Good morning! Here are today’s temperatures:

⛅ 34 - 64° in Logan

⛅ 44 - 70° in Salt Lake

☀️ 54 - 86° in St. George

WalletHub evaluated the business environment of over 1,300 small cities and found the best small city to start a business in the U.S. is Cedar City.

"It has one of the highest rates of startups per capita, as well as the fourth-highest growth in the number of small businesses between 2015 and 2021, at over 33%" according to the study.

Seven other Utah cities were ranked in the top 30.

Also on our mind:

Why a Washington Post op-ed says Harvard should hire Mitt Romney for university president
Mallory Everton on "Studio C" and her new film "Villains Inc."
Is this the year for the Red Rocks?

What Ryan and Ashley Smith and the NHL commissioner had to say about bringing a team to Utah

Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith hoped nobody saw him having dinner with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in New York two years ago when he first broached the idea of bringing a hockey team to Utah. Bettman handed Smith his cell number and told him to stay in touch.

“And we just talked a bunch. That’s kind of how it started,” Smith said at a news conference Friday at the Delta Center, where the basketball court had been converted to an ice rink and “NHL in Utah” flashed on the big screen.

Ryan and Ashley Smith and Bettman talked about how the deal came together as well as what’s next as Salt Lake City becomes the newest home to an NHL franchise.

On Thursday, the National Hockey League’s Board of Governors approved the sale of the Coyotes for a reported $1.2 billion to Ryan and Ashley Smith, SEG, which owns the Jazz, Real Salt Lake and Utah Royals FC, as well as the Delta Center. Bettman said the papers were signed at 2 a.m.

Read more about how the deal to purchase the Arizona Coyotes came together so quickly.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox vows to sue over new BLM landscape rule

A sweeping new rule by the Bureau of Land Management aimed at conserving the federal land it manages on a landscape-wide basis has evoked a threat by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who says he is already preparing to challenge the regulations in court.

Here's what he said:

“Utah has a long track record of successful conservation and restoration of its public lands in tandem with local BLM offices.
“The added layers of red tape and federal bureaucracy embedded in the BLM’s Public Lands Rule create new roadblocks to conservation work.
"The health of Utah’s lands and wildlife will suffer as a result. This rule is contrary to the bedrock principle of ‘multiple-use’ in the BLM’s governing law, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.
"I look forward to working with Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes and his office to challenge this rule in federal court as soon as possible.”

Read more about how the governor and other critics say the rule will ironically make it harder for land conservation efforts to succeed.

Health

Health experts worry as avian flu outbreak in cattle spreads (Deseret News)
These are the 5 healthiest breads (Deseret News)

Faith

How efforts by the Church are helping babies and families in Latin America (Church News)
Maurizio Cattalan, Zoe Saldana join iconoclastic Vatican Biennale exhibition inside women’s prison (The Associated Press)

Sports

What Pat McAfee said about Ryan Smith bringing NHL to Utah, and early season ticket demand (Deseret News)
Reports: Utah guard Deivon Smith enters transfer portal (Deseret News)
Is this the year the Red Rocks break through? (Deseret News)
What Deivon Smith entering the transfer portal means for Utah basketball (Deseret News)
The NHL in Utah: (Almost) everything you need to know (Deseret News)

Utah

'We need entrepreneurship': Utah Tech bringing Sandbox program to southern Utah (KSL)
Authorities identify man struck, killed by TRAX train at Millcreek Station (KSL)
UTA needs to innovate in performance, legislative audit says, but other challenges linger (Utah News Dispatch)

The U.S. and World

American voters say COVID-19 measures infringed on personal freedom (Deseret News)
Iran Israel: An audible sigh of relief in the Middle East (BBC)
US troops set to withdraw from Niger, State Department official says (CNN)

That's all for today. Check your inbox tomorrow morning for more news from the Beehive State and beyond!

And reply to this email or email newsletters@deseretnews.com to tell us what you think of Utah Today.

I'm hooked on Taylor Swift's new album, especially "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me." I recommend a listen!

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Thanks for reading!

— Sarah

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox vows to sue over new BLM landscape rule

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