Wasatch County

Sawyer Ann Karinen was born at 11:39 p.m. on January 2, 2023. She is the daughter of Clara Vowels and Andrew Karinen, residents of Heber City. Sawyer weighed in at 6 lbs. 5 oz. and is 19 inches long. She is Clara and Andrew’s first child. “I can’t believe she’s mine,” said Clara, Sawyer’s mom. “It was a long day of almost 20 hours of labor, but she’s definitely worth it.” “It’s hard to put into words,” said her father, Andrew. “We’ve both worked in daycares, so we have lots of experience with kids. But they go home at…

It’s no secret that one of the greatest, most tangible benefits to living in or visiting Wasatch County is the proximity to high-quality, sustainable trails. Whether you consider yourself a hiker, a mountain biker, an equestrian, or just someone looking for great views in Heber Valley — you know our trails are amazing — but have you ever wondered how the trails you use came to be? THE BEGINNING OF IT ALL In 1992, the Mountain Trails Foundation was established in Park City at a time when all local hand-cut trails were…

Wasatch County residents have earned what seems like a doctorate in dealing with growth, but channeling change is a never-ending process that seems to be as challenging as the teenage years. Just like that awkward, formative, and stressful stage of life, Wasatch County has a lot of current issues: traffic, taxes, affordable housing, water, air quality, the airport, public safety, and on and on and on. (Take a deep breath — it’s going to be okay.) With growth being the proverbial issue on every local campaign, and education…

Defending Wasatch Back began as a group of moms sharing their concerns while at different events with their children. Currently, Defending Wasatch Back has combined forces with the Wasatch 2A Sanctuary group in support of making Wasatch County a Second Amendment Sanctuary.

Once again, it’s that time of year. The remnants of the black snow are melting leaving odds and ends of buried treasures, or bits of trash on the curbs. The birds chirp a little louder in the mornings. And blades of grass are popping up along the fairways. It’s Spring. It’s golf. It’s time. “Golf…is the infallible test. The man who can go into a patch of rough alone, with the knowledge that only God is watching him, and play his ball where it lies, is the man who will serve you faithfully and well”. – P.G.Wodehouse…

TestUtah will be providing free Covid-19 Rapid Antigen tests in Heber City. The drive-through tests will be available on January 11 from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm and January 12 from noon to 7:00 pm. The testing center is located at the Wasatch County Events Center. The Antigen tests can be completely processed in only 15-20 minutes. These tests will be provided free to anyone, regardless of symptoms or insurance. Anyone interested in participating in the free testing should go online to www.testutah.com. Participants are asked…

Goodbye 2020. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out! We have been barraged with negativity about the year 2020. True, there were some bad things that happened this year. Okay, a lot of bad things. However, there’s always another side to the story. 10 reasons to love 2020: 1. The kids got more sleep. Really, sleep has so many health benefits. So, when the kids all came home from school permanently in March, definitely a shocker, they were probably completely sleep deprived from years of waking up at unearthly…

The Wasatch Dance Center Foundation’s Nutcracker Tea was held December 3-5 as a fundraiser for the Children’s Justice Center (CJC). The foundation normally puts on several benefit performances of the Nutcracker each December. They brought in $14,500 for the CJC in 2019. This year, the full-length show was unable to be performed because of Covid-19 restrictions. Instead, the Nutcracker Tea became a bigger, more involved production, with Zermatt Resort donating their Bernese Event Center. The group performed a 35-minute…

In early March 2020, we all received a crash course on COVID, whether we liked it or not. As quarantine, business shutdowns, and required masks became the new norm; it became abundantly clear how reliant we all truly are on each other. Assessing the four necessities of life became front and center: food, water, clothing, and shelter (and apparently toilet paper).

