News on Everything Utah!
Source: Utah News
A phone call from last fall stays with Sherry Huang, a Utah nurse who cares for those seeking medical attention after being sexually assaulted. Huang didn’t know who the voice belonged to, but it sounded panicked.
“She wouldn’t even tell me her name. She wouldn’t give me any information, because she was so scared of law enforcement finding out, and she did not want to report,” Huang recalled Wednesday.
She encouraged the patient, who had disclosed she was pregnant and bleeding, to go to a hospital for scans and medication. But if Huang and her colleagues treated the caller, they couldn’t promise not to tell the police.
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Utah is the last state in the nation still requiring health care providers to report the names, contact information, injuries and whereabouts of adults who undergo rape exams, said Julie Valentine, a longtime sexual assault nurse examiner and a professor of nursing at the University of Utah.
Such mandatory reporting laws are commonplace when it comes to abuse of children and vulnerable adults. But Utah’s law applies to everyone, Valentine said, including adults who do not wish to file a police report or pursue criminal charges against a perpetrator.
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Valentine was among those urging lawmakers to change that this year, describing the current law as a barrier to health care for many. The bill, HB459, failed to gain traction during the 2026 Legislature, an outcome Valentine described as “heartbreaking.”
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The measure faced pushback from the Utah Chiefs of Police Association, which didn’t provide comment for this story in response to multiple requests.
The change would have allowed Utahns to choose whether to notify law enforcement after the exam, in which specially trained medics like Valentine and Huang primarily focus on identifying injuries and coordinating treatment. If a patient so chooses, they also collect samples that are sometimes later used as evidence. The exams must be done within six days of an assault, and at that early stage, Valentine noted, many aren’t certain if they want to involve police.
Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, and Dr. Julie Valentine of the University of Utah are pictured at the state Capitol on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Utah House Minority Caucus)
Valentine anticipates nurses could get more victims in their doors for an exam if Utah were to change its law, and in turn, those patients would be more likely to opt to report to law enforcement. She said Utah’s on its own after Michigan recently changed its policy to join the rest of the states and the U.S. military in leaving the choice to patients.
“We are outside of the norm — way outside,” Valentine said.
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She and Huang joined advocates and lawmakers at the state Capitol on Wednesday, a national day of awareness and advocacy against sexual assault. They cheered the passage of a new law banning polygraph tests for survivors of alleged sexual crimes and approval of a yearly allocation of $300,000 to keep a helpline for survivors staffed and running. But they also said there’s more to be done.
Utah’s top Democrat in the House of Representatives and a longtime sponsor of legislation addressing sexual assault, Rep. Angela Romero, told Utah News Dispatch she plans to look into the issue this summer and discuss it with police and health care providers.
“This is definitely something I’m interested in exploring,” said Romero, of Salt Lake City.
The bill’s sponsor in the 2026 Legislature, Republican Rep. Tyler Clancy, is leaving the job for a different post helming the state response to homelessness.
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Romero sponsored a 2017 law mandating the testing of sexual assault evidence kits that were collecting dust in Utah police stations. She said after the state solves one problem, it often learns of other related issues that need attention.
Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, speaks with reporters after a news conference on a national day of awareness for sexual assault on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Utah House Minority Caucus)
In a 2025 report, researchers at Wichita State University in Kansas wrote that the lack of anonymity under laws like Utah’s may discourage people from seeking medical care after they’re assaulted.
And while it’s technically not out of compliance with federal law, the report says, Utah’s law may go against the spirit of the Violence Against Women Act, which says a person can’t be required to help police investigate just because they received a sexual assault exam.
Huang, the nurse, said she and her colleagues try to restore a patient’s sense of agency by obtaining consent in the course of the exam, but the law conflicts with that approach. From what she gathered, the patient she spoke with on the phone last fall did not go to a hospital — an outcome she attributed to Utah’s policy.
“If we didn’t have that, then I think she would have, for sure, just gone in and gotten the help that she needed for her and her baby,” Huang said.
Source: Utah News
Source: Utah News
The New York Giants are hosting Utah offensive tackle Spencer Fano on a top-30 pre-draft visit, reports NFL analyst Ryan Fowler.
