Staff Writer | Lehi Free Press

All Utah County Republican delegates are invited to participate in the Utah County Republican convention this Saturday at Skyridge High School. Several high-profile Utah County races with numerous republican contenders will vie to represent the party in the primary election. Those races include two county commission seats, and a republican nominee will emerge from the county clerk and county recorder races.

The day-long event starts at 7:30 a.m. with a greeting time for candidates and delegates, then registration from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. According to county officials, food trucks will be on site. Delegates are encouraged to bring water and a cushion for more comfortable seating.
The Utah County Democratic Party held its nominating convention earlier in April.

Kentucky basketball continues to stay aggressive in the transfer portal, hosting Utah transfer guard Terrence Brown for a visit, according to Matt Jones of KSR, as the Wildcats look to rebuild their backcourt heading into next season.

Brown, a 6-3, 175-pound point guard, is coming off a standout year in which he averaged 19.9 points, 3.8 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game. He shot 45.3% from the field and 32.7% from 3-point range while starting all 32 games and playing over 31 minutes per contest.

There is already a connection between Brown and Kentucky, as he previously played alongside former Wildcat forward Ansley Almonor during the 2023-24 season before Almonor transferred to Kentucky the following year.

Kentucky’s interest in Brown comes as the program looks to reload at the guard position following multiple departures, including Jaland Lowe, Denzel Aberdeen, Jasper Johnson, and Collin Chandler. Head coach Mark Pope and his staff have made it a priority to evaluate all options, with Brown emerging as a serious candidate after a recent phone conversation between the two sides.

The Wildcats have also hosted other guards like Zoom Diallo, and currently, Rob Wright is on campus.

Brown’s visit is part of a busy stretch for Kentucky, with several other notable transfer targets expected to make their way to Lexington, including Alex Wilkins, Donnie Freeman, Jalen Cox, and Magoon Gwath.

The Utah Legislature tried to address the unaffordability or, for some, unavailability of home insurance last year.

The state created a program to inspect “high-risk” properties statewide and charge those properties a fee.

Its start date was supposed to be Jan. 1, but now lawmakers are giving state and local officials an extra year to implement it. House Bill 41, which Gov. Spencer Cox signed in March, moves the start date to Jan. 1, 2027.

Bill sponsor Rep. Thomas Peterson, R-Brigham City, says that’s to give time for cities and counties to petition the state to add or remove properties from the fee area.

“[The Division of] Forestry, Fire and State Lands has said they will work with the cities and counties to amend their maps, if it’s indeed justified,” the representative said during a House committee hearing.

The program targets properties with buildings in the “high-risk wildland-urban interface,” or WUI, meaning those that straddle wilderness and development. The Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands has a map classifying certain properties as high-risk WUI.

That’s the map local governments can petition to amend this year.

Those properties will pay a fee into the new Utah Wildfire Fund, which is supposed to offset fire-related costs. The fee pays for inspections to make sure property owners are being firewise and maintaining their land.

The fee is expected to range from $20 to $100 annually, depending on the size of buildings on a given property and risk level. The state forester has more information on an online FAQ page.