The Daily Utah Chronicle

Utah 2034 Olympic planners address student housing, infrastructure at U panel

2026-03-31T22:05:46Z

University of Utah students may be relocated from campus housing during the 2034 Winter Olympics, officials said on Wednesday, as planners work through what they called a “multipart” solution to accommodate thousands of incoming athletes.

Officials, including Brad Wilson, Utah 2034’s CEO, and Scott Doughman, director of Olympic planning at the U, met at the Thomas S. Monson Center on March 25 after visiting Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. The panelists, hosted by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute and moderated by Natalie Gochnour, board chair for the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, discussed what they had learned from the 2026 Winter Games. “This is one of, if not the biggest moments that we’ll have on the world stage, as we prepare for 2034,” Wilson said.

Olympics’ impact on the U

Doughman said planning early will be key to successfully hosting the 2034 Winter Olympics. He indicated there is a “baseline of performance” the U needs to achieve, especially regarding the opening and closing ceremonies and the athlete experience. “You mess any one of those up, even just marginally, and unfortunately, it becomes the headline,” Doughman said. “We’ve gotta be very careful they don’t get the wrong headline.”

At Milan Cortina 2026, he learned to pay attention to small planning details, Doughman said. His team is now planning several elements of the athlete’s experience, like interviews, storage, sponsor meetings and drug testing. Doughman also alluded to significant changes in transportation infrastructure after speaking with officials from the US Department of Transportation in Italy. He said future transportation projects may require “hundreds of millions of dollars” in funding.

He said he is excited about how this will benefit the U and its campus. “This is an opportunity, in so many ways, to evolve the brand of the university,” Doughman said. He said it will coincide with President Taylor Randall’s “college town magic” initiative, with an increase in housing and dining facilities.

Doughman said that by 2034, there will be more housing than necessary to host Olympic athletes. He also said, “There’s gonna have to be different solutions for different students,” regarding whether they will be able to remain in their campus housing during the games or not. “Some will be more than thrilled to just move to something remote,” Doughman said. “Some will be housed, probably by members of the community.” Doughman said his team will have a solution for student housing, but that it will be a “multipart” solution. “It’s non-trivial, and we’re working through it right now,” he concluded.

Opportunity for the state

CEO Wilson said he looks forward to how the 2034 Olympics will contribute to international collaboration. “Our world needs more of us cheering for each other,” he said. Wilson said the state will build on the 2002 Games’ legacy through infrastructure, education, social capital and community. “We are not planning an event for 17 days; we are planning for decades,” Wilson said.

Gochnour, the moderator, said the Games also represent a financial opportunity for the state. A report from the U’s policy institute projects the Olympics will generate $2.4 billion in net new direct spending and $21 million net fiscal revenue to the state, between 2024 and 2035.

Amid concerns for a winter with low snowfall, the panelists said they are also investigating snow-farming and transportation technologies. Wilson said the state will be prepared if 2034 is similar to this year’s winter.

Another panelist, Jennifer Wesselhoff, CEO at Visit Park City, said the event will be a good artistic and cultural opportunity for the state. She said the Games will be “a catalyst to celebrate our history and our culture.” Wesselhoff said her team is working to activate Park City’s downtown areas and elevate the community. She wants “residents [to] feel like hosts rather than spectators,” Wesselhoff said.

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U hosts 31st annual Wallace Stegner Symposium

2026-03-29T22:45:08Z

The SJ Quinney School of Law hosted its annual Wallace Stegner Symposium March 19-20. Top environmental figures addressed environmental concerns and preservation of public lands.

The symposium primarily focused on land preservation in the American West, with appearances from former Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior Sally Jewell and Ryan Gellert, current CEO of Patagonia. Dean Elizabeth Kronk Warner and professor Lincoln Davies kicked off the event on Thursday, focusing on changing economic policies in the American West.

Day One: Changing land policy, mining and public land preservation

The symposium’s first day primarily focused on changing public land policy within the United States as a whole, with a specific emphasis on land policy in the western United States.

John Leshy, a law professor at University of California San Francisco, addressed broad nationwide concerns, citing wealth inequality and court rulings as barriers to public land protection. “It’s not going to change for many years, maybe decades.” he said. However, Leshy stated there is a possibility for change despite these trends. “On the other hand, is it possible that public lands politics might be uncoupled from somewhat broader trends,” he added.

Leshy pointed to the sweeping bipartisan pushback to Senator Mike Lee’s (R-UT) proposal to sell millions of acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands as a sign these trends may be changing. “He proposed it, and there was an instant, widespread, almost across the board, reaction of hostility.” He said politicians who reacted negatively “included a number of Republican politicians as well as Democrats, showing that there is a broad base [of] bipartisan support” for public lands preservation.

