Author: Mariah Wheeler

UTAH- Often times, when a bill is opened on Utah’s capitol hill, lawmakers are coy about the motivations for a particular piece of proposed legislation. However, when it comes to Senate Bill 0107, there is no hiding what spawned that bill. The legislation threatens to strip funding from any school district which does not offer an in-person option to its students. There was only one district offering virtually learning only when the bill file was opened, and that was Salt Lake City Schools. When Beyond the Books reporter Chris Jones asked the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Todd Weiler (R-Dist. 23), if SB 0107 was directed at…

OGDEN, Utah — Within the next year, Utahns will have a new license plate option, a design meant to honor the life and work of one of the most iconic social activists in American history. Josh Loftin, spokesperson with the Utah Department of Heritage & Arts, said the state’s newest license plate, which will be available to the public in approximately six months, is meant to celebrate diversity and inclusion, specifically by highlighting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Emblazoned with the slogan “Many Voices, One Utah,” the new license plate features the artwork of Timpview High student Eleanor Smith. Smith’s…