Salt Lake County | featured news

It has been just over a year since I acquired The Salt Lake Tribune, and I have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of support from readers. I’ve had the great pleasure of meeting many of you and hearing how much The Tribune means to the community. Such conversations reaffirm my long-held position that The Tribune news pages belong to all Utahns.
For almost 150 years, The Tribune has produced an outstanding print product that has been a staple for many thousands of readers.

Editor’s note • In this regular series, The Salt Lake Tribune explores the once-favorite places of Utahns, from restaurants to recreation to retail.
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For a vast swath of western Salt Lake County a half century ago, the only nearby place to see movies in an indoor cinema was at the vast-itself Plaza Theatre in Kearns.
It was built in 1964 with 950 seats, a wide screen and a full stage — to also allow live performances — and advertised itself as Utah’s third largest.

Utah is poised to ask the Trump administration’s approval for its plan to extend Medicaid coverage to about 6,000 of the state’s neediest childless adults, many of them chronically homeless or in need of mental health or drug addiction treatment.
State health department officials say they are a week away from submitting the plan, after receiving more than 230 public comments on details of their Medicaid expansion proposal.
This is Utah’s second attempt to expand health coverage to this populatio...

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Republican Sen. Ted Cruz is coming to Utah to campaign with former state Rep. Chris Herrod, who is vying for the seat recently vacated by Jason Chaffetz.
Herrod had supported Cruz during the senator’s 2016 presidential run, according to Herrod’s campaign. Now the senator from Texas is supporting Herrod in his campaign for the 3rd Congressional District seat.
Last week, Cruz had tentatively planned a Utah rally to stump for Herrod. That visit is now scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

A wildfire sparked by lightning had burned 260 acres in Dinosaur National Monument by Monday afternoon.
Lightning struck a tree Friday, according to spokesman Dan Johnson, who added that the fire flared up Sunday because of wind and dry conditions.
The most active area of the fire is on the north side, in the monument, and is burning in a steep canyon full of timber, Johnson said. The perimeter of the fire extends into Jensen and Colorado, he said.

Ogden’s first full-time mayor, Glenn Jefferson Mecham, died Sunday at the age of 81, according to his son. “Mayor Mecham was known for his extensive vocabulary and ‘true gentleman’ dignity and optimistic approach to solving problems and improving the city,” wrote his son Scott Mecham in an email Monday.
The “calm, ever-positive” Mecham is survived by three of his five siblings, his wife, their four children, 18 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, according to his son.

Cranbrook, British Columbia • A former bishop of an isolated polygamous commune in Canada has been convicted of practicing polygamy after a decades-long legal fight.
Winston Blackmore was found guilty Monday by British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Sheri Ann Donegan.

Scenes from the annual Native American Powwow & Festival on Monday at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City. Check back later for a report about the event.

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The Unified Police Department has arrested Todd Elwin Hull, 46, in connection with the shooting death of Paige Espinoza on July 16.
Hull was incarcerated at the Summit County jail on an unrelated charge when arrested, Detective Ken Hansen said.
On the morning of the shooting, police responded to a call at 8360 W. Mix Ave. in Magna, where they found the body of the 25-year-old Murray woman in the basement.

Spectators and entrants for Monday’s Days of ’47 Parade had the same advice for would-be participants: start early.
One float coordinator, Matt Dickamore, said his group began construction in March after months of design planning. The work initially took place on weekends, before accelerating to a near-daily schedule as they rushed to finish before last week’s parade preview in Sandy.
“Tuesday through Saturday, basically, is what it ended up being,” Dickamore said. “I’d probably say hundreds a...