With thanks to

☀️ 51 – 92° Logan | ☀️ 67 – 94° Salt Lake

☀️ 55 – 89° Manti | ☀️ 67 – 99° Moab

☀️ 54 – 88° Cedar City | ☀️ 68 – 100° St. George

🌅 Good morning!

Utah was just ranked the fourth best state for road-tripping, which is a great reminder to get out and enjoy the state’s beautiful scenery this summer.

Bryan Barba writes that both affordability and access to scenic byways helped Utah reach its spot on the leaderboard. Nationwide, there are about 184 scenic byways, nine of which are in Utah. Check out the complete list.

Going for a scenic drive is one of my favorite pastimes, but I’ve only completed two of these routes (the Energy Loop and Nebo Loop). Both were well worth the trip. Let me know which byway should be next on my road trip itinerary.

Also on our minds:

Results from Day 2 of the NBA draft
Some senators question ‘total obliteration’ after classified Iran briefing
Pluralsight moving headquarters to Texas, laying off 17% of workforce

We saw all 6 plays at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Here’s what you need to know

“All the world’s a stage” in Cedar City as the Utah Shakespeare Festival returns for its 64th season.

The lineup includes a Tony Award-winning musical, a Shakespearean drama that hasn’t been performed on the festival’s stage for almost 20 years, and a tearjerking play that’s also been made into a movie starring Julia Roberts and Dolly Parton.

Valerie Jones made the drive to Cedar City to see all six plays. Here are the shows you can see this year:

'The Greenshow’
‘Macbeth’
‘Antony and Cleopatra’
‘As You Like It’
‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder’
‘The Importance of Being Earnest’
‘Steel Magnolias’

A seventh play, “Dear Jack, Dear Louise,” will premiere later this summer.

Read more about each of these shows and what you should know about visiting the Utah Shakespeare Festival this year.

An inside look into Egor Demin’s magical NBA draft night

Dave McCann writes:

During a late-night phone call last summer, Travis Hansen boldly declared Egor Demin would be a top-10 lottery pick after his freshman season at BYU. Considering no one around here had seen him play before, except on YouTube highlights, Hansen’s proclamation was bold. The Cougars hadn’t had a lottery pick since Jimmer Fredette in 2011.

The former BYU star knew of Demin’s potential coming from Real Madrid in Spain, where Hansen played professionally (2009-11) and came to know Egor’s father, Vladimir.

When the time arrived to find Egor a school in the United States to prepare for the NBA, Hansen made a BYU pitch to his parents (Vladimir and Natalia), and once new BYU coach Kevin Young (former Suns assistant coach) got involved, the choice became an easy one to make.

Moments after the Nets selected Demin with the eighth overall pick in the first round of Wednesday’s 2025 NBA draft, the young Russian star threw his arms around his American mentor, and they hugged it out at the Barclays Center — Demin’s new home.

Read more about how Demin’s dream and Hansen’s prophecy both come true in Brooklyn.

FROM DESERET NEWS MARATHON

Join us for the 55th Annual Deseret News Marathon

Join us for this year’s Deseret News Marathon, Utah’s longest-operating marathon! Runners will race down historic Emigration Canyon into the Salt Lake Valley, finishing in front of thousands of adoring fans along the Days of ’47 Parade route. Sign up today at run.deseret.com!

Utah

What the Supreme Court’s Planned Parenthood ruling means for Utah (Deseret News)
IOC reassessing bid process that gave Utah a second Winter Games nearly a decade away (Deseret News)
New park and boat harbor connect residents to Provo River and Utah Lake (KSL.com)
Fireworks sparked new wildfire near homes in Utah County (KSL.com)
Letters to Mike Lee: Utahns express frustration with public land sale, response to shootings (KSL.com)
Dramatic video shows rockfall narrowly missing people at iconic Utah waterfall (KSL.com)
'It's like COVID': Sugar House businesses feel construction sting once again this summer (KSL.com)
Pluralsight moving headquarters to Texas, laying off 17% of workforce (KSL.com)
Despite lower lake levels, Glen Canyon is ready for summer with new projects and visitor support (St George News)

Health

CDC reconsiders immunization schedule as RFK Jr. pulls vaccine group dollars (Deseret News)
Utah now has 5 measles cases and is expecting more (KUER)

Faith

'The Chosen' actor Jonathan Roumie met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican (Deseret News)
107 people in Papua New Guinea are baptized on the same day (Church News)

Politics

Trump tax bill dealt major blow as several Medicaid provisions are axed (Deseret News)
Supreme Court limits appeals window for immigrants facing torture abroad (Deseret News)
Trump signs Curtis bill repealing EPA emissions rule (Utah Policy)
Bill Moyers, the former White House press secretary turned acclaimed TV journalist, dead at 91 (The Associated Press)

The Nation and the World

What we know so far about the damage done to Iran’s nuclear facilities (Deseret News)
Hundreds of heat records set across U.S. this week (Axios)
Astronaut becomes first Indian to set foot on ISS (BBC)

Sports

Did BYU have the best sports year of any Big 12 school? (Deseret News)
What did the experts think about the Jazz's selections of Ace Bailey and Walker Clayton? (Deseret News)
Faith Kipyegon attempted women’s running history. These Utah ties were part of the moment (Deseret News)
JJ Peterka was ‘excited to come to Utah,’ GM says (Deseret News)

🗓️ Events Calendar

We put together a calendar list of events and activities going on around the state of Utah during this month. Check it out, and let us know if we are missing anything!

Here are some highlights for events in Utah today:

Taylorsville Dayzz | Taylorsville
Cedar City Final Friday Art Walk | Cedar City
“The Scarlet Pimpernel” | Ellen Eccles Theatre, Logan
“Into the Woods” | The Electric Theater Center, St. George

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!

— Mary