SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah Republican Party on Saturday selected Trent Staggs as its nominee to replace Mitt Romney in the U.S. Senate, hours after the local official received former President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Trent Staggs campaigns at the Utah Republican Nominating Convention in Salt Lake City, April 27, 2024 Photo by Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune, St. George News While the endorsement carried Staggs through convention with more than two-thirds of delegate votes, that support may not translate to success at the ballot box. The mayor from Riverton, just south of Salt Lake C ..read more

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s newest member of Congress narrowly earned enough support from delegates to avoid losing her seat and will advance to the June primary election. Rep. Celeste Maloy listens to a question during a forum of Republican candidates in the 2nd Congressional District at Utah Tech, St. George, Utah, March 27, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News Rep. Celeste Maloy, who is seeking her first full term in Congress, received 43.15% of the vote compared to 57.85% for challenger Colby Jenkins, a combat veteran. Jenkins had scored a high-profile endorsement from Sen. Mike Lee, wh ..read more

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Moderate Republicans, who often have been successful with Utah voters, will look to stave off farther-right challengers at Saturday’s state GOP convention, which typically favors the most conservative contenders. Brad Wilson speaks with party members at the Utah Republican convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, April 27, 2024 | Photo by Brett Barrett, St. George News All eyes are on the crowded race to succeed U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, the state’s best-known centrist Republican, who often made waves for opposing former President Donald Trump and other leaders of the party. Dele ..read more

CEDAR CITY — At last week’s Iron County Republican Party convention, delegates selected Kenneth Robinson over Maile Wilson Edwards as the preferred candidate for Iron County Commission Seat “C”. However, both candidates will still face each other in the upcoming primary election. According to Iron County GOP chair Mari Eddy, Robinson received 199 of 275 delegate votes, or 72%, while Wilson Edwards received 76 votes (28%). However, since both Robinson and Wilson Edwards had already gathered at least the minimum number of 576 signatures needed to advance to the primary ballot, the county’s regis ..read more

ST. GEORGE — There was agreement on the U.S.-Mexican border being a priority but disagreement on whether there was room for compromise in Congress. Rep. Celeste Maloy shows a bracelet to younger constituents before a forum of Republican candidates in the 2nd Congressional District at Utah Tech, St. George, Utah, March 27, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News These were the main sources of unity and disunity between two of the three Republican candidates seeking to represent Southern Utah and the rest of the 2nd Congressional District. Incumbent Rep. Celeste Maloy of Cedar City and army ..read more

ST. GEORGE — Going into the 2024 elections, The Salt Lake Tribune and St. George News are dedicated to ensuring Utah voters have all the information they need to make an informed decision regarding their candidates. With so many candidates and so much information, it can be hard to figure out what is your best choice. We’re trying something new this year and we need help from you.  The Salt Lake Tribune and St. George News will be creating a scorecard of Utah candidates that outlines where each one stands on issues that affect Utahns, such as housing, the Great Salt Lake, education f ..read more

ST. GEORGE — Katherine Kubler didn’t set out to be the focal point of a documentary that has been among the top three shows on Netflix in the last two weeks. Filmmaker Katherine Kubler goes through the abandoned Academy at Ivy Ridge for “The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping,” Ogdensberg, N.Y., date not specified | Photo courtesy of Netflix, St. George News But the reason Kubler ended up becoming the subject, and not just the director, of “The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping” is because she lived it. “I didn’t want to be in it. I just wanted to make it about the subject. I was really hes ..read more

ST. GEORGE — Despite the warming weather, the official start of wildfire season is still two months away.  In a file photo, flames burn brush near the Toquerville, Utah, exit of northbound Interstate 15 in Anderson Junction, May 18, 2020 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News But during a U.S. Senate hearing in Washington D.C. on Thursday, David Fogerson, Nevada’s chief of emergency management, told attendees,  “We no longer have a fire season, but rather a fire year. The idea of a fire season lasting from May to October is not reality in today’s world. We see fire year-round.” Feder ..read more

From longer sentences for drunk drivers, to criminalizing “lewd” actions in public places, lawmakers passed 35 bills this session that either created a new criminal offense, expanded the definition of a current crime or enhanced existing penalties and fines. Some lawmakers say it’s an attempt to hold criminals accountable and stop a “revolving door,” where perpetrators with a lengthy rap sheet are arrested and released prematurely, only to re-offend. Others say it’s a knee-jerk reaction to concerns around crime, creating new offenses and enhancing penalties that will only increase the state’s ..read more

ST. GEORGE — The four candidates running in the Republican primary to unseat Gov. Spencer Cox made their case to be governor and took questions during the Washington County Republican Women’s monthly luncheon at the Dixie Academy Ballroom on Thursday.  L-R: Candidates Scott Robbins and Sylvia Miera-Fisk; St. George City Council member Michelle Tanner; Washington County Republican Women Vice President Alexis Ence and President Haylee Caplin; candidates Carson Jorgensen and Rep. Phil Lyman; and Santa Clara City Council member Janene Burton pose and the close of the Washington County Republi ..read more