Month: April 2025

The cherry blossom bloom at the nation’s capital ended last weekend, and a wonderful version of it will soon retire at Utah’s Capitol. But the politics in both locales continue to thrive.

Special election outcomes in Florida and Wisconsin still reverberate. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., broke a record for the longest speech on the U.S. Senate floor with his verbal attack on President Donald Trump. Do these reveal significant trends?

Cowley: Despite being significantly outspent, Susan Crawford (D) won Wisconsin’s circuit judge seat, and Sen. Randy Fine (R) won Florida’s congressional race. Despite Elon Musk spending $20+ million to put a Republican on the bench, money talks but can’t buy elections. If it did, we would be writing about President Kamala Harris right now.

Long-winded speeches that barely last one news cycle won’t save the Democrats’ sinking ship. They don’t have a plan, a viable presidential candidate or a message. They ignore overwhelming bipartisan support for Trump policies like banning men from women’s sports and securing elections, and ignore pleas from the middle class to rebuild the economy.

Pignanelli: “Follow the trend lines, not the headlines.” — Bill Clinton

Despite zero evidence of efficacy, physicians used bloodletting for centuries to remedy patients’ ills. Similarly, despite their unreliability, political commentators analyze special and off-season elections as predictors of future contests. However, politicos like us cannot help ourselves and will try to glean some nuggets that may prove worthwhile.

Wisconsin voters who placed a liberal into their Supreme Court also approved enshrinement into their state constitution of the requirement of a photo ID before a person can obtain a ballot. This is a lesson for Democrats across the country.

Booker performed a favor to U.S. history by ensuring the longest speech in the Senate is no longer a segregationist rant against voting rights. Despite the attention from national media, serious questions exist about how this 25-hour publicity tactic (only heard by a handful) helps in messaging for future Democratic candidates. Booker’s impressive bladder strength was noted, but few of his statements were covered or will be remembered.

Any additional prognostications for these activities would be akin to using leeches.

Trump is making waves, history and headlines, but not international friends, with his recent imposition of reciprocal tariffs. Utah imports and exports considerable amounts. What are the political ramifications?

Cowley: Millennials like me came of age during the 2008 Great Recession, then endured the 2020 global pandemic. We’ve barely seen a good economy, so another downturn doesn’t phase us — we’re used to a ramen noodle diet.

Tariffs aim to secure better global trade terms and restore domestic manufacturing. Trump said this will cause short-term pain but is necessary to right the economic wrongs of previous short-sighted administrations. You don’t snap your fingers and “voila,” instantaneous return of domestic manufacturing. This could take the entirety of Trump’s term or longer.

COVID-19 demonstrated America’s vulnerabilities in the supply chain. Our limited manufacturing heavily relies on foreign inputs and materials. We must bolster domestic production of energy, steel, microchips and rare earth minerals. Utah could play a part in this strategy with our troves of rare earth minerals and vast energy resources.

America remains the most important consumer market. Companies like Ford are making moves to serve American consumers, duty-free. The E.U. and others are already floating zero for zero tariffs. This is the highest-stakes game of economic chicken ever played. I’m betting on the guy who wrote “Art of the Deal” to win.

Pignanelli: Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., correctly emphasized that when Republicans imposed tariffs in 1890 and 1930, they were hammered in the next elections. A repeat could happen in 2026 if the stock market plunges and inflation explodes. This could significantly impact Utah’s swing districts and possibly a congressional seat.

But the tariffs of the 19th and 20th centuries were enacted by Congress, which means the modern story is unfinished. The president has greater flexibility to modify or Congress may feel forced to intervene, which would change the outcome.

Commentators (including me) have been opining that the political parties are undergoing realignment in multiple demographics, as was apparent in 2024. The eventual outcome of the recent actions by Trump may supercharge political transformations to the extent not seen since the 1850s.

Utah suffered in the 1890s and 1930s. Our diverse and sophisticated economy could again be negatively affected unless the trajectory changes. Thus, intra- and inter-party dynamics in the next several years may be even more extreme than the current environment.

How are other elected officials, including Utah’s delegation, reacting to Trump’s big swings? How might this change politics in perpetuity?

Cowley: Democrats can’t even denounce Tesla vandalism, let alone come up with a cogent counter to Trump’s bold and decisive agenda. Most Republicans are either complicit or silently acquiesce to Trump. Meanwhile, Utah legislators are decisively MAGA/MAHA, basking in praise from RFK Jr. and other Trump secretaries.

