A historic downtown helps define a community’s character, but century-old structures can be difficult to renovate and maintain. But thanks to Utah’s Main Street Program, seven cities recently received a financial boost to help spruce up businesses that strive to keep their aging downtown blocks vibrant. That slate of communities includes Brigham City, Cedar City, Helper, … [Read more...]
City of Centerfield Responds to NIMBYISM Claim Against Affordable Housing
Gunnison, Utah is home to a bustling sprawling Utah State correctional facility. In 2017 the prison expanded to add more jobs and more inmates. The area is also home to a log-cabin builder, and thousands of acres of farmland. The city is expected to dramatically grow in the next decade. But there is just one problem: A shortage of affordable housing. In our previous story, … [Read more...]
Moab’s Canyon & Waffle House: The Last Coffee-Counter in Moab, Utah
Coffee at the Counter Canyon Steak and Waffle House in Moab is decorated with nostalgic, black-and-white photos of simpler times, and each booth is named after a Beatles song. In 2020, when owner Shawn Welch visited the then-vacant building to consider re-opening it as a restaurant, she thought, “It just needs love,” which conjured the Beatles hit, “All You Need is … [Read more...]
Enterprise Reservoir: A Dog Friendly Beautiful Hidden Oasis near Enterprise, Utah
You might be in good company if you visit Enterprise Reservoir in Enterprise, Utah. That is, if you consider mule deer, mallard ducks, free-range cattle, coyotes and mountain lions good company instead of humans. On a recent afternoon road trip along Old Highway 120 to Enterprise Reservoir, a sense of anticipation grew at the opportunity to spend time in a place where, once … [Read more...]
Blood, Sweat and Equity — Affordable Housing in Moab
Visitors come from all corners of the Earth to marvel at the majesty of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, along with the other scenic parks and public lands that surround it. As a result of that popularity, property and housing costs are on a constant rise in Moab. A lack of affordable housing isn’t just an issue in Moab, but seems to be a trend across the country, … [Read more...]
Training Athletes For Life— Athletic Republic
The bases were loaded and the Riverhawks already had two outs at the bottom of the ninth in the final game of an elimination tournament. The batter at the plate had never hit a home run. The bat cracked, the ball sailed into left field; and as she sprinted past her coach at second base, the incredulous young athlete said, “Is this really happening?” In 14 years of coaching … [Read more...]
Magna, Utah—the town that forgot its name
Pleasant Green, AKA Magna The pioneer history of Pleasant Green, commonly known as Magna, Utah, remains largely untold outside of dusty family histories and faded folklore. I have been remedying this situation through YouTube documentaries that will help preserve this rich history, revealing a complete picture of these lost years to younger generations. There is even a … [Read more...]
Fertile soil, the Soil Food Web, and High Desert Soilworks
The science of soil management Fertile soil is imperative for any successful farmer or grower. The Soil Food Web is the colony of organisms living in the soil. The food web is a complex living system that interacts with the environment, plants, and animals. When an agricultural town with a population of less than 300 turns out in high numbers for a workshop on soil … [Read more...]
Human remains—Native Americans, naked Mormons, or friends of dinosaurs?
Human remains are rock shop owner’s claim to fame Lin Ottinger is famous in the small town of Moab. Since 1960, he has owned and operated Lin Ottinger’s Rock Shop. The Moab Rock Shop is a combination store and museum can at once be seen as an authentic dedication to a love of geology and paleontology, and a tourists love it. Lin has an odd sense of humor, with some of … [Read more...]
Farm land or house lots?
Cache Valley, Utah finds solutions Suburbs march into farmlands cul-de-sac by cul-de-sac. But in Cache Valley the advance has slowed. When Nibley residents Boyd and Sheri Schiess look out across the acres of agricultural land surrounding their home, they see an uninterrupted view of the Wellsville Mountains, a carbon sink of rich, fertile soil, and their great-grandchildren's … [Read more...]