Utah is the second driest state. A way of conserving water would be to eat less beef. The U.S. Geological Survey website lists the gallons of water required to grow different foods and beef requires the most water. 1/4 lb beef: 460 gallons, 1 egg: 50 gallons, 1 lb corn: 110 gallons, 1 potato: 100 gallons. Most of the alfalfa grown in Utah is used to feed cattle. The Utah Foundation points out that 82% … Continued
The Utah Foundation just came out with a study on affordable housing—something that isn’t a thing in Utah. They call attention to the “Missing Middle” because multi-unit housing, walkability and income diversity are lacking. At Solving for Housing in the Economic Inclusion Equation, you’ll “learn from Utah and Idaho’s leading experts on affordable housing while examining the impact housing has on the most vulnerable populations in our communities.” Both Utah and Idaho housing markets are … Continued
Utahns are very concerned about affordable housing for future generations, according to new study that puts forward “missing middle housing” as part of the solution to the state’s housing crisis. On Wednesday, the Utah Foundation released the first of a four-part study called “Is the Middle Missing? A Guide to Expanding Options for Utah Homebuyers and Renters.” “Over time, the cost of lower-priced homes has increased more than higher-priced ones, meaning that the attainability of … Continued
A new housing report from the Utah Foundation makes clear the state’s problem is a population growing a lot faster than available housing. “We have a lot of people coming from outside of the state. We have have a lot of people that are born in the state and that want to live here, and that puts pressure on development over time,” said foundation director Shawn Teigen, the author of the report. Numbers from the … Continued
I have a question for you more mature homeowners — the ones who have owned a home for a few years. If you had to buy your house today, at current prices, could you afford to do so? A recent survey by the Utah Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan and nonprofit research organization, found only 37% answering yes. I would have to be a “no,” especially after seeing a sign on a newly built home along … Continued
The Utah Foundation released the first part of its new study, Is the Middle Missing? A Guide to Expanding Options for Utah Homebuyers and Renters. The first installment, “The Scope of the Challenge,” examines Utah’s housing problem and introduces middle housing as one means of addressing it. “Missing Middle Housing” is a term that encompasses a variety of multi-unit housing buildings that are house-scale, facilitate neighborhood walkability, accommodate changing demographics and preferences, and are available to … Continued
Shawn Teigen spoke with Lara Jones from RadioACTive about The Kindness of Strangers: Social Trust in Utah. This installment in the Social Capital Series presents data and analysis on four hard indicators: convictions for fraud, penalties for breach of trust, public corruption convictions and violent crime rates. It looks at Utah’s performance on these measures over time, comparing the Beehive State both to the seven other Mountain States and to the nation at large. Following … Continued
At least four cities and towns in Utah appear to have elected their first women mayors: West Valley City, Park City, Parowan and North Logan. Just 17% of Utah mayors are women, according to a January 2021 report from the Utah Women and Leadership Project at Utah State University. That’s still a 9% increase from 2017, KUER-FM reported. “It just represents an embracing of the future,” said Lyndsay Peterson, North Logan’s apparent mayor-elect. “I just … Continued
By SONJA HUTSON, KUER-FM SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — At least four cities and towns in Utah appear to have elected their first women mayors: West Valley City, Park City, Parowan and North Logan. Just 17% of Utah mayors are women, according to a January 2021 report from the Utah Women and Leadership Project at Utah State University. That’s still a 9% increase from 2017, KUER-FM reported. “It just represents an embracing of the future,” … Continued
The Intermountain Power Plant has been one of the defining landmarks in Millard County since it first came online in 1986. Jon Reed IPP assistant superintendent Lynn Thomas holds out a photo of an old ID card. He’s worked at the plant for 36 years. On a cold day, giant plumes of steam are visible for miles in every direction. It’s economic impact has been just as vast, sustaining close to 400 jobs and millions … Continued
A GOP-controlled panel of Utah lawmakers on Monday evening put its stamp of approval on a set of maps that are now poised to solidify the state’s political districts for the next 10 years. Now those maps — drawn by Republican lawmakers in a way that breaks up many of the state’s urban, more liberal communities — are headed to a vote in front of the full Utah Legislature, set to convene in a special … Continued
Utah business, nonprofit and community members released a letter they signed urging Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and legislators to adopt voting maps from the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission. The letter was delivered to Cox and leadership in the Utah Senate and Utah House of Representatives prior to the Utah Legislative Redistricting Committee’s Monday meeting, where committee chairs Sen. Scott Sandall and Rep. Paul Ray are scheduled to present their own maps. “The maps that were … Continued
At least four cities and towns in Utah appear to have elected their first women mayors this week: West Valley City, Park City, Parowan and North Logan. Just 17% of Utah mayors are women, according to a January 2021 report from the Utah Women and Leadership Project at Utah State University. That’s still a 9% increase from 2017. “It just represents an embracing of the future,” said Lyndsay Peterson, North Logan’s apparent mayor-elect. “I just … Continued
There’s no use in pretending anymore. Our national fabric has been tearing for decades. Political polarization is widening. The economic divide keeps growing. Solidarity is slipping away. Social capital is in decline. Shaylyn Romney Garrett, co-author with Robert Putnam of “The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can do it Again,” illuminated the convergence of these challenges at the Utah Foundation’s recent 2021 annual luncheon. The situation is not good. … Continued
Shortly after he was elected to the U.S. Senate last November, former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville told the Alabama Daily News that the founders hadn’t intended for any one group to control all three branches of the government. “You know, the House, the Senate, and the executive.” So much for all those efforts to increase civics education among Americans. At least one thing can be said of self-government. Democracy does result in leaders who … Continued
Women in Utah have a strong history of political engagement. In fact, Utah women were the first in the United States to vote under an equal suffrage law in 1870. Utah was also the first state to elect a female state senator (elected over her own husband in the same race), and as recently as 1992, Utah women had the highest voter turnout in the nation at 76%. However, by 2006, Utah women’s voting rates … Continued
SALT LAKE CITY — More than one-third of Utahns say education should be the Utah Legislature’s top priority for an anticipated budget surplus, a new poll conducted for the Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics shows. Support for education was strongest among people ages 25 to 56, presumably because they are more likely to have school-age children. Meanwhile, 27% of those polled identified a tax cut as a priority, according to the results of the survey … Continued
More than one-third of Utahns say education should be the Utah Legislature’s top priority for an anticipated budget surplus, a new poll conducted for the Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics shows. Support for education was strongest among people ages 25 to 56, presumably because they are more likely to have school-age children. Meanwhile, 27% of those polled identified a tax cut as a priority, according to the results of the survey of 746 registered voters … Continued
Women in Utah have a strong history of political engagement. In fact, Utah women were the first in the United States to vote under an equal suffrage law in 1870. Utah was also the first state to elect a female state senator (elected over her own husband in the same race), and as recently as 1992, Utah women had the highest voter turnout in the nation at 76%. However, by 2006, Utah women’s voting rates … Continued
Every decade every state in the U.S. has an opportunity through redistricting to help bring our elected government, at all levels, closer to the people. In an incredibly compressed time frame, members of the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission (UIRC) have devoted time and dedicated themselves to map discussions with citizens from San Juan County to Logan. Citizens have taken time out of their busy lives to participate in these meetings in person and virtually. Some … Continued
On multiple measures — political polarization, economic inequality, social capital and cultural solidarity — America is heading decisively in the wrong direction. But have we been here before? And what can we learn from our past successes in coming together? Why are state and local-level solutions so important?
