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Is Utah making progress in the fight against opioid-related deaths?

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Is Utah making progress in the fight against opioid-related deaths?


Fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, opioid deaths spiked in the United States. But three months into 2025, drug overdose-related deaths have gradually decreased, yet remain the most common death amongst adults ages 18 to 44, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Recent CDC data reported that between October 2023 and September 2024, the United States saw its lowest death rate in a 12-month timeframe since 2020. During that period, there were 87,000 deaths compared to 114,000 the year before.

“It is unprecedented to see predicted overdose deaths drop by more than 27,000 over a single year,” said Allison Arwady, Director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, per the report. “That’s more than 70 lives saved every day,” and is happening because “we are more rapidly identifying emerging drug threats and supporting public health prevention and response activities in communities across America.”

Utah continues to face a significant drug trafficking threat, as demand indicates the state is a destination for illegal sales. Victims of drug-related deaths in Utah more frequently succumbed to synthetic opioids like fentanyl or methamphetamine mixed with other substances, and less to prescribed medication, which was historically more common, according to the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner.

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Fentanyl is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine, while carfentanil — an opioid used to tranquilize elephants — is 10,000 times more potent. A fatal dose of fentanyl may be as little as 2 milligrams. Similarly, just 0.02 milligrams of carfentanil can end a life. Both are being trafficked for use in the state of Utah.

“The sharp increase in the number of fentanyl-involved deaths outpaces reductions in deaths from prescription opioids,” Dr. Deirdre Amaro, Utah’s chief medical examiner said. “We will likely see an increase in the drug overdose death rate if this trend continues.”

U.S. and Utah see slight decrease in opioid-related deaths

The U.S. saw a slight drop in opioid-related deaths since its yearly peak ending mid-July 2023 at 85,387 deaths, Addiction-Rep shared with the Deseret News via email, highlighting detailed statistics from their national report on America’s opioid crisis.

By June 2024, national opioid-related deaths decreased by 16% to 71,484 deaths the following year.

The following opioid statistics regarding the U.S. were also shared:

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  • From June 2023 to June 2024, synthetic opioids like fentanyl remained the most common drug involved in opioid deaths in the state but decreased by 20% year-over-year.
  • Deaths caused by heroin have seen a “drastic” decrease, showing a fallen rate in the last five years from 14,743 in 2019 to 3,242 in 2024 — a nearly 80% decline.
  • Men are the most common victims of drug-related deaths on a state and national level. But, fatality rates have decreased in both men and women by 19% year-over-year.

For Utah specifically, from June 2022 to June 2023, the state experienced 492 opioid-related deaths. By June 2024, the rate increased to 503, “still, when looking at Utah’s rate of deaths per 100k people, the state experienced a modest year-over-year decline of 0.2% (due to the Utah population increasing).”



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Here’s who will lead Utah Valley University as its next president

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Here’s who will lead Utah Valley University as its next president


Jon Anderson will be charged with moving the Orem school forward following the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on campus last year.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Incoming UVU President Jon Anderson poses for a photo with his family after an event announcing his selection at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, July 17, 2026.



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Beaver County residents set up thousands of sandbags ahead of flashfloods

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Beaver County residents set up thousands of sandbags ahead of flashfloods


BEAVER COUNTY, Utah — A massive community effort is underway as volunteers and Beaver County crews distribute thousands of sandbags to protect homes from the potential path of floodwaters.

After the Cottonwood Fires, residents have been waiting for weeks for relief to come in the form of rain, though officials now warn it may come all at once with an increased risk of flooding and debris flow.

Emergency Service Director Les Whitney believes that the fire has left plenty of debris to bring trouble for residents.

“We got a lot of water. We’re bringing debris with it, so tree branches, tree limbs, logs, lots of different size firewood, and that’s all in the creeks. We’re worried about that plugging up our bridges and stuff, so we have heavy equipment and excavators located in strategic places so that we can keep those bridges open,” said Whitney.

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An estimated 140 homes and condominiums were spared from the flames, but remain in the paths of floodwaters.

Residents can also pick up sandbags at the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office or at the Beaver County Rodeo Fairgrounds.





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Utah man arrested again for allegedly abusing dog twice in three months

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Utah man arrested again for allegedly abusing dog twice in three months


EAGLE MOUNTAIN — An Eagle Mountain man currently on pretrial release in 4th District Court who is accused of abusing his dog has been arrested again for allegedly punching the same animal.

Keith Reaves Davis, 43, was booked into the Utah County Jail on Wednesday for investigation of aggravated cruelty to an animal.

Utah County sheriff’s deputies were called Wednesday afternoon to a grocery store on a report that a man was beating his dog after it had gotten off its leash and was stopped by a bystander, according to a police booking affidavit.

“I reviewed security camera footage from the grocery store, and an individual matching the description of the suspect was seen holding the dog in the air by one paw and repeatedly striking the dog on the right hind leg area. I observed the male strike the dog several times before dropping the dog from approximately 1-2 feet. The strikes appeared to be as hard as the male could hit,” the arresting deputy wrote in the affidavit. “The dog did not cry out or whimper as if the dog was accustomed to the abuse.”

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When questioned, Davis “admitted to striking the dog because it was not behaving,” the affidavit states.

An animal control officer who responded to the scene to take custody of the dog noted it was the same dog he had taken from Davis exactly three months earlier during another animal abuse investigation.

In that case, Davis was charged in 4th District Court with aggravated cruelty to an animal, a class A misdemeanor; and public intoxication, a class C misdemeanor, after deputies received a tip from a neighbor that a dog was being abused at Davis’ home, according to charging documents. When questioned, Davis “acknowledged hitting his dog as punishment,” the charges state.

Deputies also reviewed videos that the neighbor had filmed. The neighbor told investigators “there was blood from the dog on the ground of the garage and (the neighbor) can hear the dog screaming as if it’s being hurt. Deputies got the videos from the (neighbor) and you can hear very loudly the dog screaming and crying with a lot of loud banging noises. In one of the videos, you can hear the dog sounding like it is being choked by a collar and is grasping for air,” a police booking affidavit states.

Davis’ next court hearing in the April case is scheduled for July 28.

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In their latest booking report, sheriff’s deputies note that they “believe further harm will be inflicted on this dog if it is released back to the male a second time,” and have recommended the dog not be returned to Davis.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.



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