Owners of the Homestead Resort in Utah’s Heber Valley are seeking to sell the historic property to a high-end Salt Lake City developer with tentative plans to demolish most of its iconic buildings and construct a new resort.

Steve Eddington with Legacy Homestead, the site’s current owner, said Thursday that Watts Enterprises has signed a purchase agreement for the 50-acre landmark, known to generations of Utahns for its rustic character, hillside golf course, trails and unique hot springs crater.

Talks are preliminary, according to Eddington, as the two parties work through due diligence to complete the sale.

“We don’t have anything solidified yet. We’ve got a lot of heavy lifting to do at this point,” he said, declining to comment further.

Watts Enterprises — headquartered on Highland Drive in Salt Lake City — bills itself as a luxury developer with 30 years of experience in building residential and commercial properties at what it calls a “platinum standard.” It has built or is nearing completion on as many as 17 upscale assisted-living communities and apartment complexes, along with a couple of commercial buildings in Salt Lake City and Erda, according to its website.

Russ Watts, president of the company, did not respond Thursday to a request for comment.

Midway City Planner Michael Henke said initial plans call for revamping the resort in five phases that would raze all but one of its existing structures. Only Virginia House, adjacent to the resort’s main building and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is likely to remain.

According to city documents, the Homestead’s old main building, adjacent cottages and other structures would be replaced with up to 290 new dwellings and support buildings, including hotels, condominiums and a series of residential-style estate lodges, bungalows, villas and so-called glamping sites. The overhaul would also add a conference center, spas and a wide range of recreational amenities.

Up to 74.5 percent of the development would be open space, according to Watts' application, referred to as the "Homestead Resort Revitalization" in city documents.

The resort is expected to remain open throughout the overhaul.

The Homestead Resort was constructed in 1886 by Swiss-born Simon Schneitter to serve guests enjoying its hot and naturally flowing mineral waters that pool inside of a large rock crater.

Known for its placid, old-fashioned feel, the family resort and its tree-lined grounds and golf course are closely associated with Midway and Heber, about three miles to the east.

Wasatch County is growing rapidly, with new residents drawn by its clean air, easy access to recreation and relative proximity to Salt Lake City, Park City and Utah County. Much of that growth has centered on Heber, the county seat, which has seen its population rise from 11,500 in 2010 to about 15,800 today, according to U.S. Census Bureau.

Midway’s elected leaders have given initial approval to transferring a 2008 land-use master plan governing the Homestead Resort to Watts Enterprises.

And the prospective owner’s formal request to alter that master plan is scheduled to go before Midway’s planning commission next week, Henke said.

“This is our first view at this,” he said — although Watts, at the city’s request, has held at least one “public participation meeting” so far to float some of its ideas. Additional public hearings and meetings are forthcoming, Henke said.

“Our goal is to really make sure we engage the public early,” he said. “It’s going to take quite a while to go through all of this.”

Members of a group calling itself Pure Midway, dedicated in part to preserving the city’s rural character, are urging the developer to coordinate with Midway residents and historic preservationists for guidance on saving more of the resort’s old buildings, using historic-facade easements and locating new construction in ways that protect the resort’s mature trees.

"Many Midway citizens as well as many visitors are hopeful development of the area will maintain the integrity of The Homestead as a special and unique Utah resort that exudes a calmer, simpler yesteryear," the group said in a statement.

"We realize the developers’ investment in a project like this will be substantial with hopes for a healthy return," it continued. "Citizens’ hopes are that this group might be sensitive to the community and how this site has shaped Midway."

Henke said the city of Midway intends to place at least two conditions on any changes to the Homestead master plan.

City officials want to keep at least 90 percent of the residential units at the revamped resort as rentals, as opposed to permanent residences, in order to maintain Midway's revenues from what are known as transient taxes, levied on overnight stays.

Midway also wants more connectivity between the resort’s many biking and hiking trails and the city’s Main Street, Henke said, in hopes of both improving safety and boosting retail activity from visitors.

The city planner said Midway also has leverage through the Homestead master plan to set architectural standards on new construction. City officials, he said, are debating whether to require that the resort keep its existing look of a Southern plantation or whether it should match the Swiss-European theme of architecture in Midway’s downtown area nearby.

A lieutenant with Brigham Young University’s police department took information from private records created by other Utah County law enforcement agencies and passed it on to university officials investigating students for breaking school rules.

His actions sparked a criminal investigation that lasted more than two years and has been done for months.

So, how many records involving how many students did Lt. Aaron Rhoades access? That information is not public.

Neither are the answers to questions like these: At whose direction did he look at the nonpublic police databases? What kind of information did he share? How did the university use that information?

When will Utahns get to know these answers? Possibly never.

Since authorities began investigating BYU police in 2016, the state Department of Public Safety and the Utah attorney general’s office have remained tight-lipped, and have blocked The Salt Lake Tribune’s records requests seeking that information.

Officials publicly acknowledged for the first time this week their reason why: A Utah judge issued a secrecy order in the investigation nearly three years ago at the request of prosecutors — an order that remains in place to this day.

What judge is keeping the investigation behind closed doors?

That, too, is a secret.

“This cannot stand,” said Tribune Editor Jennifer Napier-Pearce. “This investigation was conducted by the state of Utah and should be available to the public.”

She said the newspaper is exploring its options, including possible legal action, to get access to records it has been fighting for since 2016.

“While we’re happy to finally know why they haven’t turned over their findings to us,” she said, “we’re very concerned to learn that a secrecy order is in place.”

The Tribune on Wednesday received a response to a records request in which the attorney general’s office explained why it can’t release information on the completed investigation.

“Beginning in July 2016, secrecy orders have been entered at the request of the state of Utah,” the denial reads. “These secrecy orders entered at the request of the state of Utah remain in place.”

The Tribune asked BYU for comment and a spokeswoman said all they could do is repeat the same sentence stated above. Rhoades’ attorney, Derek Willliams, declined to comment for this story because his client was not part of the court action.

A report released last week gave a hint at the scope of the investigation — that state authorities believe Rhoades accessed private police reports from Orem police, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office and Provo police over a two-year period. He took information from those reports and shared them with BYU’s Dean of Students Office, the Title IX office and the Honor Code Office.

State prosecutors could not speak about the court action, citing the secrecy order. But Criminal Deputy Craig Barlow, with the attorney general’s office, explained the process generally, saying a prosecutor’s request for secrecy is not all that unusual. He estimated that investigators make dozens of these secrecy requests every year — usually to not alert a potential suspect to the police’s efforts.

