With thanks to our sponsor

Good morning, Utah Today readers! Here’s today’s forecast:

🌤️ 39 – 71° in Logan

🌤️ 54 – 77° in Salt Lake City

🌤️ 59 – 85° in St. George

Has anyone else been watching the drama unfold over the "Great British Baking Show" and “Mexican Week”? The crimes they committed against avocados were too much to handle. 🥑

Also on our minds: Over half of U.S. consumers now live paycheck to paycheck, Biden’s quote about a nuclear “Armageddon” and what effects student loan forgiveness will have on Utahns.

Correction: Yesterday, we misattributed two stories to the Deseret News. “The Great Salt Lake isn’t just for the birds — it’s part of a water network that links Utah to the rest of the West and the world” is from The Salt Lake Tribune and “At Water’s Edge” is a reporting project from the Great Salt Lake Collaborative.

A Utah man gave a public prayer about ‘evil’ in schools. The state superintendent calls it ‘a dagger to my heart’

Allen Young, father of Orem Mayor David Young, offered an invocation at an Orem City Council meeting saying “evil things” are being taught in schools. He also prayed for the adoption of Proposition 2 which would break the Orem and Alpine into two school districts. Mayor David Young is also in support of Proposition 2.

State superintendent Sydnee Dickson expressed her dismay stating, “Our schools are places of joy, and care, and goodness, and learning.” Dickson has been the state superintendent since 2006 and visits schools statewide every fall.

Read the full story here.

Evan McMullin, Sen. Mike Lee locked in nasty battle for Senate. What does the latest poll show?

According to the Deseret News’ most recent poll of 801 registered Utah voters, if the 2022 general election were held today:

41% would vote for Sen. Mike Lee.
37% would vote for Evan McMullin.
Plus, 83% of respondents said they will definitely vote in the coming election.

What’s the outlook from here? Read the full story by Dennis Romboy.

Ensuring You Are Ready to Vote in the Upcoming Election

Be ready for the voting process so you can show off your sticker without the stress this November. Check out the Utah Election website. Learn how to vote, track your ballot, find candidate information, find voter registration info and how to update your registration preferences or address.

The Economy:

Reality check: New report finds 3 in 5 U.S. consumers now living paycheck to paycheck amid ongoing, record inflation (Deseret News)
How the student loan forgiveness plan will affect Utahns (Utah Business)

The Great Salt Lake:

What makes the Great Salt Lake experience different but alike to California’s Owens Lake (Deseret News)
A dusty tale in California and words of wisdom for Utah as the Great Salt Lake shrinks (The Great Salt Lake Collaborative)

Faith:

‘We need to spread the good’ — a conversation with interfaith leader Eboo Patel (Deseret News)

Northern Utah:

Is the shrinking Great Salt Lake affecting Box Elder County? (Cache Valley Daily)

Wasatch Front:

Salt Lake City introduces 3rd phase of crime reduction plan (KSL)
Truck crashes, spills 400 gallons of fertilizer on I-80 ramp (ABC4)

Southern Utah:

Arches National Park jam-packed; delays up to 5 hours for entry (FOX13)
St. George man sentenced in case of ‘horrifying’ attack that left 1 severely injured (St. George News)

The Nation:

2 teens shot outside N.Y. Rep. Lee Zeldin’s home (Deseret News)
An open letter: This is what happens when the Postal Service fails rural America (Deseret News)

The World:

Ukraine under a mass air strike after Putin accused the country of terrorism (Deseret News)
What we know about Russian ‘hacktivists’ and their strike on U.S. airport websites (Deseret News)
Here are the winners of the Nobel Prize 2022 (Deseret News)

Sports:

As No. 7 USC comes to town, Utah’s Kyle Whittingham explains his ‘distaste’ for what transfer portal is doing to college football (Deseret News)
‘The WCC is giving us more than we can handle right now’: Why BYU’s Mark Pope is not looking back, or forward, in final season in the league (Deseret News)
After another sluggish start, will Cougars answer the bell against Arkansas? (Deseret News)