Tori Jorgensen

Utah

Family returns to fire-damaged home to find someone living there

After living in a hotel for a week because of a fire, a Kearns family returned to check on their burned home Saturday morning and found someone else living in it, police said

By Tori Jorgensen

Connor Clifford, 6, relaxes prior to racing BMX in South Jordan on Dec. 6, 2015.

Utah

Hurricane parents foster, support ‘passion’ of 6-year-old BMX rider

Six-year-old Connor Clifford has what it takes to be a champion BMX racer —a whole lot of passion and a supportive family, his mentor says.

By Tori Jorgensen

Utah

Extreme Tubing opens at Utah Olympic Park (+video)

The Utah Olympic Park’s newest attraction is extreme tubing where participants are invited to slip down a Nordic Ski jump on an inner-tube, traveling at speeds that may be higher than 50 miles per hour.

By Tori Jorgensen

Iceberg floats in Andord Bay on Graham Land, Antarctica.

Utah

USU researcher gears up for all-female Antarctica expedition

At this time next year, Melissa Haeffner hopes to be scaling the terrain of the coldest continent on Earth, as a participant in Homeward Bound’s first all-female voyage to Antarctica.

By Tori Jorgensen

Hands for Cosmas volunteers raising their hands in the air to show support for Opedmoth Cosmus, a 23-year-old Ugandan man whose hands were mangled in an accident. The volunteers are trying to raise nearly $30,000 to fly Cosmas to Salt Lake City to be fitt

Utah

Mapleton community raising funds to buy Ugandan man new hands

The Mapleton community is rallying together in an effort to raise nearly $30,000 to buy prosthetic hands for a Ugandan man.

By Tori Jorgensen

Utah

Holiday songs with a twist promote DUI media campaign

Utah’s DUI media campaign got musical Friday when two Utah singers performed classic Christmas songs with a twist.

By Tori Jorgensen

Arlee Gregerson holds her newborn, Lucy, as her husband, Ryan, looks on at the Intermountain Medical Center in Murray on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015. Two days after delivering her first child, Arlee Gregerson nearly died. The Gregersons returned to the medica

Utah

Family, hospital staff recall survival of new mom after more than an hour of CPR

The Gregerson family looks forward to celebrating their first Christmas as a trio after new mother Arlee Gregerson nearly died from a blood clot two days after giving birth.

By Tori Jorgensen

Volunteers wrap presents at the 13th annual Giving Tree program at Valley Fair Mall in West Valley City on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015. The program provides Christmas presents to 170 children from 61 low-income families in the city.

Utah

Christmas helpers wrap thousands of gifts for low-income families

Busy helpers wrapped thousands of children’s gifts at the Valley Fair Mall on Tuesday, creating an atmosphere like that of Santa’s workshop.

By Tori Jorgensen

Jill Smith hands Merlin Taylor a box of donations as the 19th annual Candy Cane Corner holiday store prepares to open in the old Granite High School pool building in South Salt Lake on Monday, Nov. 30, 2015.

Utah

Charities, volunteers unite to allow low-income families to shop for holiday gifts

Until Dec. 23, the pool house at Granite High School will be known as Candy Cane Corner, where low-income parents involved with The Road Home, Volunteers of America Utah and the YWCA will choose holiday gifts for themselves and their children.

By Tori Jorgensen

Piano teacher and stay-at-home mom Liana Sorenson works with Gwen Robertson at her home in Heber on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015.

Utah

Men and women: Understanding the wage gap is first step in closing it

Utah’s wage gap and lack of women in leadership positions landed it the title of “worst state for gender equality,” according to recent online studies. Other sources explain why Utah attained this title.

By Tori Jorgensen

Business

How to avoid scams on Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday

Don’t let scammers take advantage of you this Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday. The Better Business Bureau of Utah and the Utah Division of Consumer Protection offers tips for safe online spending.

By Tori Jorgensen

Citywide Home Loans employee Cassie Parault uses broom to clean after demolition at the Gould family home in Magna Friday, Nov. 27, 2015.

Utah

Citywide remodels home for family of teen with cancer

As 15-year-old Alexis Gould struggles with cancer, it’s hard for her siblings to focus on anything else. But according to Alexis’ mom, Emily Gould, Citywide’s plan to remodel their home has given them something exciting to discuss together.

By Tori Jorgensen

Theresa Chappell, left, hugs Emily Slussar as volunteers pack food at Jordan Academy for Technology and Careers in Riverton, Monday, Nov. 23, 2015. The sacks of food will be delivered to families for Thanksgiving.

Utah

Taylorsville man organizes delivery of 776 Thanksgiving meals

Following the lead of Rob Adams, more than 300 volunteers helped sort, prep and deliver 16,000 pounds of turkey, 8,000 pounds of potatoes and other Thanksgiving favorites to local, needy families Monday.

By Tori Jorgensen

Steve Boyer helps his nephew Asher Anderson, 4, inspect the lights on a Christmas tree at the Gateway mall in Salt Lake City, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015.