Fano, a 6-foot-5 1/2, 311-pound tackle from Spanish Fork, Utah, enjoyed a standout college career with the Utes. As a true freshman in 2023, he started all 13 games at left tackle, allowing just 2.0 sacks and earning first-team Freshman All-American honors.
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Fano followed with first-team All-Big 12 selections in 2024 and 2025, capping his senior season as the Outland Trophy winner, Polynesian College Football Player of the Year, and a unanimous All-American.
Scouts praise Fano’s high-level athleticism, quick feet, and loose hips, which allow him to mirror rushers effectively and excel in move-based blocking schemes. His NFL comparison is to Minnesota Vikings tackle Brian O’Neill.
While he possesses strong hand quickness and run-blocking experience, areas for development include adding core strength and improving pad level to sustain blocks against NFL power.
With three years of starting experience at both tackle spots, Fano projects as a potential early-round pick capable of becoming a solid NFL starter.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: New York Giants hosting Utah OL Spencer Fano on top-30 visit
Source: Utah News
The Jazz have been all business for Tanking and Co™ all of March. In fact, before tonight, they’d lost 10 of their last 11 games, which included a loss against Denver back in Colorado. The Nuggets, on the other hand, have subtly held an 8-2 record with the league’s second-longest winning streak.
Despite the annual tomfoolish custom of April 1st, there are n tricks tonight; Utah was flat-out defeated on their home floor with a good old-fashioned 130 -117 loss. There were highs. There were lows. There were Jokic no-look passes that dissociate with the external world. As Denver skipped across Salt Lake City before heading back next door, the Jazz decisively fell behind by falling out of a potentially gritty, high-intensity basketball game — they tend to love those.
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Utah put the final nail in the coffin after taking out their sole Jokic-stopper, that would be Elijah Harkless — a scrappy 6’3” guard that puts out his best Scrappy-Doo impression each night. Other than that, fans saw all the usuals on the injury report.
The @utahjazz injury report
QUEST – Elijah Harkless (hamstring)
OUT – Isaiah Collier (hamstring)
OUT – Keyonte George (hamstring)
OUT – Blake Hinson (2-way)
OUT – Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee)
OUT – Walker Kessler (shoulder)
OUT – Lauri Markkanen (hip)
OUT – Jusuf Nurkic (nose)— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) March 31, 2026
The Nuggets were at near-full form, with the exception of Spencer Jones and Zeke Nnaji. This is probably going to be a regular occurrence the Jazz will have to deal with for any franchise that isn’t currently outside of the Playoff picture.
It seems apparently that the entire Jazz defensive strategy revolved around one Elijah Harkless, as they looked completely helpless while digging themselves into an early 3-17 hole, with Denver, or just Jamal Murray, raining triple after triple. Murray hit 3-3 from beyond the arc just over 90 seconds into the first quarter. I can’t believe this is a real thing I have to type, but 8 of their first 9 field-goal makes had come from beyond the arc. Not only that, they hit them at a 61.5% rate. What the actual heck is going on in the mountains? Nuggets closed the quarter outscoring Utah 39-28, pushing their lead to 11. Jamal Murray sealed the first 12 minutes off with a half-court heave that could only happen in an area outside of time and space, otherwise known as wherever the Jazz are playing.
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The Jazz supposedly held Jokic to 2 field-goals in the first half, but everyone else on the Nuggets did most of the damage. Flip (19 points, 7-11 field-goals) and Brice (18 points, 7-10 field-goals) accounted for 68% of the Jazz points in the first half. The next best scorer scored 7. Jamal Murray continued to beat a man already down, matching his career-best for three-pointers in a half with 5. Bruce Brown beat his personal best of 4 steals in a half. You get a career-high! You get a career-high! Everybody gets a career-high! Nuggets were high and mighty with their 68-54 lead on Utah’s home floor.
Nikola Jokic canned a triple-double with 14-17-10 before the final 12 minutes even rolled open. Nuggets had 49 rebounds, 35 of them being defensive, compared to Utah’s 36 total rebounds.
