Category: News

Southern Utah may soon turn into a hub for sports excellence. New facilities and projects could transform the region, attracting talent and tourism. This could lead to an increase in the community’s overall sportsmanship.

New sports complexes and facilities in Salt Lake City are already affecting athletes and organizations down here. It’s more than just a boost for local athletes. These developments can make St. George a destination for sports tourism and professional events, attract visitors and boost the economy. This ripple effect could expand opportunities for local athletes and beyond.

David Cordero, communications and marketing director for the city of St. George, said the city plans to expand its current parks and recreation projects. The city’s master plan mentions how it needs new or improved sports facilities. 

According to the master plan: “Between the growth in hosted sport tournaments and the projected population growth, the city must continue to plan for the installation of new sport fields and courts. The demand for hosted tournaments and events shall be measured, and the city will work with the county and neighboring cities to distribute the impact of these events.”

With the passing of The General Obligation Bond, St. George is set to undergo significant enhancements to its recreational infrastructure, with over 30 projects in the works. These include new trails, new parks and improvements to existing facilities like the Dixie Sun Bowl and the Canyons Softball Complex. The bond will allow St. George to build and improve sports complexes and facilities.

“The General Obligation Bond will allow funding for a variety of new trails, parks and recreation projects,” Cordero said. “Right now, our main focus is on the GO Bond projects.”

Utah Tech University can see the effects of new parks, trails and upgraded sports facilities, which will provide student athletes with more high-quality spaces for practice. The improvements will also strengthen the university’s ability to attract top talent by positioning southern Utah as the place to be for athletes.

Ken Beazer, Utah Tech’s athletic director, said the development would elevate the university’s athletics program and provide unique recruiting advantages. 

Beazer said: “The more focus you have on athletics and facilities here, the more it enhances your perception as an athletic area. It just puts that location on the map as a sports and athletic hub, and there are a lot of indirect benefits that come from that. I think directly, it is just your community is used to athletic events at a high level, and it can’t help but carry over to what we’re doing things collegiately.” 

Patrick Manning, managing partner at Black Desert Resort, spoke on how growth in this area can transform St. George into a sports haven. With events like the St. George Marathon, Iron Man races and the Huntsman World Senior Games, people are already traveling here to participate. This could help bring in economic benefits due to the spike in tourism the town would face.

Manning said: “Southern Utah was already on the map for its natural beauty, and state and national parks, plus our great weather. These tournaments will grow heightened awareness of other ways to enjoy and reasons to come to southern Utah beyond great hiking. It will become known as a golfing mecca and will continue to spread its wings.”

The impact of new sports infrastructure in southern Utah could lead to long-term benefits, and the region would be positioned as a premier destination for sports. For student athletes, this means more high-quality training and competition venues. This also could lead to better recruiting strategies. As the area gains recognition, athletes will experience increased support from local fans.

This shift would not only boost the local economy but also contribute to the area’s growing identity as a sports destination.

From the fires in Wyoming, Hurricane Milton, earthquakes and landslides, natural disasters have been taking over headlines. Being overly aware of the climate situation at hand can lead to climate anxiety. In 2021, the Google search “climate anxiety” increased by 565%.

Students may feel a sense of helplessness due to climate change’s impact on their futures. St. George is experiencing an increase in heatwaves as a result of climate change. Average temperatures in the region have been rising since 1895. Extreme weather events caused by this, like droughts and sudden rainfall, can impact local ecosystems and water resources.

Cristina Martinez Busto, a junior environmental science major from Madrid, Spain, said: “In the very broad picture, our modern lifestyle comes with a price for the environment. Everything we buy, all the plastics we use, driving our cars; they all are related to energy consumption, which must come from somewhere.”

Education is proving to be a powerful tool. Environmental education helps students understand climate science and empowers them to take action. Students can participate in Utah Tech University’s Climate Resilience and Sustainability.