Secrecy orders are also often used in financial crimes, Barlow explained, where investigators may want a bank to hand over records without telling a suspect. They are also frequently used in investigating drug-trafficking operations.

There are no expiration dates on these orders.

This means some investigations could remain under seal indefinitely, though Barlow said investigations are most often made public if prosecutors decide to file charges.

The law "is almost silent about what happens when you get to the end,” Barlow said. “There really is no guidance about how to go about an exit strategy.”

Greg Ferbrache — a former prosecutor with the attorney general’s office who is now in private practice — said the secrecy orders are not intended to keep the public from knowing about what happened. He said it is most often used to protect the constitutional rights of those who are accused.

“Its purpose is not to keep an investigation under secrecy forever,” he said.

But in the investigation into BYU police, it’s not clear why the records would remain under seal.

There is no pending investigation, and the attorney general’s office announced in October that prosecutors had decided months earlier to not file criminal charges against Rhoades. A panel of prosecutors had decided the case against him “lacks a reasonable likelihood of conviction,” the office said.

The Tribune obtained BYU documents in 2016 that showed Rhoades accessed a countywide database to collect information from another police department for an Honor Code investigation of an alleged sexual assault victim.

The documents show an Honor Code investigator contacted Rhoades in 2015 asking him for information in the rape case. The lieutenant looked at the records that same day, and relayed intimate details back to the investigator.

The Honor Code at BYU — which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — is a set of administrative rules that forbids alcohol and coffee, restricts contact between male and female students, imposes a strict dress code, and bans expressions of romantic affection between people of the same gender.

Rhoades retired from the BYU police department last fall, according to his attorney, and later gave up his police certification after the state’s Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) began its own investigation. He had been a police officer in Utah for 34 years, according to POST records.

The criminal investigation is at the heart of why BYU may lost its police force entirely, after it was announced last week that state officials are seeking a historic decertification.

In a letter to BYU, state officials say they want the university to lose its policing powers because the department did not conduct an internal investigation into allegations of misconduct by a specific BYU police officer during a two-year period ending in April 2018. The letter doesn’t name the officer or the specific misconduct allegations, but the timeframe covers the same period DPS was investigating Rhoades.

DPS officials also say that BYU police failed to respond to a subpoena that was issued as state regulators were investigating an officer for misconduct. A December letter to BYU police instructed the agency to allow DPS access to all “records, personnel and electronic data” so investigators could assess how its officers use a police records database, the command structure at BYUPD and “the powers, authority and limitations” of BYU police officers.

BYU has said it plans to appeal the state’s decision to decertify its police force, which would take effect Sept. 1.

An issue also at play is the ongoing debate about whether BYU police should be subject to Utah’s record laws like every other police department in the state. The Tribune has sued to force BYU police to abide by the Utah Government Records Access and Management Act, or GRAMA. The newspaper received a favorable ruling from a state district judge, but BYU has appealed to the Utah Supreme Court. A hearing has not been scheduled.

Attorneys for the campus argue in court papers that as a private institution, BYU should not be subject to records laws meant for government agencies.

But BYU officials have supported legislation that would require its police departments to be subject to open records laws. That bill, if passed, would not be retroactive and wouldn’t necessarily settle the ongoing litigation.

Happy Friday!

The Census Bureau plans to tap Department of Homeland Security files on millions of immigrants, including noncitizens, as part of its data collection for the 2020 Census. It comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is weighing whether the Census can include a question about citizenship in the next head count. The files would include information on immigrants’ citizenship status, addresses, birth dates and Social Security numbers. Experts says the request has a number of plausible explanations, and does not necessarily mean the administration is trying to sidestep recent judicial rulings barring the citizenship question. [AP][NYTimes]

Topping the news: Gov. Gary Herbert and legislative leaders announce they will no longer pursue a massive overhaul of the state’s tax code during the current legislative session. The abrupt turnaround came amid mounting pressure from industry, community and education leaders. [Trib][Fox13][DNews]

-> Gov. Gary Herbert apologizes to a group of young protesters waging a sit-in at his office for an ‘enormous misunderstanding’ over a bill to ban conversion therapy, which was changed dramatically with his support. [Trib][Fox13]

-> A school safety bill aimed at protecting Utah’s students in the case of an active shooter, has been revived after stalling in committee. But the new version gutted many of the original provisions. [Trib][DNews]

Tweets of the day: From @ndillydalley “In case I haven’t been clear — I am glad the governor and Spencer Cox apologized, but until I see action on their words I don’t accept their apologies and they’ve lost my trust.”

-> From @OlsenHiatt “For those saying an apology isn’t enough, you’re right, but we weren’t there to demand Herbert move legislative mountains in a day. We were there for an apology for his words, and we got that.”

-> From @zmortensen155 “Just to recap. this year, Utah voted to: • keep gay conversion therapy legal • stop medicare expansion• stop the approved and voted-for medical marijuana program • keep full strength beer illegal • make pre-marital sex legal (in 2019). Utah is living in the stone age.”

Behind the Headlines: Tribune senior managing editor Matt Canham, reporter Bethany Rodgers, and columnist Robert Gehrke join KCPW’s Roger McDonough to talk about the week’s top stories, including the amendments to a bill to ban conversion therapy in Utah. Every Friday at 9 a.m., stream “Behind the Headlines” at kcpw.org, or tune in to KCPW 88.3 FM or Utah Public Radio for the broadcast. Join the live conversation by calling (801) 355-TALK.

Trib Caucus: Tribune reporters covering the Legislature look inside tax reform and behind the fury of LGBT advocates over the conversion therapy debate. [Trib]

Friday Quiz: Last week, 95 percent of you knew about pushes to ban conversion therapy in Utah, but only 40 percent knew about the number of bird-plane collisions at the Salt Lake City International Airport. Think you kept up with the news this week? Take our quiz to find out. A new one will post every Friday morning. [Trib]

Happy Birthday: on Sunday to Former Tribune editor Terry Orme

In other news: Two missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be deported from Russia for teaching English without a license. [Trib][Fox13]

-> Utah is among multiple states that prohibit marriage between first cousins out of concern for the gene pool, one local couple is looking to challenge that through an online petition. [Trib][Fox13]

-> The Utah Transit Authority is looking for public feedback on whether to spend funds on increasing bus frequency or to cover more geographic area. [Trib]

-> A House-passed bill that would have allowed Utah drivers to run red lights in some circumstances — after stopping for at least 90 seconds — was killed in a Senate committee after strong opposition from law enforcement, prosecutors, cities and the Utah Department of Transportation. [Trib]

