Home Care In Cedar City, UT

ST. GEORGE — Utah Tech wrapped up the 2023-24 golf season with a seventh-place finish at the 2024 Western Athletic Conference Women’s Golf Championships on Sunday at The Rim Golf Club in Payson, Ariz.

The Trailblazers opened with a 24-over par 308 to stand in seventh after Friday’s first round, then bettered that by five strokes with a 19-over 303 on Saturday but could not gain any ground on the field. Utah Tech then closed with a 26-over 310 on its Sunday loop to finish at plus-69 921.

Seattle U, which was in sixth place after Friday’s opening round, vaulted into third place on Saturday, then overtook runner-up Abilene Christian (+42, 894) and third-place Grand Canyon (+43, 895) to claim the WAC team title.

Trailblazer freshman Mia Cesarek played steady over the three days, opening with a five-over par 76 on Friday. Cesarek followed that with a 6-over 77 and a 4-over 75 on Sunday to finish tied for 16th at plus-15 228.

Senior Grace Williams found herself in the top-10 on the player leaderboard over the first two days, beginning with a 3-over 74 which tied her for fifth after her first loop. Williams was tied for ninth after a 75 on Saturday (+7 149) but was done in by a 9-over 80 on Sunday, which dropped her into a tie for 22nd at plus-16 229.

The Thunderbirds finished in a tie for ninth at the WAC Championships at the Golf Club at Chapparal Pines. Shooting rounds of 323, 312 and 315.

Softball splits twinbill on the road

The Trailblazers split a doubleheader on Friday afternoon at Tarleton State winning Gam 1 3-1 before falling 7-0 in Game 2. two. Saturday’s series finale was canceled due to rain.

Utah Tech (16-27 overall, 9-10 WAC) totaled seven hits in the first game and added two hits in the nightcap.

The Trailblazers were led by a pair of hits in the opener from Carly Eldredge while getting one double apiece from Baylee Howley and Gabi Giroux. The second game saw base knocks from Marisa Rubio and Danyelle Leone.

In the circle, Attlyn Johnston earned her sixth win of the season in the opener tossing a complete game limiting Tarleton (19-29, 5-14 WAC) to four hits, one earned run and struck out six.

The second game saw Tyler Denhart take the loss as she and Leone each allowed seven hits apiece, with the pair each striking out two apiece.

Track and field records fall

The program records were set at the Southern Utah Coliseum Championships at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City on Saturday.

Rashawnna Gibson led the charge setting both the 100- and 200-meter-dash records — winning the 100 11.77 seconds and placing fourth in the 200 in 24.53. Whitney Christiansen set a program record in the 400 meters topping her previous by 0.42 seconds with a time of 56.61.

Other winning marks on Saturday came from Ashlyn Parish winning the 100-meter hurdles (13.56), and the 4×400-meter relay team of Megan Jenkins, Sadie Edwards, Addy Wyatt and Christiansen raced to a winning time of 3:51.15.

Lexi Larsen was the runner-up in the 800 meters (2:13.24) and Jenkins and Erin McKinnon each took third in the 400 meter hurdles and 1500 meters, respectively.

Tennis season ends with loss

The Trailblazers saw their season come to a close Thursday falling 4-0 to top-seed Grand Canyon at the WAC Tournament hosted at the HEB Tennis Center at Pendleton Park, Texas.

Utah Tech (6-16) dropped the doubles point falling 6-1 at both No. 1 and 3 doubles.

The duo of Ya-Chi Hsu and Ana Gutierrez Sampere were winning 4-2 at No. 2 doubles before their match went unfinished as the Lopes went to singles leading 1-0.

In singles, Grand Canyon (20-2), who is ranked No. 62 nationally by ITA, earned wins at the No. 1, 4 and 5 spots and Nos. 2,3 and 6 went unfinished.

Doubles competition 1. Natasha Puehse/Santa Strombacha (GCU)) def Mariana Zurita/Rachel Mellor (UT) 6-12. Ya-Chi Hsu/Ana Gutierrez Sampere (UT) / Valentina Del Marco/Valeriia Krokhotina (GCU) 4-2, unfinished in first set3. Elizaveta Morozova/Iva Sepa (GCU) def. Olivia Bustos/Adithi Venkatakrishnan (UT) 6-1

Singles competition 1. Natasha Puehse (GCU) def. Adithi Venkatakrishnan (UT) 6-0, 6-12. Santa Strombacha (GCU) / Ana Gutierrez Sampere (UT) 6-1, 4-0, unfinished3. Iva Sepa (GCU) / Mariana Zurita (UTU) 6-3, 2-0, unfinished4. Elizaveta Morozova (GCU) def. Rachel Mellor (UT) 6-1, 6-05. Valeriia Krokhotina (GCU) def. Ya-Chi Hsu (UT) 6-0, 6-06. Dania Deaifi (GCU) / Olivia Bustos (UT) 6-4, 1-0, unfinished

With old world charm and breathtaking views Cedar City, Utah is a vibrant gem. The area is exploding with building and growth.

Take a stroll through history and remember the roots of Cedar City.