Pignanelli: Politicians love to be on the right side of history, but there is no crystal ball to decipher recent events. We may be amidst a massive economic upheaval that reorients political coalitions. So our officials express concern, combined with a desire to help the “hollowed out“ former industrial centers, while offering hope of eventual resolution.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called Monday for the end of community water fluoridation, praising Utah’s move to ban the addition of fluoride to the water supply.

“It makes no sense to have it in our water supply. And I’m very, very proud of this state for being the first state to ban it. And I hope many more will come,” Kennedy told reporters in Utah.

It comes as the Environmental Protection Agency says it has now launched a new review of fluoride’s health effects, working with Kennedy’s department as it weighs whether to tighten federal restrictions on its addition to drinking water. 

Kennedy will also be reconvening his department’s Community Preventive Services Task Force to make a new recommendation on water fluoridation, an HHS official said. The federal task force previously recommended water fluoridation after a review in 2013, citing “strong evidence” of its public health benefits to reduce cavities outweighing its costs.

“As soon as I was nominated by President Trump as administrator of the EPA, the secretary instantly reached out to start talking about issues that he is so passionate about. And number one on that list was fluoride,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said.

Fluoride has been incorporated into public water supplies in much of the country for decades to help protect against tooth decay. Dental organizations and public health experts say it’s a safe and low-cost intervention with proven benefits. 

Kennedy, however, cited a previous review by the federal government’s National Toxicology Program, which concluded that “higher levels” of fluoride was linked to lowered IQ in children. Those levels exceeded what’s recommended in water systems.

While the program’s report concluded more research was needed into whether fluoride was actually affecting IQ at levels found in most U.S. drinking water, a federal court ruled last year that the report’s findings were enough to warrant forcing the EPA to do more to address this potential risk. 

Speaking with reporters Monday, Kennedy went further than the report, warning of multiple other potential health risks ranging from hyperthyroidism to osteoarthritis. He said adding fluoride to water “clearly is doing harm” and was undermining freedom of choice. 

The EPA previously lowered its limits for fluoride in water in 2011, after a report from the National Academy of Sciences found some impacts on thyroid and arthritic symptoms might be possible under maximum limits at the time.

“They have not been completely well studied, but they are alarming enough that we shouldn’t be demanding that parents accept something for their children and in their homes, that is essentially a medication,” said Kennedy.

The American Dental Association has disputed claims that water fluoridation is unsafe, calling the report flawed. The organization cites continuing evidence that shows the policy substantially reduces cavity rates, especially for children in low-income communities.

Kennedy’s remarks come days after he gutted the CDC’s Division of Oral Health as part of the department’s widespread layoffs. 

Before it was eliminated, the division had been responsible for CDC’s work promoting the safety and benefits of community water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay.

The health secretary did not directly answer a question about the prospect of reinstating many of the laid-off workers at his department, after he suggested last week that some of the cuts he ordered were mistakes.

“No, the program — what I said was that there are programs that there are — the programs have been consolidated,” Kennedy told reporters. 

Kennedy has faced criticism for layoffs impacting a wide range of federal health agency services, including forcing Food and Drug Administration officials to cut back on food and drug safety inspections and eliminating the CDC’s only labs to investigate STD and viral hepatitis outbreaks.

“We didn’t cut any core programs or any critical care programs or any scientific programs. Those programs are being consolidated in a new agency that is going to make America healthy again,” he said.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday said he plans to tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending fluoridation in communities nationwide. Kennedy said he’s assembling a task force of health experts to study the issue and make new recommendations.

Also on Monday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it is reviewing “new scientific information” on potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water. The EPA sets the maximum level allowed in public water systems.

Kennedy told The Associated Press of his plans after a news conference with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin in Salt Lake City.

Kennedy cannot order communities to stop fluoridation, but he can direct the CDC to stop recommending it and work with the EPA to change the allowed amount.

Utah last month became the first state to ban fluoride in public drinking water, pushing past opposition from dentists and national health organizations who warned the move would disproportionately hurt low-income residents who can’t afford regular dentist visits.

Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed legislation barring cities and communities from deciding whether to add the cavity-preventing mineral to their drinking water. Water systems across the state must stop fluoridation by May 7.

Kennedy praised Utah for emerging as “the leader in making America healthy again.” He was flanked by Utah legislative leaders and the sponsor of the state’s fluoride law.

“I’m very, very proud of this state for being the first state to ban it, and I hope many more will,” he said.

