Month: June 2025

Note to readers • This is a developing story and will be updated.

Utahns gathered Saturday morning at the University of Utah’s Marriott Library Plaza for the first of two scheduled “No Kings” demonstrations in Salt Lake City — part of a sweeping national movement opposing President Donald Trump.

The protests come as Washington, D.C., prepares for a military parade celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army — which coincides with Trump’s 79th birthday — and after the president deployed soldiers and Marines to protests in Los Angeles.

Francie Barber, 74, a lifelong Salt Lake City resident, said she is saddened by the direction the country is going in under Trump’s leadership.

“We don’t trust Trump,” Barber said, while proudly holding up her handmade sign that says “immigrants are the heart of this country.”

Half of Barber’s family is from Mexico, and she said she disagrees with Trump’s immigration policies. Her son-in-law was born in Mexico, and has worked hard to make a comfortable life for himself in the U.S., she said.

“A great number of people are dissatisfied, and it’s great to see that they are in Salt Lake,” Barber said, noting that many participants in the U. demonstration are around her age.

It was 80 degrees and rising as protesters, carrying homemade signs, American flags and water bottles, crowded the library courtyard nearly an hour before the 10 a.m. start.

The No Kings effort, led by the activist group 50501 Movement — named for its call to mobilize protests in all 50 states — is organizing demonstrations in over 2,000 cities and towns across the country, according to a news release shared by the group. Larger rallies are planned in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Atlanta, Houston and Phoenix.

At least 17 No Kings rallies have been scheduled across Utah for Saturday. Sarah Buck, an organizer for the Salt Lake City protest at the U., said the organizers “call ourselves protectors, not protesters.”

“The No Kings movement is to remind Americans and the administration that we broke away from a king and that we are founded on a Constitution,” Buck said in a news release, “and that we demand our leaders follow that Constitution.”

No Kings demonstrations are planned from Logan to St. George, with the earliest events scheduled at 9 a.m. in Cedar City, Bluff, Provo, Moab and Park City.

“To believe in the United States Constitution is to believe there is no American king,” said author and community activist Darlene McDonald, the first speaker at the U.

Leaders in the Trump administration “get the general population to assist in attacking their neighbors by stoking fears and manipulating anger,” McDonald said, which garnered a chorus of boos from the crowd.

Referring to those who buy into what she called the “fear factor,” she told demonstrators “you are here today because you have not.” She chanted, “Ain’t no power like the power of the people, the power of the people don’t stop,” which the crowd repeated back.

Tensions have escalated recently after Trump deployed National Guard troops and U.S. Marines into Los Angeles to suppress immigration protests, against the wishes of California’s governor.

“While we recognize the right to assemble,” Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz said on social media Thursday, “let us be clear: violence and vandalism will not be tolerated.

The speaker said Gov. Spencer Cox has worked with state and local law enforcement agencies to create a public safety plan. “Resources are deployed, and law enforcement is prepared.”

“We are committed to protecting the public, our communities, and state property,” Shultz added.

Utah Senate Democrats said they support the constitutional right of Utahns to protest and honor those who do so.

“We firmly encourage peaceful displays of protest,” Senate Democrats said in a statement. “This is an effective and powerful way to stand united with our community and spark meaningful, necessary change.”

The Utah State Emergency Operations Center, where officials monitor and coordinate responses to disasters and emergencies, has progressively been increasing its level of activation over the week.

On Monday, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety’s Division of Emergency Management told The Salt Lake Tribune that the SEOC was increased from Level 5 for day-to-day operations to a Level 4 “monitoring” activation in response to the protests in Los Angeles.

That was then increased to “Level 3 Enhanced Monitoring” on Wednesday, “in anticipation of potential protest activity and in support of Utah Highway Patrol during the Redbull Soapbox Event” Saturday at the Capitol, emergency officials wrote in a report then.

A spokesperson for the Utah National Guard told The Tribune that troops have not been deployed or staged ahead of Saturday’s protest. They noted that the Air Guard’s security forces squadron has an ongoing, emergency response relationship with the state and can be quickly activated in an emergency or public safety event.

On the busy corner of Main Street and Gentile Street in Layton, an inconspicuous hub is forming.

If you look and listen closely, you’ll pick up clues: the clack of wheels against a wooden surface. The quiet concentration that comes with trying to land a trick. The joyful chorus of cheers when someone does so successfully.

