With rage and protest dominating headlines, many assume university classrooms are closed off from discussion. Hopeful stories are easy to overlook, but Sam Recheck’s experience at the University of South Florida offers a path forward.
Recheck helped start a student organization at USF called the First Amendment Forum, bringing together conservative and liberal students who he said “had enough of fear, silence, and separation and wanted to do something about it.”
Read more about the hope for civil discourse on college campuses in America.
The Utah lawsuit that could change the face of the West
After decades of preparation, Utah leaders declared that the Beehive State is ready to transform public lands in the West.
Utah filed a “historic” lawsuit on Tuesday, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether the federal government has constitutional authority to maintain unappropriated public lands in the state against the state’s wishes. The country’s highest court has yet to take up the case. But if it were to rule in Utah’s favor, the control of a significant portion of public lands would shift to state capitals like Phoenix, Boise and Salt Lake City instead of the nation’s Capitol, more than a thousand miles away.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, state Senate President J. Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz announced the lawsuit in a packed state Capitol Gold Room, filled with state lawmakers, county officials and Republican Party leaders.
Read more about the lawsuit and what it means for public lands in Utah.
The Canyons School District Board of Education voted 5-1 Tuesday to purchase eBay’s former regional headquarters in Draper to establish an “innovation center” where high school students will train for high-demand technological, medical and environmental science jobs.
The purchase price for the fully wired 250,000-square-foot building, furnishings and accompanying 36 acres is $50 million. The school district will pay for the building primarily with lease revenue bonds and some fund balances, said Canyons District Business Administrator Leon Wilcox.
In addition to office space, the LEED Gold certified building has a 400-seat auditorium, cafeteria, fitness facility, arcade, basketball courts and a half soccer field. The campus is adjacent to a FrontRunner station. LEED is the acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Gold certification indicates a building excels in sustainable design and operation.
It is anticipated that students would start attending classes at the facility in about two years, said Wilcox.
Read more about the innovation center and the developing area.
More in Utah
Utah majority leaders say amendment needed so Utah doesn’t become California (Deseret News)
Nearly 1,000 fires have started in Utah this year. Here’s how much it has cost to fight them (KSL)
Former Motel 6 in South Salt Lake to be new emergency shelter for families (KSL)
Honie execution cost Utah Department of Corrections more than $280,000 (KSL)
The West
Video: Sea serpent, known as ‘doomsday fish,’ discovered off the coast of California (Deseret News)
Meet VIC, an AI bot running for mayor in Cheyenne, Wyoming (Deseret News)
Politics
2 Obamas, 1 Latter-day Saint: Highlights from Tuesday night at the DNC (Deseret News)
George Santos pleads guilty, blames ambition for ‘decisions that were unethical’ (Deseret News)
The U.S. & World
Flash flooding strikes Connecticut. See photos of the historic rains (Deseret News)
The rise of America’s rent-first lifestyle (Deseret News)
Blinken ends latest Mideast visit without a cease-fire, warning ‘time is of the essence’ (The Associated Press)
Sports
Five BYU players who have improved their stock and could move into starting roles (Deseret News)
Hunter Woodhall tests positive for COVID: Is he still competing in the Paralympics? (Deseret News)
BYU enters final practices of preseason training camp without having named a starting quarterback (Deseret News)
Class of 2024 Utah Sports Hall of Fame inductees announced (Deseret News)
Entertainment
Is ‘The Rings of Power’ a faithful Tolkien adaptation? That might be the wrong question (Deseret News)
Faith
Elder Bednar reiterates the value of social media as a way to share light and truth (Deseret News)
The role of prayer and the Bible at the Democratic National Convention (Deseret News)
Health
U.S. births declined in 2023, more women skipping prenatal care (Deseret News)
Why boredom scrolling through reels might make you more bored (Deseret News)
Check your inbox tomorrow morning for more news from the Beehive State and beyond!
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