With thanks to

🌨️ 38 – 49° Logan | 🌨️ 34 – 55° Salt Lake

🌨️ 35 – 51° Manti | 🌦️ 44 – 62° Moab

🌨️ 35 – 46° Cedar City | 🌧️ 47 – 55° St. George

Good morning!

The fourth annual Feed Utah food drive takes place this weekend, and all you have to do to help is set out a bag of food on your porch.

On Saturday, volunteers around the state will pick up the food that people set out and take it to collection centers. The donations will then be distributed to food pantries and people in need across Utah.

About 415,000 Utahns suffer from food insecurity, meaning 1 in 6 children don’t know where their next meal will come from.

“No child should have to go to bed hungry, no parent should have to send a child to school hungry, no family should have to choose between a roof over their head or food on their table, and no elderly person’s health should be compromised by a lack of access to adequate nutritious food,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said at a kickoff event.

Read more about the food drive and how you can get involved.

Also on our minds:

Did you see that forecast? A severe storm system will cover the U.S. starting Wednesday
Will the IOC bar transgender athletes at the Olympics?
Huntsman Center recollections flow as end of an era draws near

Is Utah passing too many laws? Gov. Cox thinks so

Brigham Tomco writes:

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said he will discuss changes with lawmakers to decrease the number of bills jammed into the state’s short legislative session.

Despite its abbreviated session, Utah has seen a steady increase in the number of bills introduced and passed by the House and Senate’s 104 members over the last decade, and especially in the last three years.

In 2025, the Legislature introduced 959 bills and resolutions — a new record. And it sent 582 bills to the governor’s desk — second only to 2024, which saw elected representatives write, debate and approve 591 pieces of legislation.

“I think we passed way too many bills,” Cox told reporters on the final night of the legislative session.

Read more about whether Utah lawmakers will limit bills and how we compare to other states.

The man behind BYU’s rise: How Kevin Young’s NBA methods turned the season around

When Kevin Young first laid out his vision for the BYU men’s basketball team, he was met with a fair share of skepticism.

BYU hasn’t had a player drafted in the NBA since Jimmer Fredette in 2011, but Young promised to make the program a pipeline to the NBA. Just before Young’s first season, he said BYU’s roster had enough talent for the Cougars to finish in the top half of the expanded, 16-team Big 12 — one of the top two college basketball conferences in the country — in his first year.

The start to the season was a little rough, but BYU has won eight straight games and is now ranked No. 17 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The team includes the most improved Big 12 player and the No. 1 prospect in the land.

Read more about how the first-year Cougars coach has delivered on his promises — so far — to put BYU back on the national college basketball landscape.

Utah Business 2025 Executive Excellence Nominations

It’s time to recognize executive team members for their strategic vision, resilient leadership, and profound influence. Nominate before April 18!

Utah

Deseret News archives: Elizabeth Smart miraculously found, returned to her family in 2003 (Deseret News)
Renae Cowley & Frank Pignanelli: The legislative session is over. What's next for Utah? (Deseret News)
These Salt Lake bus stop designs advertise a not-so-subtle message (KSL)
Tremonton fire chief and Box Elder judge linked in child abuse case, documents say (ABC4)

Politics

Senate Democrats get jammed by Republicans in lose-lose shutdown dilemma (Deseret News)
CBP Home: Trump administration repurposes immigration app to aid deportations (Deseret News)
Education Department layoffs gut its civil rights office, leaving discrimination cases in limbo (The Associated Press)
Press briefing showcases feud between White House and traditional media (Deseret News)

The U.S.

Another unusually intense March storm is coming this week across the U.S. (Deseret News)
U.S. inflation ticks down in February but tariff concerns rising (Deseret News)

The World

Greenland’s center-right party wins, and the country eyes independence (Deseret News)
How these Jewish genealogists are repairing Nazi ‘dirty deeds’ (Deseret News)
Who is Mahmoud Khalil, Palestinian student activist facing US deportation? (BBC)
Iran calls Trump's offer to negotiate a new nuclear deal "a deception" (Axios)

Faith

Church of Jesus Christ celebrates Women’s History Month with book release on Young Women organization (Deseret News)
Unruly passenger booked into jail after swallowing rosary beads during flight (Deseret News)

Health

Texas measles outbreak spreads to Oklahoma (Deseret News)
Opinion: Why is colorectal cancer spreading among young Americans? (Deseret News)

🗓️ Events Calendar

We put together a list of events and activities going on around the state of Utah in March. Check it out and let us know if we are missing anything!

Here are some highlights for events in Utah today:

March 13 — BYU softball vs. Idaho State | 4 p.m. / 6 p.m.
March 13 — BYU baseball vs. UCF | 6 p.m.
March 13 — Utah Tech baseball vs. CSU Bakersfield | 6:05 p.m.
March 12-16 — “Million Dollar Quartet” | Egyptian Theatre, Park City

Check your inbox tomorrow morning for more news from the Beehive State and beyond!

And reply to this email or email newsletters@deseretnews.com to tell us what you think of Utah Today.

Thanks for reading!

— Ariel