Olympic figure skating gold medalist Nathan Chen thinks Utah is ready to host another Olympics. The 23-year-old athlete took the gold in the 2022 Beijing Winter Games and cited the 2002 games in Salt Lake City as “the motivation, drive and inspiration to want to go to an Olympics myself.”

The International Olympic Committee isn’t due to settle on a site for the 2030 games until next year, and the 2034 games might be awarded at the same time.

Opinion: Can a citizen Legislature solve Utah’s problems?

Utah is one of only 14 states in the nation that has a “citizen Legislature,” meaning each member of the body only serves part-time and usually has full-time employment elsewhere. According to the Deseret News Editorial Board, “The beauty of this system is that lawmakers live and work among their constituents.” They know average Utahns and interact with them on a daily basis.

Can our citizen-led legislature, however, keep up with the demands of the population growth that surpassed any other state in the nation between 2010 and 2020?

Read what the editorial board has to say here.

More in Politics:

• Gas chamber euthanasia — do Utah animal shelters still use it and should it be banned? (Deseret News)
• Ban on transgender surgeries for kids, puberty blockers headed to Utah Senate (Deseret News)
• Opinion: What Sen. Mike Lee thinks about Utah’s new state flag proposal (Deseret News)
• Transgender issues in schools and states: New poll shows how Americans feel (Deseret News)

Culture:

• ‘It was just shock and disbelief’: After 15 years, BYU grad makes it on ‘Jeopardy!’ (Deseret News)

Business:

• Deseret News announces new publisher and editorial leadership changes (Deseret News)
• ChatGPT has the world in a roil but CEO says it’s ‘a misleading impression of greatness’ (Deseret News)
• Microsoft will reportedly announce round of layoffs (Deseret News)

Technology:

• Perspective: It’s time to treat Big Tech like Big Tobacco (Deseret News)
• This forensic DNA lab is using new tech to solve cold cases (Utah Business)
• Why FamilySearch is incorporating localized ‘sideline reporters’ into RootsTech 2023 (Church News)

Health:

• Questionnaire provides first step for autism diagnosis, research says (Deseret News)
• Freshwater fish could contain high amounts of harmful chemicals, new study finds (Deseret News)
• Are eating disorders prevalent in Utah? The data to answer that is hard to come by (KUER)

Police and the Courts:

• Governor appoints Judge Amy Oliver to fill vacancy on Utah Court of Appeals (KSL)
• Utah trooper reunites with doctor who saved his life 44 years ago after prompting (KSL)

Family:

• These Americans are spending more than they earn (Deseret News)
• New genealogy platform unveiling, and connecting, the untold stories of our lives (Deseret News)
• New report: Child care issues result in $1.36B loss in Utah's annual economy (KSL)

Faith:

• French nun considered to be the world’s oldest person dies; said her work was key to her longevity (Deseret News)
• Perspective: The fate of the religious university and why it matters (Deseret News)

Northern Utah:

• New study finds Utah is No. 1 in residential construction per capita (Cache Valley Daily)

Southern Utah:

• Brian Head Resort begins work on new community, major expansion (KSL)
• Art on Loan program will add color to Ivins City Hall (St. George News)

The West:

• Utah water policy ‘playing catch up when it should be leading the pack,’ according to new report (Salt Lake Tribune)

The Nation:

• Air travel expected to return to pre-pandemic levels this summer (Deseret News)

The World:

• Ukraine helicopter crash kills Ukraine’s interior minister, 16 others, including children (Deseret News)
• Syrian refugees receive shelter, hope through Church-Shelterbox partnership (Church News)

Sports:

• BYU recruiting: Big 12 to demand greater success in picking the right prospects (Deseret News)
• Pac-12 schedule analysis: What stands in the Utes’ way as they seek another Pac-12 title? (Deseret News)
• Want the black curtains to come up at the Huntsman Center? Fill up the lower bowl first (KSL)

Photo of the Week

A group of young people leave the cemetery following graveside services in La Verkin, Washington County, for members of the Haight and Earl families. Tausha Haight, her 17-year-old daughter Macie, 12-year-old daughter Brilee, 7-year-old twins Sienna and Ammon, 4-year-old son Gavin and Haight’s mother Gail Earl were laid to rest in the La Verkin City Cemetery on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. Read the story here.