News Articles

What Utah Voters Really Want

December 01, 2021 (KSL Radio) - Utah Foundation Senior Research Analyst Christoper Collard discusses population growth with Boyd Matheson on KSL NewsRadio’s Inside Sources.

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Utah Foundation: Growth in Utah

December 01, 2021 (UtahPolicy.com) - On Monday, the Utah Foundation released the second part of four Significant Statistics blog posts on Utah’s growth. In the decade preceding 2020, Utah grew by over 18%, making it the fastest-growing state in the nation. Where did that growth happen? Part I provides a tool for users to explore at a granular level where the increases (and decreases) in population occurred in the state. In Part II, the Utah Foundation releases for the first … Continued

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Infrastructure tops Utahns’ concerns with population growth

December 01, 2021 (KUER) - When it comes to handling Utah’s population boom, the top concern for voters in the state is infrastructure. That’s according to recently released data from the Utah Foundation. Utah was the fastest growing state in the county from 2010 to 2020 as its population grew by about 18%. The foundation surveyed people along religious and generational lines. More than 60% of Republicans listed infrastructure as their top issue compared to 20% of Democrats. The group’s … Continued

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Letter: One way to conserve water is eat less beef

November 28, 2021 (Salt Lake Tribune) - 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

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Need a Home?

November 24, 2021 (City Weekly) - 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

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Can ‘the missing middle’ help solve Utah’s housing crisis?

November 18, 2021 (KSL-TV) - 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

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In-Depth: Report suggests path out of Utah’s housing crisis

November 18, 2021 (Fox13) - 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

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Opinion: Could you afford to buy your own house today?

November 18, 2021 (Deseret News) - 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

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Utah Foundation: New study addresses dramatic home price and rent increases

November 18, 2021 (UtahPolicy.com) - 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

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Utah Foundation’s report on Social Trust in the Beehive State.

November 15, 2021 (KRCL RadioACTive) - 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

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Utah communities elect their first women mayors

November 15, 2021 (Fox 13) - 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

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Utah Communities Elect Their First Women Mayors

November 14, 2021 (U.S. News and World Report) - 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

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A green transformation at Delta’s power plant looks promising for the climate, but uncertain for the community

November 10, 2021 (KUER) - 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

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Utah redistricting: Despite cries of cracking communities, lawmakers select their own maps over independent ones

November 08, 2021 (Deseret News) - 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

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Eighty-Five Prominent Utah Business, Nonprofit and Community Leaders Release Letter Urging Legislators and Governor to Adopt Independent Commission’s Maps

November 08, 2021 (ExtraNewsFeed) - 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

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Four women appear to be their city or town’s first female mayor after this week’s election

November 05, 2021 (KUER) - 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

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Opinion: Our national fabric is tearing. Here’s how to fix it

November 03, 2021 (Deseret News) - 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

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The Kindness of Strangers report

November 03, 2021 (Fox13) - Peter Reichard spoke with Fox13 about the Utah Foundation’s newest report, The Kindness of Strangers: Social Trust in Utah.

Opinion: Americans tend to be ignorant about their government. Is this a problem?

November 03, 2021 (Deseret News) - 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

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Social Trust in Utah

November 02, 2021 (KSL News) - Peter Reichard spoke with KSL TV News about the Utah Foundation’s newest report, The Kindness of Strangers: Social Trust in Utah.

Utah women decreased in rate of voting, but civic engagement remains high

November 03, 2021 (Cache Valley Daily) - 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

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Utahns’ top priority for budget surplus? Spend it on education, poll says

November 01, 2021 (KSL.com) - 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

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Utahns’ top priority for budget surplus? Spend it on education, poll says

October 31, 2021 (Deseret News) - 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

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