Call Center Company in Salt Lake City, UT

SALT LAKE CITY — More than 70,000 refugees live here in Utah, and about 9 percent of the state’s population are immigrants.

The growing number of people resettling in the Beehive State was the catalyst for the formation of a new program on Salt Lake City’s west side.

“When I first came here, there was no community. It was so hard; there was nobody to tell me what to do, where to go,” said Puok Puok, who immigrated from South Sudan more than two decades ago. “It was so difficult, so at the time I came to the United States, to Utah, there was no community.”

That’s why the Pan-African Westside Salt Lake Co-Op, or PAWSLC, was created.

The co-op held an event Saturday, filled with performances, food and lectures, to celebrate their one-year anniversary while hoping to bring attention to the co-op’s mission of a one-stop shop for families moving here from other countries.

They provide help securing resources, whether it’s finding housing, work or basic needs.

“We are only scratching the surface right now. We’re having this event after a year and we’re getting our name out there,” said Al Kalashnikov, PAWSLC’s president. “We were able to successfully get some grants and we were able to work with some community partners.”

The co-op’s leadership is made up of immigrants and refugees like Puok.

“When the refugees come to Utah, they’re looking for jobs. They need people to look and give them direction where to go, where they can go to find a license, where they can go to find the jobs,” said Puok. “It’s not easy when they come here, so we can reform this community now for them because we’re here for them, whatever they need, we will provide it for them.”

Kalashnikov says that because the current federal administration cut funding for resettlement programs, some resources here in Utah took a hit, like Catholic Community Service’s refugee resettlement program, which makes PAWSLC’s work now even more critical.

“The community should care because we’re here to help support the refugee community, and we want the community to know that we’re not turning our backs on them. We’re here to support them,” said Kalashnikov.

They're welcoming all with open arms and spirit.

“We are here for anybody, not just those who identify as pan-African and those who identify as Africans,” said Kalashnikov. “We are here as a member of the community and for the community at large.”

If you or someone you know could use some help resettling here in Utah, you can visit their webpage HERE. You can also give them a call at (385) 244-0616 or email them at al@pawslc.org.

Nation and World

SALT LAKE CITY — In the southeastern Utah desert famous for red rock arches and canyon labyrinths, the long-dormant uranium mining industry is looking to revive under President Donald Trump.

Hundreds of abandoned uranium mines dot the West's arid landscapes, hazardous reminders of the promise and peril of nuclear power during the Cold War. Now, one mine that the Trump administration fast-tracked for regulatory approval could reopen for the first time since the 1980s.

Normally it would have taken months, if not years, for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to review plans to reopen a project like Anfield Energy's Velvet-Wood mine 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of Moab. But the bureau's regulators green-lit the project in just 11 days under a “national energy emergency” Trump has declared that allows expedited environmental reviews for energy projects.

More permits and approvals will be needed, plus site work to get the mine operating again. And the price of uranium would have to rise enough to make domestic production financially sustainable. If that happens, it would mean revival — and jobs — to an industry that locally has been moribund since the Ronald Reagan era.

“President Trump has made it clear that our energy security is national security,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in announcing the fast-tracking policy in April. “These emergency procedures reflect our unwavering commitment to protecting both.”

More fast approvals appear likely. Trump's order also applies to oil, gas, coal, biofuel and hydropower projects — but not renewable energy — on federal lands.

Conditions are ripe for more U.S. uranium mining

Global uranium prices are double what they were at a low point seven years ago and, for the past year, the U.S. has banned uranium imports from Russia due to that country's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

More domestic mining would address a major imbalance. The U.S. imports about 98% of the uranium it uses to generate 30% of the world's nuclear energy. More than two-thirds of U.S. imports come from the world's top three uranium-mining countries: Canada, Australia and Kazakhstan.

Less government regulation won't spur more U.S. uranium mining by itself. The market matters. And while spot-market prices are up from several years ago, they're down about a third from their recent high in early 2024.

