The Box Elder County Commission voted unanimously to support the appointment of Josh Barson as director of behavioral health under a newly formalized interlocal agreement restructuring oversight of mental health and substance abuse services throughout Bear River Health Department’s service area. Jordan Mathis, director of BRHD, appeared before the commission to recommend Barson for the role. “Josh has nine years’ experience as a licensed clinical social worker. He’s worked for the health department for three years and nine months,” Mathis said, noting that Barson has already served in a clinical leadership role overseeing treatment services. The appointment is part of...

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About 60 volunteers, including Zions Bank employees and their families, painted classrooms inside the Boys and Girls Club of Northern Utah as part of Zions Bank’s 33rd annual Paint-a-Thon. The volunteer effort was among 15 projects completed in Utah. More than 1,100 volunteers tackled projects from Brigham City to Bicknell. Launched in 1991, Zions Bank’s Paint-a-Thon began as a volunteer project for a dozen homes along Utah’s Wasatch Front. Over the past three decades, Zions Bank employees have painted 1,316 homes and nonprofit facilities throughout Utah, Idaho and Wyoming.

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The Box Elder High School softball team has established a winning tradition over the past several seasons, and this season lived up to that standard as the team posted 28 wins and made another deep playoff run, ending up just shy of the state championship series. The team wasted no time asserting its dominance over opponents early in the year as the Bees rattled off 12 straight wins to start the season, highlighted by a couple of hardfought wins over perennial 3A powerhouse Grantsville, which ended up falling in the 3A title game to Emery. Things kept rolling for the...

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A proposed ordinance to overhaul Brigham City’s outdoor lighting regulations was tabled by the city council on June 5 following concerns over clarity, enforcement, and community impact. The ordinance aimed to consolidate and clarify Brigham City’s outdoor lighting rules by requiring fully shielded fixtures, limiting spillover onto neighboring properties, and setting specific standards for brightness and color temperature. It also would have repealed older lighting rules and added lighting plan requirements to the processes for site development. Brigham City Administrator Derek Oyler introduced the measure, and planning consultant Mitch Poulsen provided background on its development. Poulsen, who previously worked on...

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Unless there is a dramatic increase in wholesale power costs this year, Brigham City residents will not pay a power surcharge in 2025-2026 after the city council officially codified a rate of zero for its Power Purchase Adjustment Clause (PPAC) on June 5, amending city utility ordinances to reflect a decision made earlier in the budgeting process. The PPAC is a surcharge mechanism that allows the city to adjust electric utility bills based on fluctuations in wholesale power costs. It was first implemented to stabilize revenues during periods of market volatility, particularly when power prices spiked above projected levels. The...

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Brigham City moved to tighten control over large-scale solar development on June 5, extending a pause on new applications and enacting a temporary ban on commercial solar installations while city codes are updated. The council unanimously approved a resolution extending its existing moratorium on new solar applications for six months. The original pause, adopted in February, was intended to give city staff time to revise policies and engineering standards for solar interconnection with the city-owned electric grid. In a related action, the council passed an ordinance establishing a temporary land use regulation under Utah law that prohibits new commercial solar...

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The Box Elder County Judicial Nominating Commission has scheduled a meeting on Friday, June 13, to review applications for a justice court judge to replace Kevin Christensen, who resigned in March. The Commission will begin the meeting at 12 p.m. in the Box Elder County Attorney’s Office, 81 N. Main Street, Brigham City. The early portion of the meeting is scheduled for public comment about issues facing the Utah judiciary and improvements to the system. Public comments will be accepted from 1 to 1:15 p.m. Following the public comment period, the meeting will be closed to allow commission members to...

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Following criticism from vendors and members of the public last week, the Box Elder Chamber of Commerce reversed course on a decision that would have prohibited vendors from selling drinks at this year’s Peach Days festival, The controversy centered on the official vendor application for Peach Days, which outlined restrictions on what could be sold at the event. Circulating widely on social media, the application stated: “Peach Days does not permit the sale or hand out of drinks by any vendors. This includes: Soda, bottled water, or any drink of any kind…” The language on the application stemmed from language...

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Candidates across Box Elder County have filed to run for mayoral and council seats in the 2025 municipal elections, with a mix of 20 mayoral and 86 council candidates entering the field. While some races are uncontested, others feature crowded contests between incumbents and challengers. A primary election—if needed—is scheduled for Aug. 12, with mail-in ballots available starting three weeks prior. The primary will reduce each race to two candidates per open seat. The general election will take place on Nov. 4, also with ballots mailed three weeks in advance. Bear River City Mayor Megan Armstrong is not seeking re-election....

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Brigham City formally introduced Alec Hansel as its new fire marshal during the June 5 council meeting, marking a structural shift in the city’s fire department leadership. Hansel joins the city from Weber Fire District, where he served as a deputy fire marshal for the cities of Farr West and Marriott-Slaterville. His experience includes fire code enforcement, development review, fire investigation, and public education. He is also a certified youth fire-setting intervention specialist and a sworn law enforcement officer, credentials the city believes will strengthen coordination between fire and police services. Brigham City Fire Chief Brandon Thueson told the council,...

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