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The Wayne & Garfield County Insider February 19, 2026

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Serving Wayne & Garfield Counties, Utah

Loa • Fremont • Lyman • Bicknell • Teasdale • Torrey • Grover • Fruita • Caineville • Hanksville Panguitch • Panguitch Lake • Hatch • Antimony • Bryce • Tropic • Henrieville • Cannonville • Escalante • Boulder

Corner Post Media, P.O. Box 105, Escalante, UT 84726

Thursday, February 19, 2026

R6 Regional Council, TLA Announce Land Sale for Central Utah Agri-Park JUAB CO. - The R6 Regional Council (R6) has purchased 960 acres of land northwest of Nephi from the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (TLA) for the future development of the Central Utah Agri-Park. The project is intended as a long-term effort to support agricultural processing, distribution, and related infrastructure that benefits legacy agriculture and regional economic development. “We’re excited about this sale,” said Michelle E. McConkie, executive director of TLA. “We were only able to make this land available and sell it to R6 because of our land exchange with the BLM. It’s a great example of how land exchanges with the federal government directly benefit Utah by opening Agri-Park Cont'd on B4

Anglers Compete for Cash Prizes at '26 Panguitch Ice Fishing Derby

Garfield County Commission

Prizes were given in team and individual categories, which included 'Heaviest,' 'Longest,' and 'Ugliest' fish

by Peg Smith

Feb. 9, 2026

by Jaynie Connor

Jaynie Connor

Ice fisherman Kyle Eresman from Las Vegas, Nevada, tries his luck on the ice at Panguitch Lake on Saturday, Feb. 7, during the 2026 Panguitch Ice Fishing Derby. PANGUITCH - On Saturday, February 7th, the annual Panguitch Ice Fishing Derby took place at Panguitch Lake, welcoming anglers of all ages

to compete and cast their lines. The event was put on by Panguitch City and kicked off at 6:00 AM, with the weigh-in scheduled from 2:00 to 3:30 PM, fol-

Zion N.P. Attend 2 Upcoming Shuttle Events to See Waterfowl, Bus Service Other Migratory Bird Resumes Species in Utah March 7

Courtesy Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

Ruddy duck. Utah is home to a variety of ducks and migrating geese—as well as other waterbird species—and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is hosting two separate viewing events in southern Utah this month to provide the opportunity to see and learn more about them. SALT LAKE CITY Utah is home to a variety of ducks and migrating geese—as well as other waterbird species—and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is hosting two separate viewing events in southern Utah this month to provide the opportunity to see and learn more about them.

Issue #1655

insiderutah.com

Delta Snow Goose Festival The Delta Snow Goose Festival, hosted by the Delta Chamber of Commerce, will be held Feb. 20-21 in Delta. Part of the festival includes a free snow goose viewing event, hosted by Viewing Events Cont'd on A5

REGIONAL WEATHER FORECAST

ZION N.P. - Zion National Park’s shuttle service begins on Saturday, March 7, 2026. During scheduled hours, shuttles arrive about every five to ten minutes in Zion Canyon and about every ten to fifteen minutes in Springdale. While visitors do not need a permit, ticket, or reservation to ride the park shuttle, they must pay the park fee to enter the park. Inside the park, shuttles take about forty-five minutes to drive between the Zion Canyon Visitor Center and the Temple of Sinawava. This means a round trip through Zion Zion Shuttle Cont'd on B3

lowed by the announcement of prizes and raffle winners. Participants had the option to fish on the ice or from the shore, with only rainbow trout eligible for entry into

the competition. Divisions were split into adult, youth, and team categories, with

GARFIELD CO. The Garfield County Commission began its February 9 meeting, as always, with updates on the Commissioners’ activities of the previous two weeks: Commissioner David Tebbs reported that consolidation of Tropic’s garbage dumpsters has been accomplished. He wanted to look into the possibility of chipsealing a portion of the road leading to the new location. He noted HB 231 (Restaurant Tax Repeal Amendments) as having potential negative effects on Garfield County. He said the “restaurant tax,” at present, largely affects tourists. If passed, he said HB 231 would shift most of those taxes to county residents.

Ice Fishing Derby

Garfield Commission

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Cats on the Land: A Practical Look at Living Together by Morgan Flynn | Color Country Animal Welfare

Courtesy Color Country Animal Welfare

Through Color Country Animal Welfare's (CCAW) Trap–Neuter–Vaccinate–Return (TNVR) program, cats are humanely trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated against rabies and other common diseases, and then returned to where they were found. TORREY - If you’ve community cat. of research, along with the ever noticed the same cat Outdoor cats are some- lived experience of rural stretched out in the sun be- times assumed to be un- communities like ours, tell hind a local shop, or watch- healthy, abandoned, or sufOutdoor Cats ing from the edge of a pas- fering simply because they Cont'd on B2 ture, you’ve likely seen a live outside. But decades

UPCOMING EVENTS... Daylight Saving Time Starts

March 8

St. Patrick's Day

March 17

FOR SOME BUT NOT ALL REGIONS REPRESENTED IN OUR NEWSPAPER COVERAGE AREA

THURS. FEB. 19 - WED. FEB. 25

30-40% chance of snow showers, with partly cloudy days over the weekend. Highs from the low 30s to the high 40s; lows from the single digits to the high 20s. **Weather is subject to Change

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. —Viktor E. Frankl

INSIDER CONTENT DEADLINE ALL content for THE WAYNE & GARFIELD COUNTY INSIDER MUST BE submitted by FRIDAY AT NOON to be included in the following Thursday edition of the paper.


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