Utah News

This is the second week of competition in the Gina Bachauer International Young Artist Piano Competition in Salt Lake City. This week's competitors are 14 - 18 years old.

Last week the 11 - 13 year old pianists competed in the Junior Competition. Ryota Yamazaki, a Japanese 13-year-old who lives and studies in Utah, was named the winner for his performance of Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 3 in C Major.

UPR's Mackinzie Hamilton spoke to Gary Billings, the director of the competition, and learned more about the high caliber of these performers.

Utah’s top law enforcement official says Monday’s Supreme Court ruling striking down much of Arizona’s illegal immigration enforcement law is mostly a win for Utah’s HB 497, a similar law currently tied up in federal court. But as Jeff Robinson reports, immigration advocates still think it will be struck down.

Does the state need to do more to prevent wildfires? Governor Gary Herbert says in light of this year’s extreme fire season, he’s asked the legislature and other state leaders to review target shooting.

Last year over 1 million people visited Arches National Park, putting unprecedented strain on parking lots and 18 miles of park roads. At some spots, long lines of RVs blocked a good part of the scenery. But the Park Service is adamant that, unlike Zion or Bryce Canyon National Parks, traffic at Arches should not be restricted.

The plan just unveiled calls instead for a free bus system to compete with private cars.

The Quail Fire that burned over 1700 acres of Washington County near Leeds was fully contained Monday after burning throughout the weekend. The fire was human caused and started on Saturday afternoon.

Residents of the 60 homes evacuated have been allowed to return, I-15 flows uninterrupted again in both directions, and power has been reestablished to the 600 homes affected at the height of the crisis over the weekend.

Friday night, Westlake High school in Saratoga Springs became a refuge for thousands of residents forced to evacuate their homes. 24 hours later that evacuation order was lifted; and so were the spirits of everyone around.