These are all markings of the atmosphere of a skate park. Yet, these moves are happening on a much smaller scale at Skatestation — Utah’s first fingerboard shop, which opens on June 14th.

“Fingerboarding is [where] you use your fingers and mimic skateboarding on the miniature level,” Clark Checketts, the owner of the store, said.

The inside of Skatestation is home to six different parks, display cases and merchandise like T-shirts. The floors are scuffed, the building is dated, but the camaraderie is ample.

On the Wednesday before opening weekend, locals descended on the shop for a session. They moved in a synchronized circle, watching each other land tricks in different parts of the park. Others hovered around to take videos on iPhones and GoPros.

Outside, a game of H-O-R-S-E was being played on the park right in front of the shop’s entrance — the goal is to hit the same trick in the same spot your opponents do.

There’s even “the basement” — an area under the shop that is accessible by a staircase out front. It’s fit with seven parks in a dimly lit room, the smell of acetone and monomer liquid from the nail salon next door lingers in the air.

But, the hobbyists don’t care about the state of the room as they check it out for the first time, eagerly pulling out their boards, ready to hit the parks and show off their skills.

The storefront is the latest development for Utah’s burgeoning fingerboard community — one that’s become a hub for connection, creativity and local business. The top row of the main display case in the store is dedicated to creations from Utah fingerboard businesses.

Where skateboarding and fidget toys meet

Fingerboarding is a nostalgic nod to the skateboard culture of the late 90’s and early 2000’s, but the only real injury risk is carpal tunnel.

Skatestation aims to provide a spot for the Utah fingerboard community to link up, and it’s attracting the attention of fingerboard greats from all corners of the world. For opening weekend, representatives from Germany’s BlackRiver fingerboards have flown in, including the 2019 World Champion of Fingerboarding, Jeldo Ulpts.

“There’s kind of two common core memories, especially [for] millennials with fingerboarding,” Checketts said. “One is the tiny plastic McDonald’s fingerboards … they were key chains, actually. But then people kind of started using them like a real skateboard.”

Then, came Tech Decks, a “fad” of the late ‘90s, according to a compiled history of fingerboarding.

For Checketts, fingerboarding became a lost hallmark of his youth until the COVID-19 pandemic came along. Stuck at home, he decided to get back into fingerboarding. He started posting on Reddit, Instagram and Youtube, and got together a group for Utah fingerboarders, finding connection with other nostalgia enthusiasts.

Checkett’s business partner, Shaun McBride, is a content creator who is bringing his brand, Spacestation, and its burgeoning group of followers to the world of fingerboarding. Combining McBride’s brand with Checketts’ fingerboarding expertise, is how the Skatestation store was born.

Customization craze

Checketts also started Dude Guy Fingerboard, where he sells custom wheels made out of urethane from old skateboard wheels.

Besides their miniature measurements, fingerboards operate very much like their full-size counterparts. The type of wheels, decks and other parts all play a role in individuality, as well as physics. Softer material wheels, for example, have more stickiness to it. Some boarders will even get the nails on their index and middle fingers painted to match their decks.

The customization is “one of the biggest draws” to the hobby, according to Checketts.

Teagan Moore, from North Ogden, is the owner of Holy Grail Fingerboards, where he creates custom fingerboard decks — some glow in the dark, while others change color in different weather and lighting conditions.

Moore first met Checketts through a Reddit post that invited fingerboarders to an outdoor park in Ogden. “I went to go meet a random stranger to play with my toys in the woods at a park that he had built,” Moore said.

Moore said Checketts helped him get his company running. Now, he has 100 of his own fingerboards.

“Fingerboarding has been way more than just a hobby to me, because it’s brought back a huge social part of my life that I didn’t have, where I’m able to make friends easily as an adult,” he said.

Customization also adds up. According to Checketts, a low-priced fingerboard is about $120 with all the necessary parts, but people will spend up to $250 for more high quality parts.

The creativity doesn’t stop at the boards. Seth Checketts, Clark’s brother, owns Level Ledges, a custom fingerboard obstacle course company. Skatestation store manager Ethan Alvey, owns Sketch Made, a company that designs fingerboard parks, many of which are at the store and “the basement.”

“Rails is my big thing,” Alvey said, pointing some out in the park in front of the store. He’s an expert on material: pointing out how granite feels different than wood for fingerboarders.

Alvey provides a crash course to fingerboard vocab: describing kick flips and 180s, and lists the four different stances: regular, switch, nollie and fakie. The boards, he says, also have different types of molds and widths, from 26 to 50 millimeters wide.

