This is your daily news rundown for Tuesday, May 5. In this edition:
- The majority of Utahn voters are concerned about the Iran War's economic impact
- Half of Utah's fastest-growing communities are in Utah County
- Two hikers were injured in a bear attack at Yellowstone National Park on Monday
Should we be concerned about the Iran War’s economic impact? 80% of Utahns think so
The majority of Utahn voters are concerned about the economic impact of the Iran War, according to a new poll by Deseret News and the Hinckley Institute of Politics.
80% of respondents said they were at least somewhat concerned about the war’s impact on the economy, and half said they were very concerned.
Those findings were very similar to national polling samples.
Higher gas prices and higher cost of goods were the biggest points of concern — according to AAA, the average cost for a gallon of gas in Utah went up 30 cents in the past week, up to $4.47 cents.
Utah County had some of the state’s biggest growth in 2024-25
For the first time in Utah’s history, more than half of its population lives in a city with at least 50,000 people.
That’s according to the Utah Population Committee’s latest report, which looked at how different areas grew or shrank between July 2024 and July 2025.
Half of the state’s fastest-growing communities were in Utah County, including Saratoga Springs, which had the fastest growth both numerically and by percentage.
While the report shows growth, however, it can’t definitively say why some areas grow faster than others. Some hypotheses from the authors include that the current growth areas have space to build new homes, and that smaller communities may have a mix of older populations aging out or fewer people moving in.
Two hikers were injured in a bear attack at Yellowstone on Monday
Two hikers were attacked and injured by one or more bears on Monday afternoon at Yellowstone National Park, according to the National Park Service.
The incident happened on Mystic Falls Trail near Old Faithful. The names of the injured hikers haven’t been released, and the incident remains under investigation.
In the meantime, some areas of the park have been closed, including several trails, backcountry campsites, and fishing areas.
This is the first incident of a bear injuring someone in Yellowstone this year. The last such attack was last September, and the last human death by a bear was in 2015.
