The Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Legislature cuts income taxes, targets courts and kills controversial bills during 2026 session

Robert Gehrke, Emily Anderson Stern, Addy Baird, Jose Davila IV — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 07:04:50 +0000

The 2026 Legislature adjourned Friday night, closing the curtain on a session — more mild than recent years past — centered around power and populism.

Gov. Cox rushes to sign final-hour GOP bid to sink Prop 4 signature removal efforts

Robert Gehrke — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 21:27:16 +0000

Gov. Spencer Cox rushed to sign into law language tacked onto a bill an hour before legislators adjourned Friday night that could torpedo efforts to keep a Republican-led effort to restore the Legislature’s ability to gerrymander political districts off the ballot.

Utah prosecutor will seek death penalty if Iowa man accused of killing 3 women in Wayne County is convicted

Samantha Moilanen, Jessica Schreifels — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 20:08:17 +0000

Wayne County Attorney Michael Winn said he will seek the death penalty against the man charged with killing three women in the southern Utah county earlier this week.

Swanky condos with eye-popping price tags take over historic SLC building. Take a look inside.

Tony Semerad — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Nearly 15 years after he got the vision, a Salt Lake City developer is finally selling the last of 23 luxury homes built in and around a familiar and historic telephone exchange building in the 9th and 9th neighborhood.

Letter: Utah’s low unemployment rate and productivity are something to celebrate. But the toll on workers needs more attention.

Jay Werther | The Public Forum — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 13:00:01 +0000

Utah’s unemployment rate remains among the lowest in the nation. In its most recent employment summary, the Utah Department of Workforce Services reported a 3.6% unemployment rate, well below the national average.

Letter: PacifiCorp’s divestment decision is bound to spur higher energy prices and environmental degradation

Jerry Kaplan and Dana Carroll | The Public Forum — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 13:00:01 +0000

A recent article in The Tribune reported that PacifiCorp is divesting itself of its holdings in natural gas and wind farms in Washington.

Letter: The real reason for most of America’s wars is avoiding regime change at home

Kimball Shinkoskey | The Public Forum — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 13:00:01 +0000

Americans are perpetual slaves of our own ignorance. Today we debate whether Trump’s reason for the Iran war is regime change, oil, or to preempt an attack on America.

‘Loved by everybody’: Friends and neighbors recall the lives of 3 women killed in Wayne County

Samantha Moilanen, Sean P. Means — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 13:00:01 +0000

Lyman • From their kitchen window, Madelyne and Earl Deleeuw look out at Margaret Oldroyd’s home — the first house travelers pass when entering this small town from Loa along State Route 24 through Wayne County.

Why Utah is — or isn’t — the best place to raise a family, in this week’s Inside Voices

Sara Weber — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 13:05:00 +0000

Happy Saturday, and welcome to Inside Voices, a weekly newsletter that features a collection of ideas, perspectives and solutions from across Utah — without any of the vitriol or yelling that’s become all too common on other platforms. Subscribe here.

After beefing up the blue line at the NHL trade deadline, the Utah Mammoth ready for a playoff push

Caleb Turner | Special to The Tribune — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 13:00:01 +0000

The Utah Mammoth decided to make a move ahead of Friday’s NHL trade deadline, signalling general manager Bill Armstrong’s faith in his team’s playoff chances just two years in.

A record warm winter could send Lake Powell to a historic low. Flaming Gorge may be its lifeline.

Brooke Larsen — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 13:00:01 +0000

A cream-colored band lines the orange sandstone walls that rise above the blue-green waters of Lake Powell. The so-called “bathtub rings,” these chalky layers remind boaters zooming across the popular reservoir how far the lake has fallen.

Opinion: No empire. No kings.

Peter Beinart | The New York Times — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 13:00:01 +0000

President Trump has offered various explanations for attacking Iran: the regime’s nuclear program, its proxies’ history of attacks on U.S. troops, its repression of its people. He offered a different set of explanations for attacking Venezuela: its suspected role in drug smuggling, and what he called its theft of “our” oil. He’s also provided justifications for wanting to acquire Greenland, reassert influence over the Panama Canal and even annex Canada.

