https://author-service-images-prod-us-east-1.publishing.aws.arc.pub/sltrib/4831687b-9919-4e03-b2b9-cc1f0ffd9b1f.jpg

Brooke Larsen

Reporter

(Brooke Larsen | The Salt Lake Tribune) The St. George City Council and mayor discuss the emergency services sales tax at a city council meeting on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026.

After contentious debate — and a failed vote — St. George approved a sales tax hike. Here’s why the vote flipped.

By Brooke Larsen | October 2, 2026, 12:55 p.m.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) People line up to take a photo under Delicate Arch inside Arches National Park near Moab on Thursday, April 9, 2026.

The Trump admin blocked nearly $2M for projects at Utah’s national parks. Here’s what won’t get done.

By Brooke Larsen | September 30, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Trent Potter farms in Duchesne, on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026.

Utah is paying farmers to conserve Colorado River water. Is it working?

By Brooke Larsen | September 30, 2026, 1:06 p.m.

(Brooke Larsen | The Salt Lake Tribune) A resident raises concerns and questions about the proposed Red Butte energy campus and data center in Iron County during an open house in Cedar City on Thursday, May 14, 2026.

A Utah county wants tighter limits on data centers. Here’s what it’s proposing.

By Brooke Larsen | September 17, 2026, 4:56 p.m.

(Brooke Larsen | The Salt Lake Tribune) Brooks Behling walks across one of his dry alfalfa fields in Ferron on August 10, 2026.

‘We’re out of water’: Utah communities live with steep water cuts amid brutal Colorado River drought

By Brooke Larsen | September 15, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Cottonwood Fire burns east of Beaver on Tuesday, June 23, 2026.

The Trump admin says repealing the Roadless Rule will reduce wildfires. A new study casts doubt on that.

By Brooke Larsen | September 12, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Hundreds gather in front of the Governor's Mansion to protest the shrinking of two national monuments, in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 20, 2026.

Most Utahns want Trump’s cuts to Bears Ears, Grand Staircase reversed, survey finds

By Brooke Larsen | September 9, 2026, 6:26 p.m.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Bears Ears buttes inside Bears Ears National Monument near Blanding on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024.

Trump’s move to slash Utah national monuments sparks lawsuits from Patagonia and environmental groups

By Brooke Larsen | September 4, 2026, 4:34 p.m.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Kate Karman-Gates hikes the White Pine Trail in Little Cottonwood Canyon on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026.

The Trump admin is one step closer to repealing the Roadless Rule. Here’s what it means for Utah.

By Brooke Larsen | September 2, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane on Thursday, June 25, 2026.

ICE arrests in southwest Utah are up sixfold under Trump. Here’s a look at the latest numbers.

By Andy Larsen | Brooke Larsen | September 4, 2026, 4:44 p.m.

(Brett Walton | Circle of Blue) Morning sun strikes the powerhouse on the Nevada side of Hoover Dam.

Utah House speaker criticizes Nevada’s Colorado River lawsuit for making a ‘difficult situation more difficult’

By Brooke Larsen | August 25, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) A Lake Powell rental pontoon boat motors down the main channel of the reservoir on Saturday, April 25, 2026, as bathtub rings are indicative of how far the waters levels have fallen since being at full capacity in the early 1980s.

The Trump admin finalized a short-term Colorado River plan. Here’s what it means for Lake Powell.

By Brooke Larsen | August 21, 2026, 9:31 p.m.

(Photo illustration by Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)

ICE arrests have quadrupled in southwest Utah under Trump. Most arrestees have no criminal convictions.

By Brooke Larsen | Andy Larsen | August 17, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) A boat makes its way to Bullfrog Marina on Lake Powell as high water marks indicate how much the reservoir has receded on Friday, April 24, 2026.

‘Pain and suffering’: What the feds’ Lake Powell proposal means for Utah and other Colorado River states

By Brooke Larsen | August 12, 2026, 7:30 p.m.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Gov. Spencer Cox, left, listens as U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz speaks about recovery efforts in the burn scar of the Cottonwood Fire near Beaver on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026.

One Utah town is rebuilding. Another is packing bags as wildfire spreads.

By Brooke Larsen | August 7, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

(Utah Inland Port Authority) The Utah Inland Port Authority approved a new project area in Washington City on Tuesday, August 4, 2026. The project will span 320 acres in the Sunrise Valley Industrial Park area near the landfill.

A new inland port is coming to southwest Utah. School officials fear students will pay the price.

By Brooke Larsen | August 5, 2026, 1:48 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Hite Marina, long closed down due to the declining water levels of Lake Powell, is pictured from the Colorado River overlook on Saturday, April 25, 2026.

Trump administration allows smaller water releases from Lake Powell under new Colorado River plan

By Brooke Larsen | July 31, 2026, 10:09 p.m.

(Grand County EMS) Grand County Emergency Medical Services crews respond to a cardiac arrest on the Mesa Arch Trail on Aug. 27, 2025.

Utah received millions to transform rural health. Will it work?

By Brooke Larsen | July 27, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

(Bureau of Land Management) Federal agency leaders and tribal representatives on the Bears Ears Commission stand in front of the newly installed Bears Ears National Monument sign on June 18, 2022. Pictured from left, former Agriculture Department Under Secretary Homer L. Wilkes, Ute Indian Tribe Business Committee Member Christopher Tabbee, Ute Mountain Ute Councilman Malcolm Lehi, Zuni Tribe Lieutenant Governor Carleton R. Bowekaty, Hopi Chairman Timothy Nuvangyaoma, Navajo Nation Executive Assistant Davis Filfred and BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning.

Days after slashing Bears Ears, Trump administration removes tribal seals from monument signs

By Brooke Larsen | July 23, 2026, 2:00 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Hundreds gather in front of the Governor's Mansion to protest the shrinking of two national monuments, in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 20, 2026.

‘Motivated by love’: Utahns find strength in numbers during protest of Trump’s monument slashing

By Addy Baird | Brooke Larsen | Dylan Eubank | Andrew Christiansen | July 21, 2026, 2:50 p.m.