The university’s center integrates scientific, sociological and economic insights to better understand the local effects of climate change and drive meaningful actions.

Rico Del Sesto, professor of chemistry, said, “I think the more significant impact is through knowledge and understanding, and knowing how to find data-supported information from reputable sources.”

While initiatives like Utah Tech’s center aim to drive climate action and education, engaging students in these efforts poses challenges.

Jean Lown, a retired Utah State University professor of finance, consumer economics and leader of the St. George chapter of Citizens’ Climate Change Lobby, said: “Everything I read in the news and hear is young people are really concerned, and yet we have not been very successful… I don’t know how to get students involved. This is their future… I mean, I’m going to be dead in 20 years. I don’t know how to get them involved.”

To effectively fight climate anxiety, Dr. Lown recommends engaging in meaningful actions. Joining organizations like Citizens’ Climate Lobby and reaching out to local representatives is one simple way to make an impact. 

“The best way to combat climate anxiety is to take action. Each month, members get a text and an email. They can send the email to their two senators and their one representative in less than five minutes. Hardly anyone does it,” Dr. Lown said.

Building a sense of community helps reduce climate anxiety by providing support and a shared sense of purpose. When students engage in environmental efforts together, they feel less isolated and more empowered, turning their concerns into meaningful action and hope for the future.

Busto said: “I used to be one of those who felt lost and didn’t know how to help the environment. I realized that most of the time the hardest part is simply getting up and starting to take action.”

Addressing climate change requires more than awareness, it calls for action at every level. By doing simple tasks, like reducing waste and conserving energy to supporting local environmental groups, students can make an impact.

As students become more involved, they can shift from feeling overwhelmed by climate anxiety to finding hope through collective efforts and tangible progress.

Live music is not brought to campus often. Usually, it only makes its appearance during Live and Local, but this year, the ambassadors decided to do their own concert to raise funds for a local charity called Youth Futures and for their own program.

“The ambassador presidency decided this year to do more outreach and a little bit more within our community, to be leaders on campus more than just tour guides,” Dahlin Lutz, advisor to the ambassadors, said.

The ambassadors do a service project every year as part of their organization. This year they took a different approach than they have done in the past.

“One of our presidency members, Katie Walker, loves to do events, so she wanted to switch it up from what we usually do, to do an event on campus to help a local charity,” Myles Beatty, a senior communications major from Ogden and Utah Tech ambassador, said.

Bands and singers such as Citrus!, Logan Rawson and Cardinal Bloom sang at the concert. Students sat on the grass and listened to the different bands play. There were food trucks present at the event and a booth selling band merchandise.

A portion of the funds from the food trucks and ticket sales went toward funding the ambassador program and Youth Futures, while the merchandise sales went strictly to the bands.

“[Youth Futures] is a house with troubled teens that gives back to them and has resources for [the teens],” Beatty said.

The program functions as a homeless shelter. It provides teens access to clothing, food, hygiene items, laundry facilities and computers. The first shelter in this program was founded in February of 2015 by Kristen Mitchell and Scott Catuccio in Ogden. The shelter in St. George was opened in 2018. It is available to all teenagers 12-17 years old. No one is turned away, regardless of circumstance.

Students at the event enjoyed the opportunity to listen to live music. Student tickets were only $5, so it gave them an opportunity to discover Utah artists for a cheaper price than usual concert tickets. The event was located in the Encampment Mall, so the concert was easily accessible to students.

“I think it’s good engagement for our students,” Katelund Mann, a junior nursing major from Las Vegas, said. “It’s on campus, so everyone has access, and it’s cheap.”

The event helped the ambassadors advertise their program further as an on-campus presence beyond tour guides and allowed them to fund the important things they do for the campus.

Lutz said: “I think it [was] a great opportunity to support an essential student organization which is the ambassadors. Utah Tech is experiencing some of the fastest growth out of any university in the state on the West Coast, and a huge part of that growth the ambassadors are encouraging through their interaction with prospective students. By supporting an organization that is so closely tied to the growth of the university, people are supporting that growth.”

