Once again Utah has been named No. 1 in U.S. News & World Report‘s annual rankings of the best states. But for those of us who have been living and loving this place, that’s not news. This year, for our annual celebration of the people, places and things that make Utah transplendent, we decided to go beyond U.S. News & World Report’s dry data collection and piles of stats and share the actual reasons Utah is No. 1. What makes a place a special place is the people, the things they create and the places they play.