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An Oklahoma-based kratom manufacturer is suing over Utah’s new law limiting sales of the compound, saying it could cost the company more than $10 million when it takes effect next month.

Botanic Tonics LLC manufacturers, distributes and sells a dietary supplement made of kratom and noble kava root known as “feel free,” according to a lawsuit filed in federal court on March 31. The company said SB45, which lawmakers passed in the recent legislative session, would prohibit it and three other companies from selling products at more than 300 retail locations statewide.

“Immediate projected losses to plaintiffs due to the statute’s ban on combination kratom dietary supplements exceed $10,704,428,” the complaints states. “To comply with the statute, plaintiffs have notified their direct to store distributors that all kratom leaf products combined with any other ingredient must be removed from store shelves and not made available for sale as of May 6, 2026, unless action is taken by this court to enjoin implementation of the statute.”

It went on to say that the law “denies access to such products for which there is clinical trial data establishing that they do not present a significant or unreasonable risk of illness or injury.”

The lawsuit was filed against Utah Attorney General Derek Brown and several state officials: Kelly Pherson, commissioner of the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food; Amber Brown, deputy commissioner of the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food; and Bradon Forsyth, director of the Utah Specialized Product Division.

Botanic Tonics filed the suit in conjunction with the Kratom Coalition Inc., asking a judge to declare Utah’s limits on kratom sales unconstitutional and block the state from enforcing it through a preliminary injunction. The company sued Utah’s Department of Agriculture and Food in a separate state court last year, but that complaint was eventually dismissed.

Kratom comes from a tropical tree and is used by some people for pain management. Kratom products have been sold in retail shops and include powders, gummies, teas and energy drinks.

The substance has been called “gas station heroin” because it can act on the same receptors in the brain that opioids do. Synthetic products derived from kratom can lead to overdose.

SB45 takes effect May 6 and will only allow for the sale of pure leaf kratom in Utah, and only in smoke shops and similar stores. It also gives manufacturers one year to stop producing anything other than pure kratom leaf in the state.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, said the law was meant to protect Utahns from the product. He said based on an informal poll he took of gas station clerks, “feel free” is one of the most popular kratom products sold in Utah, and called the product “extremely potent, extremely addictive.”

“I’m not worried about it being struck down,” he said of the law. “And the lawsuit doesn’t surprise me. This company has been very aggressive. They’ve sued the state in the past. Ultimately that case was dismissed, but I am confident in our case.”

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Preservation Utah announced its 2026 Community Stewardship Award recipients on Tuesday, which recognizes individuals and organizations who have made a lasting impact in preserving Utah’s historic places.

Preservation Utah, dedicated to protecting Utah’s historic landmarks, announced the 10 recipients of the 2026 Community Stewardship Awards who will be honored on April 28 from 9 a.m. to noon at Memorial House in Memory Grove Park in Salt Lake City as part of the organization’s 60th anniversary.

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“These 10 recipients represent the full breadth of what historic preservation looks like in Utah today,” said Brandy Strand, executive director of Preservation Utah. “This year’s awardees demonstrate that preservation is not a niche concern. It belongs to every community in this state.”

As listed on Preservation Utah’s website, this year’s awards with their respective winners are as follows:

Adaptive Reuse

Arbor 515 (Wilde Wood Tower), Salt Lake City

Instead of demolishing the vacant 14-story Modernist office tower at 515 East 100 South, the Utah Perpetual Housing Fund and Rocky Mountain Homes Fund converted the 1981 building, designed by Utah Modernist architect Bill Browning, into 96 affordable housing units, a Montessori school, and one of the nation’s first renter wealth-building programs. Supported by over $12 million from the Salt Lake Community Reinvestment Agency, the project was completed in October 2025 and recognized by Governor Spencer Cox and Mayor Erin Mendenhall as a national model for affordable housing. The owners plan to nominate the building to the National Register of Historic Places when it turns 50.

