Utah News

Small business leaders in Utah had the opportunity yesterday to let two Western federal lawmakers know what economic issues impact them the most. Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho joined Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah at Zions Bank Tower in downtown Salt Lake City to hear from local business leaders about what’s impeding job growth and profits. Crapo says the number one obstacle is the U.S. tax code:

“Our tax code is probably the most unfair, complex, expensive to comply with and anti-competitive code we could have come up with and our businesses are facing that.”

A single-engine plane crash over the Memorial Day weekend claimed the live of 4 young men in their 20s. There were no eyewitnesses to the crash, nor were there any airport personnel on duty.

The crash occurred around 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning, but was not discovered until St. George Municipal Airport workers arrived at 6:00 a.m. The Cessna 172 went down 300 feet south of the airport runway. It is not known whether the plan crashed upon take-off or landing.

Keep your eclipse glasses handy, Utah, because there's more solar blockage coming our way this summer. The transit of Venus across the sun on June 5 will be visible from all points in Utah.

Patrick Wiggins, NASA's Ambassador to Utah, explains that this relatively rare event has been "seen by humans only 7 times since the invention of the telescope in the early 1600s."

Last year it was flooding; this year, it’s fires the state is bracing for.

“We’ve had about 120 fires now and it’s growing by the day," says Jason Curry, firefighter and spokesman for the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. He says at this time last year he’d worked on two fires; this year that number is at 20 and counting.

This week a 4th District judge ruled that while the waters are public, he wants more information on the matter before he can determine whether a law limiting access to them is unconstitutional.

Since 2010, the Utah Stream Access Coalition has been working to reverse House Bill 141.

International regulators and experts on nuclear power plant safety converged in Salt Lake City last week to discuss nuclear power and design. Representatives from 37 countries came to discuss increased safety expectations following last year’s meltdown in Japan after the earthquake. The International Conference on Nuclear Power Plant Life Management began 10 years ago in Budapest, when industry professionals and governments began asking how to continue to operate nuclear plants around the world safely and economically.

Life is just getting back to normal in the small Southern Utah town of Kanarraville -- population 355 -- after it hosted upwards of 15,000 people for Sunday's annular solar eclipse.

The small Iron County town sits right in the heart of the annular path, called the "sweet spot", guaranteeing a perfect Ring of Fire for 4 minutes on Sunday night.

Low-income adults in Utah without children will soon find their food stamp benefits being cut short as the state moves back to pre-recession policies.

Bill Tibbits, Associate Director of Crossroads Urban Center, says it's disappointing that the Department of Workforce Services, which works closely with low-income Utahns is penalizing food-stamp recipients for not being able to find work.

“It's hard for ordinary people to find work. For people who are at the bottom of the employability scale it's as bad as it's ever been.”

Whether you ended up in the designated "sweet spot" with a solar telescope or just happened to see an eclipsed shadow on your front porch, we want to hear about your Utah eclipse experience. Post your photos or just your thoughts on UPR's Facebook page. Amateur solar gazers, writers, photographers are all welcome. It was a special night in Utah and we want to keep the feeling alive.