The Utah Jazz’s 2024-25 season will tip off at home when the Memphis Grizzlies visit the Delta Center on Oct. 23, marking the first time the two teams have met for a season debut.

On Thursday, the NBA released the full schedule for the 2024-25 season, which will run from Oct. 22 to April 13. The schedule defines 80 of each team’s 82 regular-season games. Two games per team will be played between Dec. 10-16 and scheduled at a later date based on group play results in the in-season tournament, the NBA Cup.

Utah’s NBA Cup group play games will be played Nov. 12 vs. the Phoenix Suns, Nov. 19 at the Los Angeles Lakers, Nov. 26 vs. the San Antonio Spurs and Dec. 3 at the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Jazz are scheduled to play in seven nationally televised games (five on NBA TV, one on ESPN, one on TNT), which ranks pretty low, but is not the fewest games for an NBA team. The Brooklyn Nets (5), Chicago Bulls (5), Detroit Pistons (4), Portland Trail Blazers (4), Toronto Raptors (4) and Washington Wizards (5) will all play fewer games in the national spotlight.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers (39), Golden State Warriors (36), New York Knicks (34) and reigning champion Boston Celtics (34) lead the way for the most national TV games.

The Jazz will play their second game of the season Oct. 25 against the Warriors before heading out for their first road game, an Oct. 28 contest against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.

The Jazz’s opening-night tilt at the Delta Center is set to be Ja Morant’s first game back for the Grizzlies since Jan. 5, 2024. He played in just nine games last season (following suspension) before having season-ending shoulder surgery.

December will be a grueling month for the Jazz, with seven of the 10 scheduled games to be played on the road. Depending on the scheduling of the final two regular-season games, there’s a chance the Jazz could be on the road from Dec. 2 through Dec. 27.

The Jazz will play five games in October, 14 games in November, at least 12 games in December, 16 games in January, 12 games in February, 17 games in March and six games in April.

This season the Jazz will play in 15 back-to-back sets. The Jazz All-Star break will run from Feb. 13-20 and the Jazz’s longest homestand begins with the final game prior to the All-Star break on Feb. 12 against the Lakers. When the Jazz return from the All-Star break they will play seven straight games at home, a stretch that will take them into March.

For the full NBA schedule by team, click here. For the Utah Jazz only schedule click here.

The state Department of Health is considering an update to how it exempts small farms from some drinking water requirements. 

The department says it’s a simple fix to outdated and inaccurate language to what’s known as the “same farm exemption,” but farmers say the changes could be costly and burdensome – especially for farms with onsite housing for employees. 

Under a 1995 state law, water systems with four or fewer connections, serving residences on the same farm and providing water to fewer than 25 people a day are excluded from some regulatory requirements that larger public water systems face. 

The updated language would require those exempt farms to reapply every five years for the exemption. If at any point, the farms didn’t qualify, the Department of Health would have the authority to take away the exemption. 

Jay Gordon, at the Washington State Dairy Federation, said proving that they fit the requirements every year could be expensive, unnecessary and go against what the Legislature intended when setting up the exemption in state law. 

“We don’t actually know what’s going to be required as every well is somewhat different,” Gordon said. “But you’re asking a lot of people to prove they’re exempt from something that the Legislature already says they’re exempt from.” 

Gordon said the changes could have broad financial implications on small farms that are already struggling. Testing water and reapplying could cost thousands of dollars, he said. 

If a farmer owns multiple rentals on their property that they use to house workers temporarily, they’ll have to follow the new application process, Gordon said. 

“Either the farmer eats that money or passes it off to employees or tenants,” Gordon said. 

Roberto Bonaccorso, spokesman for the Department of Health, said the only change to current policy is requiring the five-year approval for the exemption, which allows the state to maintain safe and reliable drinking water for the employees of agricultural entities. 

The five-year application would be similar to what businesses complete in a water facilities inventory form, which requires them to state their water system’s source and treatment as well as the number of connections it uses, Bonaccorso wrote in an email. 

The department is proposing the change following a request from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to study unregulated public water systems in the lower Yakima valley, Bonaccorso said. 

Some of those farms were claiming a same farm exemption, despite being a larger facility than what the exemption allows, in part because of the 1995 law, which the department said was unclear and needed to be updated. “This misunderstanding caused DOH to review the policy and update to clarify its implementation,” he added.

In a June letter to the Department of Health, Yakima County’s public services director Lisa Freund wrote that the department should keep local governments and their regulations in mind when finalizing the rule. Counties are the ones who have to implement the rules, Freund wrote, and the water monitoring standards vary across them. 

There is a public comment period open through Aug. 26. Ben Tindall, executive director at Save Family Farming, said the department has been responsive to some of their concerns so far. 

But there are still questions surrounding the cost of this change, how many people it could affect and why the change is being made, Tindall said.

“This is very much a step in the wrong direction, and it’s going to damage farms throughout the state,” Tindall said. 

Gordon said another concern is that the department does not have the authority to change this policy in the way that they are doing it. He said the department should either go through a formal rulemaking process or leave it up to the Legislature to change the exemptions process as they are the ones who made the law in the first place. 

“They’re proposing pretty broad changes, and we certainly don’t think they have the legal authority to do this,” Gordon said. “At a high level, this is really bad governance.” 

Bonaccorso wrote that there has been a discussion about requesting legislation but that a policy update can be done in a shorter time frame and implemented accurately to address the concerns regarding unregulated public water systems. 

“It is common to update internal policies,” he said. 

Following the public comment period, the department will review the feedback and consider making changes to the draft policy, which will then be updated on their website. There is no timeline for implementation yet.

Porcupine Falls, a hiking trail located south of the Montana-Wyoming state line, is a hidden gem for those who have visited.

The 0.7 mile hike leads directly into a swimming hole that is surrounded by cliffs with a large waterfall pouring in.

The beautiful area is unknown to many.

“If you drove by it on the mountain or the road, you’d never know it was there,” said frequent visitor Jeremy Stewart of Sheridan.

Stewart and his family visit often.

“We try to come here once or twice a year for the last 10 years I’d say probably,” Stewart said.

Others, like Gillette residents Trisha and Francisco Garibay, were pleasantly surprised to find this trail so close to home.

“It was a good hike,” Francisco said. “A little steep and a good workout.”

“It’s amazing,” Trisha said. “I’m like how did we ever miss this place? It’s crazy that it’s right in our back door.”

The hike itself isn’t too challenging. There’s even been manmade steps built to help hikers find the falls.

“It’s accessible,” Trisha said. “You’ve got little kids and you’ve got elderly people walking. Our four-year-old is with us and he basically did the whole thing.”

Those steps and extra people bring excitement for Stewart, who said he wants to share the views with as many people as possible.

“It’s phenomenal all the people that get to see it,” Stewart said. “Ten years ago, everyone was like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’”

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And the beautiful scenery speaks for itself.

“It’s like you’re walking into a paradise,” Trisha said. “It’s so beautiful. There were people fishing and swimming. It was great.”

Even though the hike is becoming more popular, most aren’t as courageous as the Stewart family when it comes to jumping into the freezing water. Jeremy said that’s his favorite part.

“It’s usually hot coming down, so it feels great to jump in the cold water,” Stewart said with a smile after jumping in. “It was chilly. I mean, I’ll do it again, but it was chilly.”