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Polling shows strong support for Utah Lake dredging, but critics say the survey is biased

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Polling shows strong support for Utah Lake dredging, but critics say the survey is biased


New “scientific” polling commissioned by the group proposing to boost islands on Utah Lake within the identify of environmental restoration has discovered sturdy assist for the controversial venture amongst Utah County residents.

Main critics, nevertheless, say the questionnaire’s wording throws doubt on the ballot’s objectivity and say the outcomes quantity to “political promoting” from Lake Restoration Options, or LRS.

For instance, the important thing polling query describes the venture in ways in which ignore the potential hurt island constructing may trigger and by no means mentions “dredging,” which is the venture’s major exercise, noticed Ben Abbott, a Brigham Younger College ecology professor and vocal opponent.

“The questions themselves are extraordinarily main. If I obtained a survey that requested me, ’Would you like scrumptious chocolate ice cream delivered to your home each morning with out it costing something?’ My reply could be sure,” stated Abbott, who’s being sued by LRS over his previous criticisms. “Truly it’s a shock to me that as many individuals stated no [on the Utah Lake project] given how the query is phrased.”

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Between June 1 and 13, G1 Analysis queried 613 randomly-selected Utah County residents, based on a information launch issued Monday by LRS. After being learn an outline of the venture and its supposed advantages — habitat restoration, miles of latest shoreline and seashores, waterfront communities, deeper and cooler water — a full two-thirds stated they supported it. The margin of error is 4 proportion factors.

“Restoring Utah Lake and offering higher leisure alternatives are vital priorities for Utahns, and this ballot exhibits Utah County residents clearly assist the hassle,” Jon Benson, LRS’s president, stated in an announcement Monday when the corporate launched the polling. “These outcomes affirm the assist we hear in conversations with so many in our neighborhood round Utah Lake and reaffirm the state Legislature’s idea for offering a complete answer to revive and improve Utah Lake.”

Assist was sturdy no matter age, gender, political occasion, earnings or training degree.

“It’s so refreshing to see this broad assist,” Benson stated. “These outcomes are an awesome start line, however we wish to hold constructing on this assist as we go ahead in designing the venture. The Utah Lake Restoration Challenge could be one thing that Utahns could be pleased with for generations.”

To conduct the ballot, LRS employed the Sandy-based G1 Analysis, whose techniques on behalf of Donald Trump-aligned candidates recommend it engages within the political darkish arts of push polling, or what some pollsters are actually rebranding as “message testing.”

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Whereas the Utah Lake survey is just not a traditional push ballot, Abbott argued that its questions advance a phony narrative in regards to the lake’s ecological issues, which stem from many years of air pollution and neglect, and ignore the progress being made towards addressing them.

Overlooked of the polling query was the venture’s intention to dredge a billion cubic yards of the lake mattress, which Utah’s scientific neighborhood fears may worsen the lake’s ecological issues and disrupt ongoing restoration initiatives. It additionally failed to say the subdivisions it could create for as much as half one million individuals atop the dredged supplies. Additionally not talked about are considerations amongst Utah water managers that constructing 18,000 acres of synthetic islands may scale back the lake’s storage capability and render the pump station on the mouth of the Jordan River inoperable.

Right here is how G1 framed the venture:

“The State of Utah, the EPA, and different federal businesses are presently evaluating a venture to enhance Utah Lake. The Utah Lake Restoration Challenge proposes making the lake deeper and cooler, restoring wetland vegetation and wildlife habitat, creating miles of latest shorelines and seashores for recreation, and establishing waterfront communities. The price of these enhancements could be within the billions. The sale of the property on some islands is proposed to fund your complete restoration effort with no tax enhance.”

Benson rejected criticism that this framing gave a deceptive, one-sided image of the venture.

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“G1 Analysis is a revered polling group. They’ve been doing political and public curiosity surveys for over 20 years,” he stated in an interview. “They wrote the questions. They did ask our enter. We have been very cautious to not give main questions or something that may very well be perceived as biased, as a result of we wished to get a real measure of how individuals actually really feel about this, as a result of that’s an vital query to us to know.”