Kennedy oversees the CDC, whose recommendations are widely followed but not mandatory. State and local governments decide whether to add fluoride to water and, if so, how much — as long as it doesn’t exceed a maximum set by the EPA, which is currently 4 milligrams per liter.

Zeldin said his agency was launching a renewed examination of scientific studies on the potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water to help inform any changes to the national standards.

“When this evaluation is completed, we will have an updated foundational scientific evaluation that will inform the agency’s future steps,” Zeldin said. “Secretary Kennedy has long been at the forefront of this issue. His advocacy was instrumental in our decision to review fluoride exposure risks, and we are committed to working alongside him, utilizing sound science as we advance our mission of protecting human health and the environment.”

Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the CDC. In 1950, federal officials endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and in 1962 they set guidelines for how much should be added to water.

Kennedy, a former environmental lawyer, has called fluoride a “dangerous neurotoxin” and said it has been associated with arthritis, bone breaks and thyroid disease. Some studies have suggested such links might exist, usually at higher-than-recommended fluoride levels, though some reviewers have questioned the quality of available evidence and said no definitive conclusions can be drawn.

In November, just days before the presidential election, Kennedy declared Donald Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day as president. That didn’t happen, but Trump later picked Kennedy to run the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he has been expected to take some kind of action. Meanwhile, some localities have gone ahead with deciding whether to keep adding fluoride.

Related to all this: A massive round of staffing cuts last week across federal agencies included elimination of the CDC’s 20-person Division of Oral Health. That office managed grants to local agencies to improve dental health and, in some cases, encourage fluoridation.

Fluoride can come from a number of sources, but drinking water is the main one for Americans, researchers say. Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population gets fluoridated drinking water, according to CDC data. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water was long considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.

About one-third of community water systems — 17,000 out of 51,000 across the U.S. — fluoridated their water, according to a 2022 CDC analysis. The agency currently recommends 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water.

But over time, studies have documented potential problems. Too much fluoride has been associated with streaking or spots on teeth. Studies also have traced a link between excess fluoride and brain development.

A report last year by the federal government’s National Toxicology Program, which summarized studies conducted in Canada, China, India, Iran, Pakistan and Mexico, concluded that drinking water with more than 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per liter — more than twice the recommended level in the U.S. — was associated with lower IQs in kids.

The American Dental Association said decades of fluoride in drinking water have been shown to reduce tooth decay. The group said it was willing to help conduct high-quality studies to settle the issue.

“When government officials like Secretary Kennedy stand behind the commentary of misinformation and distrust peer-reviewed research, it is injurious to public health,” said the association’s president, Brett Kessler.

Utah Oral Health Coalition chairperson Lorna Koci said Monday that she hopes other states push back against the removal of fluoride and that Kennedy’s visit to celebrate her state’s fluoride ban underscores the political motivations of those who support it.

“This seems to be less about fluoride and more about power,” Koci said.

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Stobbe reported from New York. Associated Press writer Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed reporting.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

It’s been three years — and three legislative sessions — since the Great Salt Lake and Lake Powell hit record lows due to years of drought and chronic overuse.

Public fervor to save the two bodies of water soared in response, and Utah’s elected officials reacted with new laws to keep more water in the embattled lakes. Mother Nature, too, replied — with two above-average winters that staved off dire straits.

This session, though, Utah lawmakers took a noticeably different approach.

“From a legislative standpoint, we had a relatively quiet year from where things have been in previous years,” Brian Steed, the state’s Great Salt Lake Commissioner, said during a recent media panel.

Before this year’s legislative session began, House Speaker Mike Schultz asked lawmakers “to take a break” from passing major water laws to see if current water policies are working. “When you make such huge policy changes, it’s important to take a minute and make sure that you’re getting the intended outcomes,” he said in a recent interview with The Salt Lake Tribune.

Lawmakers honored Schultz’s ask for a pause, which coincided with a mixed bag of water conditions across the state.

The Colorado River system continues to suffer from climate change and overuse; hydrologists predict Lake Powell, the country’s second-largest reservoir, will top out at just 35% full after this year’s spring runoff. The Great Salt Lake’s elevation remains below its healthy target of 4,198 feet.

Snowpack across the state is about 82% of normal and Utah’s reservoirs are 20% more full than they usually are this time of year, according to the Division of Water Resources. Still, parts of southern Utah are stranded in extreme drought — with persistent drought forecasted across the West this summer.