-> Legislative Republicans are digging in on a split over a bill that sought to allow for beer with higher alcohol content to be sold in grocery stores. It passed the Senate, but he House changed the measure to only study the proposed change. Both sides appear unwilling to negotiate further. [Trib]

-> Tribune columnist Robert Gehrke denounces conversion therapy calling it a pseudo-science and shaming those who continue to sustain it. [Trib]

-> Pat Bagley illustrates campaigns against socialism. [Trib]

Nationally: President Donald Trump tweeted Friday morning that his border wall already “is being built and is well under construction.” He added, "Many additional contracts are close to being signed. Far ahead of schedule despite all of the Democrat Obstruction and Fake News!” [TheHill]

-> The U.S. House overwhelmingly approves a measure that started as a response to anti-Israel comments by Rep, Ilhan Omar but developed into an all-inclusive condemnation of bias and bigotry. [NYTimes]

-> Bernie Sanders is the only 2020 presidential candidate thus far, who has shown support for Rep. Ilhan Omar’s controversial comments about Israel, he warned against viewing them as anti-semitic. [Politico]

-> Former Trump presidential campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, was sentenced to about four years in prison for tax evasion and bank fraud, the district court’s sentence was far less than the one he had faced under federal guidelines. [WaPost][NYTimes]

-> President Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, files a lawsuit against the Trump organization for an alleged breach of contract that occurred after it refused to pay his court fees. [NYTimes]

-> A ruling by a federal appeals court broadened constitutional protections for undocumented immigrants seeking asylum at the border, opening a potential new legal gateway for some to stay in the country. [NYTimes]

Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Send us a note to cornflakes@sltrib.com.

Lee Davidson and Christina Giardinelli

twitter.com/LeeDavi82636879, twitter.com/C_Giardinelli

Much commentary followed U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart’s Feb. 26 op-ed “U.S. faces an imminent threat of socialism.”

Aside from his comments echoing a 21st century version of the 1950s Red Scare, there is a threat far more imminent than a viral spread of “socialism.”

Stewart begins his article remembering the occasion of his swearing in as an officer in the United States Air Force, an oath stating in part, “I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States ... I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. So help me God.”

I took this oath as an officer in the United States Navy and administered it to numerous Navy officer candidates during my three-year assignment as Utah’s Navy Officer Programs recruiter in the mid-’70s.

In just days to come, the Senate will vote to support or deny the House resolution to nullify President Donald Trump’s declaration of a “national emergency” at our southern border, a declaration in which the president is thumbing his nose at the legislative branch’s power of the purse in an end run to fund his wall.

If ever there was a time for our representatives and senators to step forward to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, it’s now!

Come to think of it, they took the same oath. Perhaps they should review it.

Jeff McComas, Holladay

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I appreciate Sen. Mitt Romney acknowledging that the earth is warming and asking, “Do humans contribute to it?” (Tribune, Feb. 21). Fortunately, the answer has been well established by decades of scientific inquiry.

Is it a natural cycle? No, because the current temperatures have risen too fast compared past changes. Volcanoes? No, for the small amount of greenhouse gas they have emitted can’t account for the observed warming. The sun? No, because solar irradiance has declined slightly while the earth has warmed. The only explanation that fits the observations by climate scientists is the rise in human-generated greenhouse gasses.

Romney also stated, “I hope there is something we can do.” Indeed, there are many things we can do. One of the most effective things would be to pass the bipartisan bill recently introduced in the U.S House of Representatives: the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. This would place a steadily increasing fee on fossil fuels and return all net proceeds to the pockets of Americans. It would be good for people, good for the economy, and good for the climate.

Now is the time for Romney, Sen. Mike Lee and Reps. Rob Bishop, Chris Stewart, John Curtis and Ben McAdams to support this legislation.

David Folland, Sandy

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I doubt you’ve heard of Gertrude “Tommy” Tompkins.

She was a pilot in the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots — the WASPs. And her courage during World War II deserves a long-overdue tribute during Women’s History Month.

Born in 1913 in New Jersey, Tommy was a shy society girl.

Tommy’s timidity grew from a life-long stutter (called dyslalia) and compelled her to lead an introverted life.

In 1940 she fell in love with an American pilot flying for England in the Battle of Britain. Research indicates he was probably Stanley Michael Kolendorski and we know that Kolendorski, flying a British Hurricane, was shot down and killed over the English Channel in April, 1941.

On Sept. 10, 1942 — nine months after Pearl Harbor was bombed and brought America into the war against the Axis nations — an article appeared in The New York Herald Tribune with the following headline: “Women Pilots to Fly for Army.”

More than 25,000 women responded to WASP recruitment. Some 1,800 were accepted, and about 1,100 graduated from training and began flying virtually every model of aircraft used by America in World War II — from the swift fighters to the giant B-29s that would drop the atomic bomb.

Tommy became a WASP partly to honor Kolendorski, and her flight training began in 1943.

Would her stutter wash her out of the training program? Radio procedures were of paramount importance to pilots.

Tommy overcame her handicap by singing her radio responses and instructions. She had learned as a child that she did not stutter when singing, or when speaking foreign languages (she was fluent in French and Italian).

She passed with flying colors and was one of 126 WASPs moved up to fly fighter planes. At the Advanced Pursuit School in Brownsville, Texas, Gertrude was assigned to fly a P-51D — one of the war’s more remarkable aircraft. It was fast, maneuverable and had great range.

The first time Gertrude flew a P-51 her stutter left her, never to return.

Specialists in speech therapy don’t fully understand why this sometimes happens, but her stutter ceased while Tommy was flying at 400 miles an hour. She now had a voice. She came out of her shell. She asserted herself.

On Oct. 26, 1944, the 32-year-old Gertrude lifted her P-51 off the runway at Mines Field in Los Angeles, heading for Newark, where the plane would be shipped to Europe to be flown in combat by male pilots.

Of the 38 WASP pilots killed in World War II, Tommy is the only one still missing. A cult of searchers continues to look for her.

Gertrude Tompkins is symbolic of the women who began breaking the mold. Unlike the male pilots, there was no life insurance, no hospitalization and lower pay for the women. When a woman pilot died, they passed the hat to make sure she had a coffin and transportation back home.

Congress disbanded the WASP because of pressure from male pilots who felt the women were taking their jobs.

Congress now has more women members than ever before. I’d like to think that our stuttering Tommy and her WASP sisters led the way in giving a courageous voice to women — a voice as sure and beautiful as the ringing of a bell.