Community and creativity go hand-in-hand for fingerboarders in Utah.

Julio Sifuentes, who lives in Orem, doesn’t mind driving “just an hour” to Layton to hang out with the community. Sifuentes is originally from Peru, where his fingerboarding hobby started When he moved to Utah, he didn’t know of anyone else that did it. After going to fingerboard meetings out of state, he realized many fingerboarding companies were based in Utah.

While Sifuentes had to learn about the culture of Utah when he came here, fingerboarding was something he was familiar with — it became the shared language he used to get to know others like himself who find solace, comfort or simply fulfillment from flipping their boards.

“Fingerboarding, it’s always been around, passively, just in our pocket. Sometimes I don’t even have time to use it, but it’s always there. It’s like my little best friend,” Sifuentes said.

Friday’s lunchtime crowd at Brigham Young University’s iconic Creamery did a few double-takes when they spotted an unlikely guest sporting a Ute crimson red polo and enjoying a cone.

University of Utah President Taylor Randall took a quick break from a busy, three-day Southern Utah tour to indulge in his favorite BYU Creamery flavor: In-Shanely Chocolate — named, aptly, for his friend/rival/counterpart, BYU President C. Shane Reese.

But there was nothing cloak-and-dagger about Randall’s lunch-hour reconnaissance deep inside Utah County.

Call it “Ice Cream Diplomacy.”

The University of Utah leader and several members of his team were on campus Friday at the invitation of BYU leadership to enjoy burgers and sample the sugary Creamery goods.

But it also offered leaders from the two Utah schools — one private, one public — a few moments to fortify friendships and academic cooperation at a volatile moment for higher education.

“We have a lot of collaborations that go on between our two institutions — both formal and informal,” Randall told the Deseret News.

The two schools’ respective claims, he added, are actually quite similar. “There’s probably more research collaborations going on between these two schools than you would even imagine, right at the professorial level.”

It’s essential that those collaborations are accessible and maintained.

Both the University of Utah and BYU, Randall added, are entrusted with educating students in Utah. “We share common concerns about how to increase individuals coming into the overall higher education system. So it’s good to talk through what each other is seeing.”

Additionally, the two higher education institutions are working to solve basic societal problems.

“With BYU opening up a new medical school, and us expanding our medical school, one of our shared objectives is to solve access to healthcare issues in the Intermountain West — but also in the state of Utah, which ranks very, very low.”

Much of the University of Utah leadership’s three-day Southern Utah tour focused on meeting with fellow educators and health care professionals to seek ways of improving medical care in rural communities.

BYU Administration Vice President and CFO Steve Hafen said he and his blue-clad associates were eager to host Randall and his team at a popular campus hang-out.

“It’s an opportunity to sit down in a casual environment and get to know them a little bit better,” said Hafen. “There’s so much that they experience that we can relate that to — and so that collaboration and discussion is great.”

Hafen added his school continues to seek opportunities to strengthen relationships with Utah’s flagship public university. “The University of Utah is an outstanding educational institution with good leadership, and we want to learn from them. And I think they want to learn from us.”

“They’re public. We’re private. But there are a lot of synergies and a lot of things that we can collaborate on.”

Randall will return to the BYU campus on Oct. 18 to watch the Utes play the Cougars at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

And Hafen assured that the University of Utah leader will have his choice of Creamery flavors on that fast-approaching football Saturday. “We’ll leave the ice cream open all day long.”

Touring the Camp Williams building project

Randall and his team Friday also toured the U.S. Army Reserves headquarters building project that’s well underway at Camp Williams in Bluffdale.

Last August, the University of Utah and the U.S. Army Reserve announced a historic land transfer and relocation agreement.

Using more than $100 million appropriated by the Utah Legislature, the University of Utah is building a headquarters for the Army Reserve at Camp Williams, clearing the way for the military to vacate the remaining 50.9 acres it occupies just east of the university campus.

Following the relocation of the Army Reserve, the historic Fort Douglas property will be transferred to the University of Utah for future campus development.

The Utah Legislature appropriated a total of $117 million for a land purchase and to relocate the Utah Army National Guard 76th Operational Response Command’s personnel and operations to Camp Williams.

Officials said Utah is the only state to fund such a military relocation.

The state of Utah will reportedly own the building and will lease it to the Army Reserve. Construction of the facility started in April of last year

Fort Douglas and the University of Utah have a shared history spanning more than 150 years.