Harvard Law School professor Andrew Mergen echoed this statement. “I had this in my family, where my parents were from public land states, Nevada and Utah, and there wasn’t any sort of uniformity about political beliefs, but [just] that public lands were important.”

Mergen also argued that this bipartisan pressure should urge the United States Congress to take action. “Can’t we agree, knowing that there’s bipartisan support for public lands, that this is a good time for Congress to take a good look at this issue?”

Day Two: Forest health, policy insight and future of public lands

The second day of the symposium opened with a discussion on strategies to mitigate forest fire severity. Speaker Jonathan Wood from the Property and Environment Research Center argued restoration work through intentional thinning and controlled fires is “an urgent need.”

“It is a huge problem that we have to tackle, and we are currently not doing anything close to the scale required,” he said.

According to Wood, the National Forest Service estimates that about 80 million acres of national forest land are in need of restoration. “We’re also seeing the effects of climate change and wildfire crisis on top of that,” he said. Wood argued for more transparent policies allowing these controlled burns and forest thinning to take place. “We cannot do forest restoration at the scale required without significant permitting reform,” he said.

The next speaker, Sally Jewell, the former CEO of REI and former Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, primarily discussed her experience in both roles, as well as long-term government impact on public lands. “The decisions we make in the Department of the Interior are not just for now. They’re not just for us in this generation. The decisions we make are going to impact people for hundreds of years to come,” she said.

Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert echoed Jewell’s statement. “We do the work we do because it’s important work,” he said. “It’s the right work to do and we didn’t start it as a result of outside pressure and we didn’t stop it as a result of outside pressure.”

Elle Howell contributed to reporting this story.

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Opinion: All Utahns deserve access to free food

2026-03-29T21:30:00Z

SB 320 is a bill that protects student and parent access to school-based food pantries. It also adds restrictions on what food can be in school-based pantries to avoid toxic chemicals and dyes.

This bill is a good step in the right direction towards food access for all Utahns. We must ensure everyone in Utah has access to free or affordable food.

Food insecurity in Utah

Utah is no stranger to food insecurity. 1 in 8 Utahns face food insecurity. 1 in 6 of those people are children.

A 2025 study found that children between the ages of two and 17 who are experiencing food insecurity have worse health. This includes increased risk of asthma, depression and visits to the emergency room. The study reported that cardiovascular health is worse in adults who experienced childhood food insecurity than in children who had SNAP access.

Growing up in poverty, I experienced extreme food insecurity. My family didn’t qualify for SNAP benefits. The long-term effects of this struggle have permanently altered the way I interact with food. Food insecurity led me to struggle with disordered eating, cardiovascular health issues and food hoarding.

College students who are facing food insecurity face the risk of worse mental health, worse academic success and impaired physical health. The GPA of students facing food insecurity is also lower by 0.25 than that of their counterparts. Additionally, other students have cited academic retention issues as another effect of food insecurity.

An estimated 17% of college students struggle with an eating disorder. An eating disorder can be worsened by food insecurity, which 39% of low-income college students face.

In adults, food insecurity is associated with a higher risk for eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. A study found that many individuals experiencing food insecurity go through a “feast-or-famine” cycle where food intake oscillates based on availability. This cycle closely mimics food restriction found in many eating disorders. Additionally, the experience of joy when the “feast” cycle mimics the joy of a binge in an eating disorder.

The University of Utah’s Feed U Pantry

The University of Utah’s Basic Needs Collective offers a solution to the high rates of food insecurity that college campuses face. The Feed U Pantry is a food pantry for the U, located in the Student Union. This food pantry, partnered with Utah Food Bank, allows anyone with an active student ID access to the pantry.

Luke Peterson, a volunteer for the Feed U Pantry, got involved with the pantry to fulfill the mandatory community service for his degree. “I was just kind of looking around at opportunities and just kind of presented itself. So here I am. I’ve been doing it ever since. I love it,” he said.

When asked what his favorite part of volunteering for the pantry is, Peterson said, “Honestly, I mean, I’ve gotten to work with a lot of really cool people. We just kind of get to hang out, talk stuff like that, and we’re all doing that while we’re able to help people get food.”

“There’s always the stereotype … of the broke college student … And I mean, there is some truth there. I mean, people are busy with classes, costs are rising with groceries, housing and everything related to cost of living. So, I mean, it’s just really nice to be able to kind of, however small, make an impact and maybe help, so that someone doesn’t go hungry one night,” Peterson said.

