Fish Lake improvements progressing

More than $3 million worth of upgrades are under construction in the Fish Lake Basin. Improvements include upgrades to the parking areas at the Fish Lake Lodge and Lakeside marinas, as well as upgrades to the marinas as well as one at Bowery Haven. A fishing pier at Bowery is also in the plans. However, the pier and expansion of the marinas are pending final permitting from the U.S. Corps of Engineers.


In the meantime, parking areas have been expanded and improved. Another project is a boardwalk at Twin Creeks. A spawning ground for Kokanee Salmon, Twin Creeks has become a popular destination for people in the fall, hoping to view the fish as they swim upstream. Future projects for the basin include upgrades to roads in the area. Richfield Reaper

Construction begins on Salina pool

The Salina City pool repair project has begun and includes the demolition of the interior walls, plumbing, electrical and a remodel of the interior components, as well as a 10-foot addition to the pool with upgrades to mechanical components of the pool system, which includes filtration, pumping and chlorination systems. It also includes expanding the pool deck area, relining the pool and upgrading the exterior lighting system.


Funding for the project has been procured by personal and business donations, various fundraising efforts and events organized by the Salina City Swimming Pool Fundraising committee, as well as a 20-year loan of $1 million at 1 percent interest from the Utah Permanent Community Impact Fund Board. Richfield Reaper

Railroad resort brings Sevier railroad past to life

The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad is being resurrected in an unusual way in the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area. Partners David Grow and George Jones of Environetics have built a caboose and railroad village at Big Rock Candy Mountain, north of Marysvale in Piute County.

After several years of planning, last year the pair opened the Track 89 Caboose Village Resort at Big Rock Candy Mountain with three railroad cars. This year, they have seven and next year they hope to have 10. The Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area recently awarded the project a $25,000 grant for landscaping and parking. In February they received a 50-year lease for the old Denver and Rio Grande Depot from the city of Mt. Pleasant to build a similar resort there. Sanpete Pyramid

New Mt. Pleasant swimming pool a go

Mt. Pleasant plans to build a $2 million indoor competitive swimming pool, to be located just east of the splash pad in Mt. Pleasant. Mt. Pleasant secured the financing for the pool through a $1 million grant and a $1 million loan, on a 30-year note at 2.5 percent interest.

The pool will be used as a competition facility for North Sanpete High School and Wasatch Academy to field swimming teams. Mt. Pleasant will cover the building costs of the pool in hopes that all the communities in the area will enter into a partnership to cover the operating costs.

But in the long-term, the pool will be the centerpiece for the formation of the North Sanpete Recreation Area (NSRA). Through collaboration with Brigham Young University, Mt. Pleasant intends to use the swimming pool as the mechanism to begin coordinating with other local communities to offer recreational activities to all the communities and pool their collective resources. Sanpete Pyramid

Sevier County hits record year for tourism

For the first time ever, Sevier County brought in more than $500,000 in transient room tax — marking a 15 percent increase from 2014. This means approximately $12 million was spent on hotel rooms in Sevier County in 2015, resulting in a 52 percent occupancy rate. Richfield Reaper

Utah’s Topaz Museum receives nearly $500K

The new Topaz Museum in Delta will get a $497,186 grant from the National Park Service as part of the agency’s effort to preserve and interpret the World War II-era confinement of Japanese Americans. The Park Service recently announced 21 grants totaling more than $2.9 million, including one to help the Topaz board build and install exhibits for the museum and education center. The Topaz Museum is in Delta, 16 miles southeast of the Topaz Internment Camp where more than 11,000 Japanese Americans were held behind barbed wire during World War II. Salt Lake Tribune

Sevier County bike path extension in pipeline

Bicyclists and pedestrians in Sevier County could have the ability to ride or walk from Central Valley to Big Rock Candy Mountain by summer of 2014. An extension of the county’s bicycle path, stretching from Elsinore to Central Valley, is in the final design phase, and could be ready for construction as early as this fall. The majority of the approximately $800,000 extension of the bike path is coming from a federal grant, administered by the Utah Department of Transportation. Richfield Reaper

Ephraim to entertain proposal for outdoor education center

The Ephraim City Council has given the head of a nonprofit organization the go-ahead to develop a plan for using 18 acres of city land near the mouth of Ephraim Canyon as an outdoor education center. The city council told Bob Bahlmann of Ephraim, founder of Explore the Outdoors, a nonprofit organization that puts on field trips and education programs for public school students, to prepare a proposal for developing the site. Sanpete Messenger

Ground broken on Topaz Museum

Ground breaking ceremonies were recently held for the Topaz Museum on Delta’s Main Street. Thousands of Japanese Americans living in the Bay Area were sent by train to the remote Utah camp after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. The museum which will tell the story of the camp and showcase artifacts and artwork from internees, is to be finished in two years. Salt Lake Tribune

Thousands expected at Little Sahara Sand Dunes for Easter weekend

Thousands of people from around the state are gearing up for an Easter weekend at the Little Sahara Sand Dunes, and local law enforcement is prepared to prevent potential problems and accidents.

Many of them are already there, saving a place for family and friends before the big crowds get here. By Friday night, 25,000 to 30,000 people will be at the popular Sand Mountain camping area in Millard County.

With nearly 60,000 acres of dunes, trails and sagebrush flats, there is something for every level of rider, from Sand Mountain, which has a wall of sand climbing nearly 700 feet high, to the dunes southwest of Black Mountain, which provide good terrain for beginners. Deseret News

Topaz Museum in Delta awarded grant to build

Delta’s Main Street will see more building this summer as the long-sought-after Topaz Museum will commence construction memorializing the Topaz Internment Camp where over 8,000 U.S. citizens of Japanese descent were relocated from the West Coast during World War II.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced the awarding of 17 grants worth nearly $2.9 million to be awarded to “help preserve and interpret the U.S. confinement sites.” The Topaz Museum and Education Center Construction Project in Delta, was awarded $714,314—nearly 25 percent of the total awarded. Millard County Chronicle

The money will be used for the construction of the museum building. A groundbreaking ceremony will probably take place in August in conjunction with this year’s Topaz Pilgrimage. The exterior of the museum building will look like an over-sized barrack building from the internment camp. It will be located on Delta’s Main Street to facilitate easy access and visitation.