He famous that the Legislature, in a 2018 invoice, recognized a number of targets the venture should obtain to obtain approval.

“A lot of what’s described in that query is simply their necessities. If we’re not reaching these necessities the venture doesn’t go ahead,” Benson stated. “The intent was to explain the venture in a approach that’s descriptive sufficient that those that don’t learn about it may say if they often assist or oppose it.”

Whether or not the dredging would accomplish the state’s targets shall be decided in an ongoing environmental affect assertion by the U.S. Military Corps of Engineers.

Abbott contends the ballot’s rosy characterization of the venture, which aligns with LRS’s advertising and marketing marketing campaign by radio and tv adverts and social media posts, distorts public debate on how finest to resolve the lake’s issues.

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“Restoring an ecosystem is so much like training medication. I would like my physician to be making selections about what remedy to advocate primarily based on essentially the most rigorous, replicated science,” he stated. “I don’t need them to be working a ballot asking, ‘What’s the most well-liked medical remedy being purchased off Amazon?”

The ballot additionally reported 76.6% of the respondents agreed with the assertion, “Utah Lake is just not wholesome and there are issues that may and ought to be carried out to enhance it,” versus 15.3% who imagine “Utah Lake is doing tremendous in its present state. Go away it alone and let nature take its course.”

Abbott stated this line of questioning obscures long-standing efforts to revive the Provo River Delta, revive populations of native June sucker, take away Asian carp and different invasive species and scale back algal blooms. These and different science-based restoration initiatives are actually bearing fruit.

“They’re stoking detrimental stereotypes in regards to the lake in an effort to control public opinion,” Abbott stated. “This is among the most damaging issues about this venture. They’ve a story that claims, ‘Nothing’s being carried out with Utah Lake. The state businesses and federal companions and cities and personal teams which are engaged on Utah Lake now aren’t making any progress. It’s good to flip the lake over to us.’”

Nothing may very well be farther from the reality, he stated.

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Polling outcomes additionally affirmed how little Utah County residents attempt to expertise the close by lake filling the center of their valley. Practically 40% stated they’d not visited Utah Lake up to now 3 years. Some had by no means visited it in any respect, regardless that the lake is strolling distance from Provo, Orem, Saratoga Springs and different fast-growing cities and boasts a state park and several other marinas.

When requested which lake they like visiting for recreation, solely 4.5% of the respondents recognized Utah Lake. The highest 5 most well-liked lakes for Utah County residents are Deer Creek Reservoir, Strawberry Reservoir, Bear Lake, Lake Powell and Jordanelle Reservoir, all positioned in different counties.

But when there’s one factor Abbott and Benson can agree on, it’s most likely a hope that Utah Lake sometime cracks that top-five listing.



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Utah

What went wrong in Utah HC's loss to Stars?

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What went wrong in Utah HC's loss to Stars?


The Utah Hockey Club’s last two regulation losses have now come at the hands of the Dallas Stars following Monday night’s 3-2 loss at home.

An insufficient effort in the second period was Utah HC’s demise. Outside of that, it was as evenly matched as any game.

“I think that second period’s a learning lesson, honestly,” said Utah center Barrett Hayton. “I thought we did a great job in the first period. We were urgent, we were intense, we were on the ball, playing the right way. You just can’t afford those lapses against good teams, and that’s what our second period was.”

A late push from Utah yielded some close calls, but sports fans know “close” doesn’t cut it.

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How this works

This is a three-part article geared toward three different audiences.

  • First, we’ll have “Utah hockey for dummies” for all you new hockey fans. Welcome, by the way — we’re glad you’ve taken an interest in the greatest sport in the world.
  • Next, we’ll have a section titled “Utah hockey for casual fans,” aimed at those who have a basic understanding of the sport.
  • Finally, we’ll have “Utah hockey for nerds.” That will be for those of you who, like me, think about nothing but hockey all day, every day.

Feedback is welcome, so let me know what you think in the comments of this article or the comments section on “X.”

Utah Hockey for dummies

Hayton seems to have found his scoring touch once again.

