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 Millard County, with 1200 expected during peak construction. Click here to watch construction unfold. For more information, visit www.ipprenewed.com

Utah Headlines

Political news

• Boyd Matheson: What Mitt Romney got right and most in power miss (KSL Newsradio)
• Matt Waldrip: ‘It’s simply the right thing to do’: What I learned from 15 years with Mitt Romney (Deseret News)
• Conservative approach to climate change: Representative John Curtis (KSL Newsradio)
• Perspective: How impeachment lost its power (Deseret News)
• Perspective: The Constitution was designed for a moral and religious people (Deseret News)
• Opinion: The Constitution wasn’t made for partisan warriors (Deseret News)
• Romney retiring, impeachment inquiry (Hinckley Report)
• Like his dad, retiring Mitt Romney embraced moderate conservatism. He fears the GOP has lost its way (AP)
• Leaving Congress, Rep. Chris Stewart looks back on his first government shutdown. It was ‘kind of a slap in the face,’ Utah Republican recalls (RollCall)

Election News

• Opinion: Romney wants to pass the torch, but finding real leaders to grab it won’t be easy (Deseret News)
• Tim Ballard considers run for Senate amid renewed controversy. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Friday it ‘never endorsed, supported or represented (Operation Underground Railroad), Tim Ballard or any projects associated with them’ (Deseret News)
• In rare public rebuke, LDS Church condemns Tim Ballard’s ‘morally unacceptable’ behavior (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Tim Ballard responds to condemnation from his own church (Fox13)

General Utah news

• Utah is one of the safest states for Jews as hate crimes rise (Deseret News)
• Since landmark domestic violence law took effect, victim referrals are on the rise and shelters are filling up (Deseret News)
• UTA looks to 'think big' as it updates its 2050 vision plan (KSL)
• CEO of Utah County-based nonprofit Exitus is accused of over 30 felonies. Candace Lierd — founder of the organization that says it fights human trafficking — faces charges including communications fraud, theft, and forgery. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Former freelancer for Exitus calls CEO ‘con artist’ (KSL TV)
• What is ConneXions Classroom: Alleged child abuser Jodi Hildebrandt's promise to heal all 'destructive behaviors' (KUTV)
• State alleges witness tampering by Kouri Richins, woman accused of poisoning her husband (Fox13)

Business

•  Lagoon’s Primordial is officially open. Here’s what the ride is like (Deseret News)

Culture

• The real reason for Swedish death cleaning: Kids don't want their parents stuff and parents shouldn't leave it all behind for kids to deal with (Deseret News)
• Award winning Utah artist creates paintings to show pride, appreciation of Latin culture (Fox13)

Education

• A degree of risk. Congress needs to raise the bar for American colleges and universities (Deseret News) 
• Sunday edition with Dr. Astrid Tuminez (KSL)

Environment

• A solution to Utah’s air quality problem? Heavy industrial plants (Deseret News)
• A year after Great Salt Lake’s record low, half the lake is left for dead (Salt Lake Tribune)

Family

• Perspective: Tracking ‘two-parent privilege’ in Utah (Deseret News)
• What do Americans think about the future of U.S. families? 6 new findings from Pew Research (Deseret News)
• Help, my son is a vegan! (Deseret News)
• On building families. Why sliding into marriage doesn’t work (Deseret News)
• A driver of inequality that not enough people are talking about: Marriages matter (The Atlantic)
• How I found the secret to life riding 340 miles with my son (Deseret News)

Health

• The do’s and don’ts of the Mediterranean diet (plus food lists and recipes) (Deseret News)
• Gen Z’s mental health challenge may be different from other generations (Deseret News)
• Rural hospitals are closing maternity wards. People are seeking options to give birth closer to home (AP)

National Headlines

General

• A stealth F-35 fighter jet went down in S.C. It’s proving hard to find. (Washington Post) 
• Paper checks are dead. Cash is dying. Who still uses them? (Washington Post)