Aaronee LOVES the country lifestyle. She has a great little farm with Alpacas, goats, dogs, cats and chickens! So yes, some.....stuff on her boots. ;) Aaronee's playlist has everything from Reba & Brooks & Dunn to Rascal Flatts & Garth to Miranda Lambert & Laney Wilson to Kane Brown & Morgan Wallen. She loves them all. ♥ Get her some chips and salsa or tater tots and a root beer float and she is set. She loves chatting on social media so make sure to hit her up on the Cat Country Utah Facebook page!

The new freeway wall on I-15 in Southern Utah isn't even all the way up yet and there is growing irritation circling on social media.

I must admit that when I first saw it going up I was sad. After the first day when a few concrete panels where up, I couldn't see Washington City and the mountains toward Zion like I wanted to.

It is gonna cut our view totally out for that stretch of freeway on the Washington corridor. Growth is hard. I really wish they would have done more of a half wall. A wall that doesn't totally cut out the whole view of our gorgeous Southern Utah landscape.

I am sure that the residents that live close to the expanded freeway are happy about cutting the freeway noise down at their homes.

I cannot find the original poster on Facebook. I took some screen shots and when I backed out of the comments section, it disappeared. Here are some comments on a post from the Facebook group, St George Word Of Mouth:

Some argue that the concrete walls don't actually cut the sound down, but just bounce the sound around and may even magnify it.

Although some seem to like the freeway noise, I can attest to air breaks being WAY TOO loud to sleep through.

The conversation is ongoing but I guess since the wall is already going up, we should look for the good.

I like that the designer didn't just leave them plain. Whoever paid for the upgrade to make them a little more artful, Thank You. I like the bluffs that are depicted instead of regular mountains or nothing at all. ♥

CEDAR CITY — The Cedar City Community Band has announced it will host a free concert on Wednesday evening in the Cedar High School auditorium, starting at 7:30 p.m.

According to a news release sent out by band director Steve Shirts, the theme of the concert is “Thunder,” which is a tribute to the support of the Southern Utah University Music Department and the SUU Wind Symphony, which shared concerts and provided other assistance in helping get the current iteration of the Cedar City Community Band established around five years ago.

“It is also a tribute to SUU in general, as the mascot shifted from the Broncos to the Thunderbirds for the 1961-62 school year, when the school was then known as College of Southern Utah,” Shirts added in the news release.

Cedar City News caught up with Shirts and the community band at practice on Wednesday night, one week before their upcoming concert. The program is scheduled to begin with John Philip Sousa’s “The Thunderer” and end with “Rolling Thunder,” a 1911 composition by Henry Fillmore. To see the full program including a list of the performers, click here.

Shirts shared some interesting facts about the 68-member band, all of whom perform on an unpaid volunteer basis.

“We have seven married couples, six parents with children in the band and seven families with multiple members playing,” he said. “Our youngest member is 13 and our oldest ones are somewhere north of 80.”

Shirts said that while most of the band members live in either Cedar City or Enoch, some come from New Harmony and other outlying areas.

“One even travels from Hurricane,” he said.

Shirts said he had an audience member come up to him after a concert last year and say, “Non-auditioned community bands are not supposed to be this good.”

“I agree with that statement and share it frequently,” he said. “We have amazing musicians in our community and it’s an honor to be their conductor.”

On behalf of the band, Shirts expressed gratitude for its various sources of support, including Cedar City Council, RAP Tax Committee, Cedar City Mayor Garth Green, the SUU Music Department and Dr. Adam Lambert.

Shirts also thanked Cedar High teacher Keith Sorensen and the other band teachers throughout Iron County School District and Cedar High School for allowing the use of free rehearsal space and percussion equipment.

Shirts said the concert will be streamed live on YouTube at the following link, where it can also be viewed afterward.

Event details

Photo Gallery

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.

Cedar City has been named the third fastest-growing college town in America by BrokeScholar. The study shows the population has nearly doubled between 2000 and 2023 and is forecasted to have a population of 51,000 by 2030. This growth has brought enhanced cultural opportunities, increased educational resources and a stronger local economy.

Cedar City is the home to Southern Utah University and Southwest Technical College. SUU’s student body consists of more than 15,000 students from all 29 counties in Utah and all 50 states with 5.2% of the student population being international students from 77 different countries.

Cedar City has always been a close-knit, welcoming community with a strong sense of identity that SUU is honored to be a part of. For a lot of citizens, that identity revolves around the arts, the outdoors and entrepreneurship.

Community leaders have always provided support to SUU, especially through the Utah Summer Games and the Utah Shakespeare Festival.

In the late 1980s, Cedar City adopted the nickname "Festival City" to highlight the significance of the renowned Utah Shakespeare Festival. This moniker also encompassed other festivals, notably the Utah Summer Games, the largest sports festival in the state. As of 2004, Cedar City proudly earned the distinctive title of "Festival City USA" and has become a cultural hub of the southwest, home to festivals like the Midsummer Renaissance Faire, July Jamboree, Simon Fest and Sheep Festival, among others. The unique terrain of southern Utah also has helped make Cedar City the host of the state mountain biking championships.

