Happy Friday from #OneUtah, a weekly update from the office of Gov. Spencer J. Cox. Here’s your recap of what we did this week, what's on the horizon, and more.

Addressing drought in the West

In the midst of the worst drought in more than 1,200 years, we all need to be part of water solutions. Reliable, clean water is essential to our quality of life and continued prosperity. 

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing ways in which the state is working to conserve water and plan for a drier future. This week, we’re starting with the Great Salt Lake.

After a disappointing spring runoff that only refilled the Great Salt Lake about a foot, the lake dropped to a new historic low July 3. All options are on the table as we work at both short-term ways to get more water to the lake and also long-term solutions.

We’re grateful legislators share our concern. They approved and we signed a record number of water conservation bills and appropriations totaling nearly $500 million, including $40 million to create a water trust to benefit the Great Salt Lake. This trust will be used to enhance water quantity and water quality, with at least 25% of the funding used to protect and restore wetlands habitat. 

The Great Salt Lake is an extremely important resource to the state of Utah economically, ecologically, and environmentally. The benefits of the lake often go unnoticed, but if it disappears, there will be consequences. We are working with all the various stakeholders to ensure that doesn’t happen.

Read more about our efforts to conserve water here.

Fireworks safety

Some good air quality news: Firework impacts to air quality on the July 4th weekend appear to be pretty low. As you can see on the DEQ trend charts, we did have some hourly spikes in the evenings at some of our monitoring stations across the state. While some of these spikes were relatively high, the 24-hour average did not move too much.

Unfortunately, we had a couple of fires caused by fireworks over the July 4th holiday. Let’s all use good fire sense over our next holiday weekend: Pioneer Day. Weather conditions are lining up for extreme fire risk, so please check local fireworks restrictions and exercise the utmost caution. 

Better yet, just skip your home fireworks this year and check out the awesome public shows all over the state!

Election security: Counties perform post-election audits

Did you know every one of Utah’s 29 counties is required to perform a post-election audit? Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson is in St. George today with Washington County Clerk/Auditor Susan Lewis as she conducts the county’s election audit after the 2022 primary election.

The audits are publicly noticed and Utahns are invited to watch the process unfold as elections officials scrutinize a randomly selected batch of ballots to verify results, confirm the accuracy of election equipment and vet the signature verification process.

On Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Henderson joined Wasatch County Clerk-Auditor Joey Granger and next week she’ll be in Cache County for more post-election audits. By this afternoon, more than a dozen counties will have completed their audits, including Morgan, Sanpete, Salt Lake, San Juan, Carbon, Wasatch, Wayne, Sevier, Millard, Grand, Weber, Washington, Daggett and Summit counties. 

Thanks to our local elections officials for keeping our elections safe and secure!

Spotlighting Utah’s ‘Spirit of Service’

In our inaugural Governor’s Spirit of Service Award Ceremony, we recently recognized the outstanding service that Utahns are doing throughout the state. Each week, we’ll highlight one of these unsung heroes, starting with a local organizer who helped countless Utahns access invaluable health care.

Cristina Díaz de León created Rancho Market vaccine clinics, advanced inclusion and cultural celebrations, empowered youth, led out on service projects, and strongly believed in “meeting people where they are.” Unfortunately, she passed away from lung cancer on Jan. 22, 2022.

We were honored to present her award to her family.

25 years of serving Utahns

Happy 25th anniversary to the Department of Workforce Services!

In 1997, Lt. Gov. Olene Walker led the effort to combine five agencies into a single one-stop model for delivering services related to work and self-sufficiency. 

The department now houses nine public-serving divisions, providing job seeker and employer services, unemployment insurance, temporary financial assistance, economic data, refugee services, housing and community development, services for individuals with disabilities and more.

Since 1997, DWS has provided innovative one-stop service to Utahns, while creating a national model for delivering collaborative social and job services. We congratulate each employee on 25 years of serving Utahns!

Land conveyance triples the size of Goblin Valley State Park

It’s been described as mysterious, majestic, weird, wonderful, and downright “Martian.” 

Goblin Valley State Park is a Utah favorite for a reason — and now, it’s growing. In a historic ceremony, the Bureau of Land Management conveyed over 6,300 acres of federal public land to the Utah Division of State Parks, which tripled the size of the park. Over 453,000 people visited Goblin Valley State Park last year. These visitors come for overnight lodging, dark sky programs, rappelling adventures, and of course, to explore the world-famous valley of hoodoos.

Drive Sober

With two separate DUI blitzes and troopers enforcing DUI laws statewide, there were 80 impaired driver arrests this past holiday weekend.

We join the Utah Department of Public Safety in emphasizing the importance of making the right choice to always drive sober and plan for a safe ride. Utahns can expect to see an increase in DUI enforcement throughout the 100 Deadliest Days of Summer, with blitzes July 22-25, and Aug. 19-Sept. 5. 

Most drivers don’t expect to drive impaired, but instead experience a moment when they are forced to decide if the potential consequences are worth the risk. Please don’t risk it: Drive sober or find a sober ride home.

ICYMI

-- While many celebrated the nation's independence over the Fourth of July weekend, law enforcement officers and technicians for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources across the state were busy working to keep something else free — boats free of invasive quagga mussels after leaving Lake Powell. Read more here.

-- Lt. Gov. Henderson welcomed Consul General Sang-soo Yoon from the Republic of Korea to the Capitol on Thursday. Utah maintains a strong trade and diplomatic relationship with South Korea. The state exported $430,001,450 in goods to the country in 2020.

-- There are two Warning Advisories for Harmful Algal Blooms (HABS) in the state. The Utah County Health Department has issued a Warning Advisory for Lincoln Marina at Utah Lake and the Southeast Utah Health Department has issued a Warning Advisory for Scofield Reservoir. Recreators should use caution before getting in the water in these areas. You can find the latest information at habs.utah.gov.

Coming up

July 11: Lt. Gov. Henderson will attend the post-election audit in Cache County.

July 12: We’ll be joining First Lady Abby Cox at the “Show Up for Teachers” conference at the Salt Palace. All Utah educators are invited to attend this free conference focused on professional and personal wellness. Learn more here.

July 13 to July 15: We’ll be at the National Governors Association summer meeting in Portland, Maine! We look forward to working with our fellow governors to find common ground and solutions.

July 13: Lt. Gov. Henderson will join the Six County Association of Governments for an ATV tour in Juab County to discuss public lands issues.

July 17: Lt. Gov. Henderson will land in London ahead of a weeklong trade mission.

July 24: It’s time for the Days of ‘47! This celebration of Utah’s western and pioneer heritage is one of our state's longest-standing traditions, and we are thrilled to be a part of it.

July 26 to July 28: We’ll be at the Western Governors Association summer meeting in Idaho! We look forward to discussing solutions to drought, wildfires, and more.

Get involved!

Looking for a new job opportunity? From great employee benefits to versatile work schedules, the career opportunities with the state are truly endless. Join Team Utah today! 

Those looking to volunteer can also consider more than 300 boards and commissions. Find out which openings are available and how you can get involved here!

Get in touch!

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Contact the Governor's Office