Utah

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced earlier this week that a petition to protect monarch butterflies under the Endangered Species Act has been put on a waiting list. 

Drastic declines in both the eastern and western populations of monarch butterflies in North America led to a 2014 petition by the Center for Food Safety, Center for Biological Diversity, and other advocates seeking endangered species classification. 

Utah Senator Mike Lee announced he tested positive for COVID-19 Friday morning shortly after President Tump and First Lady Melania Trump announced they had both tested positive for the disease on Thursday night. The news comes the same day as Utah reports 15 new COVID-19 deaths.

In a Tweet sent just before 10am Friday, Senator Lee disclosed he started experiencing symptoms consistent with his allergies on Thursday morning and was tested for COVID-19 out of an abundance of caution.

The Utah Debate Commission held its gubernatorial debate between Democrat Chris Peterson and Republican Lt. Governor Spencer Cox Tuesday night. The debate was a largely cordial affair but there were still some stark differences between the candidates.

Although Chris Peterson and Lt. Governor Spencer Cox managed to agree on a number of issues in Tuesday’s gubernatorial debate, education amid the COVID-19 pandemic was not one of them.

Summit County’s request for a mandatory mask order was approved by the county council on Friday. The order requires people in the county to wear a mask while indoors and at public gatherings.

Utah has seen a dramatic spike in COVID-19 cases since the state began reopening. The increase in cases has state and local officials looking at possible changes to health and safety guidelines to help stem the spread of the virus.

In a June 19 memo to state and local health officials, state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn warned that if current daily infection rates continue across the state, conventional ICU capacity at many hospitals will be overwhelmed by early July. 

Utah Governor Gary Herbert revealed his latest plan for economic recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic. KPCW’s Sean Higgins has more on Herbert’s “Utah Leads Together" plan.

Herbert’s plan details ways to get people back to work over the next 100, 250, and 500 days. Herbert acknowledged that the economic downturn has hurt many Utah families but said he believes the damage is not as bad as it could have been.

After Utah’s move to a yellow, low-risk level last month, the state has experienced a concerning spike in COVID-19 cases in the weeks since. With record numbers of new cases reported last weekend, Summit County officials are worried about this new trend.

Summit County Health Director Rich Bullough agrees in the general assumption that the surge in Utah’s positive COVID-19 cases is directly related to Governor Herbert’s decision to ease state-wide restrictions in May.

As we head into a holiday weekend and spring break for some, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert announced a new order related to travel into the state. 

The Utah Department of Health yesterday (Monday) received approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – or CMS -  to implement full Medicaid expansion in the state. This comes more than a year after Utah voters approved expanded Medicaid. 

The expansion will extend Medicaid eligibility to Utah adults whose annual income is up to 138% of the federal poverty level – that’s $16,753 a year for an individual or $34,638 for a family of four. The federal government will cover 90% of the costs of these services, with the state picking up the remaining 10%.

Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert issued an Executive Order declaring a state of emergency due to drought on Monday. Officials said they’ve not seen a drought of this level in several years. Melissa Allison has more:

Utah billionaire and philanthropist John Huntsman Sr. died Friday.  He’s widely known for his donations to many charities, and also provided major funding for the University of Utah’s Huntsman Cancer Institute.  Carolyn Murray has this:

It’s been a dry, warm winter so far this season.  We’ve had persistent high pressure settling in over most of the Western states, and snow enthusiasts are looking to the long-range forecast for the hope of a break in this pattern.  Carolyn Murray has this report:

Salt Lake City has taken the first step in bringing back the Winter Olympics to Utah and Park City. At a press conference Thursday, a number of Park City residents were named to serve on what’s called a OEC – an Olympic Exploratory Committee.  Leslie Thatcher has more.