For over a century, tax-exempt municipal bonds have been the primary tool by which state and local governments, not-for-profits and economic developers finance large-scale public projects that …
As Congress seeks to extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and identify revenue offsets, communities across the country are urging lawmakers to preserve a fundamental economic development tool: the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds. Maintaining this tax exemption is crucial for building essential infrastructure in Utah communities and driving economic growth while saving Utah taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
For over a century, tax-exempt municipal bonds have been the primary tool by which state and local governments, not-for-profits and economic developers finance large-scale public projects that underpin economic vitality and quality of life. These bonds allow for financing essential infrastructure that powers job creation and enables long-term economic prosperity. The tax exemption reduces borrowing costs, making it feasible for economic developers to undertake projects that benefit Utahns across the state.
Over the past 10 years alone in Utah, state and local governments have relied on tax-exempt bonds to finance $30 billion in projects such as schools, hospitals, housing, water treatment facilities and transportation systems. By keeping interest on these bonds tax-exempt, Utah taxpayers have saved an estimated $635 million. The projects financed are not just assets for local communities; they are catalysts for regional economic growth, attracting businesses, supporting a skilled workforce and enhancing the standard of living.
Eliminating or limiting the tax exemption on municipal bonds would raise borrowing costs, leading to significant fiscal challenges for Utah’s communities, especially the rural and smaller borrowers who account for 60% of projects financed. Higher costs for infrastructure projects would deter private investment, stifle job creation and ultimately increase the financial burden on businesses and taxpayers.
To answer our governor’s urgent call for Utah to build, we must preserve the financial tools that enable progress. The Economic Development Corporation of Utah and the Utah Alliance for Economic Development urge Congress to recognize the invaluable role that tax-exempt municipal bonds play in economic development. By maintaining this tax exemption, Congress can ensure that Utah’s communities have the right tools to address public infrastructure needs, sustain our quality of life and build without burdening taxpayers.
Blackhawks star Connor Bedard ended a seven-game point drought, and his goal 3:10 into overtime capped a two-point night as Chicago beat the visiting Utah Hockey Club 4-3 on Friday. Last year’s Calder …
Blackhawks star Connor Bedard ended a seven-game point drought, and his goal 3:10 into overtime capped a two-point night as Chicago beat the visiting Utah Hockey Club 4-3 on Friday. Last year’s Calder …
Utah lawmakers set aside millions of dollars for nuclear energy and students learning English. What else are your tax dollars being used for?
KEY POINTS
Lawmakers agreed to spend $8 million for Gov. Cox’s nuclear power goals.
They also set aside $5 million for public schools struggling with students learning English.
There is also money in the new budget to implement the state’s landmark big tech regulation.
Lawmakers approved around $279 million in new funding requests for the next year late on Friday, the last night of Utah’s 2025 legislative session.
The Legislature signed off on 464 line items that represent spending priorities for legislative leadership in a tight budget year when lawmakers and state agencies competed over which of their bills and requests would get funded.
Budget chairs decided to give Utah Gov. Spencer Cox some of his big asks, while still ensuring that there was funding for bills that passed both chambers. There was also money for some proposals that failed, but lawmakers decided to bring about change with their spending decisions instead of by passing legislation.
Here are five of the major expenditures and surprises included in Utah lawmakers’ list of spending priorities.
Nuclear energy future
Cox received $8.25 million for his Operation Gigawatt initiative to double energy production over the next decade by investing in nuclear power.
While the dollar amount is far less than the $20 million Cox requested in his fiscal year 2026 budget recommendations to prepare nuclear reactor sites, it is much larger than the $1.75 million lawmakers tentatively set aside last week.
House Majority Leader Jefferson Moss, R-Saratoga Springs, said the state is looking for any way it can to speed up the development of nuclear reactors in Utah, whether its through agreements with neighboring states or by supporting research programs at the University of Utah.
House Majority Leader Jefferson Moss, R-Saratoga Springs, answers questions asked by the media, in House Speaker Mike Schultz’s office at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 7, 2025. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
“I just think this will help us to move the ball down the field,” Moss said.
The bill defines a student learning English as a student who receives the very lowest score on an English language proficiency test that is given in the first 30 days of school to all students whose parents indicate that English is not their primary language.
But bill sponsor House Education Chair Candice Pierucci, R-Riverton, made a separate request for $5 million in one-time funds to serve as a “shot in the arm” for school districts struggling to keep up with the need for English instruction and larger class sizes because of increased immigration.
Majority Caucus Manager Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman, speaks during a House Education Committee meeting concerning HB77, which would limit the kinds of flags public school teachers can display in their classrooms, held in the East Senate Building of the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
Budget committee members fully granted Pierucci’s request of $5 million to help train teachers, reduce class sizes, hire classroