Even in a state like Utah which prides itself on its starry night skies, becoming a certified dark sky community is a tall task.
Springdale, near Zion National Park, has had rules on the books to limit light pollution since 2009. So when it applied for a designation from Dark Sky International a few years ago, it expected to be a shoo-in.
“We were thinking: We’ve been a leader in preserving dark skies for a long time. We’ve done a great job. … Folks are going to say, ‘This is the best application ever. Of course, you’re going to be certified,’” Director of Community Development Tom Dansie said.
“So we were a little bit humbled when the Dark Sky folks came back with: ‘That’s a good first try.’”
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The town made changes and applied again the following year. When it finally got approved in 2023, it was the culmination of nearly 15 years of work.
It didn’t come cheap, either.
The town spent roughly $1 million to replace its street lights with models that shield the light downward, Dansie said. After installing them, the town realized the new lights weren’t dark enough, so they spent even more time and money developing a way to retrofit them. Now, Springdale has until 2028 to update the street lights with adaptive controls that automatically dim as the sky gets darker, which Dansie estimates could cost another $200,000.
That’s a lot of money for a small town, and it doesn’t include the updates required to lighting on private property — something residents have long raised concerns about. But in a community that values its celestial sights, he said it’s money well spent.
“When you look at the investment in the street lights in terms of protecting the night sky resource, it makes a whole lot more sense … rather than looking at it as, ‘Oh, we had to spend a million and a half dollars just to get this certification.’”
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Dark skies can also have other benefits, he said, for human health and wildlife.
Springdale is one of four Utah towns that have earned the designation, joined by Helper, Torrey and Castle Valley, which became the state’s newest addition in January. Moab has submitted its application to join the club, something the town has been working toward since enacting its outdoor lighting ordinance in 2019.
As Utah’s population and popularity grow, keeping skies dark is likely to get even harder.
In their annual reports to Dark Sky International, parks across the state list increasing light pollution from development and tourism as the main threat to maintaining their certification. And those sites — from Capitol Reef and Canyonlands national parks to Antelope Island and Jordanelle state parks — say those threats are increasing.
For places like Springdale, it’s a delicate balance. The community relies on tourism. Without it, it would be tough for a town of fewer than 600 people to afford a million-dollar lighting project, among other things. But visitation to Zion National Park has nearly doubled in the 15 years the town’s been working to limit outdoor lighting, and that brings the risk of more light.
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“Every new development, every new hotel that’s built, every new single-family residence that is built has an impact on the night sky,” Dansie said. “So it’s increasingly important for us as a community to be careful.”
With more and more places worldwide losing their view of the night sky, however, that makes the places in Utah that have held onto their darkness all the more special. It can have big economic impacts.
Gov. Spencer Cox declared April as Utah’s dark sky month again in 2024, saying astrotourism is expected to generate $6 billion in the American Southwest over the next decade. Utah has more than 20 certified dark sky places, a total the state touts as the highest concentration in the world.
Joshua Rowley has seen the economic benefits of dark sky tourism near Capitol Reef National Park, where he co-owns the Skyview Hotel. It’s located in Torrey, a town of 219 people in Wayne County that became Utah’s first dark sky community in 2018.
The hotel leans into the dark sky as one of its amenities, with dim lighting and a rooftop stargazing deck. Rowley said the night view is a big reason their customers spend their time and money there.
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“More people are coming to see it. People are staying longer to see it. It gives them more to do in their trip… which is obviously going to impact the economy of the whole area.”
The hotel opened in 2023 and meeting the town’s strict lighting requirements presented some challenges. For example, he said the typical way engineers light up parking lots might be two or three times brighter than what they could do in a dark sky town. And since having lights in key places is a safety issue, it meant dimming or even tweaking the color temperature of its illumination to meet code.
“You have to get kind of creative. … Over time, people will have to get less creative because there’s more of a system in place.”
Growing that system could be a big part of sustaining dark sky towns’ futures.
In Springdale, Dancie said they’ve started having conversations with other southwest Utah communities, and he’s hopeful they can work together to protect the region’s night skies. That matters, he said, because no town is an island.
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Driving west from Springdale into the more populated parts of Washington County at night, it’s already easy to see the dome of light pollution in the distance. If the St. George metro area grows the way it’s projected to — and doesn’t safeguard the night sky as it does — Springdale could see its dark skies slip away.
“At some point, no matter what an awesome job we do, our dark sky resource will be threatened because of the impact of light in other areas of the region. … Those light domes will gradually get larger and larger and larger until they encompass Springdale.”
