Crosses memorializing fallen Utah Highway Patrol officers will soon have to be taken down. This morning (Monday), the U.S. Supreme Court released its decision not to hear the case, leaving Utah with the 10th Circuit ruling that declared the crosses unconstitutional. KCPW’s Jessica Gail spoke with the attorneys on both sides of the argument, and reports on what the state plans to do to commemorate the fallen troopers now.
Religion will likely not be an issue in the 2012 Presidential election… at least according to U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. The independent lawmaker spoke to hundreds of college students across Utah Tuesday, saying voters will admire LDS candidates Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman for sticking to their personal beliefs. KCPW’s Jessica Gail spoke to the Senator about his time in office, and how he says his Jewish faith has impacted his time there.
Segment 1: The gridlock in Washington has many citizens shaking their heads about the divisive nature of the debate and the polarization of modern politics. Mormon scholar Richard Bushman says the deadlock stems from basic contradictions in our national values and asks if religion can help bridge the gap. Can Mormonism specifically – a religion…
A billboard aimed at atheists and non-religious Utahns is now up along a popular Salt Lake City highway. The Utah Coalition of Reason, an alliance of non-theist groups across the state, put up the sign, which reads “Don’t believe in God? You are not alone.” Elaine Ball, director of the group, hopes the billboard makes their community more visible.
A Provo bookstore owner and collector has come across new developments in the 25-year-old Mark Hofmann case. Hofmann is serving a life sentence at the state prison in Draper for forging LDS church documents and murdering two people with bombs. As KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, the discovery is a recording made by Hofmann in 1981 of telephone conversations between him and authorities of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
A candidate for Utah Democratic Party Chair says he was appalled to see a recent Gallup poll showing 22 percent of those surveyed would not vote for a presidential candidate who is Mormon. Jim Dabakis is calling on both Democrats and Republicans to speak more responsibly about religious bias.
Imam Muhammad Musri was launched into the spotlight for trying to stop a Florida Pastor from burning the Quran. We talked with him about that effort, and what it’s like to be Muslim in the U.S. He spoke in Salt Lake City this week at the Salt Lake Committee on Foreign Relations and the Hinckley Institute of Politics.
Utah’s approach to illegal immigration is piquing the curiosity of leaders in Washington. Bishop John Wester of the Salt Lake City Catholic Diocese took part in a White House meeting Tuesday with President Barack Obama, his cabinet members and other stakeholders. He helped present the Utah Compact, which was written to guide Utah’s approach to immigration reform.
The LGBT community is breathing a sigh of relief Thursday after Representative LaVar Christensen announced he’s pulling three of his bills, including one that would have impacted protections for gays and lesbians already passed by several cities. And as KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports, the LDS Church has met with the lawmaker.
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