Anastasia Hufham - The Salt Lake Tribune

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Bear River near Corinne on Friday, July 18, 2025.

A top Utah official helped his cousin get $200K in state grants

By Anastasia Hufham | August 6, 2025, 12:00 p.m.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Gov. Spencer Cox talks about public lands during a news conference at the Capitol, on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024.

A Utah company won a $2.6M state contract. Then, Gov. Cox’s campaign got its services for free.

By Emily Anderson Stern | Anastasia Hufham | July 28, 2025, 12:00 p.m.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Hikers walk along the Cecret Lake trail, in the Albion Basin, on Wednesday, July 27, 2022. The trail is located on federal land managed by the U.S. Forest Service, and part of the public lands where Utah would like assert more control.

Widespread backlash killed Mike Lee’s plan to sell public lands. Utah state leaders are undeterred.

By Leia Larsen | Anastasia Hufham | July 23, 2025, 4:06 p.m.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) An oil derrick is seen on state trust land within the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Ballard on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024.

Utah makes millions from land on reservations — and has made it harder for tribes to buy back land

By Megan Banta | Anastasia Hufham | July 16, 2025, 12:00 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) A protestor carries a sign reading, "Nuclear Cancer" at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

Utahns are unsure of nuclear energy. Cox will spend $1.8M convincing them it’s a good idea.

By Emily Anderson Stern | Anastasia Hufham | July 15, 2025, 12:00 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) A snowboarder at Snowbird Mountain Resort in Little Cottonwood Canyon on Monday, May 26, 2025. A public land sell-off proposal from Sen. Mike Lee could make National Forest land, including parts of Snowbird and other ski resorts, eligible for sale.

From ski resorts to popular trails, see the public land Mike Lee proposes selling across the West

By Anastasia Hufham | June 18, 2025, 6:22 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Ariz., on Monday, May 19, 2025.

Protect hydropower or threatened fish? Utah Republicans take sides in battle over Glen Canyon Dam.

By Anastasia Hufham | June 17, 2025, 10:02 p.m.

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Shovels are seen at Camp Williams in Bluffdale, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. The state on Thursday announced a proposal to build a uranium enrichment facility at Camp Williams, which, if built, would bring another step in the nuclear cycle to Utah.

Utah wants to process uranium on the Wasatch Front for nuclear energy. Here’s where.

By Anastasia Hufham | June 16, 2025, 6:18 p.m.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) U.S. Senator Mike Lee speaks at the State Organizing Convention for the Utah Republican Party at Utah Valley University in Orem on Saturday, May 17, 2025.

Sen. Mike Lee resurrects push to sell off wide swaths of public lands in Utah and across the West

By Anastasia Hufham | June 12, 2025, 2:03 a.m.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Indian Creek area of Bears Ears National Monument near Monticello on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024.

DOJ says Trump can revoke national monuments. What does that mean for Utah?

By Addy Baird | Anastasia Hufham | June 11, 2025, 9:59 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Lake Powell near Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Ariz. on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

Why experts say this year’s spring runoff isn’t boosting Lake Powell

By Anastasia Hufham | June 6, 2025, 7:13 p.m.

(David J. Phillip | Associated Press) A cross-section of a prototype nuclear reactor is shown inside Last Energy Inc.'s microreactor demonstration unit Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, in Brookshire, Texas. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox recently announced a partnership with a California startup to bring a test reactor to the state.

Utah’s agreement with nuclear startup allows for more than just a test reactor. Here’s what it says.

By Anastasia Hufham | June 3, 2025, 2:54 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Crude oil is transferred from tanker trucks to rail cars outside Helper in 2022. The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision on a case involving the proposed Uinta Basin Railway.

U.S. Supreme Court rules on controversial Utah oil railroad

By Anastasia Hufham | May 29, 2025, 9:47 p.m.

(Courtesy of Idaho National Laboratory) Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks at a ceremonial signing for energy legislation, including a new law bolstering nuclear power, passed during the 2025 General Legislative Session, at the Governor's Mansion on Monday, April 28, 2025.

Utah won a ‘tight race’ to get a nuclear reactor by next year, startup founder says. Here’s what we know so far.

By Anastasia Hufham | May 29, 2025, 12:00 p.m.

(Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Green River is pictured in Emery County. The Utah Trust Lands Administration has reduced royalties for an Australian company mining lithium on the Green River.

Utah wants less money from companies starting controversial mining projects. Here’s why.

By Anastasia Hufham | May 27, 2025, 8:06 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Uranium miners in the La Sal mine on Monday, April 29, 2024. The Trump administration just approved the reopening of a uranium mine in southeastern Utah, the first under its accelerated permitting process.

Trump admin approves its first fast-tracked mining project: A uranium mine in Utah

By Anastasia Hufham | May 23, 2025, 7:34 p.m.

(Office of Gov. Spencer Cox) Kelly Pehrson, Gov. Spencer Cox's pick to lead the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. Pehrson was previously UDAF's deputy commissioner and the San Juan County administrator.

Utah Senate unanimously approves Cox’s pick to head a state department — without asking about his checkered past

By Anastasia Hufham | May 22, 2025, 9:03 p.m.

(Mark Schiefelbein | Associated Press) Rep. Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, speaks on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Washington, D.C.

Maloy’s public land sell-off struck from Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’

By Anastasia Hufham | May 22, 2025, 8:59 p.m.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Gov Spencer Cox says a few words about this year's plans for bolstering Utah's wildfire preparedness during a news conference at This is the Place Heritage State Park on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

The wildfires that ravaged LA ‘could happen here,’ Cox warns as Utah heads into fire season

By Anastasia Hufham | May 21, 2025, 12:00 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Salt Lake City skyline covered in dust on a windy day, Monday, May 12, 2025.

Great Salt Lake dust isn’t being measured accurately. Here’s what the state is doing about it.

By Megan Banta | Anastasia Hufham | May 21, 2025, 1:24 p.m.