James W. Ure is author of “Seized by the Sun: The Life and Disappearance of World War II Pilot Gertrude Tompkins” (Chicago Review Press, 2018). He lives and writes in Salt Lake City.

Utah is in the midst of a suicide epidemic, yet the Utah House leadership and the Rules Committee are dragging their feet in letting House Bill 209 out of Rules so the evidence-based Extreme Risk Protective Order can be considered by legislators.

Across the country, in the 13 states where Extreme Risk Protective Orders have been put into law, there has been a significant reduction in firearm-related suicide deaths. Lives are being saved and families are being spared agony by this legislation. It’s time for Utah’s families to reap those same benefits.

Consider the facts. Utah’s suicide deaths outnumber homicide deaths by a staggering rate of 8-1, and nearly half of those suicides are committed with a firearm.

This is preventable. Having the capability to temporarily put space between a person in crisis and his or her firearm makes sense.

Utah lives matter. All lives matter.

Put pressure on the House Rules Committee to get HB209 out of committee and into the hands of legislators.

Marisa L. Wall, Bountiful

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Education is important. Utah is falling behind. Why are we making potentially damning tax cuts now?

I teach middle school students with severe intellectual disabilities. They challenge me and bring me joy every day. The past two weeks are the first time I have had adequate help in over three years. Notice I say adequate, because it is still not ideal.

Two of my kids require one-to-one attention due to behavior needs, and three others are regularly aggressive. I am expected to be a behavior specialist, counselor, supervisor and teacher simultaneously. There is literally not enough time in the day to finish everything.

Teachers everywhere feel the pressure. Students who exhibit problematic behaviors are finally getting their right to an education. However, this means that teachers have second graders who destroy property and threaten others, requiring room evacuation of all students, in both special and general ed settings.

As we rightly must teach every student, we need more resources just for basic safety. We need behavior specialists, mentors, counselors and aides, but we can’t even staff teachers. This is the reality of underfunding.

Members of the Utah Legislature have promised since the Great Recession that they will fully fund education when our economy recovered. Our per-pupil spending is still lower than 2008, and our students’ needs are ever growing.

If you know a teacher or care about a child, call your representative. Tell them that cuts to the income tax will be devastating to the future of Utah.

Elizabeth Ellingson, Murray

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Various newspaper articles have indicated the majority of Utah's legislators are LDS/Mormon, and this could explain what has happened to the bills and propositions that A. Joe Veltri mentioned in his Feb. 27 letter in the Public Forum.It would seem that Thomas Jefferson's comments on the intent of the United States Constitution's separation of church and state may not apply to those in Temple Square.

Pushing for special elections or replacement bills is not only counterproductive and disruptive, but indicates the general voting public did not make the “proper” decision.Utah’s population is growing, and the next elections could be interesting.

Lee Nieswender, West Jordan

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Sometimes we have no idea that our lives are about to change. I had been teaching at what was then Utah Valley State College for about a year when I first met our new president, Bill Sederburg.

While I was impressed by his warm smile and sense of humor, little did I know that this man would not only become a mentor and sponsor, but also help me grow professionally by giving me strategic, challenging and meaningful opportunities.

In contemporary jargon, Bill was a “male ally.” Our newly released research shows that male allies play a critical role in supporting and advancing women in the workplace. They can do this in a variety of ways. As mentors, men can share their own leadership development stories and convey to women confidence in their ability to succeed. Men can get involved in the hiring processes and make sure women are included in the application pool.

Allies acknowledge women’s contributions, both large and small, and give recognition in public settings. I remember many a time Bill would introduce me to a group of people by praising my latest project or endeavor. It sent a message to my peers and superiors that I was an important part of his efforts.

Yet, as much as it helps to be mentored, our data reveal that what women really want is “sponsorship.” Sponsors go beyond advice and praise. Sponsors act. Bill positioned me to serve on important campus committees. He introduced me to key players, legislators and community leaders who found funding for my research. He provided opportunities for me to discover and use my voice, as when he asked me to create solutions after learning that Utah had substantially fewer women graduating from college than the national average.

True allies go beyond cheerleading. Bill didn’t validate me by telling me, “You’re great!” Instead he gave me projects and opportunities that conveyed the message, “I trust you and know you can do this!”

Even when I wasn’t quite sure I was ready, these opportunities built my capacity and developed skills that only came from taking risks.

We know that organizations thrive when both women and men hold top positions, and we know that male allies make a huge difference. So, why do some men still sit on the sidelines? One reason is that, even if the majority of men want to help women in the organization succeed, many of the challenges that women face are invisible to them. Good intentions will only create change if supported by good information and awareness. So, if you want to be an ally, talk to the women in your workplace. Ask how you can have their backs. Believing in them will help them believe in themselves. Be a mentor but, more importantly, be like my dear friend Bill. Be a sponsor! #CountOnMeToo

Susan R. Madsen, Ed.D., is the Orin R. Woodbury Professor of Leadership & Ethics in the Woodbury School of Business at Utah Valley University. She is also the founder and director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project.

Carl Rupp first tasted shaved ice while on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Every day, Rupp would see a crowd of people outside a tiny shack near his St. Louis apartment and wonder what the fuss was about.

“After about two months, I decided to stop and buy one,” he said. And to his surprise, the cup of shaved ice “was fine and soft and every spoonful was saturated with syrup.”

It was so different than the snow cones he remembered, where the ice was crunchy and the flavoring pooled in the bottom of the paper, cone-shaped cup.

Since that day in 1979, Rupp — along with his brother Gordon and other extended family — have made Utah a hub for the sweetest “snow” on Earth.

Snowie, their Utah-based business, sells everything a person would need to run a shaved ice operation — from small, medium and large ice shavers to nearly 100 flavored syrups to fiberglass kiosks and colorful food trucks.

The company sells its products in all 50 states and more than 50 countries and estimates that 190 million shaved ice cups have been sold using the Snowie shavers.

It is one of several shaved ice companies based in Utah, along with Tropical Sno, another family-run business that opened in 1984; and Hokulia, which sells ice shavers, concentrated syrups and other products worldwide.

March and April are a busy time for those in the business, said Rupp, as vendors prepare for the season that runs between May and September.

Last week, more than 150 people attended the sixth annual Snowie Summit at the company headquarters. Attendees learned about the newest shaved ice products, how to improve their social media marketing skills and how to extend their businesses into the offseason by selling hot chocolate or doughnuts.

