Utah
Mountain Bike Mania: Pedaling Utah Tourism
SALT LAKE CITY — A growing number of Utah high schools have about as many mountain bike racers as football players. That surprising development becomes obvious at the starting line of weekend races.
“We are the largest youth cycling organization in the nation,” said Dallen Atack, board president of the Utah High School Cycling League.
Just 10 years ago, there were 320 riders. Now more than 7,500 students compete.
“I love being out there all the time,” said Morgan High School rider Blair Erickson.
Riders aren’t the only ones who love high school mountain biking.
“They have an incredible impact on our community,” said Maria Twitchell, director of Visit Cedar City, Brian Head Tourism Bureau.
“It bolsters the community because they have to eat and get gas and stay,” said Dennis Jorgensen, mountain bike organizer in Richfield.
Mountain bike races held among the ridges of Richfield, the peaks of Price and the vistas of Vernal bring thousands of visitors who likely wouldn’t otherwise come to these small Utah towns.
“From fast food to sit down, our restaurants are full,” said Price Mayor Michael Kourianos.
In Richfield, traffic and hotel parking lots are filled with cars carrying valuable cargo.
“Any time you drive down main street, you see a van or car with bikes on the back of it, and that didn’t use to be the case,” said Carson DeMille, chairman of the Richfield Trail Committee.
A pair of cars transporting multiple bikes each shown outside a restaurant. Utah locals say it’s now common to see bike racks when driving down main streets, and that wasn’t always the case. (Courtesy Ashley Burr)
What’s become clear in city after city, is that on race weekends, huge open fields have become paydirt:
- $1,000,000 in Price
- $1,800,000 in Cedar City
- $500,000 in Richfield.
So no surprise, small towns all over Utah are racing to build tracks of their own.
Tracks have existed for a number of years in Richfield, Cedar City, Vernal, Price, St George, Manti, Beaver Mountain, Eagle Mountain and Soldier Hollow.
More recently, trails have come online in Mantua, Herriman and Beaver. And new trails have come or are coming to Tooele, Panguitch and Gunnison. Morgan has a track in the works.
A map showing Utah counties and the many bike trails that have been established. (KSL TV)
The cities of Price and Herriman are working on second tracks.
“It’s pretty competitive. We don’t really talk about it, but on our end, we try to take care of those race directors,” said Lesh Coltharp, director of Tourism and Events for Uintah County.
Ahead of the races, big open fields of dirt turn into mini cities of high school staging tents. There’s a reason these races are more suited to rural Utah than established ski resorts and trail areas.
“We do have specific standards on how long the course needs to be,” said Michelle Lyman, race director for region 2.
They need broad tracks that are 4-6 miles, about 500 feet in elevation, with nothing too steep or too narrow.
But the number one requirement:
“We need to have at least 1,000 parking spaces to hold one of our races,” Atack said.
Many cities combine private, county and BLM lands with donations, county and state grants to build their tracks.
It’s more than just economics that fuels mountain biking mania. Unlike most high school sports, everyone gets to compete. No one sits on the sidelines.
“Nobody rides the bench, is one of our favorite mottos of the league,” Atack said.
These tracks provide a valuable source of recreation and opportunity for kids, especially in small towns.
“I knew that if we could get these kids riding it would change their lives,” said Dennis Jorgensen, of Richfield.
“We’re building athletes. And those athletes turn to lifetime users and recreationists and come back year after year and bring their kids,” added Maria Twitchell, of Cedar City.
In many cities, trail maintenance can also become a part-time, high school job.
Since mountain biking isn’t a high school-sanctioned sport, the need for parent volunteers is great. They require a 1:6 coach-to-student ratio, just to ride on the trails.
“This is a sport where parents can practice and ride right alongside their kids, support them in the day,” Lyman said.
So, while mountain biking is changing the face of high school sports for thousands of families, it is also putting Utah towns on the map for tourism.
“Word of mouth continues to grow, so the impact is much larger than we anticipated,” said Amy Myers, Sevier County tourism director.
“When the community benefits,” Jorgensen said, “We all benefit.”
Utah
Utah man dies of injuries sustained in avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon
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.
MORE | Big Cottonwood Canyon Avalanche
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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Utah
911 recordings detail hours leading up to discovery of Utah girl, mother dead in Las Vegas
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.
MORE | Murder-Suicide
Below is a timeline of the key moments, according to dispatch records. All times are Pacific Time.
10:33 a.m. — Call 1
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…”
11:18 a.m. and 11:27 a.m. — Calls 2 and 3
As concern grew, Addi’s coach contacted the police two times within minutes.
“We think the child possibly is in imminent danger…”
11:26 a.m. — Call 4
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.
2:26 p.m. — Call 5
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.”
2:35 p.m. — Call 6
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.”
2:36 p.m. — Call 7
Moments later, fire personnel relayed their assessment to law enforcement:
“It’s going to be a murder suicide, a juvenile and a mother.”
2:39 p.m. — Call 8
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.
3:13 p.m. — Call 9
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.”
4:05 p.m. — Call 10
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.
5:23 p.m. — Call 11
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.
Around 8:00 p.m. — Press Conference
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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Utah
Ban on AI glasses in Utah classrooms inches closer to passing
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:
- Does it have reports of students using AI glasses?
- Does it see cheating and privacy as major concerns?
- Does it support a ban from classrooms?
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.
MORE | Utah State Legislature:
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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