Box Elder News Journal's Podcast

Last week’s edition included an incorrect fire restriction map for Perry City. This is the correct map. We regret the error. Article Link

A ribbon cutting will be held on Tuesday, July 7, to celebrate the near completion of the Forest Street overpass. The public is invited to attend the ribbon cutting and are encouraged to park at the swimming pool. The ceremony itself will take place at the top of the overpass. The public is invited to attend the ribbon cutting and are encouraged to park at the swimming pool. The ceremony itself wi...

Perry City celebrated two recreation milestones Saturday with ribbon cuttings for the central segment of the Historic Orchard Pathway and the all-new Kiwanis Gravity Bike Park, expanding recreation opportunities for walkers, cyclists and mountain bikers. The morning began along 1200 West, where city officials and residents gathered to celebrate the newest section of the Historic Orchard Pathway. P...

A woman folding laundry on her couch was injured Thursday afternoon when an 18-year-old driver’s white pickup struck a Buick Enclave, left the roadway and crashed through the front of her Perry home, according to Perry City police. Officers responded shortly after 2:30 p.m. to a reckless driver call that escalated into a personal injury crash near 2235 S. U.S. Highway 89. According to a Perry Poli...

A recent survey of 515 registered Box Elder County voters found that 71% of those polled opposed the proposed Stratos data center project, compared to 23% in support of it. The survey, commissioned by Stewardship Utah and conducted in partnership with the Box Elder Accountability Referendum (B.E.A.R.) campaign, showed that respondents found issues related to water and agriculture, tax breaks and i...

The Box Elder County Commission voted Wednesday to begin removing county lands from the Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) Golden Spike project area after hearing there is no active development activity involving those properties. The action directs the county attorney’s office to send correspondence asking UIPA to remove Box Elder County’s participation while allowing Garland, Tremonton, Brigham C...

The Perry City Council unanimously voted June 11 to adopt the certified tax rate, abandoning a proposed 13.33% property tax increase for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. The decision reversed the course set on May 14, when the council accepted a tentative .05 million general fund budget and scheduled an Aug. 11 Truth in Taxation hearing to fund rising fire contract costs, police compensation adjustments...

The Box Elder County Commission unanimously approved a 180-day moratorium Wednesday on new data center and data center power plant applications, giving the county time to develop land use regulations for an industry that has drawn intense public scrutiny. The temporary pause is intended to give county officials time to study how such projects should be reviewed and regulated, including potential z...

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The Perry City Council unanimously voted June 11 to ease e-bike restrictions on the Historic Orchard Pathway and other shared-use trails while keeping Class 2 and Class 3 e-bikes prohibited at the Kiwanis Gravity Bike Park. The amendment revises an ordinance adopted two weeks earlier establishing rules for the Historic Orchard Pathway, the Kiwanis Gravity Bike Park and future city trails. While th...

With June temperatures rising, Utah is facing a deepening drought that has accelerated the drying of soils and vegetation across the state. Wildfire season has already been active with over 230 fires so far this year, a majority of which were human caused. Reservoir storage averages 68% full, which is 7% lower than the normal for this time of year, and 18% lower than this time last year. In the Be...

Responding to a FOX 13 investigation that questioned whether two meetings in March related to the Stratos data center project should have been publicly noticed, Box Elder County Attorney Stephen Hadfield said Wednesday he is not aware of anything that constituted an illegal meeting. The comments came during the June 10 Box Elder County Commission meeting, one week after FOX 13 reported that meetin...

The Perry City Council unanimously approved an updated compensation schedule June 11 establishing compensation schedules and salary ranges for elected officials, appointed officials and city employees as required under state law. Finance Director and City Recorder Shanna Johnson told the council the ordinance complies with a requirement created by Senate Bill 91, passed in 2024, which requires mun...

The base for a new traffic signal is blocked off by traffic cones on Main Street and 100 North in Brigham City. State crews are working to install new traffic signals on five intersections between100 North and 990 South. Officials say the new signals will bring improved traffic flow and accessibility. In addition to entirely new traffic signal infrastructure, the project includes improvements to s...

The Willard City Council approved a new no-parking ordinance for 300 North on Thursday, citing concerns about gravel truck traffic, the road’s narrow width and emergency vehicle access. Under the ordinance, parking is prohibited at any time on both sides of 300 North from U.S. Highway 89 to the Willard Canyon trailhead approximately 0.58 miles to the east, regardless of whether “No Parking” signs...

Brigham City emergency vehicles now have the ability to communicate with traffic signals, allowing first responders to safely clear intersections while reducing the risk of crashes. During a demonstration Thursday morning, Brigham City Fire Engine 221, driven by Capt. Race Black made multiple passes through the Fifth West and Forest Street intersection. On each approach, the traffic light changed...

In a letter to Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, Stratos data center developer Kevin O’Leary said he plans to reduce the proposed project footprint as opponents pursue two lawsuits challenging county actions related to the project. In the letter, written in response to “demands” from Adams, O’Leary said the proposed project area would be reduced from approximately 40,000 acres to about 20,000 ac...

Box Elder County contributed 0,000 to a project centered on a 43-foot statue of the Golden Spike planned for an eight-acre site in Brigham City, but that money is gone after the monument park idea was abandoned and the statue is now headed to This Is The Place Heritage Park in Salt Lake City. The move follows years of public investment and planning that envisioned the monument as a gateway to Gold...

A Weber County judge on Monday sentenced former Box Elder County Justice Court Judge Kevin Christensen to three consecutive prison terms, leaving him facing up to 15 years in prison after determining his public office warranted a harsher sentence. Second District Judge Catherine Conklin imposed three consecutive indeterminate prison terms of up to five years for one count of enticing a minor and t...

Following much debate on Mayor Bruce Nelson’s proposed water rate increase, the Honeyville City Council approved a compromise of stepped increases over the next four years. The council ultimately passed a stepped increase plan which will see the city’s standard 3/4-inch home connection increase from to beginning Aug. 1 this year. In August of 2028 it will increase to and finally increase to in Aug...

The Box Elder News Journal invited every candidate in this month’s Republican Primary Election to submit answers to the following set of questions: · Why have you decided to run for this office? · What do you see as the top three issues facing your respective constituencies, and how would you address them? · In your opinion, what distinguishes you from your opponents? · What do you really want res...

Voting Requirements To vote by mail or in person, you must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old by Election Day and a resident of Utah and of the relevant precinct for at least 30 days. You must be a registered voter. The deadline to register to vote online or by mail is June 12, 2026. Utah also allows same-day voter registration during early voting and on Election Day. Those voters must cast...

Brigham City earned 375 out of 395 possible points on Utah’s annual Fraud Risk Assessment, placing the city in the state’s “very low” risk category for undetected fraud, abuse and noncompliance. The assessment, developed by the Utah Office of the State Auditor, evaluates whether local governments have policies, procedures and internal controls designed to reduce the risk of undetected fraud, abuse...

Several major Brigham City infrastructure projects continue to move forward, including a Box Elder Canyon water pipeline replacement, the Forest Street overpass and a planned power line relocation above the Parsons gravel pit. During Thursday’s city council meeting, Mayor DJ Bott said the Box Elder Canyon project is nearing completion and will bring both culinary and secondary irrigation water thr...