KDXU up to the minute news

Twenty year old woman injured at Gunlock falls

A 20-year-old woman slipped and fell from a 60-foot cliff at the popular Gunlock Falls around noon Monday, according to Washington County first responders. Intermountain Life Flight transported the woman to Dixie Regional Medical Center. The woman sustained severe facial trauma and many cuts, abrasions, and bruises, but she is expected to survive.

Judge returns authority to Colorado City board

A Utah judge says the time has come to let a community board have final decision-making authority about who is entitled to buy homes and properties in a trust that once belonged to Warren Jeffs’ polygamous sect, ending court oversight that began 14 years ago. Judge Richard McKelvie made his ruling Tuesday despite hearing from attorneys for past and current members of the polygamous group who argued that court oversight is still necessary because the board picks favorites and isn’t transparent enough.

Bear invades campers tent

At around 6 a.m. Tuesday, a bear entered a campsite in the left fork of Hobble Creek Canyon in a campground area on private property toward the top of the canyon. A bear disturbed a tent, and a boy received minor scratches on his back and is expected to be OK. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) is coordinated with USDA Wildlife Services, worked together to track and euthanize the bear. The bear was euthanized because this bear exhibited a lack of fear toward people.  We are working to notify the family of the boy.

Board of Education returns to American Institutes for Research

The Utah Board of Education is returning to the company that previously provided standardized testing services for the state.  Board members announced they have signed a three-year, 21-million-dollar contract with American Institutes for Research.  Utah used AIR for five years before the Board decided to switch to Questar.  Earlier this month, education officials terminated their contract with that company after just one year following numerous glitches with the exam this spring.

Not quite that much money raised in Governors race

Lt. Governor Spencer Cox didn't raise quite as much money as he claimed to during the first month of his campaign for governor.  UtahPolicy.com reports that one-third of the 250-thousand-dollars Cox claimed to have raised since kicking off his campaign last month was actually transferred from his existing political campaign funds.  Moreover, the political website says Cox's claim of more than one-thousand individual donations during the month was actually more like 700, since several people donated to the campaign more than once.

Kearns football players on indefinite suspension

Two members of the Kearns High School football team are on indefinite suspension after a video was posted to social media showing a Pride flag being burned.  Granite School District spokesman Ben Horsley says district officials are still determining how the two students will be punished.  One student posted the video on Snapchat last week, while the other reposted it.  Someone on the video is heard saying "all gays die," but officials have not said if either of the students suspended said those words.

St. George man sentenced for aggravated sex abuse of a child

A Saint George man is sentenced to six years in prison for performing sex acts on several young children.  Documents say Aaron Carthal Schafer was sentenced Tuesday for aggravated sex abuse of a child.   In October of 2018, Schafer turned himself into police, admitting he abused toddlers and other children over a nine-year period.  The judge told Schafer his behavior was despicable and deviant, but he commended him for his integrity in coming forward.

Teachers protest for pay raise

Teachers in the Salt Lake City School District want the school board to raise their pay to keep up with the cost of living.  Third-grade teacher Elise Maxwell was among those who rallied outside a school board meeting at Innovations High School yesterday. Negotiations between the school district and the local teachers union broke down a few weeks ago.  Both sides will meet with a federal mediator next month.

U of U building evacuated after explosive substance spill

A University of Utah building is evacuated after an explosive substance was spilled.  Salt Lake City Fire Chief Ryan Mellor said it happened Tuesday around six in the evening, when someone reported a spill in a chemistry lab.  A hazmat team spent several hours inside the Henry Eyring Building.  Officials didn't say what was the substance was.  A month ago, a Utah legislative audit found what investigators called a broken system in the labs at the University of Utah.

Woman raped by truck driver suing company

A Utah woman who was raped by an instructor while training to be a truck driver is suing the company.   The woman, known as Jane Doe, accuses the C-R England company of failing to do background checks and having lax oversight.  Doe said after the assault in the trainer's cab, a manager locked her in a room and pressured her to sign a statement that she wouldn't sue them.  Doe also said she was accused of faking the assault to get out of paying tuition.  Thorpe Steele was sentenced to five years in prison in May.