Uncommon Knowledge
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A map of the youngest and oldest states in the country shows Utah as having the youngest population.
The demographic map, created by Newsweek using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, shows that Utah residents have a median age of 32.1 years old, which is younger than the median age of any other state in the union.
Although Utah is the youngest state, a recent report by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah found that the state’s population age is gradually increasing because of declining fertility rates and the aging of the adult population, trends also seen on the national level.
Texas, the second-youngest state, has a median age of 35.6, and 13.4 percent of its population is aged 65 and over. Alaska is the third-youngest state, with a median age of 35.9.
With a median age of 45.1, Maine is the oldest state in the country, the Census Bureau data shows.
Utah’s youth can be explained by the state’s high birth rate. Mormons make up 42 percent of the population of Utah, a recent study published in the Journal of Religion and Demography found, and areas with high concentrations of Latter-day Saints historically have higher birth rates and larger household sizes.
However, data also shows that in the past 40 years, the percentage of state residents over 65 years of age has grown by a significant margin. In 1980, fewer than 8 percent of Utah residents were over the age of 65. In 2020, that figure had risen to almost 12 percent. By the year 2060, Utah’s retirement-age population is expected to be more than 20 percent, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute reported.
Newsweek/US Census Bureau
In Maine, more than 22 percent of the population is aged 65 and over. Fewer jobs, lower wages and a lack of affordable housing mean younger people are seeking opportunities elsewhere in the country.
Over the past 20 years, the number of Mainers in the workforce has increased by 6 percent, which is significantly below the national workforce growth of 20 percent, said a 2023 report by the Maine Center for Economic Policy. The Maine Department of Labor estimates that over the next decade, the state’s workforce will decrease by tens of thousands of people compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Overall, northwestern states have the oldest populations, the Census Bureau data shows. Neighboring New Hampshire has a median age of 43.3. Vermont, the third-oldest state, has a median age of 43.2, and 21.6 percent of its population is 65 and over.
Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about population data? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A man died after he was caught in an avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon over the weekend.
A spokesperson for the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Thursday that Kevin Williams, 57, had died.
He, along with one other person, was hospitalized in critical condition after Saturday’s avalanche in the backcountry.
In an interview with 2News earlier this week, one of Williams’ close friends, Nate Burbidge, described him as a loving family man.
“Kevin’s an amazing guy. He’s always serving, looking for ways that he can connect with others,” Burbidge said.
A GoFundMe was set up to help support Williams’ family.
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CONTENT WARNING: This report discusses suicide and includes descriptions of audio from 911 calls that some viewers may find disturbing.
LAS VEGAS — Exclusively obtained 911 recordings detail the hours leading up to the discovery of an 11-year-old Utah girl and her mother dead inside a Las Vegas hotel room in an apparent murder-suicide.
Addi Smith and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, lived in West Jordan and had traveled to Nevada for the JAMZ cheerleading competition.
The calls show a growing sense of urgency from family members and coaches, and several hours passing before relatives learned what happened.
Below is a timeline of the key moments, according to dispatch records. All times are Pacific Time.
After Addi and her mother failed to appear at the cheerleading competition, Addi’s father and stepmother called dispatch for a welfare check.
Addi and her mother were staying at the Rio hotel. The father told dispatch that hotel security had already attempted contact.
“Security went up and knocked on the door. There’s no answer or response it doesn’t look like they checked out or anything…”
As concern grew, Addi’s coach contacted the police two times within minutes.
“We think the child possibly is in imminent danger…”
Addi’s stepmother placed another call to dispatch, expressing escalating concern.
“We are extremely concerned we believe that something might have seriously happened.”
She said that Tawnia’s car was still at the hotel.
Police indicated officers were on the way.
Nearly three hours after the initial welfare check request, fire personnel were en route to the scene. It appeared they had been in contact with hotel security.
Fire told police that they were responding to a possible suicide.
“They found a note on the door.”
Emergency medical personnel at the scene told police they had located two victims.
“It’s going to be gunshot wound to the head for both patients with notes”
A dispatcher responded:
“Oh my goodness that’s not okay.”
Moments later, fire personnel relayed their assessment to law enforcement:
“It’s going to be a murder suicide, a juvenile and a mother.”
Unaware of what had been discovered, Addi’s father called dispatch again.
“I’m trying to file a missing persons report for my daughter.”
He repeats the details he knows for the second time.
Father and stepmother call again seeking information and continue to press for answers.
“We just need some information. There was a room check done around 3:00 we really don’t know where to start with all of this Can we have them call us back immediately?”
Dispatch responded:
“As soon as there’s a free officer, we’ll have them reach out to you.”
More than an hour later, Addi’s father was put in contact with the police on the scene. He pleaded for immediate action.
“I need someone there I need someone there looking in that room”
The officer confirmed that they had officers currently in the room.
Addi’s father asks again what they found, if Addi and her mother are there, and if their things were missing.
The officer, who was not on scene, said he had received limited information.
Nearly seven hours after the first welfare check request, Addi’s grandmother contacted police, describing conflicting information circulating within the family.
“Some people are telling us that they were able to get in, and they were not in the hotel room, and other people saying they were not able to get in the hotel room, and we need to know”
She repeated the details of the case. Dispatch said officers will call her back once they have more information.
Later that evening, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police held a news conference confirming that Addi and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, were found dead inside the hotel room.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — AI glasses could allow you to get answers, snap photos, access audio and take phone calls—and now a proposal moving through the legislature would ban the glasses from Utah school classrooms.
“I think it’s a great idea,” said Kizzy Guyton Murphy, a mother who accompanied her child’s class on a field trip to the state Capitol on Wednesday. “You can’t see inside what the student is looking at, and it’s just grounds for cheating.”
Mom Tristan Davies Seamons also sees trouble with AI glasses.
“I don’t think they should have any more technology in schools than they currently have,” she said.
Her twin daughters, fourth graders Finley and Grayson, don’t have cell phones yet.
“Not until we’re like 14,” said Grayson, adding they do have Chromebooks in school.
2News sent questions to the Utah State Board of Education:
Matt Winters, USBE AI specialist, said the board has not received reports from school districts of students with AI glasses.
“Local Education Agencies (school districts) have local control over these decisions based on current law and code,” said Winters. “The Board has not taken a position on AI glasses.
Some districts across the country have reportedly put restrictions on the glasses in schools.
“I think it should be up to the teachers,” said Briauna Later, another mother who is all for preventing cheating, but senses a ban could leave administrators with tired eyes.
“It’s one more thing for the administration to have to keep track of,” said Later.
The proposal, HB 42, passed the House and cleared a Senate committee on Wednesday.
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