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UVU, the school in question here, hasn't taken a position on Sen. Brammer's idea.

“As the first people of this land, there’s no reason why Native Americans should have their citizenship questioned,” said Jaqueline De León, a senior staff attorney with the nonprofit Native American Rights Fund.

"A premium of 10% to 20% at the community level for a temple is just a myth," but the church does have good real estate instincts.

It ain't yer granpappy's Hildale anymore. It has a big supermarket, bank, pharmacy, coffee shop and bar. “Like a normal town,” a resident quipped.

St. George is workin' it: Jobs increased by 24% from 2019-2024 and another 4% from 2024-2025.

“We're low on public defenders, we're low on prosecutors, we're low on agency attorneys,” said Sen. Brammer. So, would a more non-traditional student friendly law school help?

Interesting tidbit we learned: Only 60% of citizens in Utah had a valid passport in fiscal year 2024. That puts Utah at only 10th highest of the states.

The cheap water is gone, which is to say the "easy" water is gone, which is to say that any water project is going to be a big dollar project. buff.ly/DKJhjkW

Cue up The Final Countdown for Sundance. buff.ly/hFIqJeN

The old adage in real estate is “location, location, location.”

Protestors filled more than a city block as they took to the streets from Washington Square in downtown SLC, chanting: “Whose Streets? Our Streets!”

Are lawmakers having different conversations this session in the wake of last year's No Kings shooting and Charlie Kirk?

Update: The Senate passed a measure to avert a shutdown on Friday. But with the House on recess, funding for broad stretches of the federal government has technically lapsed.

Is a highway in conflict with the purpose of Red Cliffs conservation area? Both sides point to what Congress said as justification of their position on the road.

By tradition, the US isn't a "papers, please" country.

As usual, there are several #utleg gun bills this session. Some appear to directly conflict with one another.

Carrying tribal ID “gives me some peace of mind. But at the same time, why do we have to carry these documents?” said Shane Mantz of the Choctaw Nation. “Who are you to ask us to prove who we are?”

“We call it ‘life after Jeffs’ — and, frankly, it’s a great life,” said Willie Jessop, a former FLDS spokesman.

It feels good to be a gangsta: “These success stories and these rankings help us think, ‘OK, what are we doing well? And let's continue to do that.’”

What's next for kratom in Utah?

“We are sewer folks. … We can't take our jobs too seriously.” Wise words my water reuse friend.

Utah's 2 powerhouse law schools, the U and BYU, are traditional 3-yr schools. IF it happens, a UVU law schools would cranking out "second-career attorneys" on nights and weekends.

Of all the documents, a passport is the surefire one to confirm citizenship. New Real ID-compliant licenses, BTW, only really verify identity.

Do LDS temples = higher home values? 🤔

Will Colorado River state governors be able to break the logjam on Friday?

For religious data scientist Stephen Cranney, the literature is “very clear” that people who go to church are happier.

More on the 40th anniversary of the Challenger disaster, and the failed effort to delay the launch, from me and @kuer.org Radio West radiowest.kuer.org/show/radiowe...

The end draws near...

The US doesn't issue a sole identifying document. It hasn't been part of the American tradition. So how do citizens prove their citizenship?

“We don't want to sit on our laurels and say, ‘Yeah, we're number one, and we’ve arrived.” The props are nice, but St. George is clear-eyed about what the probs are, too.

Will Utah's 7-year-old Kratom Consumer Protection Act still stand by the end of the session, or will it just get some tweaks?

If crowds aren't your thing or ya can't make it up to Park City, you can now get your streaming on for Sundance.

The debate, as it were, played out in dueling op-eds in the Salt Lake Tribune.

“There's a really big misconception that 7-OH is the only problem,” said Sen. Michael McKell. “It's not. Mitragynine is a serious problem as well.” He wants to classify kratom as a Schedule I Substance.

If asked on the spot, could you prove your citizenship?

Time to break out those "We're #1" signs in St. George.

In the past, it's been easier for Utah to "dissociate ourselves" from gun violence "because it's not happening in our backyard or at my kid's school or in a church house where I worship." That isn't the case anymore.

Utah started regulating kratom 7 years ago. Some feel differently now, and there's talk of a ban.

As with anything when lawyers are involved (no offense), there's an argument over the meaning of words and text. With the Northern Corridor Highway, Red Cliffs Conservation Area and Congress, that's very much the case.

Activists are aghast at the idea of any detention facility in Utah. “The thought of warehousing beloved children of God is just horrific,” said Rev. Brigette Weier.

In the absence of any Colorado River state ideas, the fed's ideas are on the table. And one of them — do nothing — isn't a really an option.

In Milken's rankings, St. George was often the bridesmaid, never the bride. Not this year.

After the No Kings shooting and Kirk, Rep. Jake Fitisemanu is optimistic lawmakers can get to a place to talk about guns on a "on a day-to-day, practical basis."

Lawmakers have 3 tacks on the table: Tax it, ban just 7-OH or declare kratom Schedule I and ban it altogether.

Gov. Cox, as he's done in the past, called for lower tempers, but vowed that the immigration tensions seen in Minneapolis won't spill into Utah.

Red Cliffs National Conservation Area was established back in 2009. The arm wrestling over building a highway through it really picked up at the end of Trump's first term.

Putting money on the table for a birth mother with a history of addiction to put her child up for adoption is "directly in conflict with what the intention of social work is supposed to be," the advocate said.

For some Sundance volunteers, there's a lingering sadness clinging to the final Utah edition of the festival after Redford's passing.