Sunday, October 1, 2023 | 
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John Hollenhorst

The Antelope Point launch ramp is closed due to dropping water levels at Lake Powell.
Utah
Love, hope, worry, fear as Lake Powell drops. Will it recover from drought?
The level of the lake dropped 140 vertical feet in the last two decades — 40 feet just since last year. It’s projected to go much lower over the next year
By John Hollenhorst
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Science & Tech
A ‘stunning’ Cold War relic offers ominous implications on climate change
Utah State University geologist professor Tammy Rittenour calls information that was lost and forgotten from 1960s drilling operations “shocking.”
By John Hollenhorst
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Utah
Modern-day Noah creates ‘Photo Ark’ to save species from extinction
Veteran wildlife photographer Joel Sartore visits Utah’s Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City in an effort to capture a single portrait of every species that’s currently “in human care” around the world.
By John Hollenhorst
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Utah
Enthusiasts raising funds to keep picking at 9-ton Utah rock chock full of dinosaur bones
Utah scientists continue to slowly pick away at a giant rock jammed full of dinosaur bones. But finding money to continue unscrambling what may be Utah’s biggest single discovery of dinosaurs is not easy.
By John Hollenhorst
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Utah
Why a $600 million herd of iron horses has been put out to pasture in Salt Lake City
By John Hollenhorst
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Utah
Payday arrives Saturday for Utah businessman’s ‘rocket fever’
By John Hollenhorst
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Utah
Pasta machine nourishes sage grouse habitat
By John Hollenhorst
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Utah
Scarred by a grizzly, Utah biologist turns the other cheek
The message of retired Utah State University professor Barrie Gilbert — after a lifetime of field studies in Alaska and Canada — is that bears and humans would get along a lot better if people would try harder to understand bear behavior.
By John Hollenhorst
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Utah
Hiking into a place so undisturbed that it’s a government secret
The place has been a subject of scientific interest for more than a half century because of one striking fact: cattle have never managed to find it
By John Hollenhorst
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Utah
Utah geologist spends days hunting for arches: 1,941 and still counting
Jens Munthe has a growing database of previously undiscovered — or at least undocumented —natural sandstone arches. When he goes on an arch hunt, he almost always finds some. “I think I’ve been skunked once in 20 years,” he said.
By John Hollenhorst
Astronaut Charlie Precourt, right, is pictured on one of his four space shuttle missions in the 1990s.
Utah
Utahns taking steps for more ‘giant leaps’
When Neil Armstrong took the first human step on the moon, Charlie Precourt was just 14 years old watching on TV. Now he’s leading an effort by hundreds of Utah workers to finally give humans a return ticket to the moon and, perhaps beyond, to Mars.
By John Hollenhorst
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Utah
Utah man found new purpose photographing people, mustangs
People in downtown Salt Lake City have something in common with wild horses. Both provide inspiration — and a sense of purpose — for a photographer who’s lived most of his life without being able to walk.
By John Hollenhorst
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Utah
Is desert varnish a pathway to detecting ‘alien’ life?
Scientists aren’t sure what causes a widespread phenomenon in Utah known as “desert varnish.” Is it made by something that’s alive? A Colorado professor thinks an effort to explain the mystery could help NASA scientists in the search for alien life.
By John Hollenhorst
Veterinarians and zookeepers at Utah's Hogle Zoo have had to use innovative treatments in an unprecedented effort to treat Kipenze 's foot. The giraffe broke one toe bone, or claw, many years ago. But she apparently began shifting her weight to another cl
Utah
Salt Lake zoo officials trying to get leg up on giraffe’s troubled toes
Kip the giraffe broke one toe bone, or claw, many years ago; no one is sure exactly how that happened. But she apparently began shifting her weight to another claw and it led to damage in that one, too.
By John Hollenhorst
The skeleton of a Columbian mammoth is pictured at the Natural History Museum of Utah. Randall Irmis, curator of paleontology at the museum, said the bones discovered by David Rankin and the volunteer excavators near Lake Powell are almost certainly a th
Utah
‘Mammoth’ discovery made at a secret Utah location
There’s been a mammoth discovery near Lake Powell. At a secret location, bones from an elephant-like Columbian mammoth have been quietly excavated. Scientists say the discovery may shed light on why the giant animals went extinct.
By John Hollenhorst
The Navajo Generating Station near Page, Ariz., is set to shut down on Dec. 22, 2019. The giant power plant that's been a big provider of jobs for nearly a half-century.
Utah
Power plant shutdown looms over Navajo Nation
A huge economic blow is beginning to descend on communities near Lake Powell on the Utah-Arizona border. A giant power plant that’s been a big provider of jobs for nearly a half-century now seems certain to die in the next few months.
By John Hollenhorst
A Boeing employee works on the company's Starliner at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The space capsule could soon start landing in Utah.
Utah
Astronaut landings in Utah? Very likely, and soon
By the end of this year, it’s possible that astronauts returning from space may land — for the first time ever — in Utah. And such landings could become common in the next few years.
By John Hollenhorst
Strasburg, Colorado, has museum dedicated to that point of view that the first transcontinental railroad wasn't completed until a railroad line that crossed the Missouri on a bridge at Kansas City was completed at a site just east of Strasburg on Aug. 15,
Utah
Colorado town disputes Utah’s transcontinental claim to fame
When Utah celebrated the 150th anniversary of the driving of the golden spike, the cheering section was pretty much statewide. But in a tiny Colorado town, some people think the whole thing in Utah is a historical fraud.
