Box Elder News Journal's Podcast

The Box Elder High School girls volleyball season ended at the 5A state tournament last week, but head coach Kristine Harding doesn’t measure this year’s team by the final scoreboard. The Bees finished 16-14 overall and 7-5 in Region 5, good for third place. They ranked 16th in the 5A RPI and reached the state tournament as the last team to qualify. They always knew they’d have their work cut out for them being matched up against top-ranked and returning state champs Woods Cross. The Wildcats lived up to that billing as they swept the Bees in the first round...

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In a finish for the ages, Woods Cross upset the Box Elder High School football team in the first round of the state playoffs last Friday, 29-26. Despite having run the table against competition from Utah this season, the Bees struggled to find an offensive rhythm against the stifling Wildcats’ defense. Woods Cross effectively stuffed the Bees’ typically potent rushing attack and also put a lot of pressure on quarterback Kadyn Reyes, who rarely had much time to survey the field before he was taking a hit from the pass rush. With their defense in control on the wet and...

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A 39-year-old Provo man faces 13 criminal charges following a Perry Police Department undercover investigation in which authorities allege he solicited sexually explicit photographs from someone he believed was a teenage girl. Russell Cory Nielsen faces six second-degree felony counts of enticing a minor, five class A misdemeanor counts of enticing a minor, one class B misdemeanor count of enticing a minor and one third-degree felony count of obstruction of justice, according to amended information dated Oct. 28 in First District Court in Brigham City. According to the charging document, Perry Police Detective Zachary Waddoups began communicating with Nielsen following...

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A 25-year-old Garland man facing kidnapping and sexual assault charges was previously convicted of severely abusing his infant daughter and was the subject of probation violation orders signed five days before the alleged assault. Nathen Aaron Lefevre was charged Oct. 21 in First District Court in Brigham City with aggravated kidnapping and object rape, both first-degree felonies, forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony, and sexual battery, a class A misdemeanor. According to charging documents, Lefevre and the woman attended a camping party July 24. They knew each other and had occasionally kissed at previous gatherings, but she had made clear...

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The 18th annual Beehive Mile race for local fourth and fifth graders was held Thursday, Oct. 15. Each of the 174 students who completed the race received a ribbon for their efforts and win-ners received a medal. Winners of the race were: (front row) Noah Cordner, Jonas Thrapp, Hudson Eby, Amelia Jacoway, Easton Yates, Scott Farley, (second row) Peter Knight, Zion Stucki, Angela Haro, Sawyer Smoot, Remi Johnson, (third row) Grace Curry, Addie Barlow, Braelyn Moyes, and Finley Jones. Also pictured is State Farm Insurance agent Dan Price, who sponsors the annual event. The Box Elder Cross Country team, coached...

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Natural gas-powered electricity generation proposed for the Stratos data center in Box Elder County could contribute to premature deaths and millions of dollars in annual health damages, according to a study commissioned by an environmental advocacy group. The report, produced by EmPower Analytics Group on behalf of Natural Resources Defense Council and released last month, estimates that an initial 3 gigawatts of generating capacity could result in approximately 2 to 15 additional premature deaths annually, depending on the type of power generation equipment used and other assumptions. The report estimates annual economic damages from million to 0 million. At...

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A 22-year-old motorcyclist has died from injuries suffered in an Oct. 27 collision involving Box Elder County Sheriff Kevin Potter near the mouth of Ogden Canyon, with investigators still working to determine what happened. Katie Sue Ruth Huggins died Monday, Nov. 2, according to a statement released by her family. She had remained hospitalized in critical condition following the collision, which occurred at approximately 2:45 p.m. at the intersection of Canyon Road and Valley Drive in Ogden. According to the Ogden Police Department, preliminary information indicates Huggins was traveling eastbound on Canyon Road when her motorcycle collided with a vehicle...

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Brigham City’s proposed indoor gym would require an ongoing city subsidy, officials acknowledged at an Oct. 29 work session as the city council prepares to vote Nov. 5 on whether or not to allocate 0,000 for the facility’s design. Brigham City Recreation Director Chris Horsley estimated annual operating costs of about 6,000 for the proposed 26,500-square-foot, three-court gym, or 0,000 after accounting for money the city would save by no longer renting other facilities. The estimate includes staffing, utilities and maintenance. Horsley based the projections partly on Farmington’s city-owned gymnasium, adjusting for Brigham City’s smaller proposed building. Existing recreation employees...

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The Box Elder County Planning Commission voted Oct. 29 to recommend approval of a proposal to zone roughly 2.1 million acres of currently unzoned land, despite substantial opposition from property owners who spoke at the public hearing. Much of that opposition centered on potential losses in property value and the absence of a publicly released economic impact analysis. The recommendation now goes to the Box Elder County Commission, which has final authority to approve, modify or reject the proposed zoning changes. No property was rezoned by the planning commission’s vote. The vote followed more than 80 minutes of public testimony...

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The Willard City Council is considering applying for a federal grant to help pay for a new fire station building, but faces a tight deadline to prepare the plans and cost estimates needed for the application. At the Oct. 8 meeting, Willard City Planner Madison Brown outlined the requirements for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), which could help finance a proposed 50 foot by 100 foot steel building next to the existing fire station. The pre-application deadline is Dec. 1, leaving the city less than two months to prepare. Brown said the city would work with the Bear River...

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