Access to free food is important for everyone. The Feed U Pantry can help increase the academic success of food-insecure students, which is exactly what SB 320 aims to do.

Utahns and recent SNAP cuts

U.S. President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) plans to cut SNAP costs by $186 billion between 2025 and 2034. As a result of this change, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that 2 million Americans will lose SNAP benefits.

Additionally, OBBBA makes it harder to qualify for SNAP benefits. Any adult over 18 without dependents (called ABAWD in the bill) must prove they’re working 80 hours a week. An exception exists for ABAWD who are enrolled at least 50% of the time in an educational program, or a combination of both.

OBBBA will also expand the age group for ABAWD from 18-55 to up to 65. Utah’s 24-64 age group contains over 989,854 males and 950,019 females, who are all becoming less eligible for SNAP benefits.

18.9% of all 18–24-year-olds in Utah are in poverty. This is the highest poverty rate for all age groups in Utah. Without SNAP, this group will be in danger of increased poverty. Additionally, 51.3% of households using SNAP have children. These cuts will directly affect Utahns, whether they’re 18-65-year-old ABAWD or children of families using SNAP.

If you’re a student at the U facing food insecurity, the Feed U Pantry can help. The pantry is committed to helping the University of Utah combat food insecurity. As Peterson said in his interview, “If you need it, we’re here. You can come get anything you need, essentially, whenever the pantry is open.”

All humans need food to survive and thrive. SB 320 is a stepping stone to protecting Utahns from food insecurity.

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ASUU panel warns drying Great Salt Lake ‘concerns U,’ raises public health concerns

2026-03-28T03:42:34Z

As conservationists estimate the Great Salt Lake will fall to new record lows later this year, the ASUU sustainability board’s Wednesday panel hosted prominent local conservationists in Gardner Commons, including a physician, environmental activists, a lawmaker, and an Indigenous scholar.

With over 50% of the lakebed exposed, the Great Salt Lake is only 36.7% full. Panelists warn the consequences of a shrinking lake already extend far beyond the lake’s shoreline — including worsening air quality, high economic costs and additional public health concerns along the Wasatch Front — and will continue to intensify as the lake dries up.

Four panelists, Dr. Brian Moench, Darren Parry, Alta Fairbourne and Nate Blouin participated in the event.

Public health

The exposed lakebed contains heavy metals and toxic dust that, when blown into the air, worsen the Salt Lake Valley’s already poor air quality. Dr. Brian Moench, president and co-founder of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment — the largest civic organization of health care professionals in Utah — described the situation as “a toxic soup.”

“The health hazard is under analyzed, under researched and under reported,” Moench said, referencing “chemical interactions between the dust and the regular urban air pollution that we’re familiar with creating new chemicals that we didn’t even know existed.”

A 2020 report from Brigham Young University estimates that long term exposure to Utah’s dirty air can shorten one’s life expectancy by 1.1 to 3.6 years, causing between 2,500 and 8,000 premature deaths each year.

Pictured from left: Darren Parry, Dr. Brian Moench, Alta Fairbourne, and Nate Blouin speak at ASUU panel on March 25, 2026. (Photo by Will Ruzanski | Daily Utah Chronicle) (Will Ruzanski)

“There are 28 sewage treatment plants that discharge into the Great Salt Lake, either the lake itself or its tributaries,” Moench added. “All the toxic byproducts of modern civilization are in the lake and the lake bed.”

A retired anesthesiologist, Moench recommends using an air purifier in the bedroom and an N95 mask when the valley’s air quality is particularly poor.

Environmental conservation

Alta Fairbourne, community water organizer for Utah Rivers Council — a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to water conservation — argued conservation strategies are not drastic or “draconian.”

“We don’t need to dry up every single farm in Utah,” she said. “We don’t need to get rid of every single piece of grass. Utah’s the highest per person municipal water user in the country.”

Utah residents consume the most domestic water per capita in the Southwest United States, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. The same article says “Utah’s public supply customers use the most water per capita in the United States,” while paying some of the lowest water rates.

“It’s a false dichotomy to say that we have to prioritize our economy or the environment,” Moench said. “They’re very much one in the same.”

Fairbourne criticized what she described as the Utah Legislature’s lack of serious, material legislation focused on Great Salt Lake water conservation, saying that “I think that’s kind of pacified this fiery public resistance that I truly believe that we need to save the Great Salt Lake.”

“Without a critical eye, it can feel really self assuring that there’s people coming to save us,” she said. “This is a drastic and serious crisis that we are facing in northern Utah, and we need big policy change.”

