By McKenzie Romero | Editor
As President Donald Trump lobs unfounded claims that voting by mail is rife with fraud (though he recently said Republicans should consider the option heading into the midterms) where can Utahns with questions about election security go for answers?
Clerks in each of Utah’s counties oversee elections there. They also offer tours and information to help voters understand how their vote stays secure once its cast, and what safeguards are in place to keep any invalid votes from getting in.
In today’s Dispatch we join KUER and PBS to share the work of Utah clerks preparing for Election Day, why water bills are rising faster than grocery costs and the plight of orphaned bear cubs amid this year’s drought conditions.
“That creates disruption, that creates question, and when you have questions like that, that creates doubt. When people have doubt, they disengage.” — Davis County Clerk Brian McKenzie on his concerns when voting changes are handed down on a short timeframe.
Davis County Clerk Brian McKenzie poses for a photo in a ballot processing center at the Davis County Administrative Building in Farmington on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
By Katie McKellar
Ballots will start hitting Utahns’ mailboxes this week ahead of the contentious midterm elections, marking another year when a national spotlight has been cast on voting by mail — largely due to President Donald Trump’s ongoing rhetoric of widespread fraud without evidence.
Utah clerks on both sides of the political aisle, frustrated by national discourse that’s not based in fact but has cast a shadow over voting by mail, are pushing back. And in an effort to combat distrust, they welcome Utahns to come to their offices and see for themselves how ballots are processed.
Household water bills are increasing faster than inflation and income, according to a new analysis by the nonprofit Food and Water Watch. (Photo by Sarah Ladd/Kentucky Lantern)
STATELINE
By Kevin Hardy
Household water bills are increasing faster than inflation and income, according to the environmental advocacy nonprofit Food and Water Watch, which analyzed water bill data among the nation’s 500 largest community water providers.
Between 2015 and 2025, water bills increased by 62% on average across those water providers. The analysis projects that costs will rise further as climate-change driven drought and natural disasters threaten water supplies. It also pointed to growing infrastructure needs that are estimated to cost hundreds of billions of dollars across the country.
Frisco Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation Center manager Michael Sirochman scans a cub with a PIT tag reader to make sure the implanted tag is working correctly. (Photo courtesy of John Livingston/CPW)
COLORADO NEWSLINE
By Sharon Sullivan
Colorado Parks and Wildlife is rescuing more abandoned black bear cubs this year after environmental conditions strained food sources that bears rely on to fatten up before winter.
Each year orphaned cubs are brought to one of two CPW-licensed wildlife rehabilitation centers where the bears are fed natural foods such as fish and berries, as well as donated peaches from Colorado orchards. Once they’ve reached 60-70 pounds and start to display denning behavior the bears are released back into the wild.
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