Community Revitalization

The Milk Block, Salt Lake City

Owners Kathia Dang and Sam Sleiman preserved and rehabilitated the 1941 commercial building at 416 East 900 South, a contributing resource in the Liberty Wells Historic District. They uncovered original bow trusses, restored the Art Deco corner marquee, and repaired the terracotta facade. The Milk Block’s anchor tenant is the Wasatch Cooperative Food Market, Salt Lake City’s first food co-op, serving a neighborhood previously without access to fresh food. All other tenants are locally owned businesses. Equality Utah is headquartered at the block, which is named for Harvey Milk Boulevard.

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Korral Broschinsky, statewide

Korral Broschinsky has spent over thirty years documenting Utah’s historic resources. Since founding Preservation Documentation Resource in 1999, she has conducted statewide historic surveys, prepared dozens of successful National Register nominations, and supported property owners with state and federal historic tax credit programs. From 2006 to 2012, her firm surveyed nearly 5,000 buildings in Murray for the Utah State Historic Preservation Office. She is the author of two books on Murray history and served two terms on the Murray City Historic Preservation Advisory Board.

Legacy Business

Roosters Hospitality Group, Ogden and Northern Utah

For thirty years, founders Kym and Pete Buttschardt have operated in historic spaces along Ogden’s most significant corridor, viewing older buildings as valuable assets. When they opened Roosters Brewing Co. on Historic 25th Street in 1995, in a building constructed in 1893 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Ogden’s downtown was at a turning point. Their ongoing investment has helped revitalize the street through economic challenges and growth. In 2023, the Utah Restaurant Association honored Roosters with its Golden Spoon: Restaurateur of the Year award.

Heritage Organization

Friends of Historic Spring City, Spring City, Sanpete County

Founded in 1983 and incorporated in 1998, Friends of Historic Spring City has spent over forty years preserving the historic character of Utah’s best-preserved nineteenth-century Mormon village. The organization restored the 1899 Spring City Public School, now the Community Center, securing over $1 million in funding and repaying the Community Impact Board loan ahead of schedule. With about 180 volunteers in a town of 1,000, the Friends now lead efforts to protect the one-acre lots that form the foundation of the Plat of Zion layout, which the National Register district was established to safeguard.

Steward of the Historic Built Environment

Susan Dolemba / Nebeker-Kearl House, Laketown, Rich County

When Susan Dolemba purchased the circa-1880 Nebeker-Kearl House in 2002, the upper story had been deemed uninhabitable. Over eight years, she rebuilt the staircase, restored the kitchen and parlor to their original locations, repaired the sandstone foundation, and returned the exterior to its historic appearance, completing the project in 2010 with federal and state historic tax credits. She has cared for the house for over twenty years. The Nebeker-Kearl House is the best surviving early frame home in Laketown and a leading example of Victorian Eclectic design in rural Utah.

Rehabilitation and Restoration

Bernard O. Mecklenburg Residence, Salt Lake City

Jesse and Erin Deller purchased 951 East South Temple, a 19061907 Classical Box residence designed by a leading early twentieth-century Salt Lake City architect and located in the South Temple Local Historic District. The home had been divided into apartments and suffered years of damage. Without institutional support or historic tax credits, the Dellers hand-stripped paint from historic sandstone, rebuilt original wooden windows using traditional methods, restored the original floor plan, and returned the home’s original front door, which they found at the rear of the house, to its intended place.

Browning Apartments, Ogden

Developer Casey Keller inherited a partially remodeled 1916 Prairie Style apartment building at 2703 Washington Boulevard, individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with a complex title history and two Utah State Historic Preservation Office site visits documenting prior noncompliant work. He resolved these issues by stripping and refinishing painted Mississippi red gum woodwork, uncovering and restoring original penny tile floors at both main entrances, and fabricating custom wood doors to replace incompatible vinyl ones. The project earned both Federal and State Historic Tax Credits for the first time in the building’s history.

Silver King Coalition Mine Headframe Building, Park City

The Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History, a committee of the Park City Museum, led a four-year rehabilitation of the 1926 Silver King Coalition Mine Headframe Building in Woodside Gulch above Park City Mountain Resort. This 12,400-square-foot industrial landmark had been vacant since 1953, was listed among Preservation Utah’s 2024 Most Endangered Sites, and was at risk of structural failure due to a collapsing mine shaft. Completed in October 2025, the project stabilized the shaft, rebuilt the snow-damaged roof using original corrugated metal panels with their historic patina, and secured the building as the centerpiece of the Silver King Coalition Mine National Historic District, designated in December 2024. The building will anchor the Park City Historic Mine Route, launching in September 2026.

