Disturbing story out of Box Elder County; U of U's Huntsman Center likely to be relocated; BYU coach Kalani Sitake delivers BYU devotional. | | | The Utah Policy newsletter is your one-stop source for political and policy-minded news. We scour the news so you don't have to! Send news tips or feedback to Holly Richardson at editor@utahpolicy.com. | | |
Situational Analysis | Mar. 12, 2025 It's Wednesday and National No Smoking Day. Happy birthday to Mitt Romney! ð ð ð What you need to know As her battle with brain cancer comes to an end, Mia Love takes up her pen â not to say goodbye but to say thank you and express her "living wish" for the America she knows and loves. Rapid Relevance Box Elder County judge, fire chief, themselves in a relationship, shared child porn, fantasies of molestation; University of Utahâs Jon M. Huntsman Center likely to be relocated; and BYU head coach Kalani Sitake delivers a BYU devotional. | | |
Utah Headlines Political news How the Utah Legislature impacted families this year (Deseret News) Legislature passes bill to pave way for Salt Lake City to fund $1B downtown revitalization plan (Deseret News) Here's how Utah lawmakers addressed online safety this session (KSL) New Utah law allows critical care medics to perform some of the same procedures as nurses, doctors (KSL TV) Doxxed by Rolling Stone, Utahâs âDataRepublicanâ tells us what sheâs discovered (Deseret News) Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs not running for re-election (Fox13) Utah County Commissioners highlight 2024 achievements during âState of the Countyâ (Daily Herald) Provo approves dorm-style housing project near downtown (KUTV) Utah 10 years of the Utah Compromise on religion and gay rights (Deseret News) Stuart Adams, Brady Brammer, Michael Petersen, Chris Wilson, Todd Weiler, Robin Fretwell Wilson: Fairness for all â the Utah Compromise in laws across a decade (Deseret News) Tibetans in Utah commemorate resistance with a rally (Deseret News) Chick sales boom in Utah as egg prices remain high (KSL TV) Biz/Tech Southwest Airlines announced itâs ditching a trademark perk: Free checked bags. It did not go well. (Deseret News) DOJ looking at whether producers are keeping egg prices high (Deseret News) Bloomberg: Goldman Sachs looking to relocate more operations to Salt Lake City (KSL) Utah manufacturer worried about effect of steel tariff on local business (KSL Newsradio) In Utah, a $2 billion investment is helping build one of the biggest data centers in the world (Salt Lake Tribune) Crime/Courts Tremonton fire chief and Box Elder judge discussed sexually exploiting minors while in a relationship together, according to charging docs (KSL TV) Culture/Community COVID-19 taught us valuable lessons about connection. How did we forget them? (Deseret News) From sourdough recipes to where to buy toilet paper, COVID-19 sparked lots of Google searches (Deseret News) President Johnson gives her hope for women at International Womenâs Day celebration (Deseret News) Salt Lake City refugee agencies need support as funding cuts dig deep (Fox13) Economy 'Looks really sad': Shaky economy, stock market creates worry for Utahns (Fox13) Education - Higher Moving: University of Utahâs history-rich Jon M. Huntsman Center likely to be relocated (Deseret News) Weber State hosts financial literacy boot camp for high school students (KSL TV) Energy Andrew Sandstrom, Grayson Massey: How nuclear can revolutionize Utah's energy landscape (Deseret News) Housing Is renting rather than buying housing becoming more attractive to the wealthy? What a new analysis says (Deseret News) After months of debate, Ogdenâs Aspen homeless housing project is off the table (KUER) | | |
National Headlines General Who owns this valuable Nazi-looted painting? A Holocaust survivorâs family or the museum that bought it years later? (Deseret News) NTSB urges ban on some helicopter flights at Washington airport where 67 people died in midair crash (AP) Texas measles outbreak grows, while New York and California report new cases (Washington Post) Political news New moms in Congress bypass leadership to force vote changing how lawmakers can vote (Deseret News) Trumpâs Labor secretary has been confirmed, now there is just one Cabinet confirmation left (Deseret News) House passes bill to avert government shutdown, sending it to Senate (Washington Post) Trumpâs 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports go into effect (AP) Editorial Board: How do you like the trade wars now? (Wall Street Journal) A new role for the South Lawn of Trumpâs White House: Tesla car lot (Washington Post) EU retaliates against Trumpâs tariffs as trade war escalates (Washington Post) John Bolton: The only question Trump asks himself (The Atlantic) Justice Department is expected to slash public corruption unit, AP sources say (AP) DOGE/Musk White House insists Musk cuts to Social Security, Medicare wonât affect benefits (Washington Post) EPA to close all environmental justice offices, designed to ease the heavy pollution faced by poor and minority communities (New York Times) About half of the Department of Educationâs workforce has been cut since Trumpâs inauguration, with massive layoffs Tuesday night (Deseret News) USAID employees ordered to shred records, court filing says (Reuters) USDA cancels $1B in local food purchasing for schools, food banks. States have been notified that