“A decision like that is made for political reasons, not because anybody knew it was going to be a good winter or a bad winter,” said Jack Schmidt, a watershed sciences professor at Utah State University and Director of its Center for Colorado River Studies, referring to the Legislature’s pause. “It’s not like they knew that we were going to be in a crisis or out of a crisis.”

Sen. Nate Blouin, D-Cottonwood Heights, said this year wasn’t the right time to take a breather from addressing Utah’s water woes.

“There’s a real need to focus on some of the stuff we’ve done to make sure it’s working,” he said. “But we’re certainly not out of the woods yet as it comes to the Great Salt Lake and other water issues.”

“The Legislature is absolutely the place to make these changes,” Blouin continued. “We have the authority. We just don’t have the political will.”

Past strides

The Legislature in recent years enacted laws that changed how Utah manages its limited water resources — particularly with the Great Salt Lake in mind.

“When you look at the body of work the Legislature’s done over the last three or four years, it’s pretty remarkable,” Steed said, “and I would say it’s certainly the leader in the Western United States of adaptive plans to manage watershed resources.”

The Great Salt Lake’s record low imperiled the saline lake’s delicate ecological balance and exposed areas of drying lakebed, which produce toxic dust events. Legislators responded by changing the law to allow the state to buy water leases and rights to bring additional water to the Great Salt Lake. They established a trust to get more water to the lake and support its wetlands. And last year, lawmakers took aim at the lake’s water-intensive mineral extraction industry.

The Legislature also allocated $276 million to the state’s Agricultural Water Optimization Program, which helps farmers across Utah switch to more water-efficient irrigation equipment.

All of these changes, Schultz said, now need room to breathe. “We can go pass all the policies we want, and if they don’t get implemented, it doesn’t matter,” he said.

Rep. Casey Snider, R-Paradise, said recent wet winters have also cooled the water lawmaking frenzy.

“Public sentiment drives a lot of policymaking at the state Capitol, as it should. We’re elected to represent people and be responsive to the voices of our constituents,” Snider said. “Sometimes, it’s hard to advocate, or at least explain, that something is going to dry up when you have years of flooding. Those two narratives don’t easily mesh together.”

“Certainly, it has pulled the pressure off by having precipitation,” he continued.

Blouin said that lack of pressure was evident in the bills not passed this session.

He pointed to one of his own proposals, which would have allowed municipalities to commit water to the Great Salt Lake in their water conservation plans. The bill passed the Senate, but it didn’t make it to the House floor.

Another bill this session intended to improve water-efficient landscaping at public facilities but died in committee. A proposal that would have directed municipalities and counties to restrict lawn or turf at newly built residences also failed to advance, as did a bill that would have created a study analyzing how to maximize stormwater runoff into the Great Salt Lake. A Democratic representative requested $651,000 in ongoing funding to examine air quality and health impacts resulting from the lake’s dust storms, but got just $150,000 approved by the Legislature.

“The need to continue to find innovative solutions for continued conservation never stops,” Schmidt, from Utah State, said. “We need to continue to push on that, and every legislature is an opportunity to explore even additional ways to conserve water. When we lose momentum and save it and wait for the next crisis, we’re not getting the jump on the situation that we want.”

“We’ve got a real crisis,” he continued. “In that sense, why not have at least one significant conservation bill each session?”

What changed with water this year

Though fewer than in recent years, lawmakers this session passed water-related bills that made administrative changes and supported conservation.

One bill sponsored by Snider gave more power to Utah’s “water agent” to look for water supplies from the Bear and Colorado rivers. Another successful Snider bill directed water providers to contemplate changing water rates to encourage conservation.

Lawmakers also passed a bill that changed the state’s water policy by promoting groundwater quality, watershed monitoring and water reuse. And Steed noted the passage of two bills: one that clarified the Great Salt Lake Commissioner’s Office’s leasing authority and one that moved the office under the state’s Department of Natural Resources.

“On the whole it was, I would argue, a relatively successful legislative session for the Great Salt Lake,” Steed said during the recent media panel.

Looking to future sessions, Snider said he would like to implement better water tracking to nail down exactly how much of Utah’s conserved water is reaching the Great Salt Lake. And Schultz, despite asking for a pause this year, said he doesn’t think the state is finished changing and improving its water laws.

“An area where the state can still look to expand upon is water conservation,” he said, “but we need to make sure we’re doing it the right way, methodically…versus just throwing darts at the dart board and seeing what sticks.”

Sarah Porter, who serves as the director for Arizona State University’s Kyl Center for Water Policy, said that conservation measures are important, but not always as effective as they might seem.