Until this week, the 24-year-old who centers Utah’s top line hadn’t scored since Oct. 30. Now, he has a pair of goals in as many games. It’s his second time scoring in bunches this year, as he scored in each of the team’s first three games and again in its fifth game.

He told the media after the game Monday that there’s not much rhyme or reason to his streaks.

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“I think you’ll score and produce when you’re playing well and playing the right way,” he said. “It all comes full circle like that, so I don’t know. It’s just coincidence.”

Regardless of whether the puck goes in the net or not, Hayton has played an immaculate defensive game this year, which has opened his linemates up for offensive success.

Clayton Keller, who plays on Hayton’s left wing, has scored more than a point per game this year. Nick Schmaltz, his other winger, is just below a point per game.

Interesting note: There’s a discrepancy as to how many points Hayton now has in his career. The team is celebrating his goal as his 100th point, but NHL.com says it’s only his 99th, with the same number of games played, goals and assists.

HockeyDB and most of the other sites agree that it’s number 100. I’m not good enough at math to figure out who’s right. Someone add it up and let me know in the comments.

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Utah Hockey for casual fans

Although Utah HC managed just 26 shots Monday, Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith was the story of the game. He plays at the top of his crease, which is especially effective when facing shots from medium and close distances. It earned him the honor of first star of the game.

Time and time again, Utah would create plenty of open space, make a great play and put a solid shot on net, only to have it go straight to the crest of DeSmith’s jersey.

“There weren’t many holes on him,” said Utah center Nick Bjugstad. “There were some good chances on our end, but I still feel like traffic and making it a little harder on him would have been beneficial for us.”

Utah Hockey for nerds

The fatigue of a back-to-back affects teams more than we probably think it does. In this, the second game in as many nights for Utah HC, they got much-needed energy from the third line: Bjugstad, Lawson Crouse and Matias Maccelli.

All night long, that line created chances out of thin air. They seemed to have the chemistry together that earned them all the best or second-best point totals of their careers last year.

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One example came midway through the first period Monday. Bjugstad was streaking down the left wing but was forced to the outside by the Stars’ defender.

Rather than trying to beat him with speed, Bjugstad threw on the brakes and sent a spinning backhand pass straight to the stick of Crouse.

DeSmith matched him with a perfectly positioned save, but the play gave Utah a jolt of energy.

Then on the first shift of the second period, they had a similar high-energy rush. It was not by coincidence that Utah head coach Andre Tourigny selected his highest-paced line to set the tone for the second.

These are the kinds of things that third lines are typically responsible for, in addition to chipping in a goal once every two or three games. They’re really struggling to do that second part, but they showed on Monday that they can do the first thing.

“When you’re not scoring as a line, you try to figure out what to do,” Bjugstad said. “For us, it’s just simplifying.”

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What’s next?

There will be three silent nights for Utah HC — and the rest of the NHL — before getting back into action on Friday as they host the Colorado Avalanche.

It’s the third and final match this season between the two teams. They’re both 1-1-0 against each other so the season series is on the line.

It’s a big game in the sense that both teams are competing for one of the same five playoff spots, so every point matters. It’s a good chance for one team to gain the edge over the other.

Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon is as hot as ever right now, with 16 points in his last seven games. With that in mind, it shouldn’t surprise you that he has a five-point lead in the NHL points race.

The game starts at 7:30 p.m. It will be broadcast nationally, meaning it won’t be available on the normal channels. Instead, it’s on ESPN2.

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Utah girls' goalball players win national tournament

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Utah girls' goalball players win national tournament


SALT LAKE CITY — For the second year in a row, the Utah High School Girls’ Goalball team has won the national championship. The competition took place this year at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine, Florida. In the final round, the Utah team beat the West Virginia team by 9 to 1.

Utah player Reese Branch was named the tournament’s MVP. Because she was one of the top six girl goalball players, she made it to the All-American Goalball Team, as did her teammate Kelsey Kartchner.

Truly a Utah team

Utah’s girls’ goalball team members come from all over the state. They include Branch from Tremonton, Kartchner from Smithfield, Julie Jenson from Pleasant Grove, and Kalinka Brown from Clearfield.

