News Articles

February 25, 2021 (KSL Radio) -

Utah Foundation President Peter Reichard sat down with Salt Lake Chamber CEO Derek Miller to talk about how Utah Foundation zigged when the pandemic made the world zag. The Speaking on Business segment aired on KSL Radio.

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Beating the Odds: Post-secondary success for adult, first-generation and lower-income students

February 17, 2021 (UtahPolicy.com) -

Boosting post-secondary educational attainment is critical to Utah’s future and the Utah Foundation has released a report exploring how to increase success in students who traditionally have been less likely to complete higher ed degrees. Key findings include: Utah’s population is changing. If the state’s post-secondary educational institutions do not respond to those changes, tens of thousands of Utahns may miss out on educational advancement in the coming decades. Engaging and re-engaging with adult learners … Continued

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As Utah Latinos lag in educational attainment, study says it time to find ways to help them

February 09, 2021 (Salt Lake Tribune) -

Utah Latinos are five times less likely than state residents overall to graduate from high school and half as likely to receive any higher education — so leaders should look hard at how to help turn that around, a new study says. The Utah Foundation, a nonprofit research group, issued “The State of Latinos in Utah,” requested by Hispanic civic, business and elected leaders, and funded in part by the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs.

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Estudio: aumenta índice de pobreza infantil en Utah

February 05, 2021 (Telemundo Utah) -

Un estudio publicado por “Utah Foundation” ha puesto en perspectiva donde la comunidad latina en Utah se encuentra en temas como la educación y la economía, muestra el gran impacto que la pandemia ha tenido en la calidad de vida de los hispanos. En el área de Glendale, se concentra una buena parte de nuestra comunidad que fue el foco de atención en el estudio, uno de los factores que se encontró ha detonado el … Continued

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New report finds childhood poverty, education gaps for Utah’s Latino population

February 04, 2021 (Fox 13) -

A new report published by the Utah Foundation details the current state of Utah’s Hispanic and Latino population in categories like housing, income, employment and education. “El Estado de los Latinos en Utah: A look at Utah’s Hispanic/Latino Population” compared Utah’s Latino population to Utahns in general, as well as with Latinos living across the region. It found that Latinos in Utah have the highest median income in the Mountain States Region, but experience challenges … Continued

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Utah Foundation Releases Report On State Of Hispanic Community

February 05, 2021 (KUER) -

The childhood poverty disparity between Hispanic kids and the general population in Utah is higher than any other state in the Mountain West. That’s based on a new report released Thursday by the Utah Foundation. They are a public research group. The report also found Hispanic Utahns tend to be younger than the general population but a third of them do not have a high school diploma. The news isn’t all bad. The foundation’s president … Continued

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Half of Utah homes now have at least one teleworker

January 31, 2021 (Enterprise - Utah's Business Journal) -

The events of the past year have forced a major shift to telework in Utah, with important implications for traffic, air quality and growth, according to a new report from the Utah Foundation. The report, “The Way Home: The Shift to Telework and its Air Quality Ramifications,” focuses on how remote work relates to air quality in Utah, provides new insights gained during 2020 and looks toward the future interplay of remote work and air … Continued

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PODCAST: Utah Thrives – Local economic development incentives

January 26, 2021 (UtahPolicy.com) -

Are Utah’s Local Governments Optimizing their Use of Tax Incentives? In this edition of Utah Thrives” by Utah Foundation, they discuss the findings of Utah Foundation’s December 2020 report: Insights on Incentives: Optimizing Local Approaches to Tax Incentives in Utah. Listen here.

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Can the telework revolution improve traffic and air quality in Utah?

January 26, 2021 (Deseret News) -

Every couple of decades, the trajectory of modern history pivots on game-changing innovations: the rise of trains, planes and automobiles; the invention of the light bulb; the birth of television; the emergence of the PC; the dawn of the internet. We are due for another pivot, and it may have arrived in the form of a remote revolution. With the lockdowns of 2020, the worldwide embrace of telehealth, e-commerce, telemeetings, online education and telework suddenly … Continued

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Study shows Utah leads the region in tele-work

January 14, 2021 (Cache Valley Daily) -

On KVNU’s For the People program on Wednesday, Shawn Teigen, research director for the organization, was a guest. He has authored a report on tele-work, which became popular early on in the pandemic. The report showed that more than half of Utah’s households have at least one person that has made what might be a permanent shift to remote work in the past 12 months.