The Jazz had chipped away several times in this game, but none of them mattered in any significant way. They got as close as 4 points of the Nuggets’ lead with 9:41 in the fourth quarter, but Denver quickly put a stop to that and continued to steamroll as they had been doing. But I have to note, Denver really doesn’t do enough to prevent open shots on the defensive end; imagine if Lauri or Keyonte were hitting those shots.
Brice Sensabaugh led all scorers with 28 in this one, many of which came from a 10-point entourage in the first quarter. The former Buckeye has been an explosive 20-point-per-game scorer for the majority of March. Five Jazz players in total crossed over the 10+ point mark.An
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Another Jazz draftee to enjoy was Kyle Filipowski, who netted 25 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists on 9-15 shooting in 31 minutes. Flip did his best and fiercely attacked premier rim-protector Nikola Jokic at the rim, which subsequently led to his benching when the Jazz got too close to the flame.
Jamal Murray enjoyed a strong night, as he usually does against Utah. He averaged 35 points per game, 7.8 assists per games and 4.8 rebounds in the Nuggets’ clean 4-0 sweep against the Jazz this season.
Utah drops to 21-56 with this loss and lines up their next matchup in Houston on Friday night.
Source: Utah News
Camping season is kicking off in Utah, and with it comes a fresh set of guidelines for visitors heading into one of its 46 scenic state parks. Whether you’re planning a weekend getaway or a longer stay, understanding the rules and regulations will help ensure a more enjoyable experience in Utah’s outdoors.
Source: Utah News
FILE – Prison guards stand outside holding cells at the Terrorism Confinement Center, a “mega-prison” built especially for gang members, during a media tour in Tecoluca, El Salvador, Feb. 2, 2023. Utah attorneys say a Venezuelan man was detained in San Diego and transported to the Salvadoran prison, where they allege he was tortured. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez, File)
Source: Utah News
By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM and SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration will move the U.S. Forest Service headquarters out of the nation’s capital to Salt Lake City as part of an organizational overhaul that involves shuttering research facilities in 31 states and concentrating resources in the West, the agency announced Tuesday.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the move, which is expected to be completed by summer 2027, will bring leaders closer to the landscapes they manage and the people who depend on them.
“Effective stewardship and active management are achieved on the ground, where forests and communities are found — not just behind a desk in the capital,” Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said.
Nearly 90% of National Forest System land is in the West, though Utah is only the 11th-ranked state for national forest coverage, with about 14,300 square miles (37,000 square kilometers).
During his first term, Trump moved the Bureau of Land Management to Colorado, citing many of the same reasons, including a desire to put top officials closer to the public lands they oversee. But it wasn’t long before the Biden administration reversed course, moving BLM headquarters back to Washington, D.C., after two years.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been moving thousands of employees out of Washington over the past year and eliminating layers of management as part of Trump’s push to slim down the federal workforce and make it more efficient.
With the move to Utah, about 260 Forest Service positions currently located in Washington are expected to relocate, and 130 workers will stay put, the agency said.
Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden said Salt Lake City stuck out for its reasonable cost of living, proximity to an international airport and the state’s “family-focused way of life.” It’s a Democratic-led capital city in a red state with values rooted in the locally headquartered Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known widely as the Mormon church.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, celebrated the move Tuesday as “a big win for Utah and the West,” while environmental groups viewed it as a precursor to the agency’s dismantling.
Taylor McKinnon at the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity described the move as “a costly bureaucratic reshuffle” that will put more power in the hands of corporations and states to log, mine and drill public lands.
“National forests belong to all Americans,” said McKinnon, the environmental group’s Southwest director. “Our nation’s capital is where federal policy is made and where the Forest Service headquarters belongs.”
FILE – A person walks along a dirt road in Deschutes National Forest, May 1, 2025, near Bend, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
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FILE – A person walks along a dirt road in Deschutes National Forest, May 1, 2025, near Bend, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
Josh Hicks, conservation campaigns director at The Wilderness Society, predicted that the move will lead to less access to public forests and threats to wildlife habitat, clean water and air.
“At a time when wildfires are getting worse, and access to public lands is already under strain, the last thing we need is an unnecessary reorganization that creates chaos and confusion for the land managers, researchers and wildland firefighters who help keep our forests healthy now and for future generations,” he said.
