SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — In the middle of Utah’s drought, an environmental group is calling out what it labeled “hysteria” over water supplies for Wasatch Front cities.

“We’ve heard for 50 years that Utah is about to run out of water for its cities,” said Zach Frankel, director of the Utah Rivers Council. “And it’s a myth.”

Frankel, a frequent presence on Utah’s Capitol Hill, said cities — including the people who live in them — account for only a sliver of Utah’s total water use.

MORE | Utah Drought

He said that water rates are so low we have “the most wasteful water users in the country” and that outdoor watering could be dramatically curtailed with little to no impact.

Claims of running out of water, Frankel said, are aimed at pushing pricey, publicly funded water construction projects.

Ogden is embarking on a $100 million replacement of a 100-year-old pipeline through Ogden Canyon aimed at “improving reliability, reducing water loss, and supporting long-term water security.”

The Weber Basin Waster Conservancy District is not driving or financing the construction, but is involved with it, and the general manager called the Utah Rivers Council position “hogwash.”

“We’re not doing projects … just to spend hundreds of millions of dollars,” said GM Scott Paxman. “We are running out of water.”

Paxman said 20,000 more homes are already approved and/or permitted within the district boundaries, and even more permits are likely in Ogden Valley, Summit and Morgan Counties.

Laura Briefer, director of the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities, said the city rates have gone up, and are “encouraging conservation.”

Frankel said conservation efforts can go further, even as more and more water is diverted in northern Utah from agriculture to growing communities — water that will not end up in a near-record-low Great Salt Lake.

“If you went to the gas station and saw someone pouring gasoline on the sidewalk while simultaneously simply telling us, ‘We’re running out of gas,’ it would be, ‘What are you talking about?’” Frankel said. “Put the nozzle back.”

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The Lakers kept pointing to the summer of 2026 as when they would make their big move. It’s when they would have the cap space to radically reshape the roster around Luka Doncic and better fit his style of play.

They have done exactly that — starting with trading for the center they desperately needed.

The Utah Jazz are trading 24-year-old center Walker Kessler to the Lakers for two unprotected first-round picks (2031, 2033) and two first-round pick swaps (2028 and 2030), a story first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN. The Lakers are signing Kessler, a restricted free agent, to a four-year, $130 million contract (averaging $32.5 million per season).

This is a huge win for the Lakers. Luka Doncic has said getting a center who can set picks and roll hard to the rim was key to his success, and Kessler may be the best one he has ever played with. Kessler has been at the top of the Lakers’ wish list for a while, but he was a restricted free agent, and the expectation in league circles was that Utah would pay up to keep him.

However, the price the Lakers agreed to pay — essentially four first-round picks — was just too good for Utah to pass up. Utah still has Jaren Jackson Jr., who can play center, which slides Lauri Markkanen over to the four, with Keyonte George, No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson and Ace Bailey likely rounding out the starting five. That’s still a very good team, and the Jazz now have picks they can use or trade to add around that core. Danny and Austin Ainge — the Utah brain trust — did very well in this deal, setting the Jazz up for the future.

The Lakers’ gamble here is health — Kessler played in just five games last season due to shoulder surgery and just 58 games the season before that. When healthy, he has shown his potential on both ends, and last season averaged 14.4 points and 10.8 rebounds per game when he did play. For his career, he averaged 2.4 blocked shots per game and is one of the few centers in the league equally capable of blocking shots with either hand.

Utah wanted to keep Kessler and reportedly offered four years, $140 million ($28 million a year on average). Kessler and his agent went looking for a larger deal and secured it with the Lakers (their offer is $32.5 million per season on average).

Kessler was the big splash, but it wasn’t the only move the Lakers made. Soon after that trade was reported, a series of other Lakers deals were announced:

• Guard Quentin Grimes is leaving Philadelphia to come to the Lakers on a four-year, $60 million deal.

• Floor spacing big man Sandro Mamukelashvili agreed to come to Los Angeles on a four-year, $52 million deal. He will serve as a backup big but provides the shooting the Lakers need to space the floor around Doncic and Austin Reaves.

• Point guard Collin Sexton to join the Lakers on a two-year, $19 million deal with a player option on the second year.

• All of that on top of previously having re-signed Austin Reaves to a four-year, $184.8 million deal that locks him in as the secondary guard and shot creator next to Doncic.

The Lakers have gone all-in. The only draft capital they have left to trade is a 2032 pick swap and a 2033 second-rounder. That’s it. This is their core.

But like another professional sports team in Los Angeles, the Lakers essentially said “f*** those picks” and leaned into win-now players. It worked out when the Los Angeles Rams did it, winning a championship, and the Lakers are hoping for that same level of success.

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — After weeks of long days on the fire line, firefighters battling Utah’s Iron and Cherry fires received some four-legged support.

Golden Healers, a Utah nonprofit that provides therapy and service dogs, visited the wildfire base camp at the invitation of the incident management team, giving firefighters a chance to step away from the demands of the job, if only for a few minutes.

The certified therapy dogs spent time with crews in dining areas, gathering spaces and rest areas, where firefighters petted the dogs, took photos and talked about the pets waiting for them back home.

MORE | Utah Fires

“Our firefighters face tremendous physical and emotional demands every day,” said Mike Carlson, founder and CEO of Golden Healers. “Sometimes all it takes is a few minutes with a therapy dog to help someone relax, smile and reset before heading back to work. It was an honor to support these incredible men and women.”

The visit came as hundreds of firefighters continue working to contain the Iron and Cherry fires, which have burned tens of thousands of acres in central Utah.

Golden Healers brought several certified therapy dogs, including Golden Retrievers, doodles, poodles and a corgi. Each dog has completed specialized therapy training designed to help them remain calm in busy, high-stress environments.

Volunteers said the response from firefighters was immediate.

Crews who had spent hours battling wildfire conditions gathered around the dogs, laughing, sharing stories and enjoying a brief reminder of home before returning to their assignments.

One of the most memorable moments came when an entire firefighting crew surrounded one therapy dog, taking turns petting it while talking about their own dogs and families.

For a few minutes, conversations shifted away from fire behavior and operational briefings to life beyond the fire camp.

“Watching these firefighters light up the moment a dog walked over reminded us why therapy dogs are so important,” Carlson said. “These are people who dedicate their lives to protecting our communities, often while spending weeks away from their own families. If we can give them even a few minutes of comfort and emotional support, then we’ve accomplished something meaningful.”

Golden Healers hopes to continue visiting wildfire camps and other first responders across Utah. The nonprofit regularly provides therapy dog visits to hospitals, schools, law enforcement agencies, mental health providers and community organizations.

“Our mission has always been to improve lives through the healing power of dogs,” Carlson said. “Whether we’re helping a child with autism, supporting someone struggling with mental health, or bringing comfort to firefighters after a long shift, these dogs have an incredible ability to connect with people exactly when they need it most.”

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