Plus: The Great Salt Lake and Utah farms could save each other. Here’s how.
Utah put $50 million into a first-time homebuyer program. Is it working? |
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| | Tough and unpredictable. Those are the two words Kaitlyn and Zach Gordon used to describe their experience trying to buy a home over the past three years before they were finally able to make it happen this summer. The Gordons were first-time homebuyers, purchasing a newly built home that was priced just under $450,000. They hit all the qualifications for Utah’s brand new first-time homebuyer program that had just started in mid-July. Their loan officer recognized that, and told them they should apply. Utah's first-time homebuyer program began in July after the 2023 Utah Legislature passed and funded SB240, a bill sponsored by Senate President Stuart Adams that used $50 million in state money to help Utahns afford homes while also encouraging homebuilders to continue adding to the state’s housing stock. |
Read more about Utah's first-time homebuyer progam. |
| Though often seen as being at odds with one another, Utah’s farms and the Great Salt Lake have a lot in common. Both have suffered as a result of the water crises of recent years, and neither is exempt from the tension building with the state’s ongoing development and growth. Stark economic conditions for local farmers and for the lake have led some to suggest it’s time for Utah to give up the pursuit of agriculture entirely and leave all that water for the lake. But local food and agriculture play a deep role in Utah’s sense of place and purpose. In a series of 2015 surveys, the nonprofit Envision Utah determined that 97% of the state’s residents believe we should grow more food locally. Read more about what the Great Salt Lake and Utah farms have in common. | FROM OUR SPONSOR UTAH SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL Save Big on Cyber Monday: Get $10 Off Per Ticket at the Utah Shakespeare Festival! Get ready! Get set! Save big! Get $10 off on November 27 for Cyber Monday. The 2024 play lineup includes: Henry VIII, The Winter’s Tale, The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, The 39 Steps, Silent Sky, and The Mountaintop. | Faith This app wants you to pray, not doomscroll (Deseret News) Is Temple Square decorated for Christmas? (Deseret News) Health Recent studies tackle biological aging, new science on meats and how childhood lingers into old age (Deseret News) How walking can improve your health and increase your lifespan (Deseret News) Politics There and back again: Why Utah is targeting Mexico for export growth and nearshoring opportunities (Deseret News) Sen. Mike Lee spends Thanksgiving in Israel (Deseret News) Opinion: Amid political turmoil, is gratitude still in order? (Deseret News) Entertainment Why these 9 Utah musicians won’t be forgetting this Thanksgiving anytime soon (Deseret News) 10 restaurants to try in Salt Lake City this weekend (Deseret News) The Nation Rainbow Bridge: Police identify couple killed in US-Canada border crash (BBC) Holiday hiring frenzy cools with retailers anxious over consumer spending (NBC News) The World Scores of Palestinians and Israelis freed from captivity on first day of Gaza truce (NPR) Putin Bristles as Other Leaders Criticize Russia’s Aggression in Ukraine (The New York Times 🔒) | On a snowy night in Provo, BYU got its first ever victory over North Carolina, scoring a flurry of goals when it mattered most to pull off an improbable 4-3 comeback victory that will go down as one of the most memorable wins in program history. The No. 1 seeded Cougars defeated No. 3 seed North Carolina on three goals in the final 10 minutes of the match, ultimately leading for just over a minute and a half in front of a frenzied South Field crowd. “What an amazing game,” BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “To have North Carolina here playing on South field is quite an honor … The start of the game wasn’t quite what we anticipated. … (I’m) just really proud of the way that these girls played, especially in the second half.” More in Sports: ‘He’s a legend’: What Deion Sanders said about Utah coach Kyle Whittingham (Deseret News) Aggie transfer AJ Vongphachanh is happy with his choice to finish at BYU (Deseret News) Predictions: What are the chances BYU becomes bowl eligible at OSU? (Deseret News) It took a game for the books — good and bad — but Utah State is bowl eligible (Deseret News) Top social media reactions to BYU’s comeback win over North Carolina (Deseret News) |
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