As a community water organizer, Fairbourne added that she has “definitely been seeing a lot of positive change,” saying she thinks “a lot of people are becoming really aware of the declining Great Salt Lake.”

Activism

All four panelists encouraged audience members to join a grassroots advocacy organization to push for environmental conservation.

“It must be addressed, or it will never get any better,” Moench said, encouraging “public pressure in every way possible, protest, writing letters, calling your legislator, everything.”

Students attend ASUU panel about Great Salt Lake on March 25, 2026 in Gardner Commons (Photo by Will Ruzanski | Daily Utah Chronicle)

Darren Parry, former chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, said that “everybody needs to be involved in [Great Salt Lake conservation] in some way to have that stake in their future,” arguing that tribal leadership is key to land stewardship.

“It’s not a science problem, it’s a values problem … we need to reframe how we look at the issue and get back in tune with nature,” Parry said. “Now we’re looking at the lake not as a resource that we can extract, deplete, develop, use, divert, but we look at as our relative, that we nurture and care for, we need to advocate.”

Utah State Sen. Nate Blouin, D-Millcreek, a progressive candidate running for Utah’s newly drawn first congressional district, emphasized that “this is going to be a problem that requires federal solutions.”

During the Utah Legislature’s 2026 General Session, Blouin sponsored multiple bills aimed at water conservation for the Great Salt Lake, all of which failed. Blouin expressed his desire for more local oversight for the Great Salt Lake, rather than state regulation.

“This is where our population center is, and our voices get left out so much, just based (on) who chairs some of these committees,” he said. “We need to get the young folks involved who are going to be impacted, the tribes that have the knowledge … the public health folks who certainly know about the impact here to our communities.”

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‘A symphony of disappearing sounds’ brings environmental crisis into civic engagement

2026-03-28T03:15:13Z

The green landscapes, stone bridges and monuments of Memory Grove Park just north of downtown Salt Lake City will soon make room for a three-story illuminated sphere. The art installation will combine light, projection and sound to create what artist Olafur Eliasson calls a symphony of nature.

Eliasson, an internationally known artist, will debut the immersive installation from March 26 to April 4 as part of the Wake the Great Salt Lake project. Each evening at 9 p.m., the experience will transform the park into a stage for a tribute to the Great Salt Lake.

The inflatable sphere serves as a projection screen for shifting visuals drawn from natural forms like salt crystals and geometric patterns found in nature. Surrounding the sphere is a layered soundscape built from recordings of animals native to the lake ecosystem, creating a 30-minute immersive experience that blends light, sound and environmental storytelling.

Project organizers say that the goal is to create a sense of shared responsibility. By bringing local communities together to learn about the lake’s future, the hope is to transform an environmental issue into a moment of collective reflection and action.

By placing art in public spaces, organizers hope to reach residents in ways that policy discussions or scientific reports often cannot.

“The Great Salt Lake is not only an environmental landmark, but a defining part of Utah’s identity and cultural landscape,” said Felicia Baca, executive director of the Salt Lake City Arts Council. “Public art has a unique ability to translate complex issues into experiences people can feel and remember.”

Art as a civic gathering point

Eliasson’s installation centers on the sounds and rhythms of the lake’s ecosystem.

“We have made something I called a symphony played as if nature would play it for humans,” Eliasson said during a recent press briefing. “It is a rhythm or it’s a sort of a sound and visual journey that is somehow aimed at human ears. There’s a pulse to it.”

(Courtesy of Studio Olafur Elisson)

Eliasson said the project highlights how fragile and important the ecosystem is.

“When the little shrimp disappears, then a whole ecosystem of other species also disappears,” he said. “Sometimes even species that are not endangered disappear because what they eat becomes endangered.” The installation draws from recordings and representations of the lake’s animals and insects, including brine shrimp, crickets and birds.

Beyond its environmental message, Eliasson said, the art is designed as a community experience.

“It’s a public space. It belongs to the city, and therefore it belongs to everyone,” he said. “Experiencing something together outdoors is a privilege.”

Local perspective on lake’s future

Utah locals hope the installation will encourage residents to reflect on their relationship with the lake and the role communities play in protecting it.

For many people living along the Wasatch Front, the lake is both a defining landscape as well as an environmental challenge.

“To me it’s like this oasis that makes you feel a million miles away from the city,” said Katie Newburn, education and outreach director for Friends of Great Salt Lake. “It’s otherworldly, the birds, the expanse. It reminds me of the ocean.”

Newburn said public awareness about the lake’s condition has grown significantly in recent years, especially after the lake reached historic low water levels in 2022. Environmental groups and policymakers have since pushed for water conservation and restoration strategies.

