5+ mon, 3+ week ago (583+ words) Jun 3, 2025, 3:02 PM FILE - Two electronic scooters sit parked on Main Street and 200 South in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. (Scott G Winterton/Deseret News) (Scott G Winterton/Deseret News) SALT LAKE CITY " Salt Lake City is looking at increasing rider fees for electric scooters. Officials say they'll use the money to create more parking spots and better manage their presence in the city. In the last year, over 800,000 people have ridden the city's electric scooters close to 1 million miles. During a city budget presentation meeting last week, Tammy Hunsaker, director of the city's community and neighborhoods department, asked for rider fees to increase from 10 cents a trip to 20 cents. She also asked for electric scooter providers to be charged $15 instead of $10. This would bring in enough revenue for the city to hire a part-time employee who can communicate with…...

7+ mon, 1+ day ago (547+ words) Smith Entertainment Group hopes to buy part of the Salt Palace Convention Center to build a downtown entertainment district. Apr 28, 2025, 6:05 PM The Salt Palace Convention Center is seen from the Delta Center plaza Tuesday. (Carter Williams/KSL.com) SALT LAKE CITY'The Smith Entertainment Group hopes to buy part of the Salt Palace Convention Center's property, with the goal of" building its downtown district. Salt Lake County Council members will consider the proposal on Tuesday. The area under consideration is just east of the Delta Center. It currently houses a large exhibit hall, a smaller hall and a parking garage. All told, it includes about 6.5 acres or 20% of the capacity of the convention center. The sale would include the land beneath those parcels. SEG is eyeing the space as it builds its sports, entertainment, culture and convention district, connecting the Delta…...

3+ mon, 1+ week ago (427+ words) FILE" A huge 30-by-60 foot U.S. flag is displayed on the west side of the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel to welcome members of the North American Vexillological Association to Salt Lake City for its 47th annual meeting Friday, Oct. 11, 2013. (Matt Gade/Deseret News) SALT LAKE CITY " Salt Lake Plaza Hotel will close on Nov. 1, then be demolished." The structure at 122 W South Temple in downtown Salt Lake City, was built in 1973. According to its website, it has 150 guest rooms, an on-site gym and a pool, among other amenities. It also boasts views of Temple Square, surrounding downtown and the Wasatch mountains." A press release from Property Reserve, the company that owns the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel, cited rising maintenance costs and aging infrastructure as reasons for the decision." Demolition will remove the main building and attached parking garage. Property Reserve said the…...

7+ mon, 1+ week ago (635+ words) Jared Dallan Buckley, a Utah charter school director was arrested on Tuesday and charged with owning child sexual abuse material. Jared Buckley, 40, was arrested on April 22, 2025 on suspicion of owning and distributing child sexual abuse material. Meanwhile, Buckley had been working as the director of an elementary charter school in Layton, according to the school's website and court documents. (Courtesy Leadership Learning Academy) LAYTON " The director of an elementary charter school in Layton was arrested and booked on charges Tuesday, accusing him of owning child sexual abuse material and exploiting children, according to court documents. Law enforcement officials in New York began the investigation when they encountered multiple sexually explicit videos of young girls, estimated to be approximately 8 years of age. The New York officials sought help from officers in Utah to identify the suspect who owned the footage and…...

5+ mon, 4+ week ago (745+ words) May 30, 2025, 7:30 PM FILE: A visitor to the Utah Democratic Party Head Quarters picks out campaign signs to bring home, at the Utah Democratic Party Head Quarters in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (Brice Tucker/Deseret News) BY ALEXANDREA BONILLA AND ANDY CUPP SALT LAKE CITY " Utah Democratic Party delegates will gather Saturday morning at Ogden High School to choose their new leader and to discuss how to move forward toward the midterm elections. Delegates will cast votes for the Utah Democratic Party chair, vice chair, secretary and treasurer. Former Democratic candidate for Utah governor Brian King is eyeing the party chair. The state legislator and former House minority leader has said he wants to transform whatever frustration the party and its members may be feeling into momentum. Ben Peck, the executive director of the Salt Lake County Democratic Party,…...

