News Articles

The Utah Foundation talks homelessness on RadioACTive

August 24, 2021 (KRCL RadioACTive) - Mending the Net: Exploring Homeless Service Gaps in Salt Lake County is a new report released by the Utah Foundation that looks at gaps in services for the homeless in Salt Lake County. RadioACTive spoke with Jesus Valero, the report’s author and a professor of political science at the University of Utah, and Shawn Teigen, the Foundation’s Research Director.

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Peter Reichard: Is America’s sense of well-being slipping away?

August 20, 2021 (Salt Lake Tribune) - A couple of years back, a mental health professional asked me to sit down with him. He had noticed a big uptick in his teen patients coming in with an acute sense of foreboding. Among the issues that seemed to trouble them most were apocalyptic worries about global climate change ruining their future. But it wasn’t the topic that alarmed the therapist most; it was the growing anxiety. And that was before 2020. That was … Continued

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Shawn Teigen talks with Mike Parsons about the New Climate Economy

August 14, 2021 (Wasatch Gazette) - Mike Parsons, Public Affairs Director at Cumulus Media, sat down with Utah Foundation Research Director Shawn Teigen to talk about the Utah Foundation’s July report Going for the Green: How Utah Can Thrive in the New Climate Economy. The conversation was part of the Wasatch Gazette that plays on Sundays on: B98.7, KBER101, K-Bull 93.3, 860am, and Power94.9. Listen to the interview here: .  

These are the biggest gaps in Salt Lake County homeless services, report finds

August 11, 2021 (ABC4) - SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) – After working on a research report aimed to find the biggest gaps in homeless services in Salt Lake County, one thing was very clear to Shawn Teigen, Research Director for the Utah Foundation. “I think the obvious thing is that the kind of makeshift encampments along streets in town – that isn’t the solution. That’s not a solution for people that are living in these communities and then are … Continued

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Report details how Utah can better serve homeless population

August 11, 2021 (Fox13) - A new report from a Utah group is examining how the state can better serve the homeless population. Salt Lake County is currently where half the state’s homeless population can be found. “You’re seeing more people that are downtown, sleeping in a tent beside a road somewhere and you’re seeing these little encampments,” said Shawn Teigen, research director for the Utah Foundation. Teigen, along with others, are concerned that rising housing prices, combined with the … Continued

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New Utah Foundation report identifies key homeless service gaps in Salt Lake County

August 11, 2021 (UtahPolicy.com) - Housing options, employment services top list of unmet needs Today, the Utah Foundation released Mending the Net: Exploring Homeless Service Gaps in Salt Lake County. The third report in the Utah Foundation’s Homelessness Series draws from a wide-ranging survey of homeless service providers to explore the overarching service gaps. In particular, the report identifies areas where there is the greatest need for service expansions or enhancements. It also explores whether adequate collaboration is occurring to … Continued

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Truth-in-Taxation law holds taxes in check while property values rise in Utah

August 11, 2021 (KSL Radio) - SALT LAKE CITY — With the increase in property values over the past couple of years, some Utah residents are worried property taxes might rise just as fast. But Utah’s Truth-in-Taxation law means local governments don’t get an automatic windfall. Former State Senator Howard Stephenson is one of the architects of Utah’s Truth-in-Taxation law. “If you’re seeing a huge increase in values because home prices are skyrocketing,” Stephenson told KSL NewsRadio, “the certified tax rate … Continued

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John Curtis gives bipartisan Congressional Energy Storage Caucus a charge (July 30)

August 03, 2021 (Daily Herald) - Excellent effort by Rep. John Curtis (R-UT) to establish a Congressional Energy Storage Caucus, to promote “advanced energy storage through legislation and advocacy.” A recent report from the Utah Foundation indicates that transitioning to clean energy will improve health by improving air quality and is a tremendous economic opportunity for the state, including rural counties. The Foundation suggests establishing a state commission to address our worsening climate challenges, promoting clean energy innovation (including advanced battery … Continued

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Opinion: Utah’s economy could benefit from focusing on climate issues

July 29, 2021 (Deseret News) - Record heat and the drought this summer are putting the issue of climate change on Utahns’ minds. While a run of unfavorable weather measured in weeks or months does not in itself equate to climate change, it does invite us to pay more attention to the issue. The causes and effects of climate change, as well as the proper responses, remain matters for some degree of debate. And those debates, by the way, are worth … Continued

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New report: How Utah can thrive in the new climate economy

July 28, 2021 (UtahPolicy.com) - Today, the Utah Foundation released Going for the Green: How Utah Can Thrive in the New Clean Economy. Innovations and other measures from corporations, along with new policies and investments from the federal government, provide states with a range of opportunities to capitalize on the transition to an economy that prioritizes climate-focused strategies. Going for the Green analyzes job-creating opportunities by economic sector, explores opportunities from the public and private sectors, and looks at ways … Continued

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The Utah Foundation honored with multiple national awards

July 22, 2021 (UtahPolicy.com) - The Utah Foundation was honored with several awards by the Governmental Research Association, a national association of government research professionals. The GRA presented the awards at its annual conference, hosted by the Civic Federation of Chicago. The honors include three award-winners and two certificates of merit.

