Sunrise Stories: Mesquite School Counselor Faces Rape Charges in St. George

KDXU Sunrise Stories: Volume 184 

Statewide News – 04/03/24 

Required Salary for Home Ownership Rises in Utah 

A new study by Bankrate claims only residents with six-figure salaries can own a home in the beehive state.  

According to the study, the minimum annual salary to be a homeowner in Utah five years ago was about $80,000. Since then, the study marks the required salary for Utah homeowners in 2024 is $134,000 if they want to afford a home valued at $525,000. 

Utah is not alone in this increase with at least half of the country also experiencing the same six figure bar of entry to owning a home. 

Statue of Moroni Returns to Salt Lake City Temple 

The statue of Moroni has returned to the top of the Salt Lake City Temple in pristine condition after being damaged in a 2020 earthquake. 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is currently renovating the Salt Lake City Temple by bringing more pioneer-era designs into the holy building. 

Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé presided over the ceremony on April 2 along with descendants of prophets Brigham Young and Wilford Woodruff. 

Southern Utah/St. George News – 04/03/24 

SWAT Situation Leads to Drug Dealer Arrest in Washington County 

St. George police arrested a man with six drug possession and distribution charges on March 30 by the homes near Costco. 

The suspect was confronted by officers in front of their home and proceeded to ignore the officers and locked himself within the residence. 

Public Information Officer Tiffany Mitchell said a warrant was then quickly drafted and approved to take more aggressive measures since the drug dealer was deemed to be a threat to the public. SWAT was called onto the scene, but the suspect reportedly surrendered five minutes after the unit arrived. 

More details can be found in a full article on KDXU later today.

Mesquite Counselor Faces Rape Charges in St. George 

David Curtis, the Mesquite school counselor who is accused of sexually abusing a minor in St. George over a decade ago, has been arrested and is now back in Southern Utah to face the charges. 

He was arrested in Nevada before being transferred to the Purgatory Correctional Facility, and detectives suspect Curtis has committed more sexual crimes that haven’t come to light. 

The district court in St. George filed charges of rape and forcible sodomy on April 2. 

Black Desert Resort Helps Endangered Fish 

Officials from the Black Desert Resort in Ivins are preserving an endangered species of fish in partnership with the Division of Wildlife Resources and Utah Tech University. 

Hundreds of Virgin River chub were released into one of the resorts many lakes and will be kept safe from predators so the fish can mature and multiply. 

The large Southern Utah resort is also helping in other wildlife preservation efforts around St. George. 

Other 

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

Stockton recently became obsessed with an obscure genre of music, Pirate Metal. Have you ever sailed the high seas while singing shanties of all kinds? No? Well Stockton is a big fan of most pirate-based media, so it’s no surprise that such a strange corner of the music world has intrigued him to no end. Especially when he plays pirate video games while roleplaying as a pirate listening to Pirate Metal.  

Happy Wednesday!