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George returned from a right ankle sprain that kept him out six straight games.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) The crowd reacts as Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3) hits a 3-point shot at the Delta Center this season.
Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy didn’t need to see much from his young point guard in his return.
“Making shots, missing shots, it’s not anything that’s in question for me,” Hardy said about Keyonte George. “I just want to see him exert himself physically and competitively.”
In that case, mission accomplished.
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After missing nine games in the last month with two different ankle sprains, George returned against the Pelicans on Saturday.
The Jazz lost 115-105.
George’s numbers were fine, scoring 17 points on 4-of-11 shooting in 23 minutes. But Hardy saw enough mobility from George to make him comfortable moving forward.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz Center Mo Bamba sits next to Keyonte George and Jazz forward Jaren Jackson Jr. on the bench in NBA action between the Utah Jazz and the New Orleans Pelicans at the Delta Center on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026.
“I thought he made some athletic plays in small spaces. I was more concerned with his willingness to slam on the brakes,” Hardy said. “And I thought he had a couple possessions where he did, where he really pushed it athletically.
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“He’s like any player, he’s frustrated. He feels like he should have made a few more shots,” he continued. “But that’s not what I was watching.”
George was on a restriction of 20-24 minutes and he wants to be cautious in the days ahead. Utah plays Denver on Monday before heading on the road.
“Feet are the most precious thing for any athlete. So I want to make sure I feel good, not feeling off balance or nothing like that,” George said. “Just want to be cautious with the ankle injuries and stuff like that.”
But for his return, it was good enough.
“I feel like my pop was there. I didn’t want to force anything,” he finished. “I just wanted to play the game. I feel like I did a decent job tonight.”
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SALT LAKE CITY — “If you don’t think you’re a reader yet, it’s because you haven’t found the right book.”
Utah author Sara B. Larson believes there is a book out there for everyone that can make someone love reading. She and dozens of other authors gathered at StoryCon this weekend to teach and inspire young kids to love reading and writing.
“It’s hard to see the drop in literacy that has happened, but it’s also encouraging to see so many people banding together to try and combat it and help our youth,” Larson said.
StoryCon is a literature conference that brings together authors, educators, teens, tweens and everyone in between to focus on the power of literacy. Around 3,500 people flocked to the Salt Palace Convention Center for workshops on writing concepts, shopping for book merchandise, author signings, and even panels about Brandon Sanderson’s famed fantastical universe known as the Cosmere.
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Sanderson, one of the most well-known fantasy authors to come out of Utah, said writing can feel isolating because it is such a solitary activity. He attended a conference similar to StoryCon in Nebraska when he was 18, and the opportunity to connect and meet with real authors was “so invigorating.”
“It was so powerful to just have a community. So I’ve always tried to do what I can to support communities, particularly for young people,” he said.
Aspiring writers don’t need to stress about writing the perfect book immediately, Sanderson advises. While some authors get lucky, like Christopher Paolini, who wrote “Eragon” at just 14 years old, most of the time writing is about exploring genres and just improving your skills over time, he said.
Brandon Sanderson speaks to thousands of people who attended the 2026 StoryCon literacy convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Saturday. (Photo: Cassidy Wixom, KSL)
Sanderson himself didn’t love reading at first until between his eighth and ninth grade years.
“I went from being a C student to an A student because of books. This was partially because I found myself in the books; I had a reason to care, but your reading comprehension going up helps in all aspects of life,” he said. “Having a fluency with reading, reading for the love of it, which will just build those muscles in your brain, is extremely important.”
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Brandon Mull, author of the “Fablehaven” series, said he also didn’t like reading as a kid until he read “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” which made a “light go on.” He now feels he owes C.S. Lewis the credit for how his life turned out.
“When I learned to read for fun as a kid, it changed the trajectory of my life,” Mull said. “I’m a practical example of how big a difference learning to love reading can make for someone.”
Authors Sara B. Larson and Brandon Sanderson speak to StoryCon CEO Jennifer Jenkins at a meet and greet during the 2026 StoryCon literacy convention in Salt Lake City, Saturday. (Photo: Cassidy Wixom, KSL)
Mull focuses on children’s literature and said he tries to write stories that children and families can enjoy. Reading fiction helps children develop “a rich inner life,” learn how to be empathetic and develop their minds to be a place ideas can be explored.
