Sunrise Stories: Southern Utah Patient Found in Locked Freezer

KDXU Sunrise Stories: Volume 152

Statewide News – 02/14/24

Alleged Falsified 2023 Election Results Found in Cache County

An investigation from Utah Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson’s Office has revealed Cache County allegedly mismanaged the 2023 municipal election.

No evidence of fraud was found, but 31 issues were listed in the report regarding how the election was conducted in the county. This includes a logic and accuracy test on the election equipment, which they neglected to do.

Cache County Clerk and Auditor David Benson will write a plan of action to resolve the issue before February 20.

School Board Holding Meeting for Transgender Controversy

A meeting will be held behind closed doors by the Utah School Board today to discuss the transgender controversy surrounding board member Natalie Cline.

Cline has been facing major backlash for falsely accusing a high school girl of being transgender through a now-deleted Facebook post. The controversy prompted a response from both Utah Governor Spencer Cox and Utah Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson where they condemned the actions of Cline.

Despite the meeting, the only thing the school board will be able to do is condemn Cline’s behavior, but the Utah legislature is currently looking into Cline’s possible impeachment.

Southern Utah/St. George News – 02/14/24

Southern Utah Dementia Patient Dies After Being Found in Locked Freezer

A senior living facility in Washington County may lose its license after a 75-year-old dementia patient unfortunately passed away from severe frostbite.

The patient was locked in a kitchen freezer in The Meadows at Escalante, a senior living facility located in St. George. The woman later passed away at St. George Regional Hospital.

The facility was issued a conditional license until June 30 with random inspections in the coming months to determine the fate of The Meadows at Escalante. The family of the patient announced they would be taking legal action against the facility.

State of the City Address Had Movie Studios, Dixie Days, and Another Chipotle

St. George Mayor Michele Randall made several announcements during the State of the City Address on February 13 including a movie studio from actor Kevin Costner.

Local influencer McCrae Heppler assisted with the announcement through a video presented at the address. Territory Studios will be a movie studio located near the St. George Regional Airport with over 70,000 square feet of sound stages, over 50,000 square feet of warehouses, and over 30,000 square feet of production offices.

Another announcement made by Mayor Randall was Dixie Days, a festival similar to Hurricane’s Peach Days that will take place during the second week of September of this year. More details can be found in our full article including how another Chipotle is coming to St. George.

Writers Note: A whole bunch of other restaurants were announced for the area, but when he told the news to his friends, they only freaked out over the Chipotle. I’m personally excited about the second Sakura location.

More Park Projects Ready to Begin in St. George

Construction will soon begin on two new parks as well as playgrounds for existing parks in St. George.

The announcement came after a recent St. George City Council meeting with the parks and services director of St. George.

The newly passed general obligation bond will play a major part in the construction of the new parks at Middleton and Boots Cox. About 30 projects are on the pipeline during the next two fiscal years.

St. George Ranks High in Small U.S. Cities

The Milken Institute has ranked St. George as the fourth best-performing small city for 2023/2024.

This is a drop compared to last year’s rankings with St. George taking the third-place spot during 2022/2023.

Factors like five-year jobs and wage growth gave high marks to the city, but St. George was also criticized for an uncertain water future and lack of affordable housing.

Other

Fun fact about Stockton Myers, the writer of Sunrise Stories.

Stockton is very excited about the movie studio from Kevin Costner. The fact that St. George will have a professional studio for making films is insane in the best way possible. A Kevin Costner-themed restaurant is also planned for the lot, and Stockton hopes he can eat steak in the shape of Costner’s face.

Happy Valentine's Day!