Looking back at Alex Jensen’s first year in charge of the Runnin’ Utes

The Salt Lake Tribune — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 13:00:01 +0000

Utah head coach Alex Jensen’s first year with the program is almost over.

From parades to pubs, here’s how you can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Utah

Sean P. Means — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Utah’s Irish community is one of the smallest in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report, with only 5.9% of Utahns claiming Irish heritage. But when St. Patrick’s Day rolls around, that doesn’t stop Utah’s Irish from showing their green-and-orange pride.

Former first-rounder Brice Sensabaugh knows his future in Utah is up in the air. This is his plan to secure it.

Kevin Reynolds — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

He's one of Utah's most consistent shooting threats. So why isn't Brice Sensabaugh a lock to be part of the Jazz's future?

‘I like the word Mormon,’ says Tribune columnist Eli McCann, even though it’s a ‘victory for Satan’

David Noyce, Peggy Fletcher Stack — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Faithful Salt Lake Tribune readers know Eli McCann well. He’s the award-winning columnist who has them cracking up one minute about coming out as a coffee drinker and tearing up the next minute about the Latter-day Saint youth group in the western Pacific who won his heart.

Utah parents: What’s your experience with child care? The Tribune wants to know.

Samantha Moilanen — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

In more than 40 states, including Utah, child care for a baby — on average — costs more than in-state college tuition.

Opinion: Mass hysteria. Thousands of jobs lost. Just how bad is it going to get?

Michael Steinberger | The New York Times — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 12:59:00 +0000

Thomas Greifenberger graduated from the University of Delaware last spring. Although he double-majored in finance and marketing and minored in economics, it took him just three years to earn his bachelor’s degree. He had hoped that his solid grades and demonstrated drive would help him land a position in the financial services industry. But when Mr. Greifenberger began his job search, it quickly became apparent to him that he was sending résumés into a void. He got a few nibbles — several companies invited him to do asynchronous video interviews.

Update: Utah is poised to add Good Friday as a legal holiday as bill wins final approval

Dylan Eubank — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:00:01 +0000

Utah moved closer to becoming the 13th state to make Good Friday a legal holiday. Some worry, though, that the intent crosses a constitutional line separating church and state.

A bar right by Sugar House Park? Utah’s latest booze bill could allow it — but there’s a catch.

Sean P. Means, Kolbie Peterson — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 13:00:01 +0000

Note to readers • The Salt Lake Tribune is making this story about the Utah Legislature free to all. Donate to support our nonprofit newsroom.

Utah will sell part of the Great Salt Lake to the feds — a deal lawmakers call a ‘win-win’ for the lake

Leia Larsen — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 22:50:12 +0000

Note to readers• This story is made possible through a partnership between The Salt Lake Tribune and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.

Man accused of 3 Utah killings will fight being returned to the state ‘every step of the way,’ lawyer says

Jessica Schreifels, Sean P. Means — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 20:00:20 +0000

Ivan Miller, arrested Thursday in Colorado, "will not be waiving" his right to hearings there and will dispute being returned to Utah, Durango public defender Scott Van Zandt said.

‘It’s not a mild virus, it’s a severe illness,’ Utah health officials warn as measles cases keep climbing

Samantha Moilanen — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 15:35:53 +0000

Measles cases have been rising across the Beehive State since June, but a southern Utah nurse practitioner says many people still underestimate how serious the disease can be.

Here’s why Utah lawmakers again refused to expand E-Verify, which checks worker citizenship status

Megan Banta — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Note to readers • The Salt Lake Tribune is making this story about the Utah Legislature free to all. Donate to support our nonprofit newsroom.

How Utah’s state employee benefits will likely change this year

Emily Anderson Stern — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 13:00:01 +0000

Utah state employees would have had more flexibility in how they take time off, but would have received fewer hours each paycheck under a controversial legislative proposal. But after pushback, lawmakers are allowing current state workers to choose how their leave is structured.

Bagley Cartoon: All Up in Your Business

Pat Bagley — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 16:31:35 +0000

Thanks for reading this story from The Tribune. As CEO & Executive Editor, I am proud to lead our team of journalists as they tell the stories others can’t – or won’t.

