Author: Mariah Wheeler

OGDEN, Utah – Utah’s Hogle Zoo is saying goodbye to its five-year-old polar bear, Hope, and welcoming in a new animal. Hope is heading to an accredited zoo in the Midwest at the end of January in part of a breeding program. The program will hopefully contribute healthy cubs to the critically endangered species, the zoo said in a news release. The news release stated, “As an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), Hogle Zoo works closely with the Species Survival Plan (SSP) to ensure a genetically diverse population. The SSP functions like a massive computer dating system for…

OGDEN, Utah – For instance, the rolling seven-day average of new cases reported Sunday by the Utah Department of Health was 1,794. A week ago, it was 2,548. The number of people hospitalized Sunday due to COVID-19 was at 461. The week prior, it was 557. The number of coronavirus patients occupying ICU beds was down by more than 40, and the percentage of ICU beds occupied declined from 97.4% to 88.7%. Meanwhile, the rolling seven-day percentage of positive tests is also down from the previous week. On Sunday, it stood at 19.4%. The week before, it was at 22.6%.…