Samantha MoilanenAs opponents of a massive data center campus greenlit for Box Elder County search for ways to stop it, a group of Utahns gathered on the Capitol steps Thursday to deliver a letter signed by roughly 6,000 people to Gov. Spencer Cox.
The letter urges Cox to “take binding action” to protect the Great Salt Lake, organizers said in a news release, calling on the governor to move beyond what they described as “social media promises.”
The appeal comes days after Cox posted on X that he wanted to “do better” following backlash over remarks he made defending the proposed development during his last monthly news conference on April 30.
“Thursday’s rally is not simply an act of opposition — it is an affirmation of what Utahns value, cherish, and refuse to sacrifice for a rushed deal," organizers said in the news release.
The project, dubbed Stratos by Utah’s Military Installation Development Authority, is planned as a sprawling hyperscale data center development in Hansel Valley, north of the Great Salt Lake. Celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary is leading the development.
The event drew Box Elder County residents, environmental groups and faith leaders, along with a performance by a Salt Lake City choir.
See photos from the rally:
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) People protest the Stratos data center project at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, Thursday, May 14, 2026.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) People protest the Stratos data center project at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, Thursday, May 14, 2026.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) People protest the Stratos data center project at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, Thursday, May 14, 2026.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) People protest the Stratos data center project at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, Thursday, May 14, 2026.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) People protest the Stratos data center project at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, Thursday, May 14, 2026.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Protestors against the Stratos data center project pass by a bridal shoot at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, Thursday, May 14, 2026.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) People protest the Stratos data center project at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, Thursday, May 14, 2026.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Organizers try to deliver a letter to the governor against the Stratos data center project at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, Thursday, May 14, 2026.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Senior advisor to the governor Mike Mower, left, accepts a letter to the governor against the Stratos data center project at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, Thursday, May 14, 2026.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) People protest the Stratos data center project at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, Thursday, May 14, 2026.
