Plus, reading skills are slipping for many Utah students.
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By Sarah Gambles Friday Jan. 31, 2025

⛅ 13 – 40° Logan | ⛅ 24 – 47° Salt Lake 

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⛅ 17 – 54° Cedar City | ⛅ 28 – 57° St. George

 

🌅 Good morning! 

 

Did you ever watch or read the "Little House on the Prairie" series? Soon it will be coming to Netflix in a new reboot series. 

 

“‘Little House on the Prairie’ has captured the hearts and imaginations of so many fans around the world, and we’re excited to share its enduring themes of hope and optimism with a fresh take on this iconic story,” said Jinny Howe, Netflix’s vice president of Drama Series, in a statement.

 

I grew up on the TV series and the books, so I'm curious about the reboot, while also wary because reboots sometimes taint my view of the original.

 

Kelsey Dallas reported that I'm not alone in my concerns, with some X users getting hung up on the description of the show as a "reimagining."

 

Read more about the reaction to the Netflix series announcement.  

 

Nation’s Report Card: Reading skills slipping for many Utah students

 
Utah students are doing OK, with room for improvement, according to a new assessment. 
 
The results come from The National Assessment of Educational Progress 2024 scores — essentially "The Nation's Report Card." It assesses the math and reading performance of fourth- and eighth-grade students across the nation. 
 
Utah's students had only three states or jurisdictions outperform them, Jason Swensen reported. 
 
It's not all good news, though. Utah's eighth-grade students saw a decline in reading scores, which reflects a similar decline in reading performances throughout the U.S.
 

“More children are falling below the proficient level, underscoring the critical need to double down on effective reading interventions and support for our students,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Sydnee Dickson said.

 
Here are some notable takeaways from the report:
  • Fourth grade reading levels haven't changed. 
  • Utah students are holding steady in math performance for fourth and eighth grade.
  • Utah males outperformed their Utah female counterparts in math in both fourth and eighth grade.

  • Conversely, Utah females scored higher than Utah boys in reading in both fourth and eighth grade.

Read more about the results.

 

More in Utah

  • Incoming atmospheric river prompts winter storm warning in parts of Utah this weekend (KSL)

  • Bill to prohibit fluoride in public drinking water systems advances (Deseret News)

  • 'Super excited': Utah agency eager for Utahraptor State Park grand opening this year (KSL)

  • Ski resorts in the West could see big snow this weekend (Deseret News)

  • UVU unveils new applied AI apprenticeship program (Utah Policy)

  • NASA asteroid sample that landed in Utah holds the ingredients of life from a watery world (The Associated Press)

  • Park City, Salt Lake City guard details of bid for Sundance (The Park Record)

1-pets-4122024 (15)-Jan-31-2025-12-09-23-5054-AM

Will deportations affect housing supply in Utah?

An immigrant deportation crackdown could impact Utah's housing shortage.
 
Utah housing affordability czar Steve Waldrip told reporter Brigham Tomco that it will increase home costs amid construction labor shortages and will not significantly decrease housing demand.  
 

“It’s not going to have a measurable impact on the price of housing to deport immigrants,” Waldrip said. “But it will have a negative impact on the production side.”

 
Here are three key points from the article: 
  • The number of unauthorized immigrants in Utah could range from 75,000 to 114,000.
  • At least 20% of the Utah construction force is made up of immigrants.
  • Utah is facing a growing housing shortage of around 40,000 units.
Read more about immigration policy and housing.
 

More in Politics

  • Kash Patel, Trump’s pick for FBI director, grilled by Democrats, defended by Republicans (Deseret News)

  • Tulsi Gabbard faces questions about Russia, Syria and Snowden from senators (Deseret News)

  • Sen. John Curtis pushes to enforce sanctions on Chinese companies engaging in U.S. intellectual theft (Deseret News)

  • Top Senate committee Republican ‘struggling’ over RFK Jr.’s nomination, points to vaccine skepticism (Deseret News)

  • Utah measure would empower governor to enter interstate fire agreement (St George News)

  • Jennifer Graham: We were mourning together. Then came the press conference (Deseret News)

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Round out your day (v5)

Health

  • As drinks targeting kids have soared, there's new guidance on what's healthy (NPR)

  • Regular flossing linked to better heart health, reduced stroke, AFib risk (Healthline)

Faith

  • Elder Uchtdorf ministers in Costa Rica and Colombia, invites seeking the Holy Ghost’s companionship (Church News)

  • The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reiterates immigration policy centered on law, love (Deseret News)

The Nation and the World

  • 14 from U.S. figure skating community aboard plane that crashed near Washington, D.C. (Deseret News)

  • What to know about the Washington, D.C., plane crash (CBS News)

  • Middle East live updates: 8 hostages released and handed over to the Red Cross (ABC News)

Sports

  • Long wait is nearly over for BYU baseball (Deseret News)

  • How much offensive production returns for the Utes next year? (Deseret News)

  • Looking back: For BYU kickers, beating the Utes was a family affair (Deseret News)

  • Why Utah Hockey Club’s team name options just changed — again (Deseret News)

Entertainment and Lifestyle

  • Netflix announces ‘Little House on the Prairie’ reboot, raising concerns about a ‘woke’ take on the West (Deseret News)

  • How A.J. Wentworth founded The Chocolate Conspiracy (Utah Business)

  • These Utah restaurants just became semifinalists for this prestigious award (Deseret News)

🗓️ Events Calendar

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

 

Here are some highlights for events in Utah today: 

  • Stomp | Eccles Theater
  • Jordan World Circus | Bastian Agriculture Center, South Jordan
  • Utah Hockey Club vs. Columbus Blue Jackets | Delta Center 7 p.m.
  • BYU men’s volleyball vs. Hawai’i | Smith Fieldhouse 7 p.m.
  • BYU women’s gymnastics vs. UC Davis, SUU | Marriott Center 7 p.m.
  • U of U women’s basketball vs. Arizona | Jon M. Huntsman Center 6:30 p.m.

Please reach out to me at [email protected] if you have any thoughts, feedback or ideas you would like to share!

 

✨ Cheers ✨

— Gambles

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