People from all walks of life — from teachers to college students to retired military personnel — operate shaved ice stands as a way to supplement their income.

Depending on the location, and how well the shaved ice stand is operated, the seasonal business actually can bring in a full-time salary.

Food historians say “shave ice” dates back to seventh-century Taiwan. Japanese immigrants brought it with them to Hawaii when they came to work in the sugar plantations.

Before they started their shaved ice business in Oklahoma, Jurrii Barrett and Jennii Buendia researched various companies and decided Snowie ice shavers and flavorings were the best.

“They make a good product and the staff responds whenever we have questions,” said Barrett as she sampled some of the 29 natural syrups Snowie has introduced this year. “We also like it because it’s a family business and not a big corporation.”

Snowie is a business opportunity, not a franchise, explained Aaron Rupp, the marketing director and one of Carl’s eight siblings. “We don’t collect royalties or franchise fees. That’s what differentiates us.”

He said Snowie customers can invest as little or as much as they want, purchasing just a shaved ice machine or going big with syrups, cups, spoons and a kiosk on wheels.

Businesses don’t have to use the Snowie name, but if they do, they are required to also buy the company flavors, which the owners believe are superior to their competitors. Currently, 6,000 customers operate under the Snowie brand and another 10,000 buy Snowie products, but use their own name or brand.

Carl Rupp, now 61, never imagined such a career when he returned to Utah from his church mission and started his shaved ice business. “I always thought I’d own my own welding shop,” he said.

A “mechanical genius,” according to his siblings, he built a small wooden hut and placed it in the parking lot of the grocery store near his home on Redwood Road and 4700 South. He called it the Sno Shack, selling cups of shaved ice for 50 cents, 75 cents and $1. On a hot summer day, he easily collected $500.

Friends and acquaintances saw his success and asked if they, too, could set up a Sno Shack in their neighborhood.

Born to tinker, Rupp built more huts, designed ice shavers and spent hours mixing new flavors and delivering them to the different shacks. When he tired of building and painting the wood shacks, he constructed self-contained fiberglass kiosks on wheels.

After more than a decade of growth for his business, Rupp saw his success begin to melt when a drug addiction threatened his life and his livelihood. His first wife took over Sno Shack in those dark days. When the couple divorced, she got the business (it has since been purchased and its headquarters are now in Rexburg, Idaho.)

It took years, but he got clean and 21 years ago in February — with the financial backing of brother Gordon — they started Snowie.

“I had nothing,” Carl Rupp said. “But I did have the desire, ambition and work ethic.”

Rupp said Snowie has been able to attract customers by always evolving. Snowie’s newest shaved ice machines can fill a regular cup in less than five seconds — which means customers are served faster. That’s important, he said, at events like college football games, where hundreds of customers need to be served during halftime.

New kiosks also have self-serve flavor stations, which allow customers to make their own creations from among the 69 flavors, which range from popular tiger’s blood (strawberry coconut), blue raspberry or lemon lime to the more unusual zombie virus, birthday cake or firehouse (cinnamon). (See top 10 flavor list below.)

The company also has a new line of syrups with 60 percent less sugar and no artificial colors or flavorings. Before it launched the new natural line, which includes 29 flavors, it tested the products on Utah customers at the Downtown Farmers Market at Pioneer Park and the Utah Arts Festival.

The company’s latest offering is the Little Snowie 2, a shaved ice machine for home use. It sells for about $200 on Amazon and other big-box stores. So far, about 60,000 units have been sold.

Like most of the products he has made for Snowie, Rupp knew the first prototype wouldn’t be perfect. “But once I make the first one, I can see my mistakes and make a better one,” he said. “I don’t give up.”

Snowie’s top 10 flavors

1. Tiger’s blood
2. Blue raspberry
3. Strawberry
4. Pina colada
5. Watermelon
6. Cherry
7. Lemon lime
8. Cotton candy blue
9. Wild cherry
10. Banana

The Sandy City Council has voted to move forward and begin accepting bids from third-party groups to investigate last month’s contaminated water issues, but not before narrowing down the scope of the review.

The city has met a swirl of controversy starting in mid-February when the Department of Environmental Quality found high levels of fluoride in one area’s water system and last week, when a meeting transcended into a heated discussion over communication breakdowns between the mayor’s office and the council.

The council had pledged to conduct a thorough investigation into what went wrong with the water as the state does the same. Council members on Tuesday approved the request for proposals (RFP) after narrowing its focus.

Councilwoman Brook Christensen proposed the modified version of the RFP suggesting they push back investigations into the more technical aspects, and focus more on how the city responded to the crisis.

Instead of looking at technical issues about how the contamination occured, what happened and where the malfunction took place, Christensen said they should focus on the city’s efforts to communicate the problems to the public and other departments, on emergency management’s response and on the effectiveness of city emergency protocols.

Councilman Zach Robinson was the only council member to vote against Christensen’s motion.

“I’m quite hesitant to remove these things from the RFP that we’ve already agreed on,” he said. “Mainly because we just got this six minutes ago and as I’m glancing through this there’s a couple of points that stand out to me that we need to include ... so we are covered here.”

Christensen said the items being removed weren’t part of the original plan but were added to address residents’ concerns.

Robinson responded that that made him even more reluctant to modify the proposal, especially if the council is removing the items pitched by Sandy residents.

“I still feel like we can not over-investigate this enough,” he emphasized.

Christensen clarified that she was suggesting only that the additional items be placed on hold until the state completes its investigation. The city then could move forward with its own review on those issues.

Residents in southwest Utah are watching rivers and creeks, hoping they don’t create floods. But at Gunlock State Park, they are smiling at the flows.

The wet winter has created “very impressive” waterfalls at Gunlock State Park, according to a post on Facebook by Utah State Parks. The waterfalls occur many springs when Gunlock Reservoir overflows, but the photos posted on social media show especially strong flows over multiple red rock ledges.

It's happening!

The waterfalls at Gunlock State Park are currently active. This is a rare event and worth visiting. Please remember to bring your Utah State Parks pass or pay the appropriate day-use fee at the entrance. Have fun and be cautious around ledges and swift water. pic.twitter.com/Xw9UKyWB9S

— Utah State Parks (@UtahStateParks) March 7, 2019

Jon Allred, the park manager, estimated it was the first time in seven years the flows were much more than a trickle over the side of the spillway.

“It’s not natural," Allred said, "but over the years, since the reservoir has been made, it has kind of carved its own way, and now it’s quite a show.”