According to a university press release, at one point, the fort stretched over 10,500 acres, from 900 South to 6th Avenue, and from 1300 East to the mouth of Emigration Canyon. Presently, the university surrounds the remaining 50 acres of fort property.

The new two-story, 215,000-square-foot Army Readiness Building at Camp Williams — which includes administrative offices, storage and a separate vehicle maintenance shop — is slated to open and begin operating in 2026.

The 50-acre Douglas Armed Forces Reserve Center at Fort Douglas has been constrained by outdated infrastructure, according to a university release.

The new site, contiguous to Camp Williams, will offer a modern, secure location with room for future expansion. It will support all current and future Army Reserve operations, providing a more efficient and accessible training environment.

The university had reportedly been working on the exchange for 14 years, annually submitting the proposal to the respective university presidents over that time as an institutional goal.

Following Friday’s tour, Randall said the building projects’ design and progress exceeds his “wildest expectations.”

“It’s exciting that two organizations could find and plot an exciting, joint future together,” he said. “I give particular credit to state leaders for their vision in crafting a really unique interchange of property and buildings so that both of these great institutions could move forward.”

Even while touring the Camp Williams building project, Randall was considering the future of the Fort Douglas property on the university campus.

“We will start early-scenario planning over the next year of how we’ll use that property,” he said. “We already know the broad uses. Some of it will be for healthcare. The other piece will be for actually expanding our ‘College Town Magic’ to create a remarkable place for students to thrive.”

Ski Utah has released its visitation numbers for the 2024/25 ski season to the public. 

As of June 11, 2025, the state’s 15 ski resorts recorded a combined 6,503,635 visits throughout the winter 2024/25 ski season. This number comes in 3.6% lower than the previous season, but still sits as the third-highest number of skier visits in the state’s history. It’s also a 3.3% increase over Utah’s five-year average. 

The 2022/23 season still holds the record for Utah skier visits at 7.1 million. Alta Ski Area recorded 903 inches of snow that year.

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In a press release, Ski Utah noted that despite a year of ‘more variable’ weather patterns, ranking in third for yearly skier visits demonstrates the, “continued strength and resiliency of Utah’s ski industry.” Notably, Utah’s winter season was also plagued by the fallout of a two-week strike by Park City Mountain Resort’s ski patrol.

Low snowfall coupled with a lack of mountain ops personnel during the strike meant that PCMR only had 18% of its terrain open in the week between Christmas and New Years, a peak point in the season for ski areas. 

Despite a lackluster beginning of the season, Utah ski areas were able to bring it back with ski areas like Alta seeing a multitude of mid and late season storms. Notably, an April 1 storm brought a whopping 22.5 inches of snow to the Wasatch, bringing Alta’s season-to-date snowpack past 500″, before another 13″ fell just days layer to help close out the season.

“To hit our third-best season ever and generate $2.51 billion for Utah’s economy is a major win,” said Nathan Rafferty, President and CEO of Ski Utah. “The ski industry in Utah supports approximately 25,000 jobs, and with the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games on the horizon, the eyes of the world will be on us once again. We’re excited about the opportunities ahead and grateful to all who helped make this season a success.”

Utah resorts currently have several major infrastructure projects in the works, such as the massive terrain expansion at Deer Valley and the Sunrise Gondola replacement at Park City. In the next two years, a total of thirteen new lifts are slated to open across Utah’s ski resorts. Utah also has the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games on the schedule, adding to the docket of exciting moments in the coming years for Utah’s ski community.

Related: What’s Going on at Alta Ski Area This Summer?

Skier Visits Decreased in Utah Last Season first appeared on Powder on Jun 13, 2025

Each year, Utah recruits dozens of teachers from countries like Portugal, Germany and Brazil to help students learn new languages through immersion. But after the U.S. Department of State temporarily paused exchange visitor visa appointments late last month, state officials said they worry they won’t have enough teachers in classrooms when school starts this fall.

“This delay directly threatens Utah’s nationally recognized Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program by preventing Exchange Visitor Program educators from getting their visa appointments with the U.S. Embassy,” Utah State Board of Education officials wrote in an email to the Utah Congressional delegation on June 4, urging them to call on the State Department to resume visa interviews for K-12 teachers.

The pause comes as the Trump Administration decides whether to require all foreign students applying to study in the United States to undergo social media vetting, Politico reported.

