Masthead & Editor's Note

THE CEDAR CITY LEDGER

Iron County's weekly front page — every Tuesday morning.

A note from the editor

Welcome to The Cedar City Ledger. The idea is simple: one email, every Tuesday, with what actually matters in Cedar City and Iron County — what your city and county governments decided, how the T-Birds and the high schools did, what's happening this week, and what your neighbors are up to. No outrage, no filler, and nothing you need a decoder ring to understand.

This week's issue is a good sample: the county makes a decision years in the making, the sheep came down Main Street, both high schools opened the playoffs at home, and Halloween weekend is stacked. You'll also find a piece of local history worth the read — 250 years ago this month, a famous expedition stood roughly where you are and made the hardest call of its journey.

The Ledger gets better with your help. Send news tips, photos, event listings, and corrections any time — the submission details are at the bottom of this issue. Thanks for reading.

— Michael Harding, Editor

Conditions Strip

The week ahead — Cedar City

• Today (Tue): Sunny, high 62°, low 41°. Light southwest wind.
• Wed: Sunny, 62/41. Thu: Partly cloudy, 62/43; rain possible overnight (20%).
• Fri: Mostly cloudy, 56/42; rain 20%.
• Sat (Halloween): Partly cloudy, 55/43 — daytime mostly dry, rain likely after dark (90% overnight, ~0.33 in). Plan costumes and porch lights accordingly.
• Sun: Rain, 47/35; rain/snow overnight (70%, ~0.11 in). Clocks fall back at 2 a.m. (Daylight saving ends.)
• Mon: Partly cloudy, 47/33.

[Refreshed Tue Oct 27, ~8:30 AM PDT — weather.com.]

Roads

• No closures reported for I-15, SR-14, or SR-143 as of press time.
• The season has already turned up high: SR-14 saw its first snow on Oct 12, with ~100-foot visibility near mile marker 17. Check conditions before crossing Cedar Mountain — they change fast above 8,000 feet.

Parks

• Bryce Canyon: Entrance fees are waived today (Tue Oct 27, Theodore Roosevelt's birthday) for U.S. citizens and residents. Some trail closures from recent rains; the dump station is closed for the season.
• Zion: The Zion–Mt. Carmel Highway (SR-9) reopened Oct 9; a temporary gravel section remains on the switchbacks — slow down through the work zone. Shuttle hours shortened Oct 25 (last bus from the visitor center 5:00 p.m.).
• Cedar Breaks: SR-148 is open, but the visitor center, museum, and campground are closed for the season, and the rim road's snow closure (typically mid-November) is weeks away. These are the last easy weekends up there this year.

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Iron County writes the rules for the data-center era

The Iron County Commission voted Monday to adopt Ordinance 2026-23, establishing the Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) overlay — the new rulebook for the data-center era — and ending, for now, the most argued-over land-use fight in recent county memory. The vote came after a lengthy public hearing in which the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah and numerous residents urged the commission to postpone the decision and give tribal consultation, water protections, and noise limits a closer look. The commission heard them out, and adopted the ordinance anyway.

The decision settles the question that has hung over the county since May, when the commission imposed a 180-day moratorium on new data-center, power-plant, and large-solar applications — a pause that expires November 22. The two-week delay the Rural Preservation Group and tribal leaders asked for did not happen: the commission took the vote on the schedule it had set, and the ordinance is now the county's framework for the largest industrial projects it may ever see.

What the commission acted on is a new framework called the Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) Overlay, meant to replace the county's existing "Data Centers" zoning chapter. It covers the projects too big for the county's normal conditional-use process: data centers drawing more than 50 megawatts of IT load, power plants over 50 MW, battery storage over 100 MW, and industrial campuses over 150 acres. Under the overlay, projects that size go through a legislative review — an approved "Development Envelope" and a negotiated Development Agreement covering phasing, infrastructure, mitigation, and financial assurances, project by project. The ordinance also bars applicants from requiring the county to sign a non-disclosure agreement as a condition of discussing a proposal.

The road here was long. In May, the commission adopted a 180-day moratorium on new data center, data-center power plant, and large solar applications; that moratorium expires November 22, which is the deadline pressure behind this week's vote. In March, more than 350 residents filled a Planning Commission hearing on a proposed data center, and by September the county planner was reporting roughly 5,500 emails and 2,000 phone calls from the public on the subject over the course of the year. A 640-acre data center proposal that predates the moratorium received the go-ahead in June.

Not everyone wanted a decision this week. The Iron County Rural Preservation Group petitioned for a two-week delay, arguing the 33-page revised ordinance was released only days before its first hearing — and that the rewrite dropped a guaranteed 30-day tribal comment window.

What happens next is the first real test. The big proposals already circling the county — including the 640-acre Antelope data center, which predates the moratorium — will now be measured against the overlay: an approved Development Envelope and a negotiated Development Agreement, project by project, covering phasing, infrastructure, mitigation, and financial assurances. The rules are written. Now Iron County finds out how they work in practice — and whether the residents and tribal leaders who asked for more time keep pressing their case.