The Wilderness Society also pointed to Trump’s prior attempt with the BLM, saying that resulted in many staffers leaving who had valuable years of management experience. The group said this could end up hollowing out the Forest Service.
Many regional offices will close in the reorganization, and their services will shift to hubs in New Mexico, Georgia, Colorado, Wisconsin, Montana and California. Instead of maintaining multiple dispersed research stations with their own leadership, the agency will anchor its research at a single location in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The Forest Service said it did not yet know how many workers in regional offices will need to relocate. A spokesperson did not answer whether the transition would involve layoffs.
U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, a New Mexico Democrat who sits on the House’s Natural Resources Committee, echoed the idea that it’s the wrong time for upheaval as the Mountain West is facing historically low snowpack, extreme heat and the prospect of a dangerous fire season.
But she expressed cautious optimism that the Forest Service reorganization could be positive if leadership and jobs are ultimately brought closer to New Mexico and other states.
A Republican on the committee, U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy of Utah, welcomed the move to her state, saying it could improve responsiveness to wildfires and ensure decisions are informed by on-the-ground realities.
The Forest Service’s deputy chief of fire and aviation management, Sarah Fisher, said on a podcast Tuesday that there will be no changes to the agency’s operational firefighting workforce.
Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Source: Utah News
March 31, 2026, 8:48 p.m. ET
The U.S. Forest Service is relocating its headquarters to Salt Lake City, citing the move as a “sweeping restructuring” of the agency, the Agriculture Department said.
The agency’s move from its current location in Washington, DC, to Utah’s capital city is part of a broader strategy to place the forest service closer to the Western states that comprise the majority of the 193-million-acre forest system, the USDA announced March 31.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement that the relocation will improve the Forest Service’s mission of managing its forests, saving taxpayers’ money and boosting employee recruitment.
“Establishing a western headquarters in Salt Lake City and streamlining how the Forest Service is organized will position the Chief and operation leaders closer to the landscapes we manage and the people who depend on them,” Rollins said.
“This includes supporting our timber growers across the country, including those in the Southeast, by prioritizing a regional office and promoting policies that boost timber production, lowering costs for consumers,” Rollins added.
The Forest Service’s move come after the 2019 relocation of the Bureau of Land Management headquarters to Grand Junction, Colorado, during President Donald Trump‘s first term in office, which led to a vast majority of the staff leaving the agency, only for the BLM to return to Washington. The BLM manages public lands in several Western states, performing activities such as oil and gas and agricultural leases.
About 260 headquarters positions will relocate to Utah, while 130 will remain in Washington, the Forest Service said. Additional phases of the reorganization, including the formal elimination of regional and station office structures and the full transition to a state-based model, will be implemented over the coming year.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox praised the Forest Service move, thanking Trump, Rollins, USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden and Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz.
“This is a big win for Utah and the West. With nearly 90% of Forest Service lands west of the Mississippi, moving the U.S. Forest Service headquarters to Salt Lake City will put leadership closer to the lands, communities, and challenges they manage,” the Republican governor said in a March 31 post on X. “It also means hundreds of jobs coming to Utah and better, faster decisions on the ground for the people who rely on our public lands, from ranchers and timber producers to families who work and recreate there.”
As part of its restructure, the Forest Service said it would establish 15 state directors to oversee its operations, the USDA said. Each state office will include a small leadership support team responsible for functions such as legislative affairs, communications and intergovernmental coordination.
“This approach is intended to simplify the chain of command, strengthen local partnerships, and give field leaders greater ability to respond to conditions on the ground,” the USDA said.
The Forest Service will also begin transitioning to a “state-based organizational model” to shift authority closer to the field, a goal the administration has been emphasizing since the beginning of the second Trump administration, the USDA said.
Additionally, “operational service centers” will be formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Athens, Georgia; Fort Collins, Colorado; Madison, Wisconsin; Missoula, Montana; and Placerville, California. More service center locations may be added as the transition progresses, the USDA said.
The Forest Service said research operations will also be consolidated as the agency has previously mentioned. Research facilities now located in multiple regions will fall under a central research organization based in Fort Collins, the agency said.