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New Utah Foundation report looks at shift to telework, impacts on air quality

January 14, 2021 (UtahPolicy.com) -

The events of the past year have forced a major shift to telework in Utah, with important implications for traffic, air quality and growth. Today, Utah Foundation releases The Way Home: The Shift to Telework and its Air Quality Ramifications, which focuses on how remote work relates to air quality in Utah, provides new insights gained during 2020, and looks toward the future interplay of remote work and air quality. It is the second installment … Continued

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How lessons learned from teleworking could help clean Utah’s air

January 13, 2021 (Deseret News) -

A new report by the Utah Foundation predicts that teleworking — to some degree — will remain in place as an option for some employees even after the COVID-19 pandemic ends, which could help Utah’s air quality. The report found that in Utah, more than half of households had at least one person shift to remote work as a result of the pandemic, the largest increase among Intermountain states that include Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, … Continued

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Peter Reichard: Development tax breaks need oversight

December 16, 2020 (Salt Lake Tribune) -

It looked like a stroke of genius. Back in the 1950s, California officials, looking to fund economic development projects under tight budget constraints, created a mechanism known as tax increment financing, or TIF. The idea was to pledge new (or incremental) tax revenue generated from a project to make the project itself possible. It would be a clean win for the public, because the only money to be spent would be money that would not … Continued

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Do Utah lawmakers listen to the people they serve? Most voters say no.

December 16, 2020 (Salt Lake Tribune) -

Two out of three Utah voters believe state lawmakers listen to business, religious or special interest groups more than they do voters, according to the Utah Foundation. The nonprofit surveyed hundreds of Utahns for its Utah Priorities Project and found that voters in March ranked the unresponsiveness of politicians as the top issue. But in July, well into the coronavirus pandemic, it had dropped to No. 6 behind health care, taxes, education, the economy and … Continued

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PODCAST: Homeless in Salt Lake

December 16, 2020 (UtahPolicy.com) -

In November, Utah Foundation held a Breakfast Briefing on the topic of homelessness, sponsored by the University of Utah’s College of Social and Behavioral Science. The panel of experts featured: Tricia Davis, of the Utah Homelessness Programs Office Utah Representative Eric Hutchings Dr. Jeff Rose, of the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism at the University of Utah Dr. Jesús N. Valero, Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Utah The panelists … Continued

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Tax Incentives A Commonly Used Tool In Utah

December 10, 2020 (KUER) -

Local governments in Utah are twice as likely to use tax incentives to fund economic development compared to other municipalities around the country according to a new report from the non-profit group Utah Foundation. The incentives, also known as ‘tax increment financing’, are used to encourage growth by making building costs more affordable for developers. And while Utah governments are more likely to use these incentives, the report found they could also be more transparent … Continued

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Policy Savants Panel: Is now the time to bond for infrastructure?

December 09, 2020 (UtahPolicy.com) -

Interest rates are at historic lows, Utah’s AAA bond rating is still going strong, and we have significant bonding capacity, even within the state’s tight statutory and constitutional constraints. Under normal circumstances, these factors alone would make this an advantageous time to consider a bonding program for infrastructure. But with Utah and its local governments exploring options for economic stimulus, a strong case can be made for focusing efforts on infrastructure. Investments in infrastructure protect … Continued

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Utah voters say elected officials don’t listen very well

December 01, 2020 (UtahPolicy.com) -

Utah Foundation has released the sixth in a series of Utah Priorities Project briefs looking at Utah voters’ top concerns. The 2020 Priorities survey revealed a new voter priority for 2020: Politicians listening to voters. The survey showed that Utah voters believe that elected officials are paying too little attention to voters in favor of corporations, religious organizations, the well-connected or special interest groups. When prioritized among other issues in early March 2020, politicians listening … Continued

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Policy Savant Panel: Can Utah become a top-tier education state with low per-pupil funding?

November 18, 2020 (UtahPolicy.com) -

We regularly query leaders from the state’s policy institutes/think tanks regarding timely policy issues important to the state. Here is our latest question and responses from our panel of policy savants: In normal (non-pandemic) times, Utah’s public education system performs quite well, despite our lowest-in-the-country spending per pupil. But if Utah aspires to be a top-five education state, can we do so at current per-pupil spending levels? At what spending level can we achieve top-in-the-country … Continued

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Utah Thrives Podcast: Efosa Ojomo on The Prosperity Paradox

November 12, 2020 (UtahPolicy.com) -

When Clayton Christensen passed away at the beginning of this year, Utah lost one of its most prominent sons. The Harvard business professor had become, as one observer put it, the “the most influential management thinker of his time” and his theory of “disruptive innovation” perhaps the most influential business idea. In this edition of Utah Foundation’s Utah Thrives, we hear about Christensen’s legacy from Efosa Ojomo, who co-wrote a book with Christensen and who … Continued

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Utahns chose to dramatically change education funding. What comes next?

November 06, 2020 (Deseret News) -

Lost in all the attention surrounding the vote-counting for president is the fact that Utahns decided last Tuesday to dramatically change the way they fund public education. Amendment G, the proposal to remove the constitutional provision requiring all income tax funds in the state be dedicated to public and higher education, is passing easily, according to official ballot counts posted Thursday. That means another bill lawmakers passed earlier this year will take effect, which sets … Continued

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Homeless Service Providers Embracing Innovation in Face of Pandemic

November 05, 2020 (UtahPolicy.com) -

Utah Foundation has released the next installment in its Homelessness Series. Widening the Doors of Hope: Addressing Coronavirus-Related Challenges Among Homeless Service Providers explores the coping strategies and innovations that providers are adopting to withstand the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Among the findings of the report…

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