utah today 2023-10-31

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Good morning. Today’s temperatures:

Logan: 18 - 50° ☀️

Salt Lake City: 30 - 53° ☀️

St. George: 33 - 67° ☀️

Happy Halloween! I'm Brooklyn Roemer, and I will be taking over the Utah Today newsletter. The newsletter's previous writer, Brigham Tomco, will move full-time to the national politics team.

Three facts about me:

My Halloween costume is a Tums bottle
I am an avid pickleball player
I have two cats who are named after beans

Tell me: What is the best Halloween costume you've seen?

Also on our mind: How Mike Johnson’s Christian faith turned into controversy, what state has the most "overvalued" housing market and how Danny Simmons became the best high school distance runner in the country.

Facing our fear of the dark

After discovering that at 27 years old he is afraid of the dark, Deseret Magazine writer Ethan Bauer ventured into an isolated valley in Utah’s west desert for "an experiment."

Camped about 10 miles from the Dugway Proving Ground where the Army has stored and tested chemical and biological weapons since 1943, Bauer camped, as far as he can tell, directly above the unmarked plot where about 6,000 sheep were killed during a test that went sideways in 1968.

"There’s something resonant, within our deepest human impulses, about facing what makes us afraid," Bauer writes.

Read more about Bauer's haunting camping trip reminiscent of a classic horror movie.

Utah Rep. Phil Lyman launches bid for governor

Utah State Rep. Phil Lyman officially announced his campaign against Gov. Spencer Cox on Monday.

The three-term Republican lawmaker has represented House District 69 in southeastern Utah since 2019 and was a San Juan County Commissioner for eight years prior to that.

As a former chair of the Utah House of Representatives Conservative Caucus, Lyman has made a name for himself opposing mask mandates, alleging election fraud and denouncing the federal management of public lands.

“Sometimes you pick your fights, and sometimes the fights pick you,” Lyman said in a statement.

Family

As vampires and superheroes take to the streets, parents and kids need this conversation (Deseret News)
Alan Hawkins: A silver anniversary celebration for the Utah Marriage Commission (Deseret News)

Utah and Summit Counties

Tales From Utah Valley: October shines light on domestic violence (Daily Herald)
Ziegfeld Theater Company’s ‘Young Frankenstein’ will electrify Park City audiences (Park Record)

Grand and Washington Counties

Off-road groups file legal challenge after BLM closes 300 miles of off-road routes near Moab (Deseret News)
Short Creek authorities seek info following rash of vandalism (St. George News)

The West

Idaho is the most ‘overvalued’ housing market in the U.S., says Moody’s Analytics. Here’s where Utah ranks (Deseret News)
Why Utah hunters may have to report all deer, elk harvests beginning in 2024 (KSL)

The Nation

United Auto Workers reach tentative deal with GM. What happens next? (Deseret News)
Why PragerU is spending $1 million to ‘take over’ X on Thursday (Deseret News)

The World

Poll shows Utah interest in Ukraine still high, but urge to help waning (Deseret News)
Hamas releases new hostage video, Netanyahu denounces 'cruel propaganda' (Reuters)

‘I’m thinking big’: How Danny Simmons became the best high school distance runner in the country

For the second time in six years, the No. 1 prep distance runner in the nation is from Utah. Danny Simmons, who will sign with BYU next month, hasn't lost a race this season and will be the favorite at the national championships in December.

Danny Simmons' highlight reel:

Danny finished second in the Nike national cross-country championships in Portland, Oregon, in December.
He finished second in the 5,000-meter run at the New Balance indoor nationals in New York City in March.
He achieved the all-time third fastest high school time for the 3,200-meter race in April — missing second place by .04 of a second.
He was named the 2022 national Gatorade Player of the Year for cross-country.
Simmons wrapped up his junior season by winning the two-mile run at the New Balance outdoor nationals in Philadelphia with a meet-record time of 8:41.23 in June.

As Danny tells it, “My family ran, so I ran. I started running with my brothers in third grade. Whenever I’d see them run, I’d want to run too.”

Read more about Danny Simmons' running career, including his low-meat diet.