Utah News

A bomb scare forced educators to evacuate and lock down an elementary school in Ogden on Tuesday. Ogden Police Lt. Danielle Croyle says there was no explosion or injuries of any kind after more than 500 students were evacuated from Shadow Valley Elementary at 4911 S. 1500 East at around noon Tuesday.

Utah Public Radio has partnered with the Public Insight Network to report on public health effects of air pollution in Cache Valley. Listeners and other members of the community here have been telling us their experiences with air pollution through an online form. Jennifer Pemberton has been listening to these stories and has this update on public concerns:

Several blocks were closed off around a chemical company in Provo while firefighters and a Hazmat crew responded to a chemical spill.

Neighbors spotted smoke coming through the roof at Wiltec on West Street about 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

Provo Fire Battalion Chief Tom Augustus told the Provo Daily Herald that the company that studies chemical reactions was testing sulfur trioxide when a research tube failed.  He said the failure caused an unexpected chemical reaction that involved a significant amount of smoke.

  According to the group American Rivers, the Colorado river is the most endangered river in the United States. Outdated water policies and climate change seem to be the main causes.

"We’re in our 12th or 13th year of prolonged drought in the basin; we’ve had below-average precipitation most years, and that is compounded upon itself, year to year. Reservoirs like Lake Mead and Lake Powell are at about 50 percent or slightly less capacity," said Matt Niemerski, director of American Rivers.

In this newsline, UPR’s Brianna Bodily takes a ride out to Mendon with Dave Rayfield and Bryan

Dixon, directors from the Bear River Land Conservancy, who are trying to save a flower most don’t even know exists.