Plus, Utah’s state parks are innovating to get residents outdoors — and make money
Utah’s state parks are innovating to get residents outdoors — and make money |
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| | Utah's 46 state parks offer a variety of experiences that cater to all types of visitors — whether you're avid for arachnids, keen on sleeping in a yurt or looking for a horseback ride, there's a park for you. So how did the Beehive State's parks manage to pull off this diversification? Well, it wasn't easy. Just over a decade ago, a 2011 legislative audit of the state parks division found that very few of the parks actually made money and were too dependent on state taxpayer subsidies. As a result, ongoing funding for the division was slashed by 59%, a cut that led to layoffs and other drastic measures. Despite the discouraging blow, the change drove the division towards taking a more business-like approach in order to avoid park closures or privatization of some of the parks. Fast-forward to now and the division hasn't had difficulty attracting visitors. In fact, from July 2022 through May of this year, the latest numbers available, nearly 9.3 million people patronized state parks. |
Read more about Utah's innovative state parks. |
| If someone were to ask you what the top three most common crimes committed in Utah are, what would your guesses be? If you guessed property theft, car break-ins and fraud, you'd be in the right ballpark, a recent Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll suggests. The poll asked Utahns if they had been a victim of any of the following in the last year: physical assault, sexual assault, financial fraud, home break-in, car break-in/theft, money/property theft, hate crime or identity theft. Nearly 1 in 5 respondents claimed they were subjected to financial fraud and/or a car break-in, and 1 in 4 said they had money or property stolen from them or a family member. Read more about the poll's results and crime in Utah. More in Politics Worried about increasing crime in the U.S.? Survey says you might be a Republican (Deseret News) Top artificial intelligence developers commit to security testing, clear labeling of AI-generated content (Deseret News) Perspective: The solution to polarization is the common ground right under our feet (Deseret News) | Health Does your sleeping position cause wrinkles? The best sleeping position for minimizing aging (Deseret News) Hot takes on how to recognize heat sickness (Deseret News) Faith Two Latter-day Saint temples to start construction in the U.S. this October (Deseret News) How a returned missionary’s plan for disaster resulted in a national title (Deseret News) Entertainment ‘Shark Week’ 2023 will include ‘cocaine sharks,’ a whale carcass decoy and Aquaman (Deseret News) Beyond Barbenheimer: 9 movies to watch in theaters this year (Deseret News) Culture The ubiquitous power of Taylor Swift (Deseret News) Charcuterie for one? Snacking instead of supper? Inside the world of ‘girl dinner’ (Deseret News) Weber County Man dies after crashing into Pineview Reservoir (KSL) The first Ogden mayoral debate highlights the struggle with affordable housing (KUER) Salt Lake County Opinion: The gondola wins at Little Cottonwood Canyon — or does it? (Deseret News) Salt Lake's bad mosquito year could be a one-off (Axios Salt Lake City) Washington and Kane Counties Air attack, hiking firefighters combine to halt wildfire near Veyo (St. George News) Man from Ohio dies in cliff-jumping accident at Lake Powell (KSL) The West It’s foxtail season — here’s how to protect your pet from foxtail injuries (Deseret News) Teen facing charges after breaking into animal shelter and poisoning multiple dogs (East Idaho News) U.S. & World Kamala Harris accuses Florida officials of trying to 'replace history with lies' through new curriculum (NBC News) Greece fires: Thousands flee homes and hotels on Rhodes as fires spread (BBC News) Sports Who will win the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup? (Deseret News) Why Utah is ‘cautiously optimistic’ it can defend its conference title (Deseret News) Pushing through: Finding one’s pace in life through running (Deseret News) |
That's all for today. Check your inbox tomorrow morning for more news from the Beehive State and beyond! If you have any feedback for me or on Utah Today, reply directly to this email or email [email protected]. Thank you for reading. Have a good one! — Gabby |
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