Leia Larsen - The Salt Lake Tribune

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson and Gov. Spencer Cox are joined by other state state leaders in north central Tooele County to announce plans to advance nuclear energy development in the county, on Friday, March 27, 2026.

Utah is a finalist to build a massive federal nuclear hub. What’s next?

By Emily Anderson Stern | Leia Larsen | July 29, 2026, 10:51 p.m.

(Utah Department of Environmental Quality) Dozens of Utahns attend a public hearing hosted by the Division of Water Quality to oppose a water discharge permit for the Tooele Valley inland port and data center project on July 27, 2026.

Utahns speak out as yet another data center is planned near the Great Salt Lake

By Leia Larsen | July 28, 2026, 11:36 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) A tour of Eagle Point Resort, one of the smallest ski and snowboard areas in Utah, reveals what remains for one of the first areas to fall victim to the Cottonwood Fire in late June, pictured Thursday, July 9, 2026.

‘We’re losing our ability to manage forest fires’ as West becomes hotter and drier, researcher says

By Leia Larsen | July 28, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

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

Were Trump’s national monument cuts what Utahns wanted? Here’s what polls have said.

By Leia Larsen | July 20, 2026, 2:50 p.m.

(Trevor Christensen | The Salt Lake Tribune) Construction equipment gathers radioactive mill tailings at the Utah Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024.

The 480-acre site was once the home of a uranium mill that processed 1,400 tons of uranium ore per day.

One of Utah’s biggest environmental cleanups is nearly finished

By Leia Larsen | July 16, 2026, 5:22 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Gov. Spencer Cox speaks during a news conference at the annual meeting of the Western Governors' Association in Park City on Tuesday, June 30, 2026. From left are Gov. Brad Little, ID, Gov. Mark Gordon, WY, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, NM, Cox, Gov. Josh Green, HI, Gov. Jared Polis, CO, and Gov. Joe Lombardo, NV.

As Utah fires worsen, U.S. Forest Service chief calls for more active forest management

By Leia Larsen | July 1, 2026, 12:01 p.m.

(Leia Larsen | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Salton Sea on June 14, 2026.

What Utah can learn from California’s Salton Sea

By Leia Larsen | June 28, 2026, 2:58 p.m.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Samantha Moyes paddles on Pineview Reservoir with her dog Tim on Monday, April 20, 2026.

Popular northern Utah reservoir to be drained amid dire drought conditions

By Leia Larsen | June 27, 2026, 3:13 p.m.

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) People protest the Stratos data center project at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, Thursday, May 14, 2026.

MIDA hires new director following Box Elder data center backlash

By Leia Larsen | June 26, 2026, 7:23 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) An emblem at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Thursday, March 26, 2026.

Republicans in House District 14 primary split on who should draw Utah’s political boundaries

By Leia Larsen | June 9, 2026, 9:20 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 6, 2026.

These two Republicans want to replace Jerry Stevenson in the Utah Senate

By Leia Larsen | June 9, 2026, 9:15 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Bird costumes are distributed to 6th graders as they participate in a call to action to save the bird during a rally at the Great Salt Lake on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025.

Saving Great Salt Lake key issue in Utah’s House District 21 primary race

By Leia Larsen | June 9, 2026, 7:57 p.m.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Spencer Butterfield opens the gate to a pasture during a trail ride at Golden Hour Farm in Hyrum on Thursday, March 26, 2026.

The threat farmers around the Great Salt Lake fear more than drought

By Leia Larsen | June 1, 2026, 3:23 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Gov. Spencer Cox talks about signing an Executive Order establishing a statewide framework to guide the evaluation and development of large data center projects in Utah on Friday, May 29, 2026. It prioritizes protection of GSL and utility ratepayers, and follows immense public backlash to the Stratos Project. The governor had just concluded convening with state, federal, philanthropic, scientific, business and conservation leaders for a Great Salt Lake Roundtable focused on the next phase of coordinated action and partnership.

Utah Gov. Cox issues order to protect Great Salt Lake, air quality from data centers

By Leia Larsen | May 29, 2026, 11:23 p.m.

(O'Leary Digital) Renderings of a proposed data center to be constructed in Box Elder County. The project is backed by celebrity investor Kevin O'Leary.

Second water right application for Kevin O’Leary’s Utah data center project withdrawn

By Leia Larsen | May 27, 2026, 8:48 p.m.

(Utah Fire Info) Pictured are crew members working a controlled fire to get rid of invasive phragmites around the Great Salt Lake.

What are phragmites, and why does Utah burn them next to the Great Salt Lake?

By Leia Larsen | May 27, 2026, 3:52 p.m.

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) With the help of state-run rebate and incentive programs, Draper resident Cindi Griswald turned her grass parking strips into a colorful, water-wise landscape, Aug. 6, 2021.

How Utahns can help their yards survive this year’s drought

By Leia Larsen | May 26, 2026, 6:35 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Gov. Spencer Cox, right, joins state, local and regional water leaders to provide an update on Utah’s drought conditions and water supply outlook heading into the summer months during a news event at Little Dell Reservoir on Thursday, May 21, 2026.

‘We can’t control the weather, but we can control the tap’: Gov. Cox declares statewide emergency as Utah drought worsens

By Leia Larsen | May 21, 2026, 8:05 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Gov. Spencer Cox speaks at a news conference for the Mountain West Geothermal Consortium in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, May 20, 2026.

Rollout of controversial Box Elder data center project ‘was not good,’ Gov. Cox says

By Leia Larsen | May 21, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) People protest the Stratos data center project at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, Thursday, May 14, 2026.

Utahns will have more chances to weigh in on Kevin O’Leary’s data center project. Here’s how.

By Leia Larsen | May 20, 2026, 2:39 p.m.