they will not receive 2025 funding for schools to buy food from nearby farms. (Politico) Musk seeks to put $100 million directly into Trump operation (New York Times) Ukraine/Russia Ukrainian female POWs tortured and paraded naked through the snow by Russian troops (The Telegraph) US to resume security support to Ukraine as Kyiv says it is ready to accept ceasefire proposal (Reuters) Russian lawmaker says any Ukraine deal will be on Moscow's terms, not Washington's (Reuters) In rare meeting without U.S. ally, Western army chiefs meet to show Ukraine unity (Reuters) Israel, Gaza, Syria Heritage Foundation report draft calls for ending U.S. aid to Israel (Jewish Insider) Hamas is offering a truce with Israel for 5 to 10 years, a U.S. official says (NPR) World news Greenlanders elect party that pushed hard against Trump takeover (Wall Street Journal) Iran's President to Trump: I will not negotiate, 'do whatever the hell you want' (Reuters) | | |
| | News Releases Federal funds in Utahâs state budget States and the federal government share a vital fiscal relationship. This data summary, the third in a series on state and federal economic linkages from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, presents data on federal funds in Utahâs state budget. In FY 2024, federal funds comprised 27% of the stateâs spending. State agencies annually submit plans for what they will do in the event federal funding drops. (Read More) Auditor Cannon on charges filed in signature gathering review âThe Office of the Utah State Auditor has been involved in a joint effort with the Lieutenant Governorâs office related to signature gathering during the 2024 election cycle. Our findings were documented and shared with the Lieutenant Governorâs office. Following the proper referral process, on December 19, 2024, the findings of this joint effort were turned over to the Attorney Generalâs Office for their review. âThe role of the Office of Utah State Auditor is to identify and investigate statutory compliance and refer related findings to the Attorney Generalâs office for examination when criminal activity is involved.â Owens leads hearing on improving workforce outcomes Education and the Workforce Committee Vice Chair Burgess Owens (R-UT) questioned witnesses in a committee hearing on the benefits of school choice. Owens called out Jessica Levin, Litigation Director for the Education Law Center, for opposing school choice despite benefiting from an elite private school education. (Read More) Owens, Risch send letter to IOC to protect womenâs Olympic sports Congressman Burgess Owens (R-UT) and Senator Jim Risch (R-ID) sent a letter demanding the International Olympic Committee (IOC) align its policies with President Trumpâs Executive Order and safeguard the opportunities of female athletes on the Olympic stage. (Read More) | | |
Upcoming Mar 15 â Utah Women Run annual training, 8:00 am - 2:30 pm, Hinckley Institute of Politics, Register here Mar 22 â MWEG annual conference with plenary speaker Sharon Eubank, UVU, Register here Apr 24 â Giant in Our City with the Salt Lake Chamber, 6:00-9:00 pm, Register here May 1 â High school writing contest deadline with The Rostra: Applying the wisdom of the past to the problems of today. More info here Aug 7 â Titan of Public Service, Sen. Tom Cotton, with the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation, Grand America Hotel | | |
On This Day In History 1776 - A public notice appears in local papers recognizing the sacrifice of women to the cause of the revolution. The notice urged others to recognize womenâs contributions to the war. 1806 - Jane Means Appleton Pierce is born. The 15th First Lady of the United States is one of the more tragic figures of the White House. Despite her dislike of Washington DC and having left years before, the Democratic party pulled her back when they nominated her husband, Franklin Pierce, for president in 1852. He ran against Whig Winfield Scott, winning 254 electoral votes. On the way to the inauguration, their last surviving son, Benjamin Pierce, died at the age of 11 in a train accident. The coupleâs first two sons had died young, at the age of 3-days and the other at age four years. 1871 - Katherine Fenton Nutter is born. She came west as a telegraph operator and became âUtahâs Cattle Queen.â 1907 - Dorrit Hoffleit is born. She became a senior research astronomer at Yale University, known for her work in variable stars, astrometry, spectroscopy, meteors and mentoring. 1912 - Juliette Gordon Low leads first Girl Scouts meeting in the United States. 1933 - FDR broadcasts first âfireside chatâ during the Great Depression, 8 days after his inauguration. 1947 - Mitt Romney is born. 1964 - Malcolm X resigns from the Nation of Islam. 1993 - Janet Reno is sworn in as the first woman US Attorney General, after unanimous confirmation by the US Senate. 2003 - Elizabeth Smart is found. Quote of the Day "In the end, I hope that my life will have mattered and made a difference for the nation I love and the family and friends I adore. I hope you will see the America I know in the years ahead, that you will hear my words in the whisper of the wind of freedom and feel my presence in the flame of the enduring principles of liberty." âMia Love On the Punny Side I wanted to brighten up the garden. So l planted some bulbs. | | |
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