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Good morning!

Ally Sentnor could be the future face of the U.S. women’s national soccer team. Until then, you can find her playing in Utah — in fact, Sentnor and the Utah Royals kick off the 2025 NWSL season at home against Bay FC tonight at 5:30.

In less than 14 months, Sentnor went from being the No. 1 overall pick in the NWSL draft to scoring her first goal for the U.S. women’s national team.

The Utah Royals midfielder and forward described the moment to the Deseret News earlier this month as “surreal” and the highlight of her young professional career.

Read more from Krysyan Edler about Sentnor’s meteoric rise and hopes for the future.

Also on our minds:

The measles outbreak spreads as cases surpass 2024 total
Government to stay open as Senate averts shutdown
Three takeaways from BYU’s loss to Houston in the Big 12 tournament

My tax money went where? State auditor Tina Cannon wants to open the door on Utah transparency

State auditor Tina Cannon wants to increase government transparency in Utah, and she says the public is key to keeping officials accountable.

“Our job is to shine a light and that’s where it comes back to the public,” Cannon said. “We need the public to be able to see the data, use the data, and they can do what we don’t have the time to do.”

Since entering office in January, Cannon has opened a “transparency room” in the Utah Capitol Building where the public can explore the “Transparent Utah” website and ask questions about government spending.

Cannon has also worked with what she calls “the best data analytics team in the country” to launch three new interactive dashboards that break down government revenue and expenditures since 2005, and higher education spending over the last decade.

Read more about how Utahns can track government activity.

How Utahns feel about Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons, and Biden’s pardon of Hunter

Gitanjali Poonia writes:

On the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump pardoned all of the people charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots.

Many Utahns did not approve of Trump's decision, according to the latest Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll conducted by HarrisX.

More than half of Utah voters, or 53%, say they disapprove of Trump pardoning or commuting the sentences of rioters.

Voters expressed similar displeasure with President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son, Hunter, during the final days of his presidency.

Read more about what Utah voters think about recent presidential pardons.

Utah Business 2025 Executive Excellence Nominations

It’s time to recognize executive team members for their strategic vision, resilient leadership, and profound influence. Nominate before April 18!

Utah

University of Utah among 45 colleges under federal investigation (Deseret News)
Protect Utah Workers coalition launches signature collecting effort for referendum against HB267 (Deseret News)
Report says Utah's flag ban could harm efforts to keep Sundance Film Festival (KSL)
Rising costs, federal funding cuts, SNAP fraud putting Utah families at risk of hunger (KUTV)

The U.S.

Passengers evacuate onto wing of plane after engine catches fire at Denver Airport (Deseret News)
Columbia University expels students involved in pro-Palestinian building occupation last spring (Deseret News)

The World

Photo gallery: Blood moon lunar eclipse from around the world (Deseret News)
Mark Carney is Canada’s next prime minister — for now (Politico)

Sports

Analysis: No. 17 BYU still can’t solve its Houston problem in getting bounced from the Big 12 tournament in semifinals (Deseret News)
3 takeaways from BYU’s loss to Houston in the Big 12 tournament (Deseret News)
Utah gymnast Avery Neff hasn't ruled out a run at the Los Angeles Games (Deseret News)
Bracketology: What seed might Utah women’s basketball get in the NCAA tournament? (Deseret News)
The QB2 battle — and Devon Dampier’s offensive assimilation (Deseret News)

Faith

Morehouse’s Lawrence Carter calls for ‘a new generation of Christians’ at BYU (Deseret News)
Why Rick Pitino keeps making jokes about Ramadan (Deseret News)
Pope Francis entered the hospital 1 month ago. Here’s what’s happened since then (Deseret News)

Health

U.S. has most measles cases since 2019’s record wave (Deseret News)
How taking care of your teeth could protect your heart and brain health (CBS)

Entertainment

How this Utah-based relationship expert became a voice of hope for modern daters (Deseret News)
Blues guitarist Sue Foley is back in Utah — and celebrating the pioneering women who helped her get here (Deseret News)

🗓️ Events Calendar

We put together a list of events and activities going on around the state of Utah in March. Check it out and let us know if we are missing anything!

Here are some highlights for events in Utah today:

St. Patrick’s Day Parade | The Gateway
Gold Rush: An American Musical Adventure | Abravanel Hall
Orchestral Excerpt Masterclass with Flutists of the Utah Symphony | Vieve Gore Concert Hall at Westminster University

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.

Thanks for reading!

— Ariel