Construction Underway, Scheduled Operation: 2025

The Intermountain Power Project's transformational “IPP Renewed” project is under construction and on track for mid-2025 start-up. The project includes new natural gas-fueled electricity generating units that will also utilize "green" hydrogen for long-term, dispatchable storage of renewable energy. There are currently 600 workers on site in Millard County, with 1200 expected during peak construction. Click here to watch construction unfold. For more information, visit www.ipprenewed.com

Utah Headlines

Political news

• Jean B. Bingham: Separation of church and state is a gift (Deseret News)
• Perspective: George Washington — the true father of the Constitution (Deseret News)
• Food benefits for children will continue for now if federal government shuts down, Cox promises (KSL)

Election news

• Rep. John Curtis “a nine” (on a one-to-ten scale) about Senate run (KSL Newsradio)
• What Salt Lake City’s mayoral candidates have to say about Great Salt Lake’s future (KSL Newsradio)

General Utah news

• What does El Niño mean for the upcoming ski season? (Deseret News)
• 'It's finally here': Parley's Trail is now complete with complicated stretch solved (KSL)
• John Moran, businessman who helped build U.'s renowned eye center, dies at 91 (KSL)

Business

• At Silicon Slopes Summit, Elder David A. Bednar tells Jazz owner Ryan Smith how a global church works (Deseret News)

Crime

• Attorney for former OUR employees says they ‘affirm’ allegations of sexual misconduct against Tim Ballard (Deseret News)
• ‘These allegations are true,’ say former OUR employees about Tim Ballard (KSL Newsradio)
• FULL DOCUMENTS: Tim Ballard lied to donors, according to ex-OUR employees (Fox13)

Culture

• Dallas Jenkins says ‘The Chosen’ Season 4 will premiere in theaters. Here’s what we know (Deseret News)
• Editorial Board: Preparing for General Conference - Are we learning to be peacemakers? (Deseret News)
• Many in Gen Z hope to be influencers. There’s now a degree for it. (Washington Post)

Education

• After years of on-time payments, these Utah educators’ student loans have been forgiven (Deseret News)
• Weber High principal retires as Weber School District finishes investigation into complaints (KSL TV)
• Rare decision finds Utah school district violated student's rights (Fox13)

Environment

• Nuclear power key to making US a 'powerhouse for clean energy,' Rep. Curtis says (KSL)
• Utah Lake dredging company’s bankruptcy reveals owners and funding (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Utah plans to dramatically boost cloud seeding to help with water woes and the Great Salt Lake (Fox13)
• Bear River trout conservation aided by federal funding (UPR)

Family

• Is new baby formula shortage coming? (Deseret News)

Health

• What has Utah’s new Alzheimer’s research center learned about the disease? (Deseret News)

Housing

• Salt Lake City faces lawsuit over allegedly allowing homeless camps, violating city ordinances (KUTV)

National Headlines

General

• The majority of all school book challenges in the 2021-2022 school year came from just 11 people. Meet Jennifer Petersen. She challenges one school book a week and says she'll never stop (Washington Post)

Politics

• Sen. Mitt Romney polls other senators about possible deal as shutdown deadline looms (Deseret News)
• Hard-liners plot to replace McCarthy with a deputy as shutdown looms (Washington Post)
• Michael Strain, of AEI, says the US is headed "for the first-ever shutdown about nothing." (Washington Post)
• The IRS thought it was shutdown-proof. Now most staff would go home (Washington Post)
• Lawmakers say government shutdown appears inevitable (The Hill)

Election news

• A unified front. The GOP’s warring factions must make peace on economic policy or face defeat at the ballot box. (Deseret News)
• Nikki Haley is turning her biggest criticism into a campaign strategy (Politico)
• Poll: Slim majority of voters believe Trump could be disqualified under 14th Amendment (Politico)

Ukraine 🇺🇦

• Ukraine is updating its military industry to build precision weaponry and armaments. (New York Times)

World

• Twenty years ago, a Republican president, George W. Bush, created the most successful, life-giving global-health program in history. This year, House Republicans appear determined to undermine it: The Republican betrayal of PEPFAR (The Atlantic)

Number of the Day 

News Releases

Gov. Spencer Cox pledges to keep WIC, national parks open if federal government shuts down

Utah has a contingency plan in place to continue the WIC federal nutrition program for women, infants and children as well as keep national parks in the state open if the federal government shuts down next week. WIC benefits will be available through the month of October using funds from the USDA. WIC currently serves more than 44,000 Utah moms and children. The state has identified short-term funding options to keep national parks and federal recreation areas open with limited operations, similar to how the state kept open the national parks during the 2013 and 2018-19 federal shutdowns. As with past shutdowns, this plan still requires permission from the Secretary of Interior. (Read More)

Utah students continue to demonstrate upward trends on advanced placement exams

According to data released this week by the College Board, more Utah high school students participated in and earned college credit for Advanced Placement (AP) tests than in years prior. In 2023, Utah students in secondary schools took 45,308 AP exams, which is 3,559 more exams than in 2022.

Of the exams taken, 68% qualified students to earn college credit with a score of three or higher. The exam with the highest rate of passage was English Literature and Composition, with nearly 92% of students passing, according to the College Board data. This marks a third consecutive year of improvement with respect to AP exams in Utah. (Read More)

Tweet of the Day 

Upcoming

• Understanding Sexism in Utah with the Utah Women and Leadership Project— Oct. 10, 12:00-1:15 pm, Register here
• Civics Educator Conference with "Sharon Says So" — Oct. 10, UVU, More information and registration here
• Interim Day — Oct 10-11, le.utah.gov
• Martha Hughes Cannon Award with Utah Women Run — Nov 2, 6:00-8:00 pm, Nominate someone here
• Interim Day — Nov 14-15, le.utah.gov
• General election — Nov. 21

On This Day In History 

• 1789 - US War Department establishes a regular army
• 1839 - Francis Willard is born. As president of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), the largest organization of women in the U.S. in the 19th century, she turned the organization into a political force working on a broad array of social reforms including women’s rights, social justice, and world peace.
• 1913 - Inventor Rudolf Diesel vanishes from a steamship traveling from Belgium to England. His body is found Oct. 10. While his death is officially ruled a suicide, many believed then and now that he was murdered.
• 1914 - U.S. patent No. 1111999 is granted to Thomas Edison for the phonograph record.
• 1916 - American oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller becomes the world's first billionaire
• 1941 - The Babi Yar massacre of nearly 34,000 Jewish men, women and children begins on the outskirts of Kiev in the Nazi-occupied Ukraine.
• 1962 - JFK authorized use of federal troops to integrate U of Mississippi
• 1982 - Cyanide-laced Tylenol kills seven
• 1983 - US Congress authorizes President Reagan to keep 1,600 US Marines in Lebanon
• 1988 - Stacy Allison becomes the first American woman to reach the summit of Mt. Everest.
• 2006 - US Representative Mark Foley resigns after allegations of inappropriate emails to house pages were introduced
• 2021 - Britney Spears' father Jamie Spears suspended as her conservator by a judge in Los Angeles

Quote of the Day

"America is still the land of opportunity, and hard work is still a pathway to success."
—Dianne Feinstein

On the Punny Side

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