“Conservation is a limited option,” she said. “People often go to conservation, which almost always requires either financial investments or doing without, and often both.”

“Because of that,” Porter continued, “it’s important to be clear about what kind of benefits conservation is going to bring. And very often, it’s not going to bring the benefits that people envision.”

This year, forecasters predict inflows into Lake Powell will be less than last year’s. And while the National Resource Conservation Service reports the Great Salt Lake’s elevation could rise by as much as 1.5 feet after this year’s spring runoff, other factors, like soil moisture and evaporation, could cut into that increase. Snider said he expects the Great Salt Lake’s elevation will fall this year — a reversal from the last few years of healthier runoffs.

“I am expecting to go into the annual legislative session with a downward trend,” he said, “and we are responsive to that.”

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Family and friends of former U.S. Rep. Mia Love are set to gather Monday in Salt Lake City to honor her life and legacy after she died of brain cancer in March at age 49.

Love, a daughter of Haitian immigrants, was the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress.

The former lawmaker from Utah had undergone treatment for an aggressive brain tumor called glioblastoma and received immunotherapy as part of a clinical trial. She died at her home in Saratoga Springs, Utah, weeks after her daughter announced she was no longer responding to treatment.

State lawmakers and members of the public visited the Utah Capitol on Sunday evening to pay their respects at Love’s flag-covered coffin behind ropes in the building’s rotunda.

The public is invited to attend her memorial service Monday morning at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Institute of Religion on the University of Utah campus. It will be followed by an honor guard presentation.

Love, born Ludmya Bourdeau, represented Utah on Capitol Hill from 2015 to 2019. She and her husband, Jason, had three children, Alessa, Abigale and Peyton.

She was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2022 and said her doctors estimated she had only 10 to 15 months to live, which she surpassed. With aggressive treatments, Love lived for about three years after receiving her diagnosis.

Love entered politics in 2003 after winning a seat on the city council in Saratoga Springs, 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City. She was elected as the city’s mayor in 2009, becoming the first Black woman to serve as a mayor in Utah.

In 2012, after giving a rousing speech at the Republican National Convention, she narrowly lost a bid for the U.S. House against the Democratic incumbent. She ran again two years later and defeated a first-time candidate by about 7,500 votes.

Love did not emphasize her race during her campaigns, but she acknowledged the significance of her election after her 2014 victory. She said her win defied naysayers who suggested a Black, Republican, Mormon woman could not win a congressional seat in overwhelmingly white Utah.

She was briefly considered a rising star in the GOP, but her power within the party fizzled out as President Donald Trump took hold. Love kept her distance from Trump and called him out in 2018 for vulgar comments he made about immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and some African nations. Later that year, she lost in the midterm elections as Democrats surged.

Energy is the engine that drives our society forward — and energy production is key to Utah’s strong economic growth. But we face a power crunch as demand grows, spurred by energy-intensive data centers, and as the older generation is retired. Our state’s “Operation Gigawatt” sets a goal of doubling Utah’s power production over the next 10 years, ensuring our energy is reliable, affordable, secure and clean.

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed by Congress in 2022, is paving the pro-business environment that can hit that goal. Since its passage, Utah has secured more than $12 billion in total announced clean energy and transportation investments, along with 4,200 new announced jobs. Over 50 new clean energy and transportation facilities are under construction and on track to build American-made products and produce homegrown energy.

The IRA includes long-standing, proven policies — like tax credits, grants and loans for cutting-edge carbon-free energy technologies, clean vehicles and grid infrastructure. These are exactly what Utah needs. But they’re at risk right now as Congress considers their future.

Energy projects don’t happen overnight. They take billions in capital investment and years of construction. Strong, consistent energy policy creates the business certainty needed to make those investments. Whiplash policy creates massive uncertainty, stealing jobs from hard-working Utahns. Investments already underway would be wasted, creating major statewide economic losses.

Recent analysis from non-partisan research firm Energy Innovation finds repealing the IRA’s federal funding and tax credits would cut Utah’s GDP by $1.34 billion in 2030. Family-supporting jobs would be cut as companies scale back and shutter operations — repealing IRA policies would cost Utah nearly 7,300 jobs in 2030. And Utah’s households would be forced to pay an extra $289 million in cumulative energy costs through 2035. These economic results are consistent with analysis from financial services company Moody’s.

Repealing these policies would hurt Utahns beyond just economic costs. We’d pay dearly with our lungs and public health — more air pollution, more planet-warming emissions, and more premature deaths and illnesses.