University of Utah Fort Douglas Buildings 661, 662 & 663, Salt Lake City

After a 2020 windstorm exposed 1980s-era vinyl siding on three 1891 Army cottages along Connor Road at Fort Douglas, the University of Utah redirected a planned exterior upgrade to a full rehabilitation. The project recreated lost Victorian details, including the transition between fish scale shingles and drop siding, incorporated a significant seismic upgrade while preserving the historic character of the interiors, and restored all three porches to their documented historic configurations. Buildings 661, 662, and 663 will return to housing for faculty and staff in 2026, fulfilling their original purpose.

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SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Drumroll please…. The Utah mammoth hockey team officially unveiled the newest addition to their fan-crazed arena, the “Zammoth.”

Converted from a 2002 Winter Olympic Zamboni, the “Zammoth” will now offer guests an unforgettable off-ice experience at Mammoth home games.

The retrofitted Zamboni no longer cleans the ice, but instead, has been transformed into a mammoth-themed vehicle that guests will have the opportunity to ride around the ice pregame and during intermissions at Mammoth home games.

Designed and built in collaboration with the Diesel Brothers, a Utah-based pair famous for customized high-performance vehicles.

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The “Zammoth” was built using the frame of the Zamboni from the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics — “transforming a relic of Utah’s hockey history into a modernized, mobile fan experience, ” the team said in a press release.

The “Zammoth” is set to be a fully interactive fan experience, carrying up to eight riders pregame and during both intermissions. The ride stands at about 17 ft x 7ft x 8ft and is complete with special effects sure to “wow.”

The ride features custom lighting, a sound system, a 3D printed trunk and tusks, and was constructed using a mix of aluminum and steel.

Catch the “Zammoth” at the next Mammoth home game.

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In a game the Utah Jazz had to lose, they got the job done in a big way against the New Orleans Pelicans, losing 156-137.

Defense was absolutely optional in this one, but it was exceptionally bad for the Utah Jazz, who somehow gave up 156 points. But this is not something to be shamed or mocked, this is the best form of tankmogging. With the Brooklyn Nets winning again and the Jazz tied with the Kings, this is exactly what the Jazz needed to do. Utah is on a mission to land another top pick in the draft and, if successful, could become one of the league’s elite teams. To lose big like this is the biggest expression of competitiveness.

For example, which of these two teams would you rather be? Utah owns their pick in the upcoming draft if it stays bottom-8. Utah has over a 99% chance to keep their pick and will add that player to a core that should compete for playoff positioning next season. It’s also decent odds that they jump into the top of an elite draft that has a great group of players to choose from. On the other hand, you have the Pelicans, who traded the rights to their pick in the upcoming draft to pick Derik Queen and are sitting in the 8th spot in the lottery. They get to watch the Hawks pick someone who would have been added to their core. Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen have had some nice moments this season, but they’ve led the Pelicans to the 8th spot in the lottery standings. It’s a pretty easy answer.

It’s also a sign that the Jazz understand the assignment. This is how the Jazz can maximize their chances at a championship. If Utah somehow lucks into a top three to four pick, they become an absolute monster, overloaded with talent at every position.

And that’s just the benefits of losing. Utah is also finding out what they have with their young players. Cody Williams, Ace Bailey, Brice Sensabaugh, and Kyle Filipowski have all shown real signs during this tank, something they couldn’t have done if they were pushing for wins. They’ve also found a nice player in Blake Hinson, who has been almost too good since he joined the team. Oh, and they also might have a guy in John Konchar, who had a triple-double tonight. Which, by the way, is the fourth triple-double of the season for the Jazz.

All in all, it’s a highly successful night for the Jazz, who are now on their way to a potential three-way tie with the Nets and Kings for the third pick. If Utah gets lucky, lottery night could be even more interesting than it looked a month ago.