The Forest Service said its relocation to Salt Lake City will be complete by summer 2027.
One major environmental group is questioning the Forest Service’s pending relocation.
The Sierra Club, the nation’s oldest conservation organization, said in a statement on March 31 that it is skeptical about the USDA’s move.
“The Forest Service should be structured in a way that allows them to steward our public lands effectively and with robust public engagement. This administration has routinely pursued the exact opposite by gutting protections and the public lands management workforce,” Alex Craven, the Sierra Club’s forest campaign manager. “Despite continued appeals of ‘common sense’ management, it’s far from clear this latest reorganization will get us any closer to that.”
Source: Utah News
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration will move the U.S. Forest Service headquarters out of the nation’s capital to Salt Lake City as part of an organizational overhaul that involves shuttering research facilities in 31 states and concentrating resources in the West, the agency announced Tuesday.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the move, which is expected to be completed by summer 2027, will bring leaders closer to the landscapes they manage and the people who depend on them.
“Effective stewardship and active management are achieved on the ground, where forests and communities are found — not just behind a desk in the capital,” Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said.
Nearly 90% of National Forest System land is in the West, though Utah is only the 11th-ranked state for national forest coverage, with about 14,300 square miles (37,000 square kilometers).
During his first term, Trump moved the Bureau of Land Management to Colorado, citing many of the same reasons, including a desire to put top officials closer to the public lands they oversee. But it wasn’t long before the Biden administration reversed course, moving BLM headquarters back to Washington, D.C., after two years.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been moving thousands of employees out of Washington over the past year and eliminating layers of management as part of Trump’s push to slim down the federal workforce and make it more efficient.
With the move to Utah, about 260 Forest Service positions currently located in Washington are expected to relocate, and 130 workers will stay put, the agency said.
Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden said Salt Lake City stuck out for its reasonable cost of living, proximity to an international airport and the state’s “family-focused way of life.” It’s a Democratic-led capital city in a red state with values rooted in the locally headquartered Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known widely as the Mormon church.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, celebrated the move Tuesday as “a big win for Utah and the West,” while environmental groups viewed it as a precursor to the agency’s dismantling.
Taylor McKinnon at the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity described the move as “a costly bureaucratic reshuffle” that will put more power in the hands of corporations and states to log, mine and drill public lands.
“National forests belong to all Americans,” said McKinnon, the environmental group’s Southwest director. “Our nation’s capital is where federal policy is made and where the Forest Service headquarters belongs.”
Josh Hicks, conservation campaigns director at The Wilderness Society, predicted that the move will lead to less access to public forests and threats to wildlife habitat, clean water and air.
“At a time when wildfires are getting worse, and access to public lands is already under strain, the last thing we need is an unnecessary reorganization that creates chaos and confusion for the land managers, researchers and wildland firefighters who help keep our forests healthy now and for future generations,” he said.
The Wilderness Society also pointed to Trump’s prior attempt with the BLM, saying that resulted in many staffers leaving who had valuable years of management experience. The group said this could end up hollowing out the Forest Service.
Many regional offices will close in the reorganization, and their services will shift to hubs in New Mexico, Georgia, Colorado, Wisconsin, Montana and California. Instead of maintaining multiple dispersed research stations with their own leadership, the agency will anchor its research at a single location in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The Forest Service said it did not yet know how many workers in regional offices will need to relocate. A spokesperson did not answer whether the transition would involve layoffs.
U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, a New Mexico Democrat who sits on the House’s Natural Resources Committee, echoed the idea that it’s the wrong time for upheaval as the Mountain West is facing historically low snowpack, extreme heat and the prospect of a dangerous fire season.
But she expressed cautious optimism that the Forest Service reorganization could be positive if leadership and jobs are ultimately brought closer to New Mexico and other states.
A Republican on the committee, U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy of Utah, welcomed the move to her state, saying it could improve responsiveness to wildfires and ensure decisions are informed by on-the-ground realities.
The Forest Service’s deputy chief of fire and aviation management, Sarah Fisher, said on a podcast Tuesday that there will be no changes to the agency’s operational firefighting workforce.
Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Source: Utah News
