Universities Celebrate Commencements – KSUB News Summary

>>Southern Utah Students Getting Diplomas

(St. George, UT) -- Graduating students in southern Utah are receiving their diplomas. SUU held its commencement ceremonies on Thursday and Friday of last week.  The commencement ceremony for graduates of Utah Tech University takes place tomorrow at Greater Zion Stadium in St. George. Associate's degrees will be handed out in the morning while another ceremony will be held for Bachelor's and Master's degrees later in the evening. It adds to an already busy week in St. George as Washington County is hosting the Iron Man North American Championships.

>>Washington City Mayor Updates Water Situation

(Washington City, UT) -- Mayor Kress Staheli says it was another great year for water in Washington City last year. Staheli released an op-ed in St. George News yesterday highlighting how 2023 has set the city up to be in good standing for water this year. He said the current snowpack is 120 percent of median and nearby reservoirs are almost at full capacity. That includes Gunlock at 100 percent and Sand Hollow at 98 percent capacity. The mayor also mentioned how this year's snowpack will be beneficial considering the amount of time Washington County has spent under drought conditions over the past two decades.

[[ watch for updates ]]

>>Oak Grove Fire Is 50-Percent Contained

(Washington County, UT) -- Officials say the Oak Grove brush fire in Washington County is about 50 percent contained as of Tuesday. The fire started Monday near the Oak Grove Campground in Dixie National Forest when a UTV caught fire. The fire has burned about 22 acres with multiple engines and a helicopter on site. Fire officials told reporters there wasn't a lot of fire activity overnight.

>>Campus Protester Is Facing New, Old Charges

(South Salt Lake, UT) -- A 22-year-old protester is facing trespass, disorderly conduct and other charges after he was arrested Tuesday on the University of Utah campus. He was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail and released. Police say he may be one of the key organizers of the protests on Monday and Tuesday that led to the arrest of 19 people. The man is also previously charged with disrupting a meeting and disorderly conduct in connection with an incident in late November at the Marriott Library. A pre-trial conference in that case is scheduled for next week.

>>Officials Break Ground On Water Conservancy Building

(Cedar City, UT) -- A new building for the Central Iron County Water Conservancy District is in the works. Officials broke ground on the maintenance and office building in Cedar City this week. It is being built on a ten-acre site and the district expects the building to be completed in about a year. The water district was established in 1997 and has added more than 58 million dollars in assets since then.