Attending events like this charity concert provides opportunities for students to support organizations that are crucial to campus and give back to the community.

For 30 years, athletes from around the world have traveled to St. George to compete in various sports. But these athletes are not D1 or world-famous. They are your grandparents.

The Huntsman World Senior Games are held in St. George every year for two weeks in October. Athletes older than 50 are eligible to compete in 30 sports, and the Games bring athletes to southern Utah from all over the world. The Huntsman World Senior Games prides itself on promoting worldwide peace, health and friendship.

The Games program given to all players said, “Come enjoy life, the beauty of southern Utah and friendship that can only be obtained at the Games; for you are the ‘best of the best.’”

The Games host players from 87 different nations and hopes to reach more. The Huntsman World Senior Games website said they are the largest multi-sport event for athletes 50 and over in the world. Athletes can sign up for one event or compete in multiple events across multiple sports.

The World Senior Games were founded by Daisy and John H. Morgan, Jr. in 1987. The couple believed the golden years were the better years of life when physical activity and good health became a way of life.

Two years later, Jon M. Huntsman, the chairman of the Huntsman Corporation, became the main sponsor for the Games. According to the Huntsman World Senior Games website, he “recognized the Games not only fostered lifetime fitness, but also expanded Utah’s economic vitality.”

This year the event is larger than ever with almost 12,000 athletes. The Huntsman World Senior Games said more athletes are in this event than in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Utah Tech University is listed as the home of the Huntsman World Senior Games. The opening ceremony, concert celebration and track and field are held on campus. 

Westley Petty, executive director of event services on campus, said: “The college loves to have this partnership with [the Huntsman World Senior Games]. It’s a long-standing tradition… It brings a lot of family here and gets some good exposure with the community. It’s a really good community event; it brings a lot of economic development to the city.”

The Games bring consistent profits to the county, but Utah Tech doesn’t depend on the money.

Bryant Flake, executive director of planning and budget, said: “Utah Tech doesn’t rely on revenue from the Huntsman Games to fund any institutional-level functions. There may be some small amounts billed to the Games by event services to cover specific services provided by the campus.”

The venues are donated to the Games and volunteers sign up to help with all the separate events. 

Petty said: “There are a select number of events every year that we are partnered with… that are kind of our ‘flagship community’ events that we have no intent to not continue with. The way our schedule and policies are set up, we always want to take care of our campus community first. Students are the university’s top priority, so as long as the campus can fit large community events like the Huntsman World Senior Games, Utah Tech will continue to support and embrace them.”

The concert & celebration is open to everyone and is free admission. Join the athletes and Band Abba: The Ultimate Tribute to Abba in the Burns Arena Oct. 15.

Artificial intelligence’s presence is growing in the education world. AI chatbots like ElizaChat are being developed to help students with mental health concerns. These chatbots aim to offer support for students in a new, convenient and private way. 

According to a study done by the Utah Behavioral Health Coalition: “The percentage of young adults with serious thoughts of suicide increased in the past year as has the percentage of young adults with serious mental illnesses. Utah’s rates are estimated to be higher than the national average, with the prevalence of young adults with serious mental illnesses being statistically significant.”

ElizaChat is a chatbot designed to provide mental health support by offering guidance and coping strategies to students. It operates 24/7, ensuring accessibility for users seeking help with minor mental health concerns​. The goal of ElizaChat is to bridge the gap in mental health care by providing affordable, private and convenient support.

Samantha Weston, a junior exercise science major from Lyman, Wyoming, said, “I would feel comfortable using a chatbot to discuss initial mental help concerns because you can do it in the comfort of your own home.”

While chatbots can reduce the discomfort some students might feel when discussing sensitive topics, they may not offer the same level of empathy that in-person support provides.