Energy investments are happening statewide. Every congressional district is benefiting, especially rural regions that need economic revitalization. Beaver County is home to Utah’s largest wind, solar, energy storage and geothermal projects, including Fervo’s geothermal energy plant and Clearway Energy Group’s grid-enhancing energy storage project — two of the most cutting-edge projects of their kind.

Beaver County is proof that smart state and federal policy can unlock opportunities, create jobs and boost rural economies.

Standing up for the existing federal funding and tax credits that are charging up our economy and cleaning our air is a vote for our families and our future. Jeremy Harrell, CEO of conservative clean energy organization ClearPath, recently told Sen. John Curtis in a Congressional hearing that Utah is a “great example of where federal, state, and local entities need to be synced up in the right way to drive new economic opportunities.” That’s what the IRA helps us do.

Utah has an opportunity to maintain our leadership in energy development and innovation. Our congressional delegation can join the 21 House Republicans who have already voiced their support for these pro-energy policies, standing with the businesses creating jobs in their districts and supporting the deployment of innovative energy technologies.

Defending these policies will help Utah continue to diversify our economy and attract long-term investments, signaling to the next generation of technology innovators and job creators that Utah remains open for business.

Arguably the most impressive streak in all of Utah sports — professional, collegiate or prep — remains intact.

For the 49th time in 50 years, Utah gymnastics is headed to the national championships. The Red Rocks remain the only program in the NCAA to qualify for every nationals every year they’ve been held.

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No. 4 Utah defeated No. 5 UCLA, No. 12 Minnesota and Denver Saturday night in the Huntsman Center to keep its streak alive, with the Red Rocks and Bruins both advancing to the national championships.

Utah finished with a 197.825, two tenths of a point ahead of UCLA (197.625), with both programs fighting off a concerted upset bid by Denver (197.350).

The continued history making wasn’t lost on the Red Rocks. Far from it in fact.

“It’s a really big deal,” head coach Carly Dockendorf said. “I think some teams get to come to regionals and they don’t have anything to lose. This is it, you just go for it. And it’s a very freeing space to compete in. For us, there is something to lose. We don’t want to lose that tradition of excellence, we don’t want to be the team that doesn’t make it (to nationals) and ends the streak.

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“So there is always something riding extra for this program. It is definitely a privilege, but it definitely adds a little extra pressure. Talk to any of the alumni and ask what their least favorite meet of the year is — it would be this one right her. It feels so good (to continue the streak), but we definitely recognize that we’re here because of the people that have come before us and the tradition of excellence that they brought.”

All it took this year to keep the streak intact was one of the most significant point swings in a single rotation you’ll ever see. And one of the more wild meets in general.

Entering the competition, the Red Rocks were the favorite to win and advance. But in a twist, Utah was in third place by a decent margin (the Red Rocks trailed Denver by more than two tenths of a point and trailed UCLA by a tenth of a point) after the first two rotations.

Mistake-marred uneven bars and balance beam rotations by Utah were to blame, as were a pair of incredible rotations by Denver on beam and floor exercise. At that time, midway through the competition, the streak appeared to be in serious danger. Utah had little to no momentum while Denver had seemingly all the momentum. And UCLA was doing enough to stay ahead of the Red Rocks.

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A record-tying floor rotation, which matched the best the Red Rocks have ever done in the postseason in program history, changed everything, though.

Behind a run of 9.9-plus scores from Avery Neff, Jaylene Gilstrap, Makenna Smith and Grace McCallum, Utah recorded a 49.625 on floor. That, combined with a rough vault rotation by Denver (the Pioneers scored a 48.900), led to a point swing of more than seven tenths. By the end of the rotation, Utah led all comers by five tenths of a point.

Over a 20-30 minute span, the Red Rocks’ fortunes swung dramatically, from trending toward ignominious history to the continued legendary kind instead. And after a solid vault rotation, capped off by an event-winning effort by freshman Zoe Johnson, Utah was through with the streak intact.

“Regionals is always an exciting event and unpredictable,” Dockendorf said. “The best teams are able to adapt and adjust and move forward. This group came in tonight with the goal and vision of what we’re going to do and at no point did we ever lose that vision and that goal. We just fought all the way to the end.”

Defining moment

There were no shortage of memorable moments in the meet.

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McCallum earned yet another perfect 10 on bars, the sixth of her career on that event. That routine all but saved Utah’s bars rotation, which included a fall by Neff and mistake-filled routines from the majority of the remaining Red Rocks.