The city also attracts outdoor adventurists of every kind due to its proximity to multiple national parks while simultaneously serving as a home base for people visiting the ski slopes in the surrounding mountains. The Intergovernmental Internship Cooperative program utilizes these parks and many other organizations to provide internships to local college students seeking real-world experiences.

Being so close to these national parks creates opportunities for students as it is great for both education and recreation. The location provides hands-on experiential learning for students studying geology, biology, archeology, environmental psychology and outdoor recreation.

SUU works very closely with the community by hosting student events that benefit the public, resources like Head Start, the STEM Center, SUCCESS Academy and the SUU Education program is heavily involved with the Iron County School District and several other community partnerships, positively impacting Cedar City education.

SUU invites alumni and community members to celebrate the success and growth of Cedar City and encourages them to join in the festivals, vote, engage with the vibrant cultural scene and be a part of shaping the future of the fast-growing college town. Together, the University and community will ensure that Cedar City remains a place that all are proud to call home.

Tags: Cedar City Utah Summer Games Southern Utah Museum of Art Outdoors Utah Shakespeare Festival Community Events Shakespeare

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CEDAR CITY — Attendees at community events might remember her singing the national anthem, previous titles from Cedar City and Iron County talent shows or Christmas songs on Main Street.

Cedar City 14-year-old Sydney Rasmussen’s most recent feat was in front of Randy Travis, Barbara Fairchild and John Berry in the nation’s midwest.

Last month, Rasmussen placed second as the Most Promising Vocalist and third in the category of Rising Star Entertainer of the Year at the North American Country Music Association International competition and awards show in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

As part of the week-long celebrations, one of the events included the induction of Travis, Fairchild, Berry and the late Mel Tillis into the music association’s Hall of Fame.

“There were so many amazing people there that watched me perform,” Rasmussen said.

While Travis was not made available for visits due to health-related concerns, she did meet Fairchild, Berry and relatives of Tillis accepting the honor on his behalf.

“I did get to meet with Barbara Fairchild and she is just so much fun,” Rasmussen said. “She is a sweet little lady and I love her to pieces.”

Singing gospel music, Rasmussen was competing against other 13-16-year-old female performers in the New Gospel category at the event.

Raised in a family that attends Sunday services at their local ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she’s always been surrounded by gospel music.

“The way I feel when I hear it versus, like rock music, there is just a huge contrast,” Rasmussen said.

Leading up to her national awards, Rasmussen previously won Cedar City’s Got Talent, Iron County’s Got Talent and Star Search. Currently, she works as an assistant director for The Singers Company mentoring younger girls to be confident through their voice.

Incidentally, her interest in competing was inspired by a Southern Utah University mentor. While earning a bachelor’s and a masters degree in music in Cedar City, Chenille Sheeran received a call from Tami Rasmussen one day needing voice lessons for her daughter.

Not long after, Sheeran was encouraging Rasmussen to perform in front of live audiences at city and county talent shows in Southern Utah. Since graduating, Sheeran has continued to work in the music industry and told Rasmussen about the festival near Nashville where she is currently living.

“Her selections and presentation were given rave reviews and compliments by the judges,” Sheeran told Cedar City News. “When she sings, the whole audience freezes as if under a spell. She has an incredible range with an entrancing presence — so much so, that when she is done singing, the audience can finally exhale.”

When not singing or practicing vocals, Rasmussen likes to clear her mind with exercise. She plays soccer for Cedar High School to help with her “mental health.”

“I find that life is a lot easier when I exercise,” she said.

Rasmussen is currently working with SUU vocal instructor Jackie Jackson and also enjoys singing to Broadway and pop tunes and listening to classical music.

According to the North American Country Music Association International website, the weeklong festival in Pigeon Forge, the home of Dollywood, is to “promote the development of the country and gospel music industry in each state and country through an international association.”

Watch one of Rasmussen’s March 2024 performances in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee on YouTube below:

Photo Gallery

Sydney Rasmussen, 14, showing awards she recently received in Tennessee at the North American Country Music Association International competition, Cedar City, Utah, April 18, 2024 | Photo by Haven Scott, St. George News

Sydney Rasmussen takes a break from classes to discuss a trip she took to Tennessee in March to sing in a competition, Cedar City, Utah, April 18, 2024 | Photo by Haven Scott, St. George News

Homeschooled part-time, Sydney Rasmussen also plays soccer for Cedar High School and sings the national anthem at veteran and other events, Cedar City, Utah, April 18, 2024 | Photo by Haven Scott, St. George News

Cedar City teenager Sydney Rasmussen recently took her show on the road to a competition in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee last month, Cedar City, Utah, April 18, 2024 | Photo by Haven Scott, St. George News

Sydney Rasmussen at the North American Country Music Association International competition in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, March 11, 2024 | Photo courtesy of James Swan Photography, St. George News

An old grist mill constructed in 1830 is now a popular tourist attraction and restaurant in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, date not specified | Photo by Paul Hamilton/Getty Images Plus, St. George News

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.