In the meantime, the administration directed all U.S. embassies and consular sections to halt scheduling interviews for student and exchange visitor visas — known as J visas — which are issued to individuals approved to participate in exchange programs in the United States.

“Without timely visa appointments, newly hired teachers cannot move forward with travel, training, or start dates for the coming school year,” USBE officials wrote in the June 4 email. “Delays now could leave students and schools without the qualified teachers they are counting on.”

Robert Austin, who oversees the Exchange Visitor Program for the USBE, said of the roughly 40 international teachers hired for the 2025-26 school year, about five remain without embassy appointments, leaving their fall teaching positions uncertain.

If they are unable to obtain their visas in time, Austin said, some districts may be left scrambling to fill the positions. It’s currently unclear which districts will be affected.

“These are teachers who are willing to take the risk of coming here, uprooting everything they know, and embarking on this new adventure in Utah,” Austin said. “And suddenly we’ve put a pause on that so they can’t move forward with buying an airline ticket.”

He said that many of these teachers have children and spouses, who have already given leave notice to their employers in anticipation of coming to Utah.

“These sorts of decisions have incredibly damaging implications for good people,” Austin said.

One teacher from Spain raised concerns in a message to USBE officials, which was shared with Utah’s congressional delegation in USBE’s June 4 email.

The teacher wrote: “Given the exceptional preparation this project entails for my family and me, I hope you will understand my concern. We have been working toward this exchange for over a year with deep personal and professional commitment. It is a shared family project: we would need to temporarily close our home in Spain, make the necessary arrangements to enroll our two daughters (ages 12 and 16) in school in Utah, and my husband — a Registered Nurse — has formally requested a voluntary leave of absence from his job to be able to accompany and support us during our stay.”

There are 344 dual language immersion classes taught across dozens of Utah schools, according to USBE officials. About half of the state’s 41 school districts offer a dual language immersion program.

Like other students, those enrolled in the program follow a typical school schedule — but half of their day is taught in a different language, like Chinese or French.

“The great thing is there are two teachers who have two classrooms of students,” Austin said. “They switch those students every day, and that allows for … an incredibly effective way to teach language to students as they’re learning the content area, which is why it’s immersion, because you’re immersed in both the language and the learning of mathematics or science or other subjects.”

International teachers typically stay in Utah for about three years, Austin said, which is the duration of the visa.

And those who are here currently have been advised to stay in the United States until after the pause is lifted, particularly those who need to renew their visas, Austin said.

“If you are planning on going to your home country and can delay travel until these appointments have resumed, that would be advisable,” USBE officials wrote in an email to international exchange teachers June 2. “If you have already made plans to leave, and can reschedule to go home at a later date, that would be best.”

“Because I’m alive and I like people,” exclaimed 94-year-old JoAnn Nielsen cheerfully, when asked why she is so happy.

Twice a week, Nielsen participates in a ceramics class at the Murray Senior Recreation Center; as she spoke about her own happiness, she was busy painting a figurine of an owl.

On Thursday, she was joined by a group of 10 women who worked on different ceramics projects while being supervised by their instructor, Cindy Mangone.

The members of the class were working on a variety of projects, including salt shakers, Nativity sets, fairy and leprechaun figurines, and pitchers in the shape of Santa, all painted with a number of fun colors.

Each of the women chatted and laughed with each other throughout the class while sharing updates on families and friends, as well as complimenting each other’s work.

“I enjoy every minute I get to come here,” said Joleen Wayman.

The cheerful room of women is a great example of what Caring.com shared this week when it ranked Utah as the happiest state for seniors.

Friendship and support leads to increased happiness

According to the Senior Happiness Index from Caring.com, a senior care resource, Utah is the happiest place for seniors to live, with a score of 7.69 out of 10, “thanks to its supportive environment for senior living.”

One of the reasons Utah ranked so high is because it has the third-lowest percentage of people ages 65 and older living alone, reducing their risk of social isolation.

The group of women participating in the center’s ceramics class is a great example of older adults avoiding social isolation and finding community support.

“Lots of different things, probably being around these ladies and painting and being associated with one another,” said Paulene Fawcett, another member of the class, when asked what makes her happy.

Each of the women talked about how coming to groups such as the ceramics class helps them stay happy as they’re able to be with friends, socialize and get out of the house.

One of the women, Carla McIntire, shared that while at physical therapy on Wednesday, she was asked if she had any plans for the week, and she happily shared that she was excited to go to her ceramics class. Not only does she enjoy attending the class herself, but over the years, she has gotten multiple friends to start attending with her.

