Construction Underway, Scheduled Operation: 2025

The Intermountain Power Project's transformational “IPP Renewed” project is under construction and on track for mid-2025 start-up. The project includes new natural gas-fueled electricity generating units that will also utilize "green" hydrogen for long-term, dispatchable storage of renewable energy. There are currently 600 workers on site in Milliard County, with 1200 expected during peak construction. Click here to watch construction unfold. 

Utah Headlines

Political news

• In a lecture at Weber State, George Will says Vivek Ramaswamy is ‘just wrong’ on his view of a president’s powers (Deseret News)

Election news

• Celeste Maloy sets sight on November ballot for Utah's 2nd District after clinching GOP primary (KUTV)
• Former congressional staffer defeats Trump critic in special Utah GOP primary (Washington Post)
• Municipal primary election results: Who's advancing in Wasatch Front mayoral, city council races (KSL)
• Low turnout for Tuesday’s election in Utah County; Lehi first city to use ranked-choice voting in primary (Daily Herald)
• Unofficial results reported in Hyrum, North Logan and Smithfield primaries (Cache Valley Daily)

General Utah news

• Provo Airport closing for the next two weeks (KSL Newsradio)
• The next ‘daring scientific discoveries’ in space might come thanks to this team at Utah State (Salt Lake Tribune)

Crime

• Former Utah movie producer Ken Cromar indicted on tax evasion, accused of occupying seized home (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Records show ‘8 Passengers’ influencer Ruby Franke was on police radar for over a year. In the last 4 years, police made at least 15 visits to Ruby Franke’s home in Springville (Deseret News)
• YouTube terminates channels belonging to '8 Passengers' mother (Fox13)
• West Valley man pleads guilty to sexually abusing 3 boys in deal that dismisses 18 felonies (KSL)
• Man arrested in elderly exploitation case after bank employees spot 'red flags' (KSL)
• Salt Lake City police issue warning after possible police impersonator on Interstate 80 (KUTV)
• Orem Police: Extortion, blackmail using explicit photos via social media skyrocketing in 2023 (ABC4)

Business

• Google reaches tentative settlement of Utah-led suit over alleged app store monopoly (KUER)
• Salt Lake City bans new drive-thrus in busy part of Sugar House (Deseret News)
• Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings is new majority owner of Powder Mountain following $100 million investment (Deseret News)
• Why Utah will lead phase 2 of the AI revolution: The regulatory sandbox (Deseret News)

Culture

• ‘People look at me just as a blind person, not as a musician’: ‘AGT’ teen who went viral is competing for a spot in the finale (Deseret News)

Education

• Focus on what today's students need, Gov. Cox says at awards luncheon (KSL)

Environment

• Environmental groups sue Utah over its management of the Great Salt Lake (Deseret News)
• Biden administration cancels remaining oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic Refuge (AP)
• New lithium company wants billions of gallons from Great Salt Lake, but says it will put it all back (Salt Lake Tribune)

Family

• Brave new nursery? Robot-guided conception is here (Deseret News)
• Could AI do more harm than good to relationships, from romance to friendship? (Deseret News)

Health

• 5 foods that help calm anxiety and reduce depression (Deseret News)
• Is this eye-tracking device a simpler way to detect autism? (Deseret News)
• What we don’t know about this new COVID-19 variant (Deseret News)
• Huntsman Mental Health Institute leads world’s largest genetic study of suicide (KSL TV)
• ‘A good death’: Hospice care is about finding peace in the journey’s last steps (KUER)
• Arthur Brooks: How to set the right life goals (The Atlantic)

National Headlines

General

• The Burning Man party is over. Now a massive cleanup begins (AP)
• Alex Murdaugh wants a new trial, accusing the clerk of court of jury tampering (NPR)
• Hurricane Lee charges through open Atlantic waters as it approaches northeast Caribbean (AP)
• A judge orders Texas to move a floating barrier that’s used to deter migrants between US and Mexico (AP)
• As federal workers are ordered back to their offices, pockets of resistance remain (NPR)
• Abortions rose in most U.S. states this year, new data shows (New York Times)

Politics

• Biden trails Haley, polling neck-and-neck with other Republicans (The Hill)
• Court strikes down Alabama redistricting map for noncompliance with Supreme Court decision (Deseret News)
• Presidential centers from Hoover to Bush and Obama unite to warn of fragile state of US democracy (AP)
• Mitch McConnell says he isn’t resigning, has support from Sen. Mitt Romney, other Republican senators (Deseret News)
• Pence rails against Trump’s ‘siren song of populism’ as he tries to energize his 2024 campaign (AP)

Ukraine 🇺🇦

• Russian missile turns Ukrainian market into fiery, blackened ruin strewn with bodies (AP)
• The critics of Russia's war in Ukraine caught in jail 'carousel' (Reuters)
• In Crimea, pro-Ukraine feelings prompt a Russian crackdown (Wall Street Journal)
• In northeast Ukraine, the Russians are coming — or maybe setting a diversion (Washington Post)
• Cuba says Russian human traffickers lure citizens to war with Ukraine (Washington Post)