The waterfalls, Allred said, might only last a few weeks — until precipitation dissipates and irrigation users begin drawing from Gunlock Reservoir.

Visitors can walk up to the falls, Allred said. Walk-ins must pay $2 per person to enter the park. If you’re driving, it’s $10 per car, or $5 for senior drivers. Utah State Parks is warning visitors to be careful around the ledges and flows.

Gunlock State Park is 19 miles northwest of St. George.

A 62-year-old skier died Tuesday when he hit a tree at Deer Valley Resort, FOX 13 reported.

Park City Police identified the victim as Paul Brown. A spokeswoman for the resort told the station the man was skiing in the Empire Canyon area when he struck a tree about 11:30 a.m.

Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune and FOX 13 are content partners.

Washington • Divided in debate but mostly united in a final vote, the House passed a resolution condemning anti-Semitism and other bigotry. Democrats are trying to push past a dispute that has overwhelmed their agenda and exposed fault lines that could shadow them through next year's elections.

The one-sided 407-23 vote Thursday belied the emotional infighting over how to respond to freshman Rep. lIhan Omar’s recent comments suggesting House supporters of Israel have dual allegiances. For days, Democrats wrestled with whether or how to punish the Minnesota Democratic lawmaker, arguing over whether Omar, one of two Muslim women in Congress, should be singled out, what other types of bias should be decried in the text and whether the party would tolerate dissenting views on Israel.

President Donald Trump, before leaving to tour tornado damage in Alabama on Friday, called the House vote "disgraceful."

"The Democrats have become an anti-Israel party," Trump said. "They've become an anti-Jewish party. And I thought that vote was a disgrace. And so does everybody else — if you get an honest answer. If you get an honest answer from politicians, they thought it was a disgrace."

Republicans generally joined in the favorable vote, though nearly two-dozen opposed the measure, one calling it a "sham."

Generational as well as ideological, the argument was fueled in part by young, liberal lawmakers — and voters — who have become a face of the newly empowered Democratic majority in the House. These lawmakers are critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, rejecting the conservative leader’s approach to Palestinians and other issues.

They split sharply from Democratic leaders who seemed caught off guard by the support for Omar and unprepared for the debate. But the leaders regrouped.

"It's not about her. It's about these forms of hatred," Speaker Nancy Pelosi said before the vote.

The resolution approved Thursday condemns anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim discrimination and bigotry against minorities "as hateful expressions of intolerance."

Omar, a Somali-American, and fellow Muslims Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Andrew Carson of Indiana issued a statement saying they were proud to be part of a body that condemned all forms of bigotry including anti-Semitism, racism and white supremacy. They praised the "historic" vote as the first House resolution to condemn "anti-Muslim bigotry" in the nation's history.

Some Democrats complained that Omar's earlier comments on Israel had ignited so much discussion and dispute while years of President Donald Trump's racially charged rhetoric had led to no similar congressional action.

The seven-page document details a history of recent attacks not only against Jews in the United States but also Muslims, as it condemns all such discrimination as contradictory to "the values and aspirations" of the people of the United States. The vote was delayed for a time on Thursday to include mention of Latinos to address concerns of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. It was inserted under a section on white supremacists who "weaponize hate for political gain" over a long list of "traditionally persecuted peoples."

An earlier version focused more narrowly on anti-Semitism. The final resolution did not mention Omar by name.

Getting this debate right will be crucial for Democrats in 2020. U.S.-Israel policy is a prominent issue that is exposing the splits between the party's core voters, its liberal flank and the more centrist Americans in Trump country the party hopes to reach.

"What I fear is going on in the House now is an effort to target Congresswoman Omar as a way of stifling that debate. That's wrong," said presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent.

"Anti-Semitism is a hateful and dangerous ideology which must be vigorously opposed in the United States and around the world," the senator said. "We must not, however, equate anti-Semitism with legitimate criticism of the right-wing, Netanyahu government in Israel."

Other Democratic presidential contenders tried to walk a similar line.

California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris said "we need to speak out against hate." But she said she also believes "there is a critical difference between criticism of policy or political leaders, and anti-Semitism."

A statement from Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said, "Branding criticism of Israel as automatically anti-Semitic has a chilling effect on our public discourse and makes it harder to achieve a peaceful solution between Israelis and Palestinians." She said threats of violence, including those made against Omar, "are never acceptable.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said, "Everyone is entitled to their opinion, they are allowed to have free speech in this country," Gillibrand said. "But we don't need to use anti-Semitic tropes or anti-Muslim tropes to be heard."

Another member of the new crop of outspoken young House freshmen, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, said the final product, as well as the way presidential candidates are now talking about the issue, showed "there's been some really great progress we've made."

But Omar's rhetoric is taking Democrats to a place that leaves many uneasy. The new lawmaker sparked a weeklong debate in Congress as fellow Democrats said her comments have no place in the party. She suggested Israel's supporters were pushing lawmakers to take a pledge of "allegiance" to a foreign country, reviving a trope of dual loyalties. It wasn't her first dip into such rhetoric.

The new congresswoman has been critical of the Jewish state in the past and apologized for those previous comments. But Omar has not apologized for this latest comment.

Pelosi said she did not believe that Omar understood the "weight of her words" or that they would be perceived by some as anti-Semitic.

Asked whether the resolution was intended to "police" lawmakers' words, Pelosi replied: "We are not policing the speech of our members. We are condemning anti-Semitism," Islamophobia and white supremacy.

Some of the House's leading Jewish Democrats wanted to bring a resolution on the floor simply condemning anti-Semitism.

But other Democrats wanted to broaden the resolution to include a rejection of all forms of racism and bigotry. Others questioned whether a resolution was necessary at all and viewed it as unfairly singling out Omar at a time when Trump and others have made disparaging racial comments.

There remained frustration that the party that touts its diversity conducted such a messy and public debate about how to declare its opposition to bigotry.

"This shouldn't be so hard," Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., said on the House floor.

Among the Republican dissenters, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, a member of the GOP leadership, called the resolution "a sham put forward by Democrats to avoid condemning one of their own and denouncing vile anti-Semitism."

In part, Democratic leaders were trying to fend off a challenge from Republicans on the issue.

They worry they could run into trouble on another bill, their signature ethics and voting reform package, if Republicans try to tack their own anti-Semitism bill on as an amendment. By voting Thursday, the House Democratic vote counters believed they could inoculate their lawmakers against such a move.

Associated Press writers Padmananda Rama, Mary Clare Jalonick, Elana Schor, Juana Summers and Doug Glass contributed to this report.