Newburn said connecting people emotionally to the lake is essential.

“Art has the power to reach people in ways that science and policy sometimes can’t,” she said. “It helps people connect with the lake, appreciate it and ultimately participate in its restoration.”

Art projects like Wake the Great Salt Lake can help bring communities to environmental issues through public engagement by inviting residents to experience the issue in a more personal way, organizers say.

Newburn said she hopes visitors leave the installation not only more aware of the lake’s challenges but also inspired by the possibility of protecting it.

“I hope people leave with a sense of hope and inspiration about how much can still be saved,” she said.

Caitlyn Homolya, Daily Utah Chronicle staff writer, wrote this article through a collaboration with Amplify Utah and the Great Salt Lake Collaborative.

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Opinion: Support the Utah Homeless Campus

2026-03-28T02:56:56Z

In December 2025, Gov. Cox proposed that the state legislature provide an initial, one-time investment of $25 million and an ongoing investment of $20 million to combat homelessness in Utah. Homelessness has been increasing in Utah, growing by 18% from 2024 to 2025.

A total of 10,261 people experienced homelessness for the first time in the state in 2024. 15,383 people accessed state homelessness resources in that same year. As the state’s population is projected to increase by 2 million people by 2065, the challenges of urban crowding and homelessness will only become more difficult to address. In order to effectively respond tomorrow, we need to begin implementing creative and powerful decisions today.

Fortunately, the state government has had the foresight to come up with these solutions. These include a proposal to construct a 16-acre homeless campus with 1,300 beds in northern Salt Lake City near I-215. This would nearly double the number of beds available in Salt Lake County’s emergency shelter system from 1,560 to 2,860. The campus would also provide medical care, mental health services, employment and criminal justice assistance on site. Despite concerns, this program is an intelligent way to address the growing issue of homelessness in the long term.

Successes elsewhere

The Utah Homeless Campus cites two other examples as inspiration and proof of concept. The Haven for Hope project began in 2006 in San Antonio, Texas. It is a 22-acre campus providing temporary and permanent housing, emergency shelters, educational and employment services and medical care. When the site opened in 2010, the city recorded an 80% reduction in the homeless population of downtown San Antonio over the following two years. The Nevada Cares project began in 2020 in Reno. It is an 18.75-acre campus providing housing, emergency shelter, hygiene facilities and other supportive care. Since it opened, the facility has provided over 5,000 people with services and transitioned 700 people into permanent housing as of 2024.

This concept has promise. As the homeless population of Utah continues to grow, it is imperative to address the issue and the complications homelessness can cause. Homelessness can often make it harder for the affected to seek and receive treatment for different health-related issues, including infectious diseases. Additionally, some estimates claim that one-third of those experiencing homelessness are living with an untreated serious mental illness.

In his State of the State address in 2026, discussing the program, Cox said, “We’re starting with chronic homelessness — helping with mental illness and breaking the vicious cycle of addiction and crime.” Cox did not go into specifics about what this meant, unfortunately. However, the program is designed to serve as the center of a “hub and spoke system.” According to the Utah Department of Workforce Services, the new program will allow people “to access core services at a centralized hub, and once stabilized … to be connected efficiently to additional specialized resources across the community — the spokes.” This system will allow Utahns in need to be connected to the services they require and to overcome the difficulties they face. If the state can build a campus to provide these services to those experiencing homelessness, all Utahns can experience a higher quality of life and safer communities.

Long-term planning, not a short-term fix

The real benefit of this program would be to set up a system which would help prepare Salt Lake City, and Utah as a whole, for future growth. By 2065, Salt Lake County is projected to grow by 370,000 people. While this number is impressive and a reason for optimism on the overall economy of Utah, increased homelessness should be expected as well, as people fall through the cracks of urban growth.

This program is not without flaws, however. It has been compared to the Utah State Prison built in the Great Salt Lake Wetlands. Both programs required paving over part of the wetlands and are at risk for higher exposure to mosquitoes. However, the State Prison was ultimately able to overcome these issues by working with the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District.

There are also deep concerns that this campus would trample on the civil rights of individuals involuntarily committed to this campus. Involuntary civil commitment is a complex legal issue, but those who are involuntarily committed are required to receive due process under the law, both for their rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution and state law. Of course, no one should be involuntarily committed simply for being homeless. Homelessness is not a crime, nor should it be. However, serious addiction or untreated mental health issues could qualify someone for involuntary commitment under existing Utah law. The homeless campus would not criminalize homelessness nor create a new legal standard to commit people involuntarily. The homeless campus would not be a prison because the focus is not on punishing someone for being homeless, mentally ill or suffering from addiction. Rather, the focus is on providing treatment for these issues and a pathway out. In other words, the ultimate goal of a center like this is not to be used.

