Earlier this month, the actor, director, producer and book enthusiast Reese Witherspoon shared a video with her 30 million followers on Instagram. The video featured Witherspoon reading the first few lines of “The Unwedding,” the newest release from Utah author Ally Condie.

“It wasn’t yet sunrise when she left her room,” Witherspoon read from Condie’s book, which is about a recently divorced woman alone on vacation who finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery. “Once the rain began it never stopped.”

That same day, it was announced that “The Unwedding” was Witherspoon’s book club pick for June.

Read more about why Condie thinks Utah produces so many great young adult fiction writers.

Salt Lake City to get permanent passport office, Sec. of State Blinken announces

Salt Lake City will get a permanent passport office, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Tuesday.

The closest passport office to Salt Lake is currently 500 miles away in Denver, but after a concerted effort by Sen. Mitt Romney and other members of Utah’s congressional delegation, an office will soon be open in Utah.

Romney released a statement after the announcement saying he and his team had worked for more than three years to bring a passport agency to Utah.

“Utah is experiencing rapid population growth as it becomes a center for global commerce and tourism — as well as home base to thousands of Latter-day Saints who embark on worldwide religious missions each year,” Romney said. “A passport agency in Salt Lake now means that Utahns will not have to travel such long distances to obtain in-person consular services. I could not be more thrilled with today’s announcement.”

Read more about how the passport office came about and what it means for Utah and the surrounding states.

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