Utah News

U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop visited the Utah State campus on Thursday. In an event sponsored by the USU College Republicans called "Pizza and Politics," Bishop spoke on several topics and took questions from the audience at Merrill-Cazier Library.

Bishop opened by bemoaning the lack of bipartisanship in Washington, but the tone turned contentious when one audience member questioned Bishop’s stance on the public lands debate.

In 2009, Utah Valley University became a full member of Division I NCAA athletics. Now, just four years later, the Wolverines will be joining a new athletic conference.

UVU announced on Tuesday that the Orem, Utah, school will formally join the Western Athletic Conference in July of next year. UVU is currently a member of the Great West Conference, but with rival schools scattered across the country, traveling to more regional WAC schools promises to cut down on travel costs.

Monday, the State Board of Education voted unanimously to hire Martell Menlove, who is currently deputy superintendent, as the new superintendent of public instruction. Menlove says he feels his career path over the past 35 years has prepared him for this position.

A new study published today in the online Journal of Animal Ecology may help in the management of western wolf populations. Dr. Dan MacNulty, a professor in the College of Natural Resources at Utah State University, along with colleagues, tracked female wolves in Yellowstone National Park and monitored their success in raising healthy offspring. The study concluded that the weight of a mother wolf and the size of her pack are the best predictors of a female's ability to overcome environmental stressors like disease and raise pups successfully.

At this past weekend’s 182nd semi-annual Church of Latter-day Saints General Conference in Salt Lake City, Church President Thomas S. Monson announced new age requirements that allow LDS youth to start their missions earlier. While this is good news for young missionaries, some Utah universities could see a dip in enrollment.