By John Hollenhorst
"Everyone is very excited about this," Kristen South, Union Pacific's director of corporate communications, says of the Big Boy Engine 4014 restoration project. "This has been a lot of hard work." The engine will be the guest of honor at a celebration May
Utah
Under its own steam, ‘Big Boy’ heading for Utah celebration
When Utah celebrates the upcoming 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad, a star visitor will be something called “Big Boy,” the largest steam locomotive ever built.
By John Hollenhorst
These coins, which appear to be old Spanish coins dating back to the time of the conquistadors and perhaps even earlier, were allegedly found by a hiker near the Halls Crossing Marina on Lake Powell in September 2018. The National Park Service is trying t
Utah
An ancient mystery — or a hoax —at Lake Powell?
Is it a remarkable discovery or a clever hoax? A hiker in southern Utah has found what appear to be old Spanish coins possibly dating back to the time of the conquistadors and perhaps even earlier, long before the voyages of Columbus.
By John Hollenhorst
Sid Wall's relatively new and modern home has never been connected to the electrical grid that nearly all Americans take for granted. Heber City and 23 other cities across the country are sending utility crews to finally provide electrical connections for
Utah
Utah utility crews bring electricity to Navajo homes
60,000 people near the Utah-Arizona border have lived without electrical connections for all of their lives. Now, utility crews from Utah are volunteering to help out.
By John Hollenhorst
Meteorologist Stephanie Beall fires up a cloud-seeding device near the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019. She explains the machine is supposed to squeeze more snow out of passing storms.
Utah
Salt Lake’s cloud-seeding efforts ‘give Mother Nature a little something extra to work with’ during snowfall
For the first time since the 1990s, Salt Lake City is trying to make more snow than what nature has in mind. The city has joined a long-running cloud-seeding effort aimed at squeezing more snow out of passing storms.
By John Hollenhorst
A Criollo cow is pictured at Dugout Ranch in San Juan County on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018. Criollo cattle, which trace at least some of their ancestry all the way back to Christopher Columbus' second voyage to the Americas, are now on duty in southeastern Uta
Utah
Are cows that were good enough for Columbus good for Utah?
Matt Redd may look like an iconic cowboy, but he’s herding cattle that look distinctly nontraditional.They trace their ancestry to the second voyage of Christopher Columbus. Could they be an answer for ranchers facing climate change?
By John Hollenhorst
A “blood moon” as seen from the South Physics Observatory at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019.
Utah
Enjoy the blood moon lunar eclipse? This University of Utah astronomy professor has the details on other 2019 phenomena
For skywatchers, 2019 started off with a bang Sunday night as millions were able to observe a blood moon lunar eclipse. In other respects it will be a typical year in the night sky. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be lots of splendid sights.
By John Hollenhorst
Lenza Wilson drives his Christmas train through the streets of Escalante. The train is, in essence, a one-man Christmas parade. It takes the streets of Escalante on many nights during each Christmas season. According to Wilson, a former mayor of the town,
Utah
Meet a Christmas ‘conductor’ in Utah who hates Christmas music
You’ve probably seen a million Christmas displays over the years, but chances are you’ve never seen one quite like Lenza Wilson’s concoction in Escalante. The “Christmas Train” is a one-man Christmas parade led by who hates Christmas music.
By John Hollenhorst
Melvin Dummar exits Moss Federal Courthouse in Salt Lake City on Nov. 2, 2006.
Utah
Utahn Melvin Dummar, who claimed to be a Howard Hughes heir, dies
Melvin Dummar, a Utah man who repeatedly made headlines around the world in the 1970s after his name appeared in a will purported to be from billionaire Howard Hughes, has died.
By John Hollenhorst
Curtis Green, pictured at his home in Utah County on Nov. 29, 2018, was entangled with a notorious website called Silk Road run by a mysterious figure who called himself "Dread Pirate Roberts.” Green's book, "Silk Road Takedown," tells the story of how Gr
Utah
Utahn tells tale of his dangerous darknet saga — and faking his own death
A Utah man who once was persuaded by federal agents to undergo fake torture — and even his own fake death — is finally telling his amazing story. It’s a made-for-the-movies drama of how he became entangled with a notorious website called Silk Road.
By John Hollenhorst
Minnesota Medical Solutions CEO Dr. Jay Westwater talks about the process of growing marijuana in Minneapolis in late September 2018. The company is one of only two in the state that is legally permitted to grow marijuana.
Utah
What Utah can expect from medical marijuana, through the lens of Minnesota’s experience
To some it’s a threat, to others a godsend. Hundreds of marijuana plants are now growing legally in Minnesota, one of many states that have legalized medical marijuana. Their experience offers clues to what Utah can expect.
By John Hollenhorst
In this Aug. 24, 1988, file photo, Larry Walters, a U.S. Forest Service firefighter from Higgins, Miss., watches the North Fork Fire burn in the Yellowstone National Forest. Fire managers in Yellowstone National Park are curious to find out why wildfires
Utah
A summer of fire and then ... rebirth
Thirty years ago this week a dramatic battle was underway — Yellowstone faced its most extreme fires in more than a century, and many feared it would destroy the beloved park. But 30 years later, scientists say it turned out pretty much the opposite
By John Hollenhorst
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Utah
Waiting, sweating, hoping for rescue: Recalling 1963 Utah mine disaster
They waited in the dark a half-mile underground, in blistering heat, for someone to rescue them. In 1963 an explosion killed 18 miners and trapped others for more than two days in almost intolerable conditions. Two survivors returned — to remember.
By John Hollenhorst
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