Crafting effective policy

Utah faces challenges if it is to continue its growth into the decades ahead. Homelessness, already rising in the state, has been and will remain one of those challenges. Some opponents of the campus emphasize that it shifts away from a “housing first” strategy, in which the emphasis is on providing housing without requiring treatment for addiction or other mental health concerns. However, shifting away from a “housing first” policy, as the new homeless campus will be focusing on mental health and addiction, is an important step in addressing the causes of chronic homelessness.

Treatment alone is also ineffective. Without changes to state policy on housing, Utah cannot build more homes to lower overall costs. Since 2015, average home values in Utah have doubled and average salaries have not kept pace. Without an adequate supply of housing, all the addiction treatment in the world will not solve the issue of homelessness. Another step to help with not only the issue of homelessness but also that of housing overall would be to reduce regulatory burdens and costs on housing. The issue of homelessness is complex, multi-faceted and requires addressing different policy areas to effectively manage. No program is perfect, but as a first step, the Utah Homeless Campus is worthy of our support.

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Board of Trustees approve 3.5% tuition increase

2026-03-27T05:06:48Z

During a special meeting on March 18, the University of Utah Board of Trustees discussed a proposed 3.5% tuition increase for the 2026-2027 academic year. This change would add about $250 more every semester for undergraduates.

Trustees proposed the increase in response to HB 1, Higher Education Base Budget, which mandates a 2.5% discretionary pay increase for employees in higher education. According to the U’s Chief Financial Officer Tony Wagner, the increase would adjust salaries for inflation, retention and promotion, as well as academic and student necessities. “The state funds approximately 75% of that, and we fund approximately 25% of that with tuition,” Wagner said during the March meeting.

Breaking it down

Richard Preiss, English professor and Academic Senate President, explained how the tuition increase would impact faculty. In a written statement to The Chronicle, Preiss said, “These increases are pretty essential to faculty … I believe this is the first year in the last three that they haven’t cut our budget, which is refreshing to see.”

“Inflation has been running high over the last few years, driving up the cost of living for everyone who lives here, and the Salt Lake Valley has become an expensive place to live,” Preiss said. “Salary adjustments are necessary to retain the talent we have.”

In his statement, he added that even with the increase, the U “remains one of the best values in American higher education.”

“Our tuition is comparatively low for a research-intensive institution, and thanks to an academic job market that generates far more PhDs annually than can be employed, the faculty we hire come from the most elite universities and graduate programs in the country,” Preiss said. “You are really getting a first-rate education here for pennies on the dollar compared to what tuition would cost at an Ivy League university.”

Further action

To offset the tuition increase, the U will launch the Utah Promise Scholarship in the Fall 2026 semester. This scholarship will cover full tuition and fees for students from households with less than $100,000 in income and assets.

Additionally, Trustees will enact a 10% reduction in the computing fee, saving students $20 a year, as well as a new tuition payment option, no-fee eChecks or Automated Clearing House (ACH), where credit card payments will include a 3% service fee that aligns with colleges and universities across the country.

The Utah Board of Higher Education will meet on March 26 and 27 to review fee and tuition proposals from public colleges and universities statewide. Preiss explained that the expenditures all “benefit students in some way,” directly or indirectly.

“The expenditures come back to the student in a more distributed form, by maintaining the excellence of faculty and staff, which preserves the value of the degrees the U offers and makes the campus a more supportive environment for learning.”

The Board of Trustees will meet next on April 14.

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ASUU Town Hall talks parking

2026-03-27T04:58:40Z

As parking permit costs have increased by almost $20 per semester since last year, ASUU brought university officials together on March 23 to speak with students about parking issues they have.

Andrew King, the director of construction projects with the University of Utah, and Collin Simmons, the executive director of auxiliary services, addressed questions on permit prices, parking fines and the future of parking infrastructure. The conversation comes amid increased permit costs and the university’s acquisition of Fort Douglas, which Simmons said will yield more than 1,000 new parking stalls.

Permits

The panelists took a number of questions on parking permits. Questions from students, such as Milan Venegas, who asked why the prices of permits have gone up by almost $20 per semester since last year. “That was approved ultimately by the Board of Trustees as they look at the future of parking, and the need to build more infrastructure because it’s an auxiliary operation, that is what the permit prices were set at,” Simmons said. “I guess the economics of it is that was the way the pro formas for parking in the future and the system is built upon those numbers.”

