Utah
Utah governor reveals secret to scoring best state ranking two years in a row
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Utah Gov. Spencer Cox says his state’s “unique” qualities helped it come in at the top spot on U.S. News & World Report’s “Best States” survey for the second year in a row.
Utah repeated as the No. 1 state in America in U.S. News & World Report’s Best States rankings for 2024, thanks in part to its consistency.
“The American Dream is alive and well,” Cox said in response to the report at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, where he also spotlighted his “Disagree Better” initiative encouraging bipartisanship among the nation’s governors.
“One of the things that makes Utah special is that we lead the nation in upward mobility and social capital, connectedness, that we lead the nation every year in service and charitable giving, and that we don’t rely on government to solve all of our problems,” Cox told Fox News Digital. “I think that the conservative policies that we’ve championed have made us not just the best economy in the country, but also, you know, we’re No. 2 in education.”
WHY ARE AMERICANS FLEEING THE WEST COAST FOR THIS DEEP RED STATE? FREEDOM AND FRIENDLINESS
The U.S. News project analyzed more than 70 metrics across eight categories, including fiscal stability, health care, infrastructure and crime and corrections. Utah performed the best in education (No. 2), economy (No. 3) and infrastructure (No. 3). The Beehive State also moved up year over year in several categories, including crime and corrections (+6) and opportunity (+2).
Natural environment was the only category where Utah – known for its geographical diversity, national parks and skiing and snowboarding resorts – finished in the bottom half of the list, at No. 46. The report said the category reflected metrics like pollution threats and air and water quality.
In January 2023, Cox signed the Utah Fits All Scholarship, a multi-use scholarship program for K-12 students in which participants can receive an education spending account of up to $8,000 to pay for education-related items, including textbooks, tutors and private school tuition.
“We’ve been able to get more funding for education, but also, we passed school choice to empower parents,” Cox said. “We’ve given our teachers the largest raises in our state’s history and given families more choices to be able to use taxpayer dollars to send their kids wherever they want to go. And so, again, not having it be a zero-sum game, finding solutions that benefit everyone and smaller government… I think those are the things that keep Utah No. 1.”
Utah has come out on top in other recent stats. Provo, Utah, claimed the top spot among 20 cities where young adults make up the largest percentage of homeowners, according to research from MoneyGeek. In the city, home to Brigham Young University, people under 25 make up roughly 39% of homeowners. And young adults own more homes than those ages 25-44, 44-65 or over 65, according to the report.
“We’re the youngest state in the nation,” Cox said. “We believe in families, and we think having kids is a great thing and really important. But also, we’re working hard. The price of housing has been going up, and we want kids to be able to own homes. And I’m grateful we have places like Provo that are leading there.”
But, he said, they “still have work to do,” noting the state passed “the most aggressive starter home package in the country.”
LIBERALS FUME AS UTAH GOVERNOR HONORS BLACK HISTORY MONTH DAYS AFTER SIGNING ANTI-DEI BILL
“We need to build 35,000 starter homes over the course of the next five years to keep the American Dream alive,” Cox said. “And so we’re dedicated to that. I believe it’s immoral to not have homeownership and the American Dream, the ability to buy a home and start a family as part of, again, the fabric of our society.”
Californians, in particular, have been migrating to Utah in recent years — nearly 19,000 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“I think there’s lots of reasons,” Cox said of Californians coming to Utah. “Again, I think we have a very strong economy. For sure. I think we’re much less regulated. I do think that these are the laboratories of democracy. California’s chosen a very different path, you know, a very progressive path. And, and I think it shows it’s not working as more and more people are leaving California. And I think what we’re doing in Utah is working, and that’s attracting people from California and elsewhere.”
Cox said Utah’s issues now were “growth related” from people flooding into the state.
“People always ask me, how are you going to stop that from happening? Well, I can’t. I want us to be the No. 1 state,” he said.
Fox News’ Sean Hannity confronted California Gov. Gavin Newsom last June about his state’s population exodus. California lost 117,552 people between Jan. 1, 2021 and Jan. 1, 2022, according to the state’s Department of Finance, dropping its population down to where it was in 2016.
Newsom highlighted his state’s economic outlook and pointed to red states that lost residents.
“Look at the facts,” Newsom said. “We’re the fourth-largest economy in the world. This belies all of that rhetoric, everything you just said. You didn’t talk about all those red states that have opposite policies that you embrace. Something is clearly not working right in those states… Mississippi, Louisiana, West Virginia that all had higher population loss.”
California’s population increased by 67,000 people last year to 39,128,162, according to recent data released by the California Department of Finance (DOF), marking the first year since 2020 that the state has seen a net increase.
To keep up with the influx of people and retain a high quality of life, Cox said Utah has to invest in infrastructure.
