🌦️ 41 – 58° Logan 💧 70% | 🌦️ 49 – 61° Salt Lake 💧 50% |

⛅ 34 – 55° Manti 💧 10% | ⛅ 50 – 69° Moab

⛅ 34 – 55° Cedar City 💧 30% | 🌤️ 46 – 66° St. George 💧 10%

Good morning!

🏈 The 2025 NFL draft is officially over. In the final rounds on Saturday, four players with Utah ties were drafted, as our Brandon Judd reported.

The following players joined former Corner Canyon High and Roy High quarterback Jaxson Dart, who was drafted 25th overall in the first round by the New York Jets:

🔴 Fourth round: Utah State wide receiver Jalen Royals was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs.

🔴 Fifth round: Kearns High linebacker Jeffrey Bassa was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs.

🔵 Fifth round: Highland High tight end Jackson Hawes was drafted by the Buffalo Bills.

🟠 Seventh round: Utah tight end Caleb Lohner was drafted by the Denver Broncos.

The Broncos' drafting of Loehner saved an 84-year streak of either a BYU or Utah player being selected in the NFL draft. It also marked the second-consecutive year the Broncos have drafted a Utah pass-catcher.

Read more about these players' selections and our draft coverage here.

Conservation doesn’t have to be controversial — just ask this man

For 44 years, Dave Livermore helped save important landscapes in Utah and Nevada with The Nature Conservancy.

Livermore had led TNC's Utah program since 1995 and officially retired in 2024. He was honored Tuesday for his service.

“It is amazing to me and many people how he can do so much good with a single vision,” said Hank Hemingway, a board member of The Nature Conservancy in Utah, at the ceremony.

Our Amy Joi O'Donoghue took a look at Livermore's legacy, which includes:

Protecting over 1 million acres of land in Utah and 500,000 acres in Nevada.
Leading 240 Utah conservation projects.
Raising $303 million across eight campaigns in private and public funds.

What stood out during the pope's funeral

The world said goodbye to Pope Francis on Saturday with approximately 250,000 people showing up to the Vatican for the pope's funeral, Kelsey Dallas reported.

“He was a pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone,” said Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, in his homily.

Among the politicians present were President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump as well as former President Joe Biden and Jill Biden.

Elder Rubén V. Alliaud, a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife, Sister Fabiana Bennett Alliaud, also attended the funeral as representatives of the church.

The conclave where the cardinals will choose Pope Francis' successor is expected to begin in early May.

Read more about and see photos of the pope's funeral here.

Utah

Utah ended up with a near-normal snowpack. Here’s how the rest of the West fared (Deseret News)
Moving rails in Salt Lake underground is costly. Will new benefits report change the debate? (Deseret News)
SLC's 'Speedy Spud' runs half marathon in potato outfit to showcase love for potatoes (KSL.com)
Search called off for missing U.S. Navy sailor from Utah (Fox 13)
Fire causes estimated $200K in damage to La Verkin home (St. George News)
Water to Westwater: Small Utah community near Navajo Nation receives running water (Church News)

Health

A simple guide to healthy aging (Deseret News)
He had 2 months to live. Cancer research 'that seemed like science fiction' saved his life (CBS News)

Education

Over 3,600 students graduate from Weber State University (Deseret News)
114 wins, 114 scholarships: How the Utah Jazz are changing lives 1 scholarship at a time (Deseret News)

Politics

Utah Rep. Burgess Owens spearheads efforts to codify Trump executive orders on education (Deseret News)
Judge demands answers on whether 2-year-old U.S. citizen was deported to Honduras (CBS News)

The Nation and the World

Has Ukraine ever recovered from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster? (Deseret News)
Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew in Epstein sex trafficking scandal, has died (NPR)
Mini dachshund rescued after spending 529 days in Australian wilderness (BBC)

Sports

Richie Saunders will return to BYU for his senior season (Deseret News)
What players with Utah ties have signed as NFL free agents after going undrafted? (Deseret News)
What Brock Harris found at BYU that no other school had (Deseret News)
Iowa forward Seydou Traore transfers to Utah (Deseret News)
'We just started': Inside an Air Force lieutenant's surprise ascent to Olympic hopeful (KSL.com)
What the Rockets-Warriors series can tell us about how NBA rosters are built (Deseret News)

🗓️ Events Calendar

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

Here are some highlights for events in Utah today:

Washington City Cotton Days | Washington
Beltane Festival | Utah State Fairpark, Salt Lake City
U of U baseball vs. Iowa State | noon
U of U baseball vs. Kansas | 1 p.m.
USU softball vs. UNLV | noon
UVU baseball vs. California Baptist | 12:05 p.m.
SUU softball vs. UT Arlington | noon

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!

— Krysyan