Photo of the Week

The sheep came down Main Street. Roughly 1,000 sheep made the trip from Cedar Mountain to winter range on Saturday as the centerpiece of the Cedar Livestock & Heritage Festival — tractors and horses up front, Cedar City watching from the sidewalks.

This slot belongs to readers starting next week. Send your best Iron County photo — one per week gets the front page. Submission details at the bottom of this issue.

City Hall & County

Cross Hollow rezone recommended. Cedar City's Planning Commission voted unanimously Oct 6 to recommend rezoning 2300 West Cross Hollow Road from Residential Agriculture to Mixed Use. The site, near Walmart and Home Depot, is slated for a large office building and smaller commercial tenants — and was already shown as mixed use in the development's master plan.

Housing code talks continue. The same meeting took up housing-affordability amendments: aligning R3 density and lot-width standards with R2, a sliding scale allowing larger detached ADUs on larger lots, and reduced setbacks to help builders fit homes on smaller lots. Discussion only — no vote yet.

Sewer cost-share ratified. The County Commission ratified a $1.28 million cost-share with Cedar City to upsize sewer infrastructure for an 825-acre project at 1356 N. Iron Springs Road — the county's share is $482,240.74 (37.7%), the city's $796,912.41.

On the calendar: The County Commission met Monday, Oct 26, in Parowan and adopted the SDZ overlay (see The Lead). On Nov 9 the commission takes up vacating two deteriorating, unused road sections in the Chekshani Cliffs subdivision.

Public Safety & Seasonal Safety

First snow already fell on Cedar Mountain. On Oct 12, SR-14 near mile marker 17 was snow-covered with visibility around 100 feet and a vehicle off the roadway; plows were requested and traffic slow-rolled over the mountain. No injuries were reported. With another storm in this week's forecast, check UDOT before canyon trips.

First freeze is here. Overnight lows hit 34° this past weekend and stay mostly in the low 40s this week, dipping to the mid-30s by Sunday night. Disconnect hoses, cover outdoor faucets, bring in tender plants — and check antifreeze and tire tread before mountain drives.

A brighter, wetter Halloween. Rain is forecast for Saturday evening (sunset 6:34 p.m.). Reflective tape and a flashlight earn their keep this year, and drivers should expect costumed pedestrians in the neighborhoods. Supervised options abound: the Sheriff's trunk-or-treat Thursday, and SUU's free trunk-or-treat before Saturday's volleyball match (see The Week Ahead).

Watch for hunters. General deer season traffic fills the SR-14 and SR-143 corridors this time of year — expect campers and slow vehicles at pullouts, and wear blaze orange if you're on the trails.

Campus, Schools & Sports

T-Birds knock off a ranked team. Southern Utah beat No. 14 UC Davis 38–17 at Eccles Coliseum on Oct 17, and senior running back Floyd Chalk was named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week for his part in it. “Floyd ran really hard and did a great job taking advantage of what was there,” Coach DeLane Fitzgerald said.

Heartbreaker in Moscow. SUU rallied to tie Idaho 28–28 with 42 seconds left on a 57-yard touchdown pass on 4th-and-10, but fell 31–28 on a 53-yard walk-off field goal as time expired on Saturday. Will Burns put up 392 total yards in the loss; SUU falls to 3–5. Home for Halloween: Northern Arizona visits Eccles Coliseum Saturday at 1:00 p.m. — and SUU volleyball hosts Montana at 6:30 p.m. with a pre-match trunk-or-treat and free admission.

First look at the T-Bird men. SUU's basketball team beat Ottawa University Arizona 78–51 in an Oct 19 exhibition; newcomer JaJuan Nicholls put up 20 points and 8 rebounds. The regular season opens Monday, Nov 2 at home against West Coast Baptist College.

Playoff football. Canyon View (No. 6 seed in 3A) hosted Manti on Friday night, and the Cedar Reds opened their playoff run against North Sanpete. Cedar beat North Sanpete 44–20; Manti beat Canyon View 35–17. The Canyon View girls soccer season ended Oct 17 with a 1–0 playoff loss at Richfield, closing a 14–6 campaign.

Business Spotlight — Retail

Five Below opens on Main Street. The national value retailer held its grand opening weekend October 23–26 at 610 S. Main St. — the newest national name to plant a flag in Cedar City. The peg is the pattern: retail gravity keeps pulling north from St. George, and Main Street keeps collecting the evidence.

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Local Flavors

The edible centerpiece of festival weekend. Saturday's Cedar Livestock & Heritage Festival paired sheep shearing with a Dutch oven cook-off — with public tasting. In Iron County, Dutch oven cooking isn't a novelty act; it's heritage with a lid lifter. Weather cancelled the festival's ranch rodeo and tractor pulls (Friday's Antique Tractor Pull and Draft Horse Teamster Demonstration, and Saturday's Dennis Stowell Memorial Ranch Rodeo and Antique Tractor and Draft Horse Pulls), but the cook-off tasting went ahead.

