Utah | featured news

West Jordan • Though approved nearly two years ago amid controversy, a vacant parcel near Gardner Village slated to become a 272-unit high-density apartment development with 30,000 square feet of retail and office space currently sits without a sign of disruption.

Vernal • Officials are bracing for high winds as they make some headway against several wildfires burning across Utah.
The National Weather Service on Sunday warned of critical fire weather conditions in the northeast and southwest portions of the state as strong winds with gusts as high as 60 miles per hour [97 kilometers per hour] are expected.
The U.S. Forest Service reported that the fire near Vernal in northeast Utah was now 30 percent contained.

A Colorado man died from suspected cardiac arrest Saturday while kayaking the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument.
About 3 p.m.

West Valley City • A decade ago, Silencerco co-founders Joshua Waldron and Jonathon Shults ran a sound-recording studio for musicians, including Utah pianist Paul Cardall.
While chatting periodically about Waldron’s passion for hunting and the damage he believes it has caused to his hearing, the boyhood friends from American Fork became convinced they could build a better suppressor for firearms.
“All hunters as they go into middle age have hearing loss,” said Waldron, now 39.

Although I’m Mormon, it doesn’t trouble me that President Thomas S. Monson, the prophet of the LDS Church, is too frail to go to the office. Hell, he’s 89. Doesn’t bother me even if an aging religious leader’s physical limitations come with some diminished mental sharpness.
Some people see this as a reason not to trust anything that comes out of an old (or any) prophet’s mouth.

Police briefly shut down southbound traffic on Interstate 15 near Beck Street after a report of road rage and a shot fired Saturday afternoon.
About 4:25 p.m., a man driving a truck merged from Highway 89 onto I-15 in Farmington, where a family reported that a female passenger in the truck fired a bullet from a handgun into the car, said Department of Public Safety Trooper Lawrence Hopper.

Editor’s Note • This is the first in a periodic installment hoping to highlight average people doing under-appreciated work in our communities. If you know of someone who should be featured, contact the author at the email address above.

With a color throw nearly every hour, there was little chance participants left Holi celebrations at the Krishna Center on Saturday without soaking up some new hues. But that wasn’t all the festival of colors offered. There also was interactive dance, live mantra bands, DJs, yoga teachers, food, free hugs and “lotsa love,” according to the Festival Of Colors USA website.

A 5-year-old is in critical condition after nearly drowning in the Spanish Fork reservoir on Saturday afternoon.
The boy was reported missing at 4:25 p.m. and was found unresponsive in the reservoir by a bystander at 5 p.m., according to Spanish Fork police Sgt. Chris Sheriff.
He was rushed to the hospital, Sheriff said.

The Salt Lake City Downtown Farmers Market kicked off its 2017 season on Saturday with fresh fruits, vegetables and prepared foods, as well as craft booths, music and other fun activities. The market, now in its 26th year, runs from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday through Oct. 21.