Community news from KPCW
Welcome to The Local, your source for community news from your friendly neighborhood public radio station. KPCW is the only nonprofit source of daily news across Wasatch and Summit counties.
We have hand-selected a few recent articles that reflect the happenings in our vibrant, eclectic and engaged community. Go to kpcw.org to read – and listen – like a local.
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Heber police say local data is safe amid national license plate camera controversy
By Grace Doerfler
Heber City’s police chief says data gathered by automated license plate reader cameras the department uses is protected.
Heber has used license plate reader technology for over 15 years and started using Flock cameras in 2024. Eight cameras are in place around the city.
But the technology is attracting scrutiny over who can access the collected data, especially as it relates to federal immigration enforcement.
Credit: Kristine Weller and Ulla-Britt Libre
Heber Police Chief Parker Sever says no individuals are tracked by the city’s cameras and the data is only used in specific cases, such as hit-and-run accidents.
Sever says the cameras only capture rear license plates. They can’t see who is driving a vehicle or generate other identifying information.
He says Heber City’s data isn’t sold to third parties and can’t be freely used by federal agents.
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Deer Valley to open 200 new skiable acres this winter while lodge construction continues
By Grace Doerfler
Deer Valley will debut seven new ski runs and one new ski lift when the snow flies this winter.
The expanded terrain is off of Hail Peak, where the resort will install a chairlift via helicopter in the fall.
Credit: Kristine Weller and Ulla-Britt Libre
Last year, Deer Valley’s East Village added 80 new runs and seven lifts.
Senior Director of Mountain Operations Garrett Lang says the 2026-2027 additions will bring the resort’s overall offerings to 209 total ski runs and 32 lifts.
Lang also says East Village construction has continued year-round, expanding lodging options for guests.
The Park Peak Lodge and the East Village Lodge at the base are slated to open for the 2027-2028 season.
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Chief Tabby statue honors Timpanogos history in Heber Valley
By Ulla-Britt Libre
A new statue in Heber is giving descendants of the Timpanogos Nation a public place to honor one of their most prominent leaders.
The statue erected in the Heber City Cemetery honors Chief Tabby-To-Kwanah. The Timpanogos leader negotiated a peace treaty with Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint pioneers after his tribe was forced off its land in the 1860s.
Credit: Kristine Weller and Ulla-Britt Libre
Dozens of his descendants attended the late summer ceremony.
Current Timpanogos Chief Mary Murdock Meyer says, when the pioneers arrived in the Heber Valley, there were 70,000 Timpanogos people. Now there’s about 500.
Meyer said the statue is an important step forward for her people, who since 1861 have lived under an extermination order issued by Latter-day Saints President Brigham Young.
Meyer says the Timpanogos Nation wants church and state leaders to formally apologize and rescind the order. It’s also seeking federal government recognition.
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