Utah News

A Cache Valley native and Utah State University alumnus learned Monday he is one of three recipients of the Nobel Prize in economics for his work in financial market research.

Lars Peter Hansen and his colleague, Eugene Fama, are professors at the University of Chicago. The third recipient is Robert Shiller of Yale University. Hansen graduated from Utah State in 1974 with undergraduate degrees in math and political science. Here’s Hansen in an interview with University of Chicago press earlier today:

Utah State University bikers have taken first place in a competition that pitted universities and workplaces across the nation against one another.

USU registered over 200 cyclists for the National Bike Challenge, which began in May and concluded at the end of September. The challenge is a wellness initiative that awards bikers points for the miles they ride during daily commutes and exercise.

USU sustainability coordinator Alexi Lamm said the university decided to get involved for health and environmental reasons.

Garfield and other Southern Utah counties passed resolutions asking for emergency actions Monday.

The counties have petitioned Gov. Herbert to declare a local state of emergency due to the economic disturbance created by the government shutdown of national parks, monuments and recreation areas.

Despite the federal shutdown, the Utah Conservation corps has managed to keep its members busy with projects around the state.

"We're doing a lot of work with nonprofit organizations and state organizations which is a little bit different than the traditional partnerships with federal land management agencies," said Sean Damitz of the Center for Civic engagement and Service Learning at Utah State University. "So that's given us a lot of security in the face of the federal shutdown."

Governor Gary Herbert asked President Obama on Tuesday to authorize the use of state and private funds to reopen Utah’s five national parks. Today, the federal government had an answer.

Utah has been given the go-ahead to work out a plan to reopen the parks during the government shutdown.

"Sally Jewell, who is the Secretary of the Department of the Interior, and the governor spoke this morning, and Secretary Jewell indicated that Utah can proceed to develop a plan for the reopening of the parks," said Ally Isom, Herbert's deputy for communications.

Due to recent flooding, the Utah Amtrak line was closed. However the line  is set to reopen this Saturday.  

Amtrak service will resume in western Colorado and Utah this weekend now that tracks damaged by last month’s flooding have been repaired.

Amtrak said Thursday that the California Zephyr train, which runs between Chicago to the San Francisco Bay area, will start making stops in cities including Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction, Green River and Provo on Saturday.

The government shutdown is taking a toll on local tourist towns surrounding national parks. Rick Bailey, San Juan County Administrator, said the tourism is vital to the economic stability of towns adjacent to the national parks.

“Our local businesses -- hotel/motel, restaurant, tourism, sales-type businesses-- have really had an economic impact with the closure of the park’s monuments, parks and recreation areas,” Bailey said.

Elementary students throughout Cache Valley are studying their lessons this school year in languages other than English. First and second graders in six different schools, are receiving half of the day’s instruction in foreign languages. UPR reporter Beth McEvoy sat in on one first grade class taught entirely in Spanish.

Señora Floyd's first grade classroom looks typical of any room at Heritage Elementary. Posters of shapes, colors, months and days of the week plaster the wall in the Nibley classroom. The only difference is that they all happen to be in Spanish.

Communities across Utah are preparing for next month’s general election. But in the small Central Utah town of Delta, elections have been canceled because not enough candidates filed to run for office.

One person met the deadline to run for mayor – but that person is the mayor himself. Gayle Bunker has been in office for 12 years. The retired farmer says residents haven’t shown much interest in public office. He sums it up in one word:

"Apathy," he said. "Nobody else wants to do it. And a lot of people think that if somebody else wants to do it, why should I?"

Gov. Gary Herbert appointed a new lieutenant governor Tuesday after Greg Bell resigned from the position last month. State Rep. Spencer Cox (R) of Fairview will replace Bell, who cited his family’s financial situation as his reason for leaving public office and returning to the private sector.

Cox, who was elected into the state House last year, was formerly a Sanpete County commissioner as well as mayor and city councilman in Fairview, the town where he was born and raised.