6+ mon, 2+ week ago (583+ words) The Salt Lake Mosquito Abatement District is giving out batches of mosquitofish for free to help residents fight off mosquitoes. May 12, 2025, 3:00 PM FILE - Mosquitoes and mosquito larva at left and mosquitofish at right. The Utah County Mosquito Abatement Department uses mosquitofish as one way to keep the mosquito population down. (Deseret News) SALT LAKE CITY " The Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District is giving out free batches of mosquitofish to help residents fight mosquitoes this summer. Abatement Assistant Director Greg White said they are giving these fish to any residents with standing water on their property. White said these fish are only for contained water, not natural water bodies, because they are not native to the West. The mosquitofish is the size of a minnow, but White said one of these little fish can eat 100 mosquito larvae per day. "Other…...

8+ mon, 3+ week ago (669+ words) Mar 4, 2025, 4:31 PM Department of Corrections Director Brian Redd speaks at a press conference in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall announced Thursday that Redd is her new pick for chief of police in Salt Lake City. (Laura Seitz/Deseret News) SALT LAKE CITY " Nearly two weeks after Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall recommended Brian Redd for the city's new police chief, the city council is set to vote on the appointment. Former Salt Lake City Police Department Chief Mike Brown stepped down in February at Mendenhall's direction. The mayor said she made the decision as the city is at "an inflection point" with crime and homelessness. KSL legal analyst and Inside Sources host Greg Skordas told Dave & Dujanovic that the incoming police chief will have a difficult task of addressing homelessness. "It's not…...

1+ mon, 2+ week ago (451+ words) Oct 15, 2025, 3:20 PM Brandy M. Hickey. (Brigham City Police Department) (Brigham City Police Department) Digital Writer & Producer for KSL NewsRadio & KSL TV SALT LAKE CITY " Police found human remains in a trash bag'in Brigham City in April. On Wednesday, they announced they had determined the victim's identity. The Brigham City Police Department said DNA testing revealed the victim was Brandy M. Hickey, who would have been 42 when she was found. The police department said Hickey had been living in St. George and had connections in Salt Lake City when she went missing. "Detectives reached out to her family to notify them she had been found. They have also been'reaching out and contacting her associates to collect information," police said. "The last known contact with her was in 2021." Brigham City PD said Hickey's death was being investigated as a homicide, and detectives were "diligently…...

10+ mon, 1+ week ago (540+ words) ELECTIONS, POLITICS, & GOVERNMENT Jan 23, 2025, 9:00 AM Members of the Utah House of Representatives stand for the Pledge of Allegiance in their chamber at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City on the first day of the legislative session on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (Isaac Hale/Deseret News) SALT LAKE CITY " A bill moving through the House right now could change who foots the bill when utility companies see higher energy costs. The Electricity Rate Amendments bill would do a few things, including eliminating the Energy Balancing Account, or EBA. These were discussed at the House Public Utilities, Energy, and Technology Committee on Wednesday. The EBA was instituted in 2011. Under the EBA, an energy company can make customers pay the difference if it sees a big increase in energy costs, as long as the company is prudent. "What it does is it…...

8+ mon, 1+ week ago (355+ words) SALT LAKE CITY " Some Utahns are getting access to experimental Chick-fil-A sweets before most of the country can get their hands on them. Mar 22, 2025, 12:00 PM FILE - A Chick-fil-A storefront. SALT LAKE CITY " Some Utahns are getting access to experimental Chick-fil-A sweets before most of the country can get their hands on them. The popular fast-food chain announced that Salt Lake City would join San Diego, Chicago and Tampa in being test markets for two new products: The Icedream Spin and Icedream Float. The Icedream Spin, Chick-fil-A said, is an ice cream treat spun with your choice of fountain drink " similar to the company's now-classic frosted lemonade. Chick-fil-A described the Icedream Float as, "A classic float, with your choice of fountain beverage, made special with a swirl of our signature Icedream dessert." KSL TV's anchors tried a Sprite Spin and Diet…...