Utah isn’t just the happiest state for seniors, but WalletHub ranked Utah as one of the top five happiest states in general. This ranking factored in qualities such as careers, physical health and childhoods.

How volunteering contributes to the happiness of seniors

Another piece of Utah’s happiness comes from the number of seniors who volunteer in the state. According to Caring.com, over two-fifths (44%) of seniors in Utah volunteer, more than any other state in the U.S.

Volunteering can help seniors combat boredom and the need to be more social.

“This not only means Utah’s aging population is staying connected and involved with their community, but volunteering also contributes significantly to Utah seniors’ well-being and happiness,” per Caring.com.

When asked why she thinks people in Utah are happier than other states, Nielsen said, “We know how to love better.”

While they aren’t volunteering in a formal sense during the ceramics class, the projects they work on there have a positive influence on the lives of others.

Almost all of the women in the class on Thursday were making projects to give to other people, whether it was friends, children, neighbors or grandchildren. Heidi Robinson shared a purple jewelry box that she had recently made for her granddaughter’s birthday.

They shared that they enjoy the process of painting, and then they are able to give away their creations to their loved ones. Robinson added that if she kept everything for herself, there just wouldn’t be enough space for everything.

Morrena Harris has spent a lot of time painting Nativity sets for each of her children, and Jackie Beebe was working on egg platters and salt shakers for her sisters-in-law.

One thing the women repeated multiple times about why Utahns are so happy was that everyone in the state is so nice.

Happiness is all about your attitude

While each woman shared a variety of reasons as to why they are happy — family, friends, health and being outdoors — in the end, the answer was truly simple: They choose to be.

“Don’t you think happiness is a choice?” Harris said.

Nielsen shared that being happy is really about having the right attitude.

“I don’t have bad days, because I don’t want them,” Nielsen said.

Beebe shared that she is happy because she appreciates being healthy, and every day she is able to get up and get out of the house, she is grateful.

“I don’t have any reason not to be,” said Cynthia Gray about her happiness.

Gray added that she has had no problem staying happy as she gets older: “Every decade has been better than the one before.

Utah is also the healthiest state for seniors

According to Caring.com, Utah is also the healthiest state in the U.S. for older adults.

This is partially due to the low rate of risky health behaviors among seniors, as well as low rates of smoking and excessive drinking. Utah also has some of the best health care services for seniors.

The top 10 happiest states for seniors

Here is a look at Caring.com’s ranking of the 10 happiest states for seniors:

1. Utah
2. Idaho
3. Connecticut
4. Delaware
5. Nebraska
6. Hawaii
7. New Hampshire
8. Minnesota
9. New Jersey
10. Vermont

In second place, Idaho has less than 21.93% of seniors living alone, reinforcing strong community and social engagement, like Utah. Idaho earned a happiness score of 7.38 out of 10.

With a happiness score of 7.01 out of 10, Connecticut is ranked third. The state has the third-highest average life expectancy compared to all states, at 79.2 years old.

Western Clash Reloaded: Utah Warriors And Seattle Seawolves Set For Playoff Decider originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

With the series tied and both teams hungry for victory, the stage is set for an electrifying showdown between the Utah Warriors and Seattle Seawolves. Who will rise to the occasion and claim their spot in the quest for the Shield?

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The top-seeded Utah Warriors will host the fourth-seeded Seattle Seawolves at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 14, at Zions Bank Stadium in a fierce MLR Conference Semifinal. The series is tied 1–1 in 2025, setting up the perfect rubber match to determine who advances in the Quest for the Shield.

Seattle clinched its playoff ticket with a 42–17 bonus-point win over Miami in Week 17, leapfrogging San Diego for the final Western spot. But they’ll be without Divan Rossouw, who received a red card in that game.

Duncan Matthews remains the X-factor for the Seawolves, having scored six tries this season, along with 1,085 carry meters and 33 tackles.

Utah enters the semifinals riding momentum after a convincing 48–33 win over RFCLA. They’ve won 7 of their last 10 and finished the regular season as the league leader in points scored (529), tries (77), and tackles (2,620). Flanker Dylan Nel anchors the Warriors’ defense, contributing 199 tackles and 196 ruck entries across 14 games.

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Their regular-season meetings were tense. Utah edged Seattle 30–27 in March before Seattle evened the score with a dramatic 79th-minute try for a 28–24 win in May.

