Utah News

A former county treasurer in Utah has pleaded guilty to transferring thousands of dollars of county funds into her personal accounts.

Four felony counts of third-degree misusing public money have landed 53-year-old Georgia Baca in jail for 30 days as part of a 36-month probation sentence.

Baca had been the Kane County Treasurer when, between March 2014 and January 2016, she made 45 transfers of county money into four different personal accounts.

Baca stole about $33,600. She has been ordered by the court to pay $35,613 back to the county.

A Utah Bureau of Investigation officer has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.

He is accused of driving drunk in his unmarked patrol car while heading to a training session.

The Garfield County Sheriff's Office arrested 35-year-old Jason James Whitehead following the incident.

Salt Lake County officials have approved a $700,000 plan to allow Sheriff Jim Winder to begin sending county inmates to other jails in the state to deal with issues of overcrowding.

The county council voted unanimously in favor of the plan on Tuesday.

A Utah State football player and another student are being charged with intimidating a witness in a burglary case against two other members of the football team.

Logan Police Chief Gary Jensen said that on April 5, 19-year-old freshmen Kevin Meitzenheimer and Dayshawn Littleton tried to hit the witness with their car and threatened to return and shoot the witness. The men were charged last month.

Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz is back in his home state of Utah for emergency surgery on his foot, just days after shocking the political world by announcing that he won't seek election.

The Utah congressman said in Instagram and Twitter posts that he will be away from the Capitol for up to 4 weeks. Chaffetz needs immediate surgery to remove screws and pins from a foot he shattered 12 years ago.

Utah state officials say the FBI wants to take a look at their investigation of a remote Utah county jail under investigation for allegations of inmate mistreatment.

Utah Department of Corrections spokeswoman Maria Peterson said Tuesday that the agency plans to provide the report soon to the FBI. The agency had previously said the FBI was helping state officials.

A new law requires bar and restaurant owners in Utah to hang a sign by their door disclosing the business' serving intentions.

Reports say starting on May 9 it will be illegal in the state to be a restaurant but not have a sign saying, "This premise is licensed as a restaurant. Not a bar."

 A school district in southeastern Utah is in the middle of a test program to see if offering salaries of up to $80,000 can persuade teachers to stay at an elementary school near the Utah-Colorado border.

Teacher turnover is a major problem at Montezuma Creek Elementary School due to unusual working conditions.

The state auditor has released a report saying the Utah Board of Education might have mishandled more than $1 million in federal funding for a dual-language program.

The board's funding for its Dual Language Immersion program lacked oversight and the program's poor structure led to inappropriate payments.

The CEO of the University of Utah's cancer research institute who was fired last week has been reinstated following widespread outrage over the ousting.

The school's president said in a statement Tuesday that Mary Beckerle would return to her position, which she had held since 2006.

A man who was denied a lung transplant at the University of Utah because marijuana was found in his system has died after suffering complications from recent surgery.

Reports say 20-year-old Riley Hancey of Park City died Saturday from complications with his double lung transplant at the University of Pennsylvania hospital.

The sheriff of a rural Utah county jail under investigation for allegations mistreating inmates has resigned.

Daggett County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Susie Potter said in a statement Monday that Jerry Jorgensen resigned Sunday after six years as sheriff.

Utah female students are accusing a national organization of having a sexist dress code.

The dress code for the American Legion of Auxiliary's Utah Girls State requires girls wear only blouses with skirts or dresses throughout most of the program. It specifically bans pantsuit options.

Much of Rainbow Bridge National Monument along Lake Powell in southern Utah has gained a new protected status.

The National Park Service says 85 acres within the 160-acre monument have been designated a "traditional cultural property" due to the site's historic and ongoing cultural significance to at least six American Indian tribes.