Weston said, “I think that it would be an advantage to give people an easy, accessible way to talk about mental health, but I feel that it’s a disadvantage to talk to a computer instead of a real person who can empathize with you in a vulnerable moment.” 

For many, the most impactful part of mental support is the connection one has with their therapist. While AI chatbots can be a great starting point for one’s mental health journey, they aren’t programmed to deal with complex emotional situations. This limitation means that for deeper, more complex issues, human intervention remains essential.

Dr. Lisa Scott, assistant professor of psychology, said, “A huge percentage of the healing that happens in therapy is due to the relationship that gets built between the therapist and the client.”

The chatbot could help students by providing basic assessments or suggesting coping strategies. It could also help students identify what kind of support they may need. This includes advice for stress management, anxiety-reducing techniques and pointing them in the direction of a human counselor. 

The Utah Behavioral Health Coalition emphasized the importance of tools like these and said, “A key component of this education is behavioral health navigation tools that help patients and consumers understand how to access high-quality behavioral health services and help providers manage and coordinate care.”

As AI evolves, tools like ElizaChat may become more common in educational settings. For students, these chatbots can offer a helpful push in the right direction when it comes to addressing mental health concerns. They provide a readily available option for initial support, particularly when in-person resources are limited or unavailable.

“I think chatbots will be really good at teaching skills and tools, but that’s just one aspect of therapy,” Scott said.

AI tools are often described as convenient and may be effectively used as an additional resource in conjunction with traditional counseling services. This combination can help students receive the immediate help and emotional care they need to succeed. 

From toxic winter inversions to wildfire smoke, Utah faces a considerable problem. It’s air quality. While local leaders and residents are stepping up with bold initiatives to combat the pollution, Utah State’s legislature has been slow to be bold as well.

In Springdale, a town just outside Zion National Park, Mayor Barbara Bruno is pushing for a “car-free” future, while residents like Jean Lown, a retired Utah State University professor of finance, consumer economics and leader of the St. George chapter of Citizen’s Climate Change Lobby, feel the financial burden of trying to keep their homes safe from pollution.

Meanwhile, political resistance to cleaner air solutions continues to stall progress, leaving Utah caught between economic interest and the health of residents and the environment.

While Utahans are in the crosshairs of what seems to be a field right for a political battleground, Springdale’s mayor has been fortunate enough to avoid the visible pollution seen in many areas of the state.

“The only air quality issue we have experienced in the Springdale/Zion National Park area has been caused by smoke from wildfires,” Bruno said. “We have been fortunate not to have visible pollution from automobiles and industry. Even so, we are in the beginning stages of working on a project called a car-free Springdale.'”

According to Bruno, this project is designed to encourage visitors to Springdale and Zion National Park to use alternative means of transportation. This would alleviate traffic on Zion Park Boulevard while promoting cleaner air.

“We are interested in reducing the number of automobiles in order to reduce traffic on Zion Park Boulevard,” Bruno said. “But we also have an idle-free ordinance and are concerned about air quality. Interestingly, the project came out of a workshop one of our staff members attended with representatives of Zion National Park, Washington County, the Zion Canyon Visitor Bureau and the National Parks Conservation Association called Balancing Nature and Commerce.”

While Springdale focuses on initiatives that benefit its locals and tourists, air quality still concerns residents across Utah. Lown, a part-time resident of Logan and St. George, emphasized the challenges that Utah faces because it is dependent on coal power.

“Utah relies on coal power, which is at the root of climate change,” Lown said. “While Utah is making some changes, like having wind farms in Spanish Fork and solar farms in Mona, there is nowhere to send that power outside of these places because there isn’t the infrastructure for it, like transmission lines.”

Lown’s worries go beyond Utah’s energy grid and include the pollution in Utah, which affects her own home.

“Because of the pollution and air quality, I have had to buy air purifiers for my house and a ceiling fan to move air up from my basement,” she said. “This results in higher electricity bills and more money out of my pocket just to keep the air clean inside my house.”