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Policy News Utah Foundation Breakfast Briefing: Mental health in anxious times

July 16, 2021 (UtahPolicy.com) - Lockdowns. Social isolation. Unrest. Soaring drug overdose deaths. Health worries. Economic anxiety. This decade is off to a challenging start for our nation’s sense of well-being. On August 26, the Utah Foundation will hold an important Breakfast Briefing focusing on the Beehive State’s mental health challenges and what we can do to address them. Panelists include Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Mark Rapaport and Doug Thomas.

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Help Wanted

July 07, 2021 (City Weekly) - Economists interviewed say they believe the worst of the worker shortage will fade in the coming months, as higher wages, declining COVID risks and a return to in-person school lures more people back to the workplace. However, researchers point out that worker shortages in Utah have been brewing for years—and likely won’t disappear anytime soon. Back in 2015, the Utah Foundation—a nonprofit, nonpartisan, policy research organization—surveyed 151 local employers and found that a shortage of … Continued

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Which Out-Of-State Buyers Are Interested In Utah Real Estate? California Tops List

July 07, 2021 (KSL) - This spring, the Utah Foundation said an analysis found that Californians moving to Utah don’t seem to be the reason for steep increases in home and rental prices. “Why are we seeing these increases? The Utah Foundation has looked whether it might be due in part to any influx of Californians. That does not seem to be the answer,” the report stated. The rate of people moving into Utah’s larger metropolitan areas is actually down, … Continued

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Rod Arquette Show Daily Rundown

July 06, 2021 (Rod Arquette Show) - 6:20 pm: Peter Reichard, President of the Utah Foundation joins the program for a conversation about his piece for the Salt Lake Tribune in which he discusses why the current drought highlights the importance of water management

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How Utahns Spent Their Federal Stimulus Checks

July 05, 2021 (KUER) - Since the start of the pandemic, the federal government has issued three different rounds of stimulus checks to Americans. According to a recent analysis by the Utah Foundation, a nonpartisan research organization, Utahns were more likely to put that money into savings than people living in other states. The study found 11% of Utahns surveyed used their stimulus checks for savings or investments, compared to 7% nationally. Generally, though, residents of the Beehive State spent … Continued

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Peter Reichard: Dry times in Utah highlight importance of long-term water management

July 05, 2021 (Salt Lake Tribune) - It’s when your throat is parched and you’ve been baking in the hot sun that you most appreciate a glass of cool, clear water. We appear to be in such a moment at a statewide level. As of May 1, the 2020-21 winter snowpack in most of the state’s measured basins was well below median, and in some cases less than half of the median level. While one bad year may not plunge the whole … Continued

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‘Hyper-, hyper-competitive’ — Salt Lake area housing market is white hot, but are Californians to blame?

June 24, 2021 (Salt Lake Tribune) - But it’s not just the Californians — or the Vermonters, the New Yorkers and the Texans — who are affecting the market. Recent research by the Utah Foundation noted that the Salt Lake metropolitan area saw the fifth most extreme growth rate of 100 cities measured, but added that fewer people arrived in 2020 than in past years. Rather, more people are staying in the state. “Is it Californians driving that growth? Not likely,” Christopher … Continued

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Where the great jobs are in Utah: Aerospace and other STEM careers (if you can find housing)

June 18, 2021 (UtahPolicy.com) - Many Utahns may not be aware of how dynamic the aerospace industry is in Utah – and how badly it needs workers. I wasn’t fully cognizant of it either, until I attended (via Zoom) a meeting of the Utah Foundation board earlier this week and heard presentations from industry, education and military leaders. One indication of the vigor of the industry is the number of current job openings – thousands of them. Northrop Grumman alone, … Continued

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Letter: Gov. Cox should ask farmers to cut their water usage

June 17, 2021 (The Salt Lake Tribune) - In recent comments on Utah’s water usage, a large elephant in the room seems to have been ignored. According to the Utah Foundation’s 2013 study, public uses account for only 10% of Utah’s water consumption. The largest single consumer is agriculture, responsible for 82% of all water used.

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