite season, not just for the pumpkin spice lattes, but because of the vibrant shift of green leaves to an incredible array of warm colors. What causes the leaves to change color?

Rhett Perkins in blowing drying his cow preparing for the Utah State Fair. That may be mundane for you, but it has been a big step for him. In January he slipped on ice hitting his head. After he starting losing his speech his family took him to Primary Children’s. 

A recent research compilation by USU shows that the gender wage gap here in Utah is among the highest in the nation. 

As Afghan refugees start to arrive in Utah, Governor Cox and other critical players in refugee issues continue to try to solve the big problems.

Dr. Stefani Crabtree, an Environment and Society professor at USU, recently published research comparing ancient and modern human nutrition. Crabtree’s research focused on large-scale shifts in human nutrition at the population level which, she acknowledged, might not capture the diversity of diets among individual humans.

Dr. Stefani Crabtree, a professor at USU, studies humans in the context of our archaeological past. Her latest research used isotope analysis of hair and fingernail samples to compare the nutrition of modern humans with the nutrition of our ancestors. 

The Biden Administration’s oil and gas leasing moratorium last January was met with opposition. Landon Newell, a Staff Attorney with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, explained that an injunction was issued against the leasing pause, ending it. BLM offices in several states have since reopened lease sales. Oil and gas leasing is a concern for carbon emissions, contributing to climate change. 

The leaves are changing, the weather is cooling off and many birds are beginning to fly south for winter. There are many challenges birds face as they migrate. But there are ways people can help make birds' journeys a bit safer. 

Federal legislation aims to save saline lakes in the West — including the Great Salt Lake. The Utah Inland Port Authority looked into a secretive rail-rehabilitation proposal that sought to transport Western-mined coal to the California coast. And a retiring food writer reflects on her four decades of newspaper work.