Lown also pointed out Utah’s notorious winter inversions, during which pollution gets trapped in the valleys, creating a toxic environment that has earned Utah top 15 for worst air quality in the United States.

“Our winter inversions are absolutely toxic. It’s one of the main reasons why we have had to split our time between Logan and St. George,” Lown said.

A Utah State employee who requested anonymity out of fear and repercussions also shared concerns about how Utah’s political climate isn’t conducive to air quality legislation.

“While the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] monitors air pollution, a lot of Utah politicians are against clean air legislation since it’s bad for big business,” the employee said. “That’s why they’re keeping private power companies that utilize coal open, even when there have been initiatives to move away from coal and use cleaner energy.”

As Utah moves forward with projects like the wind farms in Spanish Fork, the solar farm in Mona and the car-free Springdale initiative, the debate over energy sources and legislation for clean air will continue to shape the state’s future. But for now, residents like Lown and officials like Mayor Bruno remain among those advocating for change to protect Utah’s air and natural beauty.

The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report has been released, including information on fires, crimes on campus, instructional policies and information on resources regarding these issues. This report can be found on the Clery Act page.

“This document allows students in the community to get an understanding of how we are addressing safety on our campus in many different ways,” Tasha Toy, assistant vice president and chief compliance officer, said. “It is important because it gives us an opportunity to take a snapshot and do some analysis of what we have done and what we need to do in the future.”

The report puts information about campus crime and security concerns out publicly. It is required as part of the Clery Act, providing awareness for students and the community, so they know what issues are on campus and what’s being done to combat these issues.

The data from the report shows incidences over the last three years. The statistics in the report show that the primary issue on our campus is alcohol and drug offenses.

Also on our campus there have been a couple reported incidences of rape and fondling totaling to between 10 and 15 of each. Burglary has 16 reported offenses. There have been no reported incidences of murder, arson or incest. Several other crimes are covered in the report that are not listed here. There was only one fire incident reported in residential areas, but it was minor with little damage.

“I think it’s really important for transparency from the university to its students, faculty and staff and to the community,” Hailey Henstrom, rape and sexual assault education advocate for DOVE Center, said.

The ASFSR allows campus departments to strategize how to make school safer for students. The trends shown in this report affect where funds are allocated, which areas need support and which are successful.

Utah Tech University police officers use the information from the report to ensure that the goals mentioned are obtained. Goals and strategies mentioned include fast response to emergency situations and reported incidences. In emergency situations, the priority is containing the situation and then issuing an emergency notification.

Several tests are performed through the year to make sure these alerts work as they are supposed to. There are several other policies and strategies listed in the report. There are also fire safety methods mentioned, including checks on the monitoring system and fire safety trainings for resident assistants.

The Utah Tech police do not fulfill needs expressed in the report by themselves. There is a network of people concerned with community and campus safety.

Members from the student affairs staff said the information found in the report promotes collaboration, as organizations on and off campus work to enhance safety for everyone on campus.

The DOVE Center is one of the off campus resources that is involved with safety for students. It provides resources for sexual and domestic assault victims. About 13% of students will experience sexual assault while they are enrolled. One in three women will experience domestic violence as well as one in four men. Even with these numbers, sexual assault and domestic assault are largely unreported crimes.

“The statistics, while they are very valuable, also need to be looked at with the lens of these crimes [sexual assault and domestic violence] are super underreported,” Henstrom said. “Just because the numbers are low, doesn’t mean we should assume it’s not an issue for our community.”

This report allows students and faculty to be aware of certain trends, but it may not be completely accurate because of unreported crimes. It involves all reported instances. This means that while the report is a valuable resource for campus security, it cannot be interpreted as entirely fact. However, the report, despite its limitations, helps campus officials decide how to keep students safe.

Student affairs staff said students can have a more enhanced college experience through knowing and understanding current crime trends on campus, along with campus police monitoring education and security to prevent safety issues.