As Utah pushes to become a force in the artificial intelligence industry, its flagship university is quickly working on developing a supercomputing system researchers hope will accelerate cancer, Alzheimer’s, mental health, and genetic and environmental discoveries. 

The system being built at the University of Utah is slated to come online this summer, and it’s projected to increase the institution’s computing capacity 3.5-fold, according to the university. 

Some officials and communications from the university describe the project as a “supercomputer,” but Manish Parashar, chief AI officer at the University of Utah, prefers another term — ecosystem. 

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“The physical computer is one part of it, but it is everything together that allows the innovation to happen,” Parashar said.

The ultimate goal for the system is to provide the computational power for researchers to run AI to crunch data and analyze models simultaneously. 

That is expected to extend beyond health care research, with university leaders hoping to also make breakthroughs on “environmental modeling, clinical decision support, and large-scale analysis of historical and textual datasets in the humanities,” according to a release from the university.

“In the past researchers at the U. have found genes related to breast cancer, to Alzheimer’s. You can also look at how you find drugs that might be responsive to different types of diseases, or using AI to help physicians better analyze imaging,” Parashar said. “We’ve had many examples of researchers doing things like that at the U. What this will do is to be able to provide them with additional capacity to amplify and accelerate their research.” 

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In a brief presentation of the project to lawmakers in February, University of Utah President Taylor Randall said the system will be available to all educational institutions in the state to train students, as well as to startups. 

“This is just a fundamental, I call it, shared service that we can share across industry and other institutions to make sure that we are at the forefront of artificial intelligence,” Randall said. 

In total, the full project, including physical infrastructure, computing, storage and software systems and their operations are expected to cost $50 million, a tab that’s being divided between philanthropists and the public sector. During their legislative session that concluded last month, lawmakers approved a one-time $15 million allocation for the endeavor. 

A memorandum of understanding the state and higher education institutions signed with chipmaker NVIDIA to advance AI research and workforce in Utah is also playing a role in this development, Parashar said, with the company providing chips and expertise on the hardware.

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The university also has an agreement with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to assemble and operate the system, Parashar said.

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While state leaders, including Gov. Spencer Cox, have been keen to accommodate the AI industry in Utah, some have also spoken in support of regulating the technology and have argued that AI must be “human-enhancing.” 

That’s something that the university’s Responsible AI Initiative, also led by Parashar, is taking into consideration while working on the supercomputer. 

“We want to make sure that when we address and use AI as a solution, we not only consider the technical dimensions, but also consider the ethical and social technical dimensions,” he said. “What are the implications? And how do we bring that expertise, that training to our researchers, to our students?”

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“One Shining Moment” has played. The 2025-26 college basketball season has come to a close. With that, the final ranking of the Men’s Other Top 25 has been compiled.

Utah State closes the season atop the ranking. The Aggies won the Mountain West regular season and tournament championships. They were the only team from the conference to reach the NCAA Tournament, and they advanced to the second round with a win over Villanova. USU has gone dancing four straight years and in six of the last seven tourneys.

Saint Mary’s came in at No. 2. The Gaels extended their streak of consecutive trips to March Madness to five. Randy Bennett’s squad was a single-digit seed in each of these Dances as it finished 27-6 with a second straight seven-seed.

Saint Louis placed third in the poll. The Billikens returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. They won their first tourney game in a dozen years. Josh Schertz’s team saw a 10-win improvement from last year and finished 29-6, losing to eventual champ Michigan in the Round of 32.

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Santa Clara followed in fourth. The Broncos made their first appearance in March Madness in 30 years. Herb Sendek guided them to 26 wins, the WCC finals, and the brink of the second round of the Big Dance in one of the best games of the tournament in a heartbreaking loss to Kentucky.

Miami (OH) rounded out the top five. The RedHawks had a storybook season, going 31-0 in the regular season, receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, and winning a game in the First Four in their home state.

VCU came in sixth in the final poll. The Rams won the Atlantic 10 tournament title and pulled off one of the biggest March Madness comebacks by overcoming a 19-point deficit against North Carolina in the first round.

South Florida followed after the program’s second berth in the NCAA Tournament in the last 34 years and first since 2012. USF went 25-9 this season.

