Plus, how Utah is preparing to step up amid federal layoffs
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Good morning! If you’ve never downloaded a dating app, I envy you. The experience has left many young Americans feeling disillusioned with finding love in the 21st century. But in post-pandemic America, where so much of life takes place online, what are the other options? Stanford University sociology professor Michael Rosenfeld found that there are 10 million more single Americans right now than ever before. Finding love is fraught with challenges, and Americans have developed a complicated relationship with finding relationships. Megan Feldman Bettencourt asked Rosenfeld why that matters. Is America done with dating? Read more. Also on our minds: How BYU basketball clinched a win at Arizona State on Wednesday night Is religion dying? Major new study looks at U.S. religious trends New book sheds light on Biden’s decline and cover-up |
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| Between a rock and a broken immigration system: Why Utah business lobbied against E-Verify expansion |
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Brigham Tomco writes: Last week, members of the House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee voted for the second time not to advance a bill that would require companies with at least 15 employees to use the federal immigration verification tool E-Verify — down from the current threshold of 150 employees.
The bipartisan blockade against the policy, which was originally included in Utah’s “compromise on immigration” 15 years ago, came after a concerted effort by the agriculture and construction industries to paint the bill as an ineffective means of reducing illegal activity that would have disastrous outcomes for companies already struggling because of workforce shortfalls.
The consensus among many lawmakers and lobbyists on Capitol Hill seemed to be that — public safety concerns aside — putting pressure on private businesses to enforce federal immigration policy is the wrong approach.
While Utah farmer Robert McMullin said he never hires unauthorized workers because he can’t risk a mid-season raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he still bristles at the idea that business owners trying to make ends meet should be tasked with tracking how prospective employees entered the country.
“There are times when we have left fruit in the field because we have not had enough labor to harvest it in a timely manner,” McMullin said. “It is not my job to have to regulate the people that come to my front door to work.”
Read more about how immigration policy affects business in Utah. |
| The Trump administration has laid off more than 10,000 workers in the past few weeks, and that number is likely just the beginning. Federal employees in Utah are already feeling the effects of the cuts — the IRS in Ogden is expected to lay off 1,000 people by the end of tax filing season, and several hundred have already received a pink slip. As Utah prepares to deal with these cuts, here’s how cities and state representatives are stepping up to provide support: Ogden City said it is collaborating with organizations such as Ogden-Weber Technical College and the Department of Workforce Services to develop strategies that will help affected workers regain employment stability. Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, is looking at recreation areas that have fallen into disrepair or mismanagement for a possible transfer to the state or co-management. Read more from Amy Joi O’Donoghue about how federal layoffs will affect Utah. More in Utah Politics Renae Cowley & Frank Pignanelli: Navigating AI, technology and Musk in politics (Deseret News) Potential holy days in Utah — Diwali, Good Friday, Eid al-Fitr and Yom Kippur (Deseret News) Lawmakers consider $1 million cap for medical malpractice lawsuits in Utah (Deseret News) A Utah version of the Indian Child Welfare Act is again in limbo (KUER) |
FROM UTAH BUSINESS Utah Business 2025 Outstanding Directors Nominations Know an outstanding board director or board member who advises private, public or nonprofit organizations? Nominate today! |
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Dale Murphy still delivering the goods, just a different kind (Deseret News) As Utah looks to fulfill ‘greater aspirations,’ what will be different this time around? (Deseret News) Faith After decades of change, the U.S. religious landscape has stabilized. Will it last? (Deseret News) 10 takeaways from a major new survey on American religion (Deseret News) ‘These words have gone into my heart like fire,’ says Latter-day Saint apostle about the Book of Mormon (Deseret News) Entertainment HBO’s ‘Harry Potter’ series finds its Albus Dumbledore in John Lithgow (Deseret News) To the world, he was ‘Superman.’ But to Will Reeve, he was dad (Deseret News) |
🗓️ Events Calendar We put together a list of events and activities going on around the state of Utah in February. Check it out and let us know if we are missing anything! Here are some highlights for events in Utah today: Feb. 27-28 — “Million Dollar Quartet” | Festival Hall and Heritage Theater, Cedar City Feb. 27 — Utah Hockey Club vs. Minnesota Wild | 7 p.m. Feb. 27 — Weber State women’s basketball vs. Eastern Washington | 7 p.m. Feb. 27 — SUU women’s basketball vs. Utah Tech | 6:30 p.m. |
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Check your inbox tomorrow morning for more news from the Beehive State and beyond! And reply to this email or email [email protected] to tell us what you think of Utah Today. Thanks for reading! — Ariel |
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