Democratic politicians from all over are looking at the Oval Oaf and thinking, sometimes out loud, “Hey. How hard can it be?”

Among them, as of last week, is John Hickenlooper, now among the 5,000 Democrats who think they couldn’t possibly be any worse than either the current president or the last nominee of their own party.

There are reasons to believe Hickenlooper might be right about himself. If, for no other reason, the substantial evidence that the former governor of Colorado actually thinks democracy is a good idea.

Clearly, Hick is not from Utah. And not just because he made his name and his fortune brewing beer.

Before he was governor of Colorado for two terms, Hickenlooper was the very popular mayor of Denver, winning re-election with 88 percent of the vote.

Before that, he was a barkeep — sorry, craft brewer — in what was then a scroungy Mile High neighborhood that has since become, thanks in part to his Wynkoop Brewing Company, the hip hood of Lo-Do. For people who are way too cool to say “lower downtown.”

He is described, by the journalists who have come West to observe him in his native habitat, as a bright, friendly guy, trained in both English (bachelor’s degree) and science (master’s in geology, former oil field surveyor), skilled in both business and politics, who, in each of those regenerations, never saw any point in picking fights or making anyone else look small. (Not remind you of somebody?)

He also made a campaign commercial decrying dirty politics in which he took a shower fully clothed.

An idea that Utah’s sole Democratic member of Congress, Ben McAdams, was smart enough to steal.

Hickenlooper’s handicaps include being a middle-aged white guy with a funny name who may not be quite telegenic enough to cut through the fog of social media. But there is one big thing that, after observing what passes for leadership in Utah, really makes Hickenlooper stand out.

He believes in democracy.

Colorado, as you may remember — or may have experienced — was a leader in legalizing marijuana, first for medical use, then for, well, the hell of it. For adults. Every time, as a citizen, as mayor and as governor, Hickenlooper was agin’ it. He thought it posed a danger to children, ran afoul of federal law and was too much of a real-time experiment on real-live people to be a good idea.

“Wreckless,” he called it. Then, more calmly, “risky.” Then, more diplomatically still, not something he thought Colorado wanted to be known for. (I have looked around a bit, and not been able to find any evidence that Hick opposed legal weed because it would undermine his beer business.)

Every time, the voters thought otherwise. And every time, Hickenlooper, public servant, did as he was told. Not blindly, but carefully, with everyone at the table, working to find ways to see to it that the people’s will be done, in Colorado if not in Washington. Or Utah.

As governor, he convened panels of real experts and plain folks who were just worried. From all reports, Hickenlooper listened, thought about it and carefully implemented a process to put the will of the voters in place. It worked well enough that nobody in Colorado wants to undo it, other states are looking to copy it, and as a laconic Hickenlooper himself said four years after the measure passed, “It’s beginning to look like it might work.”

Thus is Hickenlooper the opposite of the political leadership of Utah. Here, the voters approved medical marijuana, and the governor and Legislature made short work of replacing that measure with another law that, at least according to some of the initiative’s backers, guts the whole idea.

Here, the voters made it clear they wanted to go for the full expansion of Medicaid, and raise taxes to pay for it, and the governor and Legislature quickly cut the heart, lungs and liver out of it. Without even washing their hands first.

All as Colorado was raking in money from legal cannabis, and suffering few negative side-effects. As the state reached a rate of 95 percent coverage from the expansion of Medicaid and other efforts. As the governor sold new gun-safety laws to a cowboy boot-wearing state.

As he helped broker peace between environmentalists and the oil and gas folks. To the point that Denver, not Salt Lake City, now hosts the twice-yearly cash moose known as the Outdoor Retailers show.

Will, or should, John Hickenlooper be the next president of the United States? Hick if I know. I do wonder, though, if he’d be interested in being governor of Utah.

George Pyle, editorial page editor of The Salt Lake Tribune, started drinking beer when he was 40 years old. He expects to work his way up to marijuana in a few years. gpyle@sltrib.com

Players for the U.S. women's national soccer team have filed a federal gender discrimination lawsuit seeking pay equal to that of their male counterparts.

The action comes just three months before the team will defend its title at the Women's World Cup.

The class-action lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in Los Angeles under the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. It alleges gender-based discrimination by the U.S. Soccer Federation.

The players allege they have been subject to ongoing "institutionalized gender discrimination," including unequal pay, despite having the same job responsibilities as players on the men's national team. The 28 members of the current national team player pool joined in the lawsuit.

“The bottom line is simple: it is wrong for us to be paid and valued less for our work because of our gender," Utah Royals defender and USWNT member Becky Sauerbrunn said in a news release. "Every member of this team works incredibly hard to achieve the success that we have had for the USSF. We are standing up now so that our efforts, and those of future USWNT players, will be fairly recognized.”

Sauerbrunn, and Royals teammates Christen Press and Kelley O’Hara are all parties in the suit.

Added Press: “We have worked very hard with the USSF, including the Federation’s new leadership, to make progress on these incredibly important gender equality issues. We appreciate and agree with Carlos Cordeiro’s public statements that more should be done. Despite this progress, the fact is that the pay disparity and unequal working conditions persists. We believe that we have a responsibility to act as role models. Fighting for what we legally deserve is a part of that.”

The U.S. Women's National Team Players Association was not party to the lawsuit, but in a statement said it "supports the plaintiffs' goal of eliminating gender-based discrimination by USSF."

The U.S. Soccer Federation didn't have an immediate comment.

The players are seeking equal pay and treatment, in addition to damages including back pay. The complaint was filed on International Women's Day.

"Each of us is extremely proud to wear the United States jersey, and we also take seriously the responsibility that comes with that. We believe that fighting for gender equality in sports is a part of that responsibility. As players, we deserved to be paid equally for our work, regardless of our gender," forward Alex Morgan said in a prepared statement.

This is not the first time the players have sought equitable compensation and conditions.

A group of players filed a complaint in 2016 with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that alleged wage discrimination by the federation. The players maintained that players for the men's team earned far more than they did, in many cases despite comparable work.

The lawsuit effectively ends that EEOC complaint, brought by Morgan, Sauerbrunn, Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd and former goalkeeper Hope Solo.

The team took the fight into contract negotiations and struck a collective bargaining agreement in 2017 that runs through 2021.

The players received raises in base pay and bonuses as well as better provisions for travel and accommodations, including increased per diems. It also gave the players some control of certain licensing and marketing rights. Specific details about the deal were not disclosed.