New Mexico ran all the way to the NIT semifinals and placed eighth in the final poll. Conference mate San Diego State was one spot behind. Tulsa, who advanced to the NIT championship game, placed 10^th. The Golden Hurricane stormed back from down 21 to lead Auburn by four in the final seconds of regulation before falling in overtime in the title game.

Four teams joined the ranking: Boise St., Wichita St., Stephen F. Austin and Cal Baptist.

Dropped from ranking:

UC Irvine – T-17; Penn – T-21; Hawaii – 23; Bradley – 24

More than 50 years after 17-year-old Laura Ann Aime disappeared in Utah, authorities say they have finally confirmed that notorious serial killer Ted Bundy was responsible for her death. Utah officials announced on Wednesday, April 1, that newly analyzed DNA evidence conclusively tied Bundy to Aime, closing a case that had remained unresolved since 1974.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Aime vanished on Halloween night after leaving a party in Lehi, Utah. Her body was discovered nearly a month later by hikers in American Fork Canyon. Investigators long believed Bundy was behind the killing because the circumstances closely matched his known pattern of targeting young women in Utah during the mid-1970s.

Bundy even referenced Aime when he confessed to multiple murders shortly before his execution in 1989, but there was never enough physical evidence to formally close the case.

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That changed after the Utah Department of Public Safety used forensic technology acquired in 2023 that can separate mixed DNA samples. Investigators extracted a male DNA profile from evidence collected decades ago and entered it into a national database.

The sample produced a match to Bundy’s DNA profile in Florida, where he was executed in 1989. Sheriff Mike Smith said the evidence was so definitive that, if Bundy were alive today, prosecutors would seek both criminal charges and the death penalty.

Laura Ann Aime’s family said the confirmation brings a painful but meaningful sense of closure. Her younger sister, Michelle Impala, said the family had long suspected Bundy was responsible, but hearing it officially confirmed still mattered.

She described Laura as an outdoors-loving teenager who loved horses, animals, and life on her family’s farm.

One detail that stayed with the family for decades: after Laura died, her horse reportedly stopped eating the red licorice treats she used to bring it.

Bundy moved to Salt Lake City in 1974 to attend law school at the University of Utah. During that time, investigators believe he killed at least five women in Utah and possibly more. Several victims, including 17-year-old Debra Kent, were never found.

Laura Ann Aime is now considered Bundy’s sixth confirmed victim in Utah. The recovery of Bundy’s full DNA profile may also help investigators revisit other cold cases connected to him across multiple states.

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ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) — Utah Tech University students are celebrating the school’s annual ‘D’-week with a variety of celebrations.

This week, Utah Tech students are honoring the school’s history, growth, and community partnerships with their tradition week, called ‘D’-week. Utah Tech’s Student Body President, Shellsea Ramirez Fuentes, gave ABC4.com an insight into what the week means for her.

“It’s just such a vital part of our community, especially where it lies pretty much in the heart of the city, and it really just honors that partnership that we have between this community and the university,” said Shellsea Ramirez Fuentes.

According to Ramirez Fuentes, the week kicks off with the Brooks’ City Tour, during which students visit local art installations and community businesses. They have several local events throughout the week.

“My favorite one is the great race,” Ramirez Fuentes said. “I just think it’s a wonderfully interactive way to kind of get the students around campus. The reason why the Great Race is one of my favorite ones. it’s because it’s one of those that I had participated in before even being involved with, you know, student government or anything else here on campus.”

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On Saturday, at the end of the week, students gather and paint the ‘D’ on the hill with limestone. The ‘D’ represents Utah Tech’s former name of Dixie State University, which was deemed controversial due to its ties to the Confederacy during the Civil War, though some opposed the name change.

Despite any previous controversy, Ramirez Fuentes uses this week to focus on her school and community and to build up her peers.

“I love anything that has to do with building a team and just feeling that energy to sizzle all throughout campus, and I believe it’s wonderful and that ends with the great carnival, which is amazing in here on campus,” she said, adding, “We have ribbons all over campus and just really having that pride of having Utah Tech University and also just the community that we are in.”

You can learn more about ‘D’-week celebrations here.

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