Utah’s government launched a new “Level of Transmission” index on Tuesday. It will provide a more scientific way for assessing each county’s Covid situation, along with new restrictions created to fight the current rise in cases. Color-coded guidelines are discontinued.  Wasatch County is one of six Utah counties currently on "high transmission" risk. Levels will be reassessed weekly. They are determined by looking at case rates per 100K, percent of test positivity, and statewide ICU usage.   The Governor did not enact…

The Wasatch Caring Community Coalition (CCC) is giving out a free dinner tonight at their Family Dinner Drive-Thru event. The annual occurrence is modified this year because of COVID. Participants will drive to the booths, instead of walking, and will pick up dinner supplies to create a spaghetti dinner. The event will run from 5:30-7:00pm, Monday, September 21, at the Wasatch County Event Center. The free family dinner activity is an opportunity for the CCC to not only provide a free dinner, but also to educate the…

The Big Hollow Fire continued to rage Friday, as firefighter crews worked tirelessly to protect the town of Daniel. Heber Valley residents watched as huge flames were clearly visible on the mountain Thursday night. Big Hollow Fire had consumed 418 acres and was 22% contained by Friday evening. It began at around 4:30 pm Thursday afternoon, just above the Big Hollow Shooting Range. The specific cause is still under investigation. It was determined to be a human-caused fire, based on lightning maps of the area. Those…

The Wasatch County Fair will be held August 5-8, 2020. Although this year will be different from past events, the organizers have come up with some unique, safe ideas for family fun! “We have great events and activities planned for Fair Days this year,” says Amaria Scovil, Director of the Wasatch County Recreation Center. “There is a free drive-in movie night with popcorn to kick off the fair on August 5th, and to wrap it up on August 8th, we’re throwing a tailgate concert and BBQ, followed by fireworks.” In between,…

The lieutenant governor and GOP gubernatorial candidate Spencer Cox, along with his running mate Utah Senator Deidre Henderson, stopped by the Spin Cafe in Heber City on Wednesday to meet with local residents. The event provided an opportunity for Cox and Henderson to discuss issues important to Wasatch County. Cox also visited the Kohler Dairy Farm earlier in the day. A native of rural Fairview, Utah, Cox has made it a goal to visit each of Utah’s 248 cities and towns during his campaign for governor. He currently…

Wasatch County has ordered cleaning and protective supplies to aid local businesses impacted by COVID-19. The county plans to make the supplies available as the community prepares for a gradual reopening of activity. At a special Wasatch County Council meeting on Tuesday County Manager Mike Davis reported the county had ordered 50,000 surgical masks to arrive in the early part of May. Davis says although suppliers could not guarantee a date, the county did lock in a price on the masks in response to daily rising of costs.…

The new order issued by the Wasatch County Health Department follows the Governor's directive issued Friday that state parks be open to residents outside of the county. While the health department has opened the state parks, they are not encouraging travelers to come into the county. Park playground equipment is closed but public lands are otherwise available for residents to use for recreation. The order also encourages residents to wear masks when they do leave their homes and go someplace such as the store where they…

Wasatch County leadership is working on the next phase in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. During an update to the Wasatch County Council, Health Department Director Randall Probst compared the county response to COVID-19 to a light bulb being dimmed down. Now he says they’re preparing to make gradual adjustments to brighten the metaphorical bulb. “We started working with some of our businesses to start to identify what it’s going to look like as we start turning up that switch,” Probst explained. “It’s not going…

With the end of the month coming up many renters are unsure of what their options are if they’ve experienced a decrease in income. Options exist for landlords and tenants in the form of rent deferment. With the end of the month coming up many renters are unsure of what their options are if they’ve experienced a decrease in income. Options exist for landlords and tenants in the form of rent deferment or rent reduction. Heber resident Jeff Daybell is a lawyer with a private practice, he also works for the Utah State Bar,…

Wasatch County Council announced the upgrade to a Stay at Home Monday afternoon, The order goes into effect April 1st at 7:00 am. Wasatch County Health Department Director Randall Probst read the announcement. The meeting was streamed live at council chambers. You can find a link to the stream here. The whole order can be read here. Non-essential businesses and operations are ordered to cease. definition of essential vs. non-essential businesses can be found in the order. The order says residents can only leave…

Wasatch County Council is considering a new program to provide affordable housing for essential county employees. The effort may help sheriff’s deputies, public works employees and others obtain housing in the increasingly expensive Heber Valley. The council heard about the Shared Appreciation Mortgage or SAM program at the county council meeting on February 5th. Wasatch County Assistant County Manager Dustin Grabau explains what the new program would do. “We’re talking about a shared appreciation mortgage programs for…