World

• Archeologists in Norway found an arrow that was likely trapped in ice for 4,000 years (NPR)
• Sudanese refugees in Chad scramble to survive (NPR)
• ‘They blew our lives up’: South Sudanese flee war in Sudan (New York Times)
• A Historic First for Mexico as Two Women Vie for the Presidency (New York Times)

Number of the Day 

News Releases

“Financial Feminist” Jacki Zehner to keynote 2023 Women & Business conference and ATHENA Awards luncheon

Investor, writer, speaker and champion for financial equity, Jacki Zehner, will keynote the 2023 Women & Business Conference and ATHENA Awards Luncheon, the Salt Lake Chamber announced today. The 47th Annual Women & Business Conference and ATHENA Awards Luncheon on November 2, 2023, at the Grand America Hotel. The Conference is the primary fundraiser for the Women’s Business Center of Utah, and features inspirational speakers, valuable business insights, and networking opportunities, as well as recognizes the accomplishments of those helping to make a difference in our community. (Read More)

Utah economy surges through summer months and national recession fears ease

The Salt Lake Chamber, in partnership with the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, has released the August 2023 Roadmap to Prosperity Economic Dashboard to support business leaders in understanding impacts on Utah’s economy. “Our summer numbers continue to show Utah’s economy surging with record labor participation and consumer spending lifting the economy upward,” said Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber. (Read More)

Romney, Van Hollen introduce legislation to create U.S.-ASEAN Center, boost U.S. ties with Southeast Asia

U.S. Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ranking Member and Chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy respectively, introduced legislation to bolster the United States’ economic and cultural engagement with Southeast Asian countries amid the U.S.-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, being held today during the 43^rd ASEAN Summit this week in Jakarta, Indonesia. This bill enables the U.S. Department of State to establish a U.S.-ASEAN Center through a public-private partnership to focus on strengthening trade, investment, and people-to-people relationships between the U.S. and ASEAN countries. (Read More)

Better Utah announces new Executive Director

Following a lengthy search process, the Better Utah Board of Directors announced that Jeff Merchant has accepted the role of Executive Director for Alliance for a Better Utah and Better Utah Institute. Better Utah’s supporters, the press, and the public are encouraged to come meet the new executive director at Better Utah Institute’s Progressive Block Party, taking place this Friday, September 8 from 5:00pm – 8:00pm at Mountain West Cider in Salt Lake City. Tickets for the all-ages event are $5 and are available here. (Read More)

Rocky Mountain University names Dr. Malissa Martin as Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs & Provost

After successfully serving in an interim capacity for a year, Malissa Martin, EdD, ATC, has been officially named Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMU). During her interim role this past year, Martin has made a significant impact on RMU through her mentorship and leadership of students, faculty, and academic programs. (Read More)

Tweet of the Day 

Upcoming

• 2nd Annual Conservative Climate Summit with Rep. John Curtis — Sept. 8, 8:00 am-3:00 pm, UVU, Register here
• Striking the Right Balance in Online Safety with the Family Online Safety Institute — Sept. 12, 12:00-2:00 pm, Hyatt Regency or virtual, Register here
• Interim Day — Sept. 18, Utah Tech University, le.utah.gov
• A Bolder Way Forward with the Utah Women and Leadership Project — Sept. 20, 12:00 - 1:15 pm, Virtual, Register here
• Understanding Sexism in Utah with the Utah Women and Leadership Project— Oct. 10, 12:00-1:15 pm, Register here
• Interim Day — Oct 10-11, le.utah.gov
• Interim Day — Nov 14-15, le.utah.gov
• General election — Nov. 21

On This Day In History 

• 1813 - The US gets its nickname “Uncle Sam.”
• 1860 - Anna Mary Robertson Moses is born. Known as “Grandma Moses,” she did not begin painting until she was 76, when arthritis made it difficult for her to embroider. She produced nearly 1800 works before her death at age 101.
• 1888 - Edith Eleanor McLean becomes the first baby to be placed in an incubator at State Emigrant Hospital on Ward’s Island, New York
• 1892 - Elizabeth Coit is born. An architect who tackled affordable housing for people of limited means, she collected and analyzed information for the Federal Public Housing Authority and developed more than 150 projects
• 1916 - Congress passed the Workmen’s Compensation Act.
• 1927 - Idahoan Philo Farnsworth demonstrates the first electric television.
• 1936 - The Boulder Dam (now the Hoover Dam) begins operations.
• 1940 - The Blitz begins as Germany bombs London, the first of 57 consecutive nights.
• 1977 - US agrees to transfer the Panama Canal to Panama
• 1979 - ESPN channel launched
• 2013 - Chinese President Xi Jinping announces plans to develop a new 'Silk Road Economic Belt' (part of the Belt and Road Initiative) during a visit to Kazakhstan
• 2022 - Discovery of the earliest evidence of surgery from 31,000-year-old skeleton with amputated lower leg in East Kalimantan, Borneo published in "Nature"

Quote of the Day

"We shall rather draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival, and of a victory won not only for ourselves but for all."

—Winston Churchill, at the beginning of the Blitz

On the Punny Side

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