Utah Pulse is proud to partner with Utah Genius to present the first annual Utah Genius Awards.  The awards honor people, companies and cities that foster innovation in the Beehive State.  Watch a video interview with the founder of Utah Genius, Rand Bateman.  The awards ceremony is scheduled for May 12th.  The keynote speaker is Jack Brittain, Dean of the Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah.

Here are some news items for you on a Tuesday morning... 

Cue the "tear down this wall" references.  Lawmakers and Governor Huntsman announced a compromise measure to do away with the state's private club rule in exchange for harsher DUI penalties.  The elimination of private clubs is expected to boost the state's tourism industry.

Lawmakers unveiled a measure to change health insurance for public employees.  The proposal would strip the Public Employees Health Plan's rights to be the exclusive provider of health insurance for state employees, and put the contract up for bids.

Gas prices are rising again.  The national average cost for a gallon of regular unleaded jumped 0.7 cents last week.  The Rocky Mountain region had the lowest average gas prices at $1.81 a gallon, which is up 2.4 cents from a week ago.

Is Citi once again hanging by a thread?  The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that federal regulators are once again poised to intervene with the bank if financial troubles threaten its stability.

Does the FDIC need more than the $700 billion already approved for bailing out the financial system?  The chairman of the FDIC says the effort to strip banks of toxic assets could be painful financially in the short term, but might benefit taxpayers in the long run. 

--Bryan Schott, Managing Editor