Politics

• Congress is in crisis. There’s no clear escape. “We’ve been seeing this coming ... I just didn’t think we were dumb enough to get there,” Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) said. (Politico)
• Texas Senate acquits state Attorney General Ken Paxton in impeachment trial (NPR)
• ‘A terrible mistake’: Trump criticizes DeSantis on abortion ban (New York Times)
• Trump says it was his decision to describe the 2020 election as 'rigged.' "You know who I listen to? Myself." (Politico)
• House Republicans propose short-term funding deal that Senate likely to reject (Washington Post)
• McCarthy warns House Republicans against spending stonewall (Politico)
• Republicans squeeze Democrats on labor as UAW strike explodes in Michigan (Politico)
• “I simply fell short of my values”: Lauren Boebert issues apology after being removed from “Beetlejuice” performance (Colorado Sun)

Ukraine 🇺🇦

• The spotlight is on Ukraine at UN leaders’ gathering, but is there room for other global priorities? (AP)
• Ukraine’s military said it had retaken a strategic village near Bakhmut, a significant advance in its counteroffensive. (New York Times)
• A glimpse of Ukraine’s ruins (Washington Post)
• All six of Ukraine’s deputy defense ministers were dismissed on Monday, a senior government official said. (New York Times)

World

• Libya floods overwhelm aid workers as disease worries rise (Wall Street Journal)
• World’s largest ‘baby exporter’ confronts its painful past. South Korean adoptees have been returning to the country to hold the government accountable for what they call a corrupt adoption system that went largely unchanged until recent decades. (New York Times)
• Iran expelled roughly one-third of the inspectors representing the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog over the weekend after more than 60 countries, including the U.S., expressed concern over Iran’s lack of compliance with the Nonproliferation Treaty’s “Safeguards Agreement.”

Number of the Day 

News Releases

Utah legislature to hold September interim meetings in St. George

The Utah State Legislature will hold interim committee meetings at Utah Tech University in St. George, Utah. This will be the first time that all interim meetings will be held off-site of the Utah State Capitol Complex and aims to provide Utahns who may not typically attend hearings in person at the Capitol the opportunity to engage with the legislative process. Lawmakers get a unique perspective on the issues and opportunities impacting Southern Utah.  (Read More)

Utah Broadband Center seeks public input on proposed locations for broadband deployment

The Utah Broadband Center (UBC), part of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, asks for public feedback on Utah’s draft of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Initial Proposal Volume 1. Comments can be submitted online through Oct. 14, 2023.

The BEAD program is a federal funding opportunity that will allow Utah to build high-speed internet infrastructure in areas of the state that currently lack access to this resource. The total funding allocation for Utah is $317.4 million, which will be distributed to various broadband projects through a competitive grant process. To ensure the greatest impact for Utahns, community members and stakeholders are encouraged to provide input to the state’s proposed process to identify areas needing broadband service. (Read More)

Congressional oversight aims to protect public lands and communities

U.S. Representative John Curtis (UT-03) and Conservative Climate Caucus Vice Chair Mariannette Miller-Meeks, M.D. (IA-01) introduced the Congressional Oversight of the Antiquities Act, legislation that requires congressional approval for the designation of national monuments. Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT), Jim Risch (R-ID), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Mitt Romney (R-UT) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. Senate. (Read More)

Owens defends Second Amendment

Rep. Burgess Owens (UT-04) co-sponsored a House Resolution to condemn New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham for her “emergency order” to prohibit the open and concealed carry of firearms in Albuquerque and its surrounding county, including city sidewalks and parks. Violators of this order may face civil penalties and fines up to $5,000. (Read More)

Tweet of the Day 

Upcoming

• 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
• Launching the Dan Jones Center for Public Service — Sept. 27, 6:00-8:00 pm, Hinckley Institute of Politics, RSVP here
• Understanding Sexism in Utah with the Utah Women and Leadership Project— Oct. 10, 12:00-1:15 pm, Register here
• Civics Educator Conference with "Sharon Says So" — Oct. 10, UVU, More information and registration 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 

• 1793 - George Washington lays the foundation stone of the US Capitol
• 1850 - US Congress passes the Fugitive Slave Law as part of the Compromise of 1850
• 1851 - The New York Times starts publishing (2 cents per copy)
• 1947 - The US Air Force is created as a separate military branch
• 2020 - Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies of pancreatic cancer at age 87

Quote of the Day

“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn’t be that women are the exception.”
— Ruth Bader Ginsburg

On the Punny Side

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