The semifinal promises flair. With history evenly split and both teams in form, this one could go down to the final play. Watch it live on ESPN+.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 12, 2025, where it first appeared.

If there’s anything you can count on, it’s someone from Utah being on “American Ninja Warrior.”

A few years ago, one of the show’s announcers declared that “Utah is becoming a hotbed for ‘American Ninja Warrior.’” That appears to remain the case for Season 17: During the most recent episode, which aired on Monday, six teenagers from Utah ended up advancing to the semifinals after navigating a tricky obstacle course that puts balance and upper body strength to the test.

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One of those teens ended up having the fastest time of the night.

Here’s a look at the six Utahns (so far) who are making a splash on the show this season.

6 Utah teens dominate on ‘American Ninja Warrior’

Colton Skuster

As Colton Skuster got ready to compete on his third season of “ANW” Monday night, the show’s hosts Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbajabiamila noted how he had a “breakout season” last year, making it all the way to Stage 2 of the national finals.

“He looks stronger than he did last year,” they said, also calling Skuster “America’s fastest frat boy.”

The 19-year-old college student from Salt Lake City — whose “ANW” persona is centered in part on being a member of the fraternity Beta Theta Pi — didn’t disappoint.

He cruised effortlessly through the obstacle course — “He is flying!” the announcers exclaimed at one point.

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Skuster went on to hit the buzzer and earn the fastest time of the night, completing the course in 52 seconds.

According to bio information “ANW” shared with the Deseret News, a big part of Skuster’s motivation on the show is his mother, who has been diagnosed with May-Thurner Syndrome, a condition that causes blood clots in the arteries and veins that circulate blood to the legs.

“His mom’s resilience in dealing with her condition is a huge motivation for Colton to keep pushing,” reads the bio from the show.

Ashton and Paxton Myler

Ashton and Paxton Myler make up one-half of the Ninja Kidz, a YouTube sensation out of Draper, Utah, that has billions of views and more than 40 million subscribers across all of their channels.

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The Myler siblings formed the Ninja Kidz several years ago when their dad, who is a fight coordinator, filmed a martial arts scene with them that ended up getting more than 100 million views in the first year.

“That’s the reason we started, we want to see people grow, and get off the couch and do something awesome,” Ashton Myler said during the “ANW” episode.

The Ninja Kidz have a robust touring schedule — which included a recent show at the Eccles Theater in Salt Lake City — where they show off their blend of action sports and physical challenges. But despite the name, they’ve never competed on “American Ninja Warrior.”

Until now.

This season, all four siblings are competing on “ANW,” the show noted Monday night.

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Ashton Myler, 18, was the first to navigate the course. As he breezed through the obstacles, the hosts praised his “tremendous athleticism.”

In his “ANW” debut, Myler completed the course in 1 minute and 11 seconds.

“Oh, I’m so happy,” he said after hitting the buzzer.

Paxton Myler, 16, also made it through, though the show didn’t air his entire run. Myler ended up hitting the buzzer in 2 minutes and 37 seconds, joining his brother in the semifinals.

Violet Kepo’o

Violet Kepo’o made her “ANW” debut when she was 15, with a run that had her visibly emotional as she cleared each obstacle.

In her second season, the teen from Pleasant Grove made it all the way to Stage 1 of the national finals.

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Now, at 17, Kepo’o has even more confidence in her abilities.

On Monday night, the announcers noted that Kepo’o has never cleared the fifth obstacle of the show’s qualifying round. That changed this season, as the teen successfully navigated the Ferris Wheel obstacle, which challenges the competitors to work their way up and across two large wheels — separated by a few feet — using swinging handles.

Kepo’o made it past the fifth obstacle, but wasn’t able to make it up the 14.5-foot Warped Wall to hit the buzzer and officially complete the course.

Making it past the Ferris Wheel, though, guaranteed her spot in the semifinals (the show takes the top five female competitors from each episode).

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Baylee Beckstrand

Sixteen-year-old Baylee Beckstrand is the fifth member of her family to make a splash on “American Ninja Warrior.”

The Beckstrands, who are from St. George, operate and train at two “ANW”-themed gyms in the area called The Grip.

And the years of preparation have paid off.

Baylee Beckstrand’s dad, Brian, hit the family’s first buzzer on “ANW” back in Season 7. Her mom, Holly, made her “ANW” debut three years later. Her older brother, Kai, made his debut in Season 13 and quickly became a formidable competitor. Her brother, Luke, also made a strong impression last year.