Additional questions from Josh Hilberg, a Quantitative Analysis of Markets & Organizations (QAMO) major, focused on the cost of parking tickets. “The way the fines are set up, they need to be expensive enough to deter people or encourage behavior change to either one, pay for a visitor session or two, or have a permit,” Simmons said.

However, the panelists also mentioned a program where offenders can take a class to waive one parking ticket per semester. “One non-monetary option would be the ticket diversion program, where each semester, you can sign up and have a ticket waived by taking classes.”

Balance

King said that ultimately, the parking situation at the U, especially looking into the future, is a balancing act. “This campus is growing really exponentially, year over year,” King said. “We are adding hundreds, if not thousands, of additional students. So, we are growing, and in order to accommodate that growth, there’s a lot of additional infrastructure needed. That’s new classroom buildings, new labs, new faculty offices, new parking facilities, it’s all sorts of new things.” King added that while there are plans to increase parking, it’s not something that can happen overnight. Where students are able to park can determine their entire routine, meaning there’s a lot of planning needed.

King said that as a major cluster of people in Utah, the U of U, which sits on just over 1,500 acres, needs to balance space for parking with space for everything else. “If you include faculty, students, staff, visitors, patients and neighborhood kids who come up here, we’re 70 to 80,000 people on any given day during the typical academic year. We are not even a small city in Utah. We’re like the 15th largest city in the State of Utah,” King said. “If you can imagine that many people in a relatively small area, we have to have balance.”

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Utah’s ski team wins 18th national championship in school history

2026-03-27T04:48:07Z

In a slim competition that featured tight margins and numerous lead changes, the University of Utah Ski Team came from nowhere on the final day to win its 18th NCAA Championship title at the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center located in Mindway, Utah. They topped the University of Colorado Ski Team by a close 2.5 points to win the championship. This was one of the closest finishes in the whole season for the University of Utah.

While the University of Utah Ski Team was able to win the competition in the end, their road to victory was far from probable. Colorado took the early lead before Utah eventually came back. However, on the final day, nothing was clear about who the winner would be. The tournament came down to the final set of races: the 20K freestyle mass starts. This final day brought exactly what the University of Utah needed.

Late-Race surges seal the title

In the men’s race, Mons Melbye brought his best competition to the race. Throughout most of the race, Melbye was pretty far away from the front; however, at the final stretch, he kicked it into gear. His strong finish brought him to lead the race. Melbye surged forward in the closing stretch and edged out the competition by less than half a second to win the national title.

Looking back at the women’s race, Erica Lavén and Witta Walcher were the ones who kept Utah in competition. Finishing third and fifth, they allowed the Utes to have a chance at winning their 18th title. Racing in a close group throughout most of the competition, both athletes stood their ground in a back-and-forth battle where seconds and even tenths counted.

Team depth makes the difference

While no individual performance stood out in determining the winner of the championship, Utah’s depth did. The team earned 15 All-American titles, the most of any school, indicating a team with commitment in each event, rather than depending on one or two athletes.

According to head coach Fredrik Landstedt, the competition was unpredictable from start to finish, with the outcome in constant flux until the end. Utah trailed entering the final events, making their move to the top even more impressive.

The setting added another dimension to this story. Originally scheduled to take place in Montana, this championship was moved to Utah because of poor snow conditions. With little time to prepare, Utah filled in as host, putting on this event in a matter of weeks, as well as competing for a championship.

In the end, the team showed up as amazing hosts, as well as competitors.

The result is another milestone in what is a legacy of this team. Utah has won not only consecutive national championships, but six of the last seven, solidifying itself as the premier program in collegiate skiing.

Utah did not run away with this championship. Utah fought for it and ultimately won it at the last possible moment.

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Legislative Session Recap: Land, water & AI

2026-03-25T20:36:16Z

The 2026 Utah legislative session featured bills about land, water and technology. The bills spanned from regulating how AI data centers draw on Utah’s water supply to prohibiting AI-generated deepfakes.

Nine AI-related bills headed to the governor’s desk. Meanwhile, water rights, wildlife access and the fate of the Great Salt Lake dominated natural resource debates.

Land use

Land use policy in the 2026 Utah legislative session largely centered on amendments and continuations of existing legislation. For example, SB 44, passed by Gov. Spencer Cox on March 2, adopts the 2025 resource management plan without changes.

HB 30 revised regulations governing Utah’s state-run Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). The legislature relaxed requirements enacted in the 2025 session that restricted access to individuals with hunting, fishing or combination licenses. This change could broaden public access to these areas regardless of licensure.

