Fentanyl is the most common drug found in overdose deaths in the state, according to a new report from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. 

There were 606 drug overdose deaths reported in 2023, a 14.3% jump from 2022. The report found 290 of those deaths involved fentanyl. Drug overdose deaths peaked in 2015 and haven’t dipped since. More people died from fatal drug overdoses in 2023 than ever before, and for the first time, there are more deaths from fentanyl than methamphetamine, according to the report’s findings. 

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

With a record-number of Utahns dying from overdoses, state announces new fentanyl task force

Utah launched a fentanyl task force, which DHHS is part of, last October to combat the drug market. The objectives of the task force include educating the public, disrupting trafficking networks, partnering with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, addressing the root causes of fentanyl use, collecting data on drug usage, and looking at policies and penalties for those convicted of dealing drugs. 

“We appreciate the dedication and support of Governor Cox and the Utah State Legislature in addressing the overdose crisis,” said Tracy Gruber, DHHS executive director. “There’s much work to do but DHHS is committed to preventing unnecessary suffering and death in our families and communities and helping all Utahns have fair and equitable opportunities to live healthy and safe lives.” 

The task force met Thursday to discuss the report’s findings. 

“Our subgroup leaders identified immediate next steps for action, many of which are now underway, to reduce the impact of fentanyl in our communities,” Gov. Spencer Cox said in a post to X. 

Rep. Matthew Gwynn, R-Farr West, has introduced a bill that would make trafficking fentanyl or a fentanyl-related substance a first-degree felony.

In a post to X on Wednesday, the official Utah House Majority account praised the bill. 

“Rep. Matt Gwynn’s bill hands out presumptive prison sentences to fentanyl traffickers, increasing penalties while investing in law enforcement programs to disrupt the supply of dangerous drugs in Utah,” the post read.

The report also found that middle-age men have a significantly higher rate of drug overdose death; people who experience homelessness die at a much faster and younger rate than those who are not homeless; and southeastern Utah counties like Emery, Grand, Summit, Daggett, Duchesne and Uintah have higher rates of drug overdoses.

SALT LAKE CITY — Delta Center became the 91st unique venue in which the Rangers have played a regular-season game Thursday night when they beat Utah Hockey Club, 5-3, for the first time. 

There’s always a sort of buzz to a team that’s competing in a new place, and the Blueshirts were no different. 

The NHL era in Utah came quickly thanks to the diligence of owner Ryan Smith, who had been working on getting a team since 2022.

When arena and ownership issues hit a breaking point in Arizona back in April, Smith purchased the Coyotes assets from owner Alex Meruelo for $1.2 billion. 

Now, Utah is the 25th state or district in which the Blueshirts have played. 

In October, the Salt Lake City Council voted unanimously to approve and help fund Smith Entertainment Group’s renovation plans of Delta Center, which was constructed for the NBA Jazz and needs to be fixed for dual use with hockey now on the schedule, too. 

The remodel, which is expected to unfold in three phases and address the 4,000-5,000 seats with obstructed views of the ice, is expected to be completed by the start of the 2027-28 NHL and NBA seasons. 

“It felt pretty good,” Braden Schneider told The Post of his first touch of Delta Center ice. “I think it’s a cool rink. It’s a little different, it’s pretty steep. It looks nice. Everything that’s here with it is really nice. I think it’s a positive review from me.” 

The commitment to making hockey work in Utah is evident in the city’s planned contribution of $900 million, as well as in SEG’s pledge to invest a minimum of $3 billion, according to the Sports Business Journal. 

Hockey, however, already had a presence in Salt Lake City. 

Before Utah H.C., which is supposed to announce a permanent name between the end of this season and the draft, there were the Utah Grizzlies (now of the ECHL) and the Salt Lake Golden Eagles (defunct). 

Peter Laviolette played for the Denver Rangers in 1988-89, which was also the last time the Rangers head coach was in the city.

He got a good laugh remembering how there weren’t many IHL teams around either Denver or Salt Lake City back then. 

“God, we must’ve played them 25 times,” he said with a smile after the Rangers held an optional practice at the Olympic Oval in nearby Kearns. 

The Oval, which was built for indoor speed skating at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, was packed on a Wednesday afternoon with youth hockey and curling practice on the opposite side of where the Rangers skated. 

Players had to walk from the Rangers locker room underneath the main level, up a couple flights of stairs and into their designated rink, which was surrounded by a massive speed skating sheet that wrapped around the entire facility. 

The arenas and city may be new to most of the Rangers but not for Laviolette or assistant Michael Peca. 

Peca has fond memories after winning a gold medal with Team Canada in 2002. 

“Practice at the practice arena [felt] good for me because I know the Olympic Games were there,” Artemi Panarin told The Post before the game Thursday. “For me, Olympic Games are something special, and I just enjoy that energy from the arena. Pretty fun.” 

Igor Shesterkin stopped 28 of the 31 shots he faced in his 14th victory of the season. 

Zac Jones was a healthy scratch for the 10th straight game and the 12th time in the last 13. 

The Rangers scored a shorthanded goal for the second straight game, which gave the team seven on the season. That’s good for third in the NHL behind only the Panthers (11) and Lightning (8). 

Gov. Spencer Cox is about to overhaul Utah’s remote work policy for state employees.

But during his monthly PBS Utah news conference Thursday, the governor stopped short of saying whether he’s going to order state government workers to return to the office full time.

“We’re still working on that and we’ll have more to announce on that soon,” Cox said, adding that since the COVID-19 pandemic, the state has “been bringing more and more people back into the office. So we’ll continue to evaluate where it works and where it doesn’t.”

Approximately 40% of state government’s more than 22,400 employees are eligible to work from home but exactly how many do is not being tracked. Last year, many state workers were told they must be in the office at least two days a week.

“Remote work has its place. But so does being together,” the governor said. “That’s another thing that we learned during the pandemic. It’s not healthy to be isolated. We need that feedback, we need that interaction that comes not just from doing your work.”

He said it’s also important “to say ‘hi’ when you go to the water cooler or the restroom, and being able to get in a room together and just be able to talk and look at each other face-to-face. That matters. So those are the things that we’re working through right now.”

Cox, who once called himself “a televangelist for telework,” promised “there will be more to come.”

Before the pandemic, which had both private and public sector employees working from home, Utah had been encouraging what was known as telework for state employees as a way to save money on building or leasing office space.

Cox, who helmed the state’s pilot teleworking program in 2018 as lieutenant governor, said Thursday it “was very successful. It showed remote work can work if it’s done in the right ways. You don’t just send people home with a computer. It’s much more detailed than that.”

The pilot program showed what’s needed is “incredible oversight. You have to have different training. You have to have an area of your house that is set aside specifically for work so you have an actual workspace that had to be approved and compliant,” he said.

When those criteria are met, the governor said “we see actually an increase in productivity.”

But when the pandemic struck in 2020, “we didn’t have those same things in place for the thousands of workers who were working remotely,” he said. Now when it comes to the state’s telework program, the governor said, “parts of it are working. I think parts of it aren’t.”

The prospect of cutting government costs through shared workspaces and “getting rid of some of the leases that are very expensive” remains a priority, Cox said. State agencies are currently reviewing future space needs.

“What we’re trying to do is to figure out, how do we save taxpayer money by using less space and how do we make sure that the employees that are working on behalf of the taxpayers are efficient and productive,” he said, while “giving them as many opportunities as possible.”