“I’ve been watching my family from the sidelines for about 10 years,” she said on “ANW.” “And I finally get my chance.

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“My brothers set a pretty high bar, so I feel a lot of pressure because I just know I wanted to be just as good as them,” she continued.

As Baylee Beckstrand — who was 15 at the time of her run but is now 16 — prepared to run her first “ANW” course, the announcers noted that “‘Ninja’ runs in the Beckstrand blood.”

And Baylee Beckstrand proved she could compete right alongside her brothers.

She almost fell on the third obstacle, called the Log Runner, which tasks competitors with running across a series of logs that are separated by 4 1/2 feet. She was able to save herself at the end, pulling herself up on the landing platform instead of splashing down into the water.

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“She fought with fire right there,” the announcers said.

Beckstrand came close to hitting the buzzer but lost her grip near the end. Her run qualified her for a spot in the semifinals, though.

Later on in the episode, Beckstrand’s mom, Holly, also competed but ended up splashing down on the Log Runner.

Kai and Luke Beckstrand will both compete in a few weeks, the show noted, calling Kai “one of the favorites to win it all.”

Anna McArthur

Anna McArthur frequently trains for “ANW” with the Beckstrands and “ANW” veteran Mady Howard at The Grip in St. George.

This season marks McArthur’s third run on the show.

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The 18-year-old, who is a student at Utah Tech University, made it to Stage 1 of the national finals last season before getting eliminated.

Now, the 5-foot ninja is seeking to go even farther, and she had a huge cheering squad on the sidelines.

McArthur was visibly shocked after she survived the Log Runner, her mouth wide open as she hit the landing platform.

The show’s hosts noted that she had never made it past the fifth obstacle before. McArthur wasn’t able to clear it this time around, either, but her run was enough to secure a spot in the semifinals.

“You’ve got to love her joy on the course,” the show’s hosts said.

McArthur has been watching “ANW” since she was 7, and used to be a gymnast and violinist but gave up both to focus on training for the show at the age of 11, the Deseret News previously reported.

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In her spare time, McArthur works at her family’s business, McArthur’s Temple View RV Resort in St. George, where guests now recognize her from “ANW.”

The campground has been in the family since her grandfather bought it in 1984, and she hopes to run it herself one day.

McArthur balances college, coaching, training and managing events at the campground. To prepare for her third run on “ANW,” she has been watching and analyzing her runs from the last two seasons and listening to podcasts that dive into the mindset of elite athletes, according to bio information the show shared with the Deseret News.

Alex Jensen’s first Big 12 schedule as Utah’s basketball coach is set — at least with who they’ll play.

Game times will come later.

The Big 12 released its scheduling matrix for the 2025-26 men’s basketball conference schedule on Thursday for all 16 schools.

With the Big 12 going back to an 18-game conference schedule after employing a 20-game league schedule last season, the Runnin’ Utes will face just three teams both home and away: Arizona State, BYU and Colorado.

Here’s a look at how Utah’s 2025-26 league schedule will be spread out. Game times and dates will be released closer to the start of the season.

• Home and away: Arizona State, BYU, Colorado
• Home only: Arizona, Houston, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, TCU, UCF
• Away only: Baylor, Cincinnati, Kansas, Kansas State, Texas Tech, West Virginia

Highlights from Utah’s 2025-26 Big 12 men’s basketball schedule

The BYU-Utah rivalry is one of three home-and-away opponents on the Utes’ schedule. The Cougars, with top recruit AJ Dybantsa, are projected to be among the nation’s best teams this season. Last year, Utah and BYU split a pair of regular-season games in a season where the Cougars made the Sweet 16.

The Utes get two former Pac-12 rivals for their other two teams, Arizona State and Colorado, that they’ll play both home and away.

Utah will get its first taste of the legendary Phog Allen Fieldhouse when the Utes travel to play Kansas. Utah upset the Jayhawks when they visited the Huntsman Center last season.

Utah will also be making its first trip to Bramlage Coliseum (Kansas State) and United Supermarkets Arena (Texas Tech) as a member of the Big 12.

The Utes will host Houston, which made the national championship game during the 2024-25 season. The Cougars lost to Florida in the title game and are led by head coach Kelvin Sampson.

Iowa State and Arizona, two other teams expected to be among the nation’s top 25 teams in the upcoming season, will visit the Huntsman Center. The Utes lost road games against both programs last season.