2020 Timeline In Review

JANUARY

January 3 -- The term “World War III” is thrown around after Iranian general Qassem Soleimani is assassinated.

January 20 -- The first case of COVID-19 in the US near Seattle.

January 26 -- Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and seven others are killed in a helicopter crash.

FEBRUARY

February 20 -- The Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy amid sexual abuse cases.

February 27 -- Utah votes to decriminalize polygamy.

MARCH

March 6 -- Governor Gary Herbert issues a state of emergency.

March 6 -- The first COVID-19 case is confirmed in Utah.

March 11 -- Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 which led to the cancellation of the game, the NBA, and soon many other sports too.

March 12 -- Governor Herbert announces 100-person limit on public gatherings.

March 12 -- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints suspends all services and activities.

March 13 -- Breonna Taylor is shot and killed by police in Kentucky.

March 13 -- Gov. Herbert announces the “soft closure” of all Utah K-12 schools for two weeks which lasted the rest of the school year.

March 16 -- Dine-in options at Salt Lake County restaurants are closed off for the first time. Statewide measures ended up in place not long after.

March 18 -- A 5.7 magnitude earthquake hits centered near Magna.

March 22 -- Utah health officials confirm the state’s first known death as a result of COVID-19.

March 27 -- Salt Lake City mayor issues stay at home order.

March 28 -- Utah’s National Parks closed indefinitely.

APRIL

April 4-5 -- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds virtual-only sessions for their general conference sessions.

April 18-November 30 -- Over 1,500 fires reported in Utah, about $60 million in costs, and over 300,000 acres burned.

MAY

May 1 -- Utah eases statewide restrictions tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.

May 4 -- Scientists confirm that Asian giant hornets, or murder hornets, were found in the US.

May 5 -- UHP trooper pulls over an erratic driver to find out it’s simply a 5-year-old boy behind the wheel.

May 15 -- The US announces “Operation Warp Speed” to try to create a vaccine for COVID-19.

May 22 -- Hall of Fame coach and Utah Jazz legend Jerry Sloan dies at 78.

May 25 -- George Floyd dies after being detained by police in Minnesota.

May 28 -- Utah Department of Health reports 215 new cases of COVID-19 that lead to the first mask mandates.

May 30 -- Rioting in downtown Salt Lake City destroys a police squad car and damages a TRAX station and nearby businesses.

May 30 -- Gov. Herbert issues a curfew for Salt Lake City while National Guard troops are deployed to the area.

JUNE

June 5 -- Video released of a police shooting and killing of Palacios-Carbajal spurs further protests in Salt Lake City.

June 5 -- Joe Biden secures enough delegates to win the Democratic Party nomination for the 2020 Presidential Election.

June 9 -- Chad Daybell is arrested.

June 27 -- Salt Lake and Summit counties are the first to have public mask mandates in Utah.

June 30 -- Salt Lake Bees, Orem Owlz, and Ogden Raptors seasons are cancelled.

JULY

July 6 -- Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox narrowly edges out former governor Jon Huntsman Jr. for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

July 9 -- E-commerce company Wayfair is accused of human trafficking.

July 30 -- The Jazz play New Orleans in their first game of the 2019-2020 season.

AUGUST

August -- The hottest August in Utah’s history.

August 1 -- Temperatures reach 105 degrees at Salt Lake City International Airport.

August 12 -- Salt Lake City suspends use of police dogs.

August 23 -- State of emergency declared in St. George after flooding and damage from a storm.

August 28 -- Actor Chadwick Boseman dies at the age of 43. He starred in “42,” “Marshall,” and “Black Panther.”

SEPTEMBER

September 8 -- A massive windstorm knocks down thousands of trees causing millions in damage in Davis and Salt Lake counties.

September 9 -- Utah Department of Health reports 346 new cases beginning a large spike in COVID-19.

September 18 -- Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies from pancreatic cancer at 87.

OCTOBER

October 2 -- President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19.

October 7 -- Ayoola Ajay pleads guilty to murdering University of Utah student Mackenzie Lueck in 2019.

October 7 -- Vice presidential debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Kamala Harris is held on the UofU campus.

October 9 -- Paris Hilton march and protest outside Provo Canyon School.

October 10 -- Kyle Burgess, a 26-year-old Utah man, encounters a mountain lion while heading down Slate Canyon in Provo.

October 28 -- Gail Miller announces she will sell majority ownership of the Utah Jazz to Ryan Smith of Qualtrics.

NOVEMBER

November 3 -- Cox wins the state’s gubernatorial race.

November 8 -- Alex Trebek,host of “Jeopardy!,” dies from complications of pancreatic cancer at the age of 80.

November 8 -- Gov. Herbert announces a new state of emergency and a statewide mask mandate.

November 19 -- The CDC and other health officials recommend no Thanksgiving gatherings.

DECEMBER

December 7 -- Utah Royals FC announces it will relocate to Kansas City, Missouri.

December 10 -- Utah’s death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic surpasses 1,000.

December 11 -- Pfizer vaccine approved by federal regulators.

December 14 -- Dixie State University trustees vote to remove “Dixie” from the school name after 107 years.

December 15 -- Christy Mulder, is the first Utahn given the COVID-19 vaccine outside of a clinical trial.

December 26 -- University of Utah football announces the death of Ty Jordan, a star freshman running back.