And while that makes them a great representative of the state, the distance can interfere with their training as a team.

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“We can’t get together like every day, like a lot of high school teams. So we practice usually once a week in Midvale.”

Then, like a lot of workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the athletes train on their own, at home.

“It’s a lot of like finding your own time to work out, and then obviously, our amazing coaches help us so much,” Branch said.

The Utah Foundation for the Blind and Visually Impaired manages the team.  Rachel Jepson and Jalayne Engberg coach the team. Jepson is a former Utah goalball player. Engberg is a teacher and mobility instructor in the Alpine School District.

What is goalball?

According to the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind, Goalball was a rehabilitation tool that originated after World War II in Germany. It’s played on an indoor court with a ball that has bells in it.

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“There are three people on each side of the court,” Branch told KSL NewsRadio.

“You’re blindfolded, and the goal is to throw the ball into the opposing team’s goal. You block it with your body and then stand up and throw.”

Utah boys’ goalball

The Utah High School Boy’s Team got to the tournament’s quarterfinals before they were eliminated. Their team includes Kelton Health, Greer Merrill, Caleb Rice, and Luke Sorenson. 

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We want to hear from you.

Have a story idea or tip? Send it to the KSL NewsRadio team here.





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Utah loses a top recruit, as a four-star edge rusher flips to the Cougars

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Utah loses a top recruit, as a four-star edge rusher flips to the Cougars


One of the gems of Utah’s incoming recruiting class is now heading south.

Four-star edge rusher Hunter Clegg flipped his commitment from Utah to BYU after returning home from his Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints mission this week.

The American Fork product was a top-three player in the state coming out of high school. He was originally part of the 2023 recruiting class — with highly touted players like four-stars Jackson Bowers and Walker Lyons.

BYU made a strong push to sign Clegg a few years ago. In the summer of 2022, head coach Kalani Sitake hosted Clegg as part of BYU’s most high-profile recruiting weekend of the cycle. BYU had Clegg, Bowers, Lyons and offensive lineman Ethan Thomason on campus at the same time. With the collection of four-stars in Provo, the coaching staff pitched that group as cornerstone pieces of BYU’s early Big 12 era. Sitake had one-on-one meetings with all of them. The weekend included photoshoots in the mountains, a trip to Deer Lake and Top Golf.

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“It definitely felt like this was an important weekend for the program,” Thomason told The Salt Lake Tribune at the time. “They didn’t go over the top to where it is unrealistic. But you could feel it was really important.”

After that weekend, Thomason and Bowers both committed to BYU. But Clegg and Lyons went elsewhere.

Lyons landed at USC — where he played 10 games for Lincoln Riley last season. Utah also heavily recruited Lyons and the program was surprised he did not come to Salt Lake.

Clegg went on a mission, but oscillated between commitments. He originally pledged to go to Stanford, but backed off after a coaching change. He then announced he’d go to Utah.

Now, he has signed with the Cougars.

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Clegg’s addition is important for two reasons. For one, edge rusher is a position of need for the Cougars.

Defensive coordinator Jay Hill has been looking for a pass rusher who can generate sacks. In the last two years, most of BYU’s pass rush has come from the linebacker position with Harrison Taggart and Isaiah Glasker. Getting to the quarterback with a four-man rush is a critical part of Hill’s scheme, he said.

But perhaps more importantly, Clegg flipping from Utah continues a trend of BYU going after in-state recruits already pledged to the Utes.

In the last cycle, Hill put pressure on the state’s No. 3 player, Faletau Satuala, to flip from Salt Lake to Provo. He was able to sign Satuala at the last second.

Part of Hill’s pitch, Satuala and other recruits indicated, was stability. Kyle Whittingham’s potential retirement played a factor, recruits said, with BYU making in-roads with Utah’s recruits.

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“I think [stability] is important,” 2025 recruit Taani Makasini said. Makasini was recruited by both BYU and Utah, but signed with the Cougars in this class.

“I don’t want to go somewhere and the person that recruited me isn’t there anymore. I’m going there to learn from him. I’m not going there to learn from whoever they’re gonna hire next,” Makasini said.



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