While some new uranium mining and processing projects have been announced, their number falls far short of a surge. That suggests prices need to rise — and stay there — for a true industry revival, said John Uhrie, a former uranium executive who now works in the cement industry.

“Until the price goes up dramatically, you’re not going to be able to actually put these places into operation,” Uhrie said. “You need significant capital on the ground.”

Still, the industry is showing new life in the Southwest.

Anfield Energy, a Canadian company, also looks to reopen the Shootaring Canyon uranium mill in southern Utah near Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. It closed in the early 1980s. A uranium mill turns raw ore into yellowcake, a powdery substance later processed elsewhere into nuclear fuel.

Anfield officials did not return messages seeking comment on plans to reopen the mill and the Velvet-Wood mine.

Energy Fuels, another Canadian company which ranks as the top U.S. uranium miner, opened the Pinyon Plain mine about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the Grand Canyon in late 2023.

And just off U.S. 191 in southeastern Utah is a hub of the industry, Uranium Fuels' White Mesa mill, the country's only uranium mill still in operation.

In Moab, uranium has a long — and mixed — legacy

These days, Moab is a desert tourism hot spot bustling with outdoor enthusiasts. But the town of 5,200 has a deeper history with uranium. Nods to Moab's post-World War II mining heyday can been spotted around town — the Atomic Hair Salon isn't just named for its blowout hairstyles.

The biggest reminder is the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action project, a 480-acre (194-hectare) site just outside town. The decades-long, $1 billion U.S. Department of Energy effort to haul off toxic tailings that were leaching into the Colorado River upstream from the Grand Canyon and Lake Mead should wrap up within five more years.

That mill's polluting legacy makes some Moab residents wary of restarting uranium mining and processing, especially after the Trump administration cut short their ability to weigh in on the Velvet-Wood mine plans.

“This was a process I would have been involved in,” said Sarah Fields, director of the local group Uranium Watch. “They provided no opportunity for the public to say, ‘You need to look at this, you need to look at that.'”

Grand Canyon Trust, a group critical of the Pinyon Plain mine as a danger to groundwater, points out that the U.S. nuclear industry isn't at risk of losing access to uranium.

“This is all being done under the assumption there is some energy emergency and that is just not true,” said Amber Reimondo, the group's energy director.

Supply and demand will decide uranium mining's future

Hundreds of miles to the north, other nuclear energy projects point to the U.S. industry's future.

With Bill Gates’ support, TerraPower is building a 345-megawatt sodium-cooled fast reactor outside Kemmerer in western Wyoming that could, in theory, meet demand for carbon-free power at lower costs and with less construction time than conventional reactor units.

Meanwhile, about 40% of uranium mined in the U.S. in 2024 came from four Wyoming “in situ” mines that use wells to dissolve uranium in underground deposits and pump it to the surface without having to dig big holes or send miners underground. Similar mines in Texas and Nebraska and stockpiled ore processed at White Mesa accounted for the rest.

None — as yet — came from mines in Utah.

Powering electric cars and computing technology will require more electricity in the years ahead. Nuclear power offers a zero-carbon, round-the-clock option.

Meeting the demand for nuclear fuel domestically is another matter. With prices higher, almost 700,000 pounds of yellowcake was produced in the U.S. in 2024 — up more than a dozen-fold from the year before but still far short of the 32 million pounds imported into the U.S.

Even if mining increases, it's not clear that U.S. capacity to turn the ore into fuel would keep pace, said Uhrie, the former uranium mining executive.

“Re-establishing a viable uranium industry from soup to nuts — meaning from mining through processing to yellowcake production, to conversion, to enrichment to produce nuclear fuel — remains a huge lift,” Uhrie said.

With a $2 million boost from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the University of Utah is tackling the contamination issues of a 2-acre property in Salt Lake City's Rio Grande District. The funds are part of the EPA's Brownfield Remediation Program, which breathes new life into underutilized land parcels with a sordid industrial past. According to At The U, the grant marks a significant step towards the revitalization of a dormant sector in the downtown area.