In addition, HB 76 addressed water usage by AI data centers following public concerns about the significant water and land demands of these facilities, particularly their potential impact on resources connected to the Great Salt Lake. The bill passed the House on March 12 and awaits Gov. Cox’s signature.

The legislation targeted large data centers, defined as facilities of at least 10,000 square feet that use a minimum of 75 acre-feet of water annually. These facilities are required to estimate their water consumption and outline plans for water reuse. The Division of Water Rights is authorized to impose substantial fines for late or inaccurate reporting.

The bill was amended after initially failing in the Senate, with revisions that exclude existing data centers from its requirements.

Water Rights Amendments

HB 60, sponsored by Rep. David Shallenberger, sought to clarify the duties of the State Water Engineer as the office has reviewed “more and more things that are not related to water,” Shallenberger said. He worked with local organizations like Trout Unlimited and the Water Task Force while creating these amendments.

The bill specified the state engineer’s role in reviewing protests that fall under the categories of beneficial use, quantity, quality and availability of water. The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) or Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will cover topics beyond that scope.

HB 60 passed to the Senate President with a vote of 18-7-4 and passed to the governor on March 3.

Livestock Watering Amendments

HB 63, sponsored by Rep. Scott Chew, “helped with the management of livestock grazing” by allowing for the moving of water in a sub-basin for better livestock placement. Now, a person must have grazing land to make use of this bill, and the water must be moved within the sub-basin.

The bill addressed the issue of not being able to move cattle from one water source to another by allowing for the moving of a source without infringing on another person’s water rights. A person must own the private property and do so without depleting or using any additional water right allotment, using different points of diversion.

HB 63 passed to the Senate President with a vote of 28-0-1 and passed to the governor on March 12.

Artificial intelligence

The Legislature sent nine AI-policy-related bills to the governor’s desk this session.

HB 273 and HB 218 address the use of AI in K-12 schools. The Balance Act — HB 273 — added training on ethical AI use to existing computer science standards. HB 218 added AI instruction to a “Digital Skills” course for grades 7 and 8. AI curriculum in both settings will include topics like screen time and mental health.

SB 319 and SB 150 dealt with AI in the health sector. SB 319 restricted AI in health insurance preauthorization. Insurers are now required to determine authorization with ‘‘independent medical judgement,’’ and must disclose if AI is used during any part of the authorization process. SB 150 mandated that medical practices regulated by the Utah Office of Professional Licensure cannot use technology that provides advice or treatment without direct interaction between a professional and patient.

Rep. Ariel Defay’s bill HB 276 passed the Digital Voyeurism Prevention Act. This act made AI platforms liable for the generation and distribution of “non-consensual counterfeit intimate images,” commonly known as deepfakes. Platforms will now have 48 hours to remove deepfake content and must provide provenance data (showing where the content came from and labeling it as AI). This bill would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027, and would be enforced by the Utah Division of Consumer Protection.

SB 256 amends current defamation and libel/slander laws to apply to any deepfake content created with AI or other technology.

HB 289 includes AI imagery in the definitions and existing laws around Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).

Great Salt Lake funding

Various bills addressing the condition of the Great Salt Lake were presented and discussed in various committee meetings and during floor hearings. Notably, Sen. Nate Blouin’s SB 250 would have allowed for $200 million in funding for the lake, but ultimately was held in committee indefinitely, halting its movement in the legislative process.

Environmental groups such as Utah Rivers Council and Utah Youth Environmental Solutions supported the bill. “This is a common-sense solution to a massive and rapidly growing financial liability in northern Utah,” Alta Fairborne, a community water organizer and advocate from Utah Rivers Council, said. A protest to show support for the bill was held at the Utah State Capitol on Feb. 27.

Forest health

Forest health was also on the agenda for the 2026 session. HB 376, sent to the governor’s office to be signed on March 12, allots $4.5 million for forest health funding through Utah State University. “I think the more restoration work we can do on Utah’s landscape, especially our summer ranges, is going to help wildlife in the state,” Justin Shannon, a Division of Wildlife Resources employee, said.

The bill passed the Senate 27-2 during a floor reading.

Conclusion

The session ended with a mixed record on environmental priorities. While HB 376 secured $4.5 million for forest health through Utah State University and HB 76 established new water reporting requirements for large AI data centers, Sen. Nate Blouin’s SB 250 — which would have directed $200 million toward the Great Salt Lake — was held in committee indefinitely despite support from environmental groups and a public demonstration at the Capitol. On the technology front, bills regulating AI in schools, healthcare and content moderation moved forward, reflecting growing legislative attention to the role of artificial intelligence in daily life.

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