Kerry Bringhurst

For the first time, a Chinese-themed concert will be performed as part of this summer's Logan Tabernacle Concert Series. In anticipation of their performance, some of the participants spoke with UPR's Kerry Bringhurst.

Eric Watterson is the Global Marketing Director at Icon Health & Fitness as well as a musician and composer. Eric Chipman is with the University of Utah's Confucius Institute and is a traditional Chinese instrumentalist. Both of these gentlemen became familiar with Chinese music while on a religious mission to Taiwain.

UPR's Kerry Bringhurst reports on last week's large-scale simulation of a foreign animal disease emergency.

The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food has been for months now organizing this exercise as a test course of sorts to prepare for and prevent the possible spread of a foreign disease that could impact the nation's food supply, threaten livestock production, and force what is a $300 billion national industry to stop exporting livestock overseas.

The number of Utah children living in poverty has increased by 45% during a 5-year period beginning in 2005, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Kids Count Data Center study, which included children up to age 17.

Karen Crompton with Voices for Utah Children, a local advocacy group, says the statistic is alarming:

Last week the U.S. Departments of Interior and Energy announced 3 public land sites in Utah that could be used for large-scale solar energy projects, but that doesn't necessarily mean there will be any takers on development.

Milford Flats and the Escalante and Wah Wah Valleys have long been considered good potential areas for solar power, but Jim Byrne with the Western Grid Group says the lack of transmission capability and the uncertainty of whether customers would be willing to help pay to built it could be a problem for solar development in the state:

Veterinarians and public safety responders from Utah and Idaho will be conducting a large-scale foreign animal disease exercise July 31 - August 2 in Cache Valley to quickly identify and contain a foreign animal disease.

Dr. Bruce King, Utah's State Veterinarian talks to Kerry Bringhurst about the importance of containing foreign animal diseases and why this exercise will involve so many agencies and individuals.

There are millions of homeowners over the age of 50 that are still at risk of foreclosure. That's the finding from an AARP national report released today.

Utah doesn't track mortgage defaults by age of homeowner, although the state remains in the top 10 in the nation for foreclosures.

Carolyn Washburn is a family educator with Utah State University Extension. She talked to Kerry Bringhurst the extension service's new website devoted to living with wildfires.

"Utah State University has always been concerned with helping families be prepared for all aspects of their lives. As the wildfire season hit so strongly this summer, we thought we wanted to put some materials together that could provide families and individuals with resources on how to prevent wildfires and ways to clean up after it."

Utah 4-H is holding a centennial celebration this week in Logan. Kerry Bringhurst speaks with Ross Jacobsen, who has dedicated 32 years of his career working with Utah State University as part of what has become the nation's largest youth development organization, 4-H.

"Celebrating Diversity in the West" is the focus of administrative leaders in Western Land Grant universities, who are meeting this week in Park City for the Western Region Joint Summer Meetings.

Kerry Bringhurst speaks with Chuck Gay, Associate Vice President for Extension at Utah State University, who explains why representatives from the Land Grant universities get together every summer and what they are celebrating this year.