Family

Hundreds of Santas usher in the holidays at The Gateway

Hundreds of people ran around in Santa suits as part of the 2015 Utah Santa 5K at The Gateway. The festivities continued with concerts, free food and the lighting of a 52 foot pine tree.

By Tori Jorgensen

Kenneth Toone salutes during a flag ceremony at his home in American Fork on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015, after Heart 2 Home volunteers remodeled the home.

Utah

Volunteers surprise Marine Corps veteran with home renovation

Volunteers from Utah nonprofit organization Heart 2 Home completely remodeled a U.S. Marine Corps veteran’s 1960s-era home in American Fork.

By Tori Jorgensen

Utah

Families of teen crash victims encourage safe driving

In 2014, 29 teens died in motor vehicle crashes. Families of these teens shared their personal accounts Wednesday to encourage drivers to use safety precautions on Utah roads.

By Tori Jorgensen

Utah

Survey says: Volunteering improves well-being, office effectiveness

With the holiday season approaching, Utah business professionals may have a variety of opportunities for philanthropic work through their employment. A new survey says the volunteer work may help the givers as much as the receivers.

By Tori Jorgensen

Salt Lake City firefighter Gary Carter helps Alondra Amador into her new coat at Backman Elementary School in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. Firefighters from the International Association of Firefighters Local 81 (Salt Lake City) and the Sal

Utah

Firefighters rescue schoolchildren from cold with new coats

Professional Firefighters of Utah teams up each year with national nonprofit organization Operation Warm to provide coats for impoverished children. This year, firefighters chose Backman Elementary School as the recipient of the giveaway.

By Tori Jorgensen

Continue Mission and other nonprofit groups, along with those who live with mental illness, their family members, and mental and medical professionals in the community united Tuesday for the Power of the Mind Conference.

Utah

Veteran, strongman change mindsets to cope with mental illness

Continue Mission and other nonprofit groups, along with those who live with mental illness, their family members, and mental and medical professionals in the community united Tuesday for the Power of the Mind Conference.

By Tori Jorgensen

Rick Bringhurst of Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3 helps Woods Cross High School student Alexander Pierce operate an excavator training simulator at the Northern Utah STEM Career and College Expo in Layton on Monday, Nov. 9, 2015.

Utah

STEM expo seeks to prepare high school students for ‘today and tomorrow’

Around 800 high school students attended the Northern Utah STEM Career Exposition on Monday. The expo stressed getting a degree based on an intended job, instead of getting a job based on a degree.

By Tori Jorgensen

Claudia and Lou Giacoma look at the “Healing Hands” exhibit at St. Mark's Hospital in Millcreek on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015. The exhibit honors the work hospital employees do for patients and families. Sandra Shanti is the conceptual artist and writer for t

Utah

St. Mark’s exhibit helps ‘humanize health care community,’ chaplain says

Patients rarely know the stories of the health care staff, according to St. Mark’s Hospital Chaplain Saundra Shanti, which is why she created a portrait and vignette display of hospital employees.

By Tori Jorgensen

Carolyn Brown, account manager with Fresenius Kabi, which creates medical devices for critically and chronically ill patients, presents Ralph Vaughan with an award honoring him as a new inductee to its Fenwal Blood Donation Hall of Fame as he donates bloo

Utah

Utah man honored for donating 127 gallons of blood, inducted into national Donation Hall of Fame

A Syracuse man donated 127 gallons of blood over the past 40 years. As one of the top blood donors in the United States, he was inducted into the Donation Hall of Fame on Monday.

By Tori Jorgensen

A semitrailer rolled in the median and water near Rowley on I-80 due to high winds Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015.

Utah

Colder temperatures return to Wasatch Front

Fall got off to a warm start, but it may be time to put away those flip-flops. Temperatures are dropping along the Wasatch Front.

By Tori Jorgensen

Washington County Water Conservancy District chemist Cole Hulse holds a mussel he found at Lake Powell. Hulse is trying to find the best method to restrain mussels from infiltrating a new water pipe system for Southern Utah that is expected to be implemen

Utah

Invasive mussels present obstacle in attaining Lake Powell water supply

Invasive mussels pose an obstacle to the Washington County Water Conservancy District as it seeks to build a 140-mile-long pipe system to bring water from Lake Powell to southern Utah municipalities, district officials said.

By Tori Jorgensen

About 60 students from Hillcrest High and the Jordan Applied Technology Center participated in hands-on engineering experiments at the Salt Palace Convention Center as part of a STEM conference, in Salt Lake City, Monday, Oct. 26, 2016.

Utah

Students explore ‘nondestructive testing’ methods at STEM conference

Instead of listening to a lecture, about 60 high school students performed hands-on learning experiments Monday at the American Society for Nondestructive Testing’s first Day of STEM.

By Tori Jorgensen

Scott Kimberlin participates in the Zombie Walk in Salt Lake City Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015. The eighth annual Zombie Walk was held to raise awareness and donations for the Utah Food Bank.

Utah

Zombies take over pop-culture in Utah, Nation

Zombies have yet to take over the world, but they have taken over popular culture in Utah and in the nation. Two professors explain why this happened.

By Tori Jorgensen