"This lawsuit is an effort by the plaintiffs to address those serious issues through the exercise of their individual rights. For its part, the USWNTPA will continue to seek improvements in pay and working conditions through the labor-management and collective bargaining processes," the players' union said.

The USSF has in the past maintained that much of the pay disparity between the men’s and women’s teams resulted from separate labor agreements.

The US National Team Players Association says it backs the USWNT suit.

The USNSTPA “fully supports the efforts of the US Women’s National Team Players to achieve equal pay,” it said in a news release. “Specifically, we are committed to the concept of a revenue-sharing model to address the US Soccer Federations’s ‘market realities’ and find a way towards fair compensation. An equal division of revenue attributable to the MNT and WNT programs is our primary pursuit as we engage with the U.S. Soccer Federation in collective bargaining.”

With more than 200 temples open or in the works around the world, dedications of these edifices are fairly routine for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

But this weekend’s dedication of the Rome Temple — in the cradle of Catholicism — will be no routine event.

For evidence, witness that the Utah-based faith’s entire governing First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will be in the Eternal City for the ceremonies. It is believed to be the first time in Mormon history that all 15 leaders will be in one location outside the United States.

The delegation, announced Friday in a news release, will be led by church President Russell M. Nelson, who will dedicate the temple Sunday. Dedication services will continue through Tuesday.

None of the faith’s high-ranking female officers will be at the Rome events, according to church spokesman Daniel Woodruff, though wives of First Presidency members, apostles, and other general authorities will be in attendance.

The three-story, 40,000-square-foot temple in northeast Rome is garnering this attention, explained apostle David A. Bednar, because of the Italian city’s rich religious history. Biblical apostles Peter and Paul preached there.

Of course, with the Vatican not all that far away, Rome is also the heart of the largest Christian denomination. There are more than a billion Catholics around the world.

Mormonism is also a global faith — albeit much, much smaller.

“We have more than 16 million members and the church is recognized and established in over 170 nations, so it’s only a matter of time before we have temples in most major cities in the world,” Bednar said in the release. “But it is of particular significance to have a temple in Rome.”

The LDS Church partners with Catholic charities around the globe, teaming up with Catholic leaders on religious liberty and other issues. It does so despite the two faiths’ significant doctrinal differences.

That theological gap is so wide, in fact, that the Vatican does not officially recognize the Salt Lake City-headquartered church as Christian.

Crux, an independent online purveyor of Catholic news, pointed to Latter-day Saints’ rejection of the Trinity and original sin as among the reasons for the Vatican’s stance.

“Catholics who marry a Mormon are supposed to follow the same process as marrying a non-Christian,” Crux noted, “and likewise, Mormons who wish to enter the Catholic Church must go through the formal process for non-Christians.”

General authority Seventy Massimo De Feo, an native Italian, said Latter-day Saints “needed to have a temple in the Eternal City because it is a symbol of eternity. The temple is the place we learn that life is eternal.”

In an introduction to a new virtual tour of the Rome Temple, the 94-year-old Nelson, considered a “prophet, seer and revelator” by Latter-day Saints, noted that “each temple is a holy sanctuary in which sacred ceremonies and ordinances of the gospel are performed by and for the living and also in behalf of the dead.”

The Rome Temple already has greeted thousands of visitors during public tours from Jan. 28 through Feb. 16.

The showcase structure is reminiscent of ancient Italian architecture. Inspired by San Carlino, a historic Catholic church in Rome, it boasts curved ceilings, curved walls and hints of colonnades and columns.

“This had to be one that when you walked onto this site, every person should feel like they were on an Italian site,” architect Niels Valentiner said in January. “They would recognize it because of the materials, because of the design, and because of the surrounding[s].”

The temple’s entrance features a floor-to-ceiling stained-glass wall depicting a scene from Christ’s life, with original paintings throughout the building and a grand staircase in the lobby.

“It’s connected just at the top and the bottom,” project supervisor Bret Woods explained, “so it’s essentially a free-floating staircase — and, of course, an elliptical shape.” The oval design harks to Michelangelo’s Piazza del Campidoglio near Capitoline Hill in Rome.

The temple’s 15-acre campus includes a church meetinghouse, a visitors’ center, a family history center, a piazza and guest housing.

This temple took more than a decade to bring to fruition. It was announced in 2008 and construction began two years later. Work eventually stalled for a stretch, so much so that Italian Latter-day Saints held a daylong fast in January 2015 in seeking heaven’s help to get the project back on track.

All those years of fasting and praying, waiting and wondering finally have concluded with the coming days’ historic events.

Latter-day Saints view temples as houses of God, places where devout members can participate in their faith’s most hallowed rites, including eternal marriage.

After the coming dedication, eternal marriages now will be solemnized in the Eternal City.

Reporter Peggy Fletcher Stack contributed to this story.

A Salt Lake City radio producer who frequently appears on his father’s show has been charged with enticing a minor over the internet.

Dylan R. Allred, 31, is free on $10,000 bond. He has not yet entered a plea to the charges. Allred’s attorney, Ed Brass, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Friday.

Allred was a video producer for Radio From Hell, the radio show starring his father, Bill Allred, on KXRK, 96.3-FM, as well as a podcast and often appears on air. Bill Allred on Friday read a brief statement on his show saying his son was charged with a crime and described the situation as a private matter.

Court documents say the younger Allred was arrested by an FBI child exploitation task force on Feb. 21. A detective from the Lehi Police Department, working undercover online, was on a social media app when Allred contacted him, the documents say.

The documents allege Allred asked “Are you looking?” and that he wanted to “watch porn.” Allred also suggested he perform a sex act on the detective; he asked the detective to meet, prosecutors claim.

The charging papers say the detective “told Allred he was 13 years old and Allred stated he was okay with that.”

Allred later mentioned that he could get in trouble for meeting a 13-year-old. Yet he arranged to meet in a church parking lot, documents say. Police arrested him there.

Allred is charged with one count of enticing a minor, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison; and a count of attempted exploitation of a minor, another felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Las Vegas • Health officials will test up to 200 students and teachers for tuberculosis after one case was confirmed at a Las Vegas high school.

The Southern Nevada Health District says it identified people at Durango High School who may have been exposed to the bacterial disease that primarily affects the lungs.

The health district said Thursday that it notified select students about possible exposure through a letter warning they had close and prolonged contact with the infected person and need to be tested.

The district began investigating in mid- to late-February and the infected person was soon excused from school as health and school officials worked together to identify people who require testing.

The tests mandated by law will be conducted free of charge at the school next week.