Utah News

Utah Governor Gary Herbert rolled out his budget proposal for fiscal year 2014 this week. At the top of his list: education. Herbert’s plan calls for $298 million in new funds be allocated to schools, but as Jessica Gail reports, the Governor's plan could be short lived due to the looming fiscal cliff.

Governor Gary Herbert is planning for the future. Wednesday he unveiled a $12.8 billion budget proposal for fiscal year 2014, which will begin in July. His top priority is education.

The new zipline will be on the estate of Charley Steen, the famed uranium king who put Moab on the map in the 1950s. It’s the same property that includes the Sunset Grill, high on the hillside, which used to be the Steen residence overlooking the town. Mark Steen, Charley’s son, has teamed up with locals Mike Bynum and his son Casey to build the zipline. It was Casey’s idea.  

Giving local artists a chance to showcase their work, the Main Street Gallery Walk in Logan is known for bringing a little more culture to the valley. Now with the recent RAPZ tax approval, the Gallery Walk is about to change. Brianna Bodily tells us what Cache Valley residents can and cannot expect in 2013.

Federal officials say rising demand and failing supply pose a risk of water shortages over the next 50 years for some 40 million people, including Native Americans, businesses, ranchers, and farmers in seven western states dependent on the Colorado River.

A two-year study on western water use was released Wednesday by U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar during a Colorado River Water Users Association conference.

Kerry Bringhurst tells us a related study encourages conservation and re-use programs as ways to meet western water demands.

I-15 in Southern Utah is finally back to normal after closures in both directions most of Wednesday morning.

At around 3:00 a.m. a tanker truck filled with fuel overturned on Interstate 15 near mile marker 40, about 20 miles south of Cedar City.

Both lanes of southbound traffic were halted as responders dealt with the volatile situation. Southbound motorists were directed through Enterprise and on to St. George to rejoin the interstate.

What does the future hold for 2013? On Tuesday the Salt Lake Chamber and CBRE, the world’s largest real estate company delivered their economic outlook for the new year. Jessica Gail reports on why they say Utah residents should be optimistic but cautious.

Let’s sum up what 2012 looked like economically for Utah:

The Utah Geological Survey has been awarded more than $1.6 million dollars from the U.S. Department of Energy to study the state’s expanding oil and gas industry. Petroleum Section Chief Thomas Chidsey says one study will examine the disposal of the saline water produced from gas wells in the in the eastern part of Uintah Basin.

Over 1,000 people helped countdown the ribbon cutting to Adobe’s new 280,000 square-foot facility.

After the countdown, employees released balloons inside the atrium of the $107 million  building to celebrate the official opening of the structure. 

The new building base in Lehi marks Adobe’s stamp of approval in investing its company in Utah. The California based software company planned a building that is not only friendly to the environment as it pursues a LEED Gold certified level on the building, but also friendly to its employees. 

Hosting a bowl game is big business for Boise, generating nearly $1 million to the economy. To help encourage that economic boost, Famous Idaho Potato Bowl organizers are throwing a party that begins Tuesday with a bowling event to benefit local and team charities. It ends Saturday with festivities honoring the winner of the 16th annual bowl game to be played on that recognized blue turf.

The bowl's Executive Director Kevin McDonald tells us the scheduled events:

A massive land slide in October 2011 closed SR-14 east of Cedar City for almost a year. Now, more slide activity is reported on the important connector between I-15 and US-89.

Utah Department of Transportation's Kevin Kitchen reports that late Monday evening a rockfall occurred at milepost 7.5 -- the same section that had to be completely reconstructed after the landslide in October 2011.

Crews were able to clear most of the debris, opening the road to traffic in both directions, but 2 rocks were so large they could not be moved even with heavy equipment.