By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A SALT LAKE CITY – When Olympic organizers announced Kiss would be performing at Sunday night’s closing ceremony, conservative Utahans weren’t sure how to react. The Deseret News, a local daily owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ran a story quoting several local citizens concerned […]
Category: DMN | Olympics
Beer-fueled crowd clashes with police; Salt Lake City lawmen fire foam-tipped bullets to quell fracas
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 10A SALT LAKE CITY – Police fired about 40 foam-tipped bullets to disperse a rowdy crowd outside an alcohol-themed venue Saturday night, officials said. Twenty people were arrested. The melee began when Bud World, a downtown beer garden set up for the Olympics, became overcrowded, forcing people out onto […]
Could’ve been Texas; Forthcoming book: Mormon Church nearly settled here
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 29B SALT LAKE CITY – When Brigham Young entered the Great Salt Lake Basin, legend has it he had but four words to say: “This is the place.” But if history had unfolded slightly differently, “the place” might have been Corpus Christi. In 1844, Mormon leaders were in serious […]
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Osmonds rock Salt Lake City; Utah’s first family still packing in fans from around the world
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 28B LEHI, Utah – “We’ve been through a lot as a family,” said Merrill Osmond, sweating profusely after more than an hour on stage, playing the greatest hits of Utah’s first family. “But we’ve gotten through it all. And we appreciate all the love and support you’ve given us […]
Russians claim bias but won’t walk out
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 15B SALT LAKE CITY – At the start of the Winter Olympics, organizers feared protesters on the streets. Instead, the protests are coming from Olympians themselves. In a two-page handwritten fax, Russian officials claimed “unobjective judging by the majority of the panel” cost figure skater Irina Slutskaya a gold […]
Reporter’s Notebook: There’s more to Games than the games
Page 14B It sounds like a cut-rate riddle of the Sphinx: If you go the Olympics but don’t go to any events, are you really there? Wednesday was my 14th day in Salt Lake City, and as of 4:30 p.m., I had been to exactly zero Olympic events. Zero. At every Olympiad, the kind folks […]
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Russians say they may leave Games; Officials cite judging, ‘witch hunt,’ in threat that includes ’04
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A SALT LAKE CITY – One day before a Cold War hockey rematch, Russian officials revived a Cold War technique when they threatened to pull out of the Olympic Games. But this time, Russians say that “unobjective decisions” by Olympic judges, not international politics, are forcing them to consider […]
When progress makes perfect; Salt Lake City sets itself apart as it preaches diversity while attracting minorities
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 18B SALT LAKE CITY – When you think of Utahns, you probably think of someone Mormon, conservative and white. In other words, Orrin Hatch. But within Utah, the capital Salt Lake City is an exception to the rule. Consider: Nearly half of the students in Salt Lake City schools […]
Good help is not hard to find; Volunteers from Texas happy to pitch in to assist Olympics
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 16B SALT LAKE CITY – He’s hard-working. He’s good at his job. So there was really only one way that Mickey Beavan stood out from his fellow Olympic volunteers. “Everybody makes fun of me because I say ‘y’all,’ ” said Beavan, 28, of Dallas. Beavan and 71 others here […]
U.S. remedy: Buy Canadian; To support ‘robbed’ skaters, fans seek maple leaf gear
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 14B SALT LAKE CITY – When it appeared two Canadian figure skaters would have to unfairly settle for silver instead of gold, the reaction was swift. At least in the checkout lines of the official Canadian Olympic clothing store here. “Americans were coming in saying, ‘You were robbed! We […]
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