The Utah author will soon be celebrating the 20th anniversary of his book “Fablehaven,” which will include a special illustrated edition of the beloved children’s book, a dramatized full-cast audiobook, and the premiere next year of a film based on the novel. He also will be releasing a new series this year called “Guardians” that he believes is some of his best work.
With so many things competing for kids’ attention every day, it’s crucial to teach them to read, Mull said.
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“If we don’t get kids to learn how to read a book and turn it into a story in their head, they are missing an aspect of education that makes them good consumers of information and good consumers of stories,” he said.
Larson agreed with that sentiment, saying people’s brains are being “hijacked” and getting stuck in a loop of only having a 3-second attention span because of social media. Larson has written more than eight fantasy books, including the popular “Defy” trilogy.
“This phenomenon that is happening to our kids, they are losing the ability to focus, losing the ability to even think with any sort of deep analytical process. It’s so vital to get to these kids and help them realize you have got to put down the phone and pick up a book and train yourself to focus,” she said.
There is wealth, knowledge, joy, happiness, peace and calm to be found when you put social media away and instead dive into a book, she said. Reading helps children grow up to be successful adults who can pursue goals, constantly learn and successfully contribute to society.
StoryCon CEO Jennifer Jenkins said it has been overwhelming to see the success of the event. StoryCon was created by the nonprofit Operation Literacy last year and has become the biggest literacy-focused event in Utah.
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Growing up, she felt there wasn’t a place for writers compared to athletes or dancers who always had camps and conventions, so she helped found Teen Author Boot Camp, which evolved into StoryCon.
“Kids need to know they are being taken seriously. They need to be validated and know they are being encouraged,” she said. “That’s the why behind all of this. We really want to put them before anything else. These kids are the heart of everything we do.”
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.
Arizona State basketball is at a crossroads. After back-to-back road losses to Baylor and TCU, the Sun Devils are suddenly fighting just to stay above .500.
Now, with Utah coming to town Saturday afternoon, this isn’t just another conference game. It feels bigger than that. It feels like the moment that decides whether this season still has life or if it quietly fades away.
The Danger of Falling Below .500
All season long, Arizona State has had one strange pattern.
Every time they dropped to .500, they responded with a win. They never let things spiral.
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But now they’re sitting right on the edge again.
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A loss to Utah would push them below .500 for the first time all year. That might not sound dramatic, but it matters for team morale.
Teams feel that shift. Confidence changes. Urgency changes. And with only a few games left before the Big 12 Tournament, there isn’t much time to recover.
That’s why this Utah game feels different.
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Feb 21, 2026; Waco, Texas, USA; Baylor Bears guard Isaac Williams (10) scores a basket over Arizona State Sun Devils guard Anthony Johnson (2) during the second half at Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | Chris Jones-Imagn Images
Utah Is Playing Better — Especially on Defense
When these two teams met a few weeks ago, Utah was struggling.
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Since then, they’ve improved. They’re still built around their top scorers, who combine for around 40 points per game, but the real difference lately has been defense.
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Utah has started putting together more complete defensive performances. They’re contesting shots better. They’re finishing possessions. They’re not folding as easily in the second half.
That matters because Arizona State’s biggest issue right now isn’t effort, it’s physical depth.
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Feb 21, 2026; Waco, Texas, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Bobby Hurley disputes a call with an official during the first half against the Baylor Bears at Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | Chris Jones-Imagn Images
The Real Niche Problem: Guard-Heavy and Worn Down
Here’s something that doesn’t get talked about enough: Arizona State’s roster balance is off.
Because of injuries, especially the likely season-ending absence of Marcus Adams Jr., the Sun Devils are extremely guard-heavy right now. More than half of the available players are guards. That creates matchup issues, especially against physical teams.
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We saw it against TCU. They got to the free-throw line 36 times.
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They won the physical battle. Even when their best scorer struggled, they still controlled the game inside.
ASU just doesn’t have the same frontcourt depth.
With only a few true bigs available and some undersized forwards playing bigger roles than expected, the team can get worn down.
Late in games, that shows up in missed rebounds, second-chance points, and tired legs.
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It’s not about hustle. It’s about bodies.
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Why Saturday Truly Matters
If Arizona State beats Utah, everything changes.
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Suddenly, you’re heading into Senior Night against Kansas with momentum. Win that, and you’re talking about a possible 7–11 conference finish and a much better Big 12 Tournament matchup.
From there? Anything can happen.
But if they lose Saturday, the math and the hope get much harder.
That’s why this game isn’t just about Utah.
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It’s about belief. It’s about roster limitations. And it’s about whether this team has one more push left in them before the season runs out.