Arts & Events

Shakespeare Festival: season's over, next one's historic. The Utah Shakespeare Festival closed its 65th anniversary season on Oct 3 — and the announced 2027 lineup completes the Shakespeare canon: The Two Noble Kinsmen, billed as the final previously unperformed play needed to complete it, joins Henry V, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Crucible, The Drowsy Chaperone, Arsenic and Old Lace, and more.

Save the date: Orchestra of Southern Utah's “Rock Gold: Volume Four” — symphonic rock at the Heritage Center Theater, Thu–Fri Nov 5–6, 7:30 p.m.

The Week Ahead — Oct 27 to Nov 3

• Tue Oct 27 — Early voting begins, Iron County Courthouse, Parowan, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (also Wed & Thu; Fri 8:00–11:30 a.m.).
• Tue Oct 27 — Bryce Canyon fee-free day (see Conditions Strip).
• Tue Oct 27, 9–11 a.m. — Tourism business workshop, Courtyard by Marriott, Cedar City. Free; via the Chamber calendar.
• Thu Oct 29, 4–6 p.m. — Trick or Treat at the Homestead, Frontier Homestead State Park. $4/person, $20/family.
• Thu Oct 29, line up 5:30 p.m., candy drop 6 p.m. — Trunk or Treat with the Iron County Sheriff's Department, 170 E. Fiddlers Canyon Rd.
• Sat Oct 31, 1 p.m. — SUU Football vs. Northern Arizona, Eccles Coliseum.
• Sat Oct 31, 3–6 p.m. — Historic Downtown Halloween Stroll, Main Street. Free.
• Sat Oct 31, 6:30 p.m. — SUU Volleyball vs. Montana, America First Event Center. Trunk-or-treat before the match; free admission.
• Sun Nov 1, 2 a.m. — Daylight saving time ends. Clocks back one hour.
• Mon Nov 2 — SUU Men's Basketball opener vs. West Coast Baptist College, America First Event Center.
• Tue Nov 3 — ELECTION DAY. Polls 7 a.m.–8 p.m. Vote centers: Iron County Courthouse (Parowan), Enoch City Offices, Festival Hall (Cedar City). New rule: mail ballots must be in the clerk's hands by 8 p.m. — postmarks no longer count. Mail at least a week ahead or use a 24-hour drop box (Cedar City Parking Garage, SUU rotunda, Parowan Courthouse, and others). Track your ballot at ballottrax.utah.gov. On the ballot: County Commission Seat A (Mike Bleak, unopposed) and Seat B (K. Rand Bettridge vs. Wesley B. Curtis).

Health & Wellness

Cooking your way to steadier blood sugar. USU Extension Iron County’s Diabetes Cook Along is back for fall — a four-session, hands-on cooking series at the USU Extension office, 585 North Main Street. Classes meet Mondays, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Two sessions remain: Nov. 2 and Nov. 9. Registration is $49 for the series, and each class includes a meal (plus leftovers to take home), the Diabetes Cook Along Cookbook, and door prizes. To sign up, contact USU Extension Iron County. Educational information only — not medical advice.

The Community Page

Canyon cleanup crew. SUU’s Outdoor Recreation Project teamed with the BLM Cedar City Field Office for a public lands cleanup Saturday at mile marker 3 in Cedar Canyon — volunteers, gloves, and build-your-own-sandwich lunches.

5,500 emails. Whatever side of the data-center question you’re on, Iron County showed up for it this year — roughly 5,500 emails and 2,000 calls to the county, by the county planner’s count (see The Lead).

The festival runs on volunteers. The Livestock & Heritage Festival — Cedar Chest Quilters, the Dennis Stowell Memorial Ranch Rodeo crew, and a small army of locals — closed its 2026 run Sunday.

In Memoriam

• Robert Gower Davis, 84, of Cedar City/Kanarraville — October 13. Vietnam veteran; longtime construction superintendent with Carter Enterprises.
• Tiffani Daria Thompson Graff, 56, of Cedar City — October 14. Cedar High alumna.

This Week in Cedar City History

250 years ago this month, they cast lots — and turned back. In October 1776, Franciscan friars Atanasio Domínguez and Silvestre Vélez de Escalante led a small party from Santa Fe looking for a route to California. Near present-day Cedar City — the farthest west the expedition would reach — low on provisions with winter coming on, they met Southern Paiute women gathering grass seed, who shared their knowledge of the country. Short on food and time, the party made the hardest decision of the journey: after casting lots, they turned back for Santa Fe. This month marks the 250th anniversary of the moment Cedar City’s ground decided a famous journey’s ending.

Classifieds

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