This monetary push aligns with the University's vision for the district, transforming it into a bubbling hub for innovation. "The university is aligning its future development plans with the vision laid out in the Rio Grande District Plan," said Isabeau Tavo, deputy director of real estate development, as per At The U. The land, bought for $6.8 million back in 2021, currently sits idle, a mere shadow strewn with remnants of foundations and overgrown weeds.

The larger Rio Grande Plan, orchestrated by the Salt Lake City Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), paints the promise of a new destination, complete with sustainable transit and walkable urban design. "We are trying to capitalize on our access to transit to make this walkable and bikable and sustainable and have a great place with a lot of active uses that will bring the district to life," said Cara Lindsley of the CRA, as obtained by At The U.

However, such urban transformation requires the joint effort of not only the landowners but also state and federal backers. Lindsley added during an interview, "Remediating the contamination on the university property will make it so their site can be incorporated into the implementation of this vision for the Rio Grande District," as noted by At The U. It's a synergy between local ambition and institutional capability, where the total cost of the cleanup is poised to eclipse the EPA grant by up to $1.5 million, a gap the University intends to fill.

Salt Lake City, Utah – A sweltering start to June hits northern Utah Sunday as temperatures climb to 96°F, followed by a rising chance for thunderstorms that could disrupt evening plans and I-15 travel.

According to the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City, Sunday will begin sunny and hot with calm winds, but isolated storms may develop by late afternoon and evening, especially in the northern Wasatch Front. Rain chances increase overnight into Monday, bringing possible thunderstorms and gusty winds through early afternoon.

Communities along I-15, including Bountiful, Ogden, and Layton, should prepare for slick roads and sudden visibility drops if storms intensify. While the chance of rain remains at 30% Sunday night, Monday’s storm potential grows to 40%, with a high of 81°F and muggy, mostly cloudy skies expected.

Drivers should avoid flooded underpasses and monitor road alerts if commuting on U.S. 89 or I-80 late Sunday through Monday evening. Lightning, brief downpours, and wind gusts could pose hazards during the evening commute.

Looking ahead, Tuesday brings drier air and sun with a cooler high of 80°F. Wednesday stays mild at 77°F under clear skies. A brief chance of rain returns Thursday, but Friday rebounds with summerlike sunshine and highs in the upper 80s.

Although no active air quality alerts have been posted, smoke from Canadian wildfires could linger aloft into early next week, especially across higher elevations in eastern Utah.

Stay weather-aware Sunday and Monday as pop-up storms could arrive with little warning. Updates will follow if weather watches or warnings are issued.

Summer temperatures will return by Friday as highs near 87°F mark the beginning of a hot and dry stretch into early June.

A pride flag flew high at Salt Lake City Hall on Friday evening — kicking off a week of Utah Pride activities and spurning efforts by the Utah Legislature to keep the rainbow banner from flying over government grounds.

People gathered at 6 p.m. to see the colors hoisted at City Hall. The wind caught the banner sporadically.

In an announcement of the event, the Utah Pride Center said the tradition was able to continue with Salt Lake City’s official version of the pride flag — officially the Sego Belonging Flag — that was adopted just hours before the state’s ban went into effect earlier in May.

“We at the Utah Pride Center are proud to amplify this moment and encourage our community and allies to show up, support and be seen,” the announcement said.

Mayor Erin Mendenhall and City Council member Chris Wharton were in attendance, along with Chad Call, the Utah Pride Center’s executive director.

The Utah Pride Festival is set to run June 7 and 8 at Washington Square Park and Library Square. The annual Utah Pride Parade will take place through downtown Salt Lake City on June 8.

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(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Chelsie Acosta takes a selfie with Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall during the annual raising of the pride flag at City Hall to kickstart a month of festivities for Utah Pride on Friday, May 30, 2025. It is especially notable this year given the state tried to stop the pride flag from flying over government grounds.

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