“I hope that other states will copy what we’re doing so that their residents don’t feel like they need to leave, that they’ll want to stay because they’re doing, they’re deregulating and adopting these conservative values that have made Utah such an attractive place,” he said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News’ Alicia Warren contributed to this report.
Utah
Grand County Sheriff: Search for missing Moab couple changes from ‘rescue’ to ‘recovery’
MOAB, Utah (ABC4) — The search for a missing Moab couple has officially transitioned from a ‘rescue’ mission to a ‘recovery’ one, according to Grand County Sheriff Jamison Wiggins.
Ray and Maranda Ankofski have been missing since June 21 after they traveled the Steel Bender off-road trail in Grand County. A search for the couple began after they didn’t return on time and their vehicle was reported as abandoned.
The son of the couple, Raymond Ankofski told ABC4.com earlier this week officials were planning to scale back their response at the end of the week because of the costs associated with the search efforts. According to a press release from Grand County Sheriff’s Office, as of Tuesday, eight agencies were involved in the search.
“Despite exhaustive efforts, including the use of advanced search techniques and resources, Ray and Maranda Ankofski have not been located,” stated a press release from Wiggins. “The decision to transition from a search and rescue mission to a recovery was made based on evidence at the scene during the operation.”
In the days following their disappearance, the couple’s children started a fundraiser via GoFundMe, with the initial goal of raising $25,000 — but Raymond Ankofski explained the money would not be for the family.
“The money is going towards the search and rescue to bring my parents back, and to find my parents,” Rauymond Ankofski said.
Utah
Utah gets $20 million for transportation and traffic light technology
The Federal Highway Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation has announced a $20 million grant to Utah.
Drivers of snow plows, public transportation buses, and other government-operated vehicles are using technology that can direct traffic lights to change in order to improve safety and travel time.
Under the “Saving Lives and Connectivity: Accelerating V2X Deployment” program, Utah will receive $20 million of the $60 million that is aimed to improve vehicle technologies. The other $40 million will go to Texas and Arizona.
“Connecting vehicles and infrastructure is a great way for us to be able to take advantage of technology to help improve safety and other outcomes. And Utah’s DOT has been a leader in this space for a long time,” Shailen Bhatt, US Federal Highway Administrator said.
UDOT will use this $20 million to fund projects in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming, where each state represents different population concentrations and transportation facilities.
Bhatt says protecting personal private information can be one of the challenges when using these types of technology.
“So we will want people to understand what is being exchanged is called a basic safety message of DSM. The vehicle is going to report to the intersection that I’m approaching, and the intersection is going to report back ‘oh, the light is about to turn red or my light is red’, but it’s all anonymous data,” Bhatt said.
The technology is being used in Salt Lake City, where travel time reliability and bus performance have improved.
“It is unequivocal that when you deploy technology, we are able to reduce crashes, we’re able to reduce congestion, we’re able to reduce the amount of time people sit in traffic, and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from our system. And we look forward to more investments being made on the basis of the data that we get from this initial deployment,” Bhatt said.
Utah
As the Youth Group Hiked, First Came the Rain. Then Came the Lightning
Seven members of a youth group hiking in Utah were transported to hospitals on Thursday after lightning struck the ground near them. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints youth group from Salina, Utah, were in the eastern part of Sevier County around 1:45pm local time when a light rain began and the lightning hit, Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis said in a statement. “Approximately 50 youth felt the shock of the lightning,” Curtis said, adding that seven of the young people had “medical concerns due to the electrocution,” per the AP.
Two of the victims had serious symptoms and were flown by helicopter to Primary Children’s Hospital in Lehi, Utah. Five others were transported by ambulance to Sevier Valley Hospital in Richfield and Gunnison Valley Hospital in Gunnison, Curtis said. None of the injuries were considered life-threatening, according to Curtis, who said the other hikers were returned to their families in Salina, about 140 miles south of Salt Lake City. (A man trying to warn kids was killed by a lightning strike on a New Jersey beach.)
-
News1 week ago
Tracking a Single Day at the National Domestic Violence Hotline
-
Fitness1 week ago
What's the Least Amount of Exercise I Can Get Away With?
-
News1 week ago
Supreme Court upholds law barring domestic abusers from owning guns in major Second Amendment ruling | CNN Politics
-
Politics1 week ago
Trump classified docs judge to weigh alleged 'unlawful' appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith
-
Politics1 week ago
Supreme Court upholds federal gun ban for those under domestic violence restraining orders
-
World5 days ago
Israel accepts bilateral meeting with EU, but with conditions
-
Politics1 week ago
Trump VP hopeful proves he can tap into billionaire GOP donors
-
World1 week ago
Influencers and politicians – meet the most connected lawmakers