Utah taxpayers will fund a $100K mail-in voting ‘security’ study after a GOP election bill fails

Emily Anderson Stern — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 15:51:38 +0000

Utah’s popular vote-by-mail election system was again this year a target for the state’s supermajority Republican House of Representatives. After GOP colleagues in the Senate rejected their bill, representatives in the final days of the legislative session pushed for — and won — a taxpayer-funded study on “the security of ... voting by mail.”

She wanted to protest ICE. Her Utah city tried to charge her $2K to do it.

Jordan Miller — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 13:00:01 +0000

When Riverton resident Annie Inkley set out in January to protest her city’s agreement to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, she hoped the rally would buck perceptions about the suburb.

LDS Church advises its thousands of members in the Middle East to stay put as ‘safest’ option

Peggy Fletcher Stack, David Noyce — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 13:02:44 +0000

Amid the missile strikes in Iran and neighboring nations, the U.S. State Department has generally urged Americans to evacuate from the region, but The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is having its members, including those at Brigham Young University’s Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies, hunker down where they are.

Names of 3 women killed in Wayne County released

Samantha Moilanen, Sheila McCann — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 04:06:33 +0000

The women killed in Wayne County Wednesday have been identified as longtime resident Margaret Oldroyd, shot in her Lyman home, and Linda Dewey and her niece Natalie Graves, who were shot as they started a hike from Cocks Comb Trailhead.

Stranded in Utah, a 22-year-old killed 3 women for money and cars, prosecutors allege

Samantha Moilanen, Jessica Schreifels — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 22:25:05 +0000

Update: Names of 3 women killed in Wayne County released

Ikon Pass prices are out. Here’s who gets the biggest discounts.

Julie Jag — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 13:00:01 +0000

Alterra Mountain Company released the ski pricing for its 2026-27 Ikon Pass and Ikon Base Pass. Two groups will see the biggest discounts, though prices overall stayed nearly the same as this winter.

Opinion: The big problem with tariffs isn’t the rates. It’s the corruption.

Shane Ball | For The New York Times — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 13:01:00 +0000

President Trump is resurrecting his tariffs, after a Supreme Court ruling that struck down many of those he levied during his first year back in office. This means higher costs for American consumers and businesses and more economic uncertainty.

A Utah pastry chef is going on TV to show his baking skills — and try to win $50,000

Kolbie Peterson — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 13:00:01 +0000

On Food Network’s new show “The Ultimate Baking Championship,” which debuts Monday, 16 pastry chefs with serious skills will be going head-to-head for the chance to win $50,000. And a familiar Utah name is among the group.

The calculus of charity: 20,000-pound LDS donation equals 15,000 meals for 9,000 people

Mark Eddington — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 13:00:01 +0000

St. George • When it comes to celebrating America’s independence, food and loving one’s neighbor rank right up there with mom, the flag and apple pie.

Opinion: Of course Trump bombed Iran

Robert Malley and Stephen Wertheim | For The New York Times — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 13:00:01 +0000

President Trump’s attack on Iran is astonishing in its audacity, aggression and lawlessness. Mr. Trump ordered strikes in the midst of negotiations with a nation that posed no remotely imminent threat to the United States. He did nothing to prepare his country for war. Now he’s offering a dizzying array of rationales and objectives, caught in a maelstrom of his own making.

Here’s what the future of BYU football’s pass game will look like after Parker Kingston’s dismissal

Jason Batacao — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

BYU lost all three of its leading pass catchers from 2025 this offseason. So how will the Cougars replace that production?

One former Utah Jazz player ‘didn’t enjoy’ the team’s alleged tanking — and was happy to move on

Kevin Reynolds — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:00:01 +0000

Kyle Anderson may have been a casualty of the Utah Jazz bringing in Jaren Jackson Jr. at the trade deadline, but he isn’t too upset about it.

Iowa man in custody after three women were killed in southern Utah

Sean P. Means, Samantha Moilanen — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:03:55 +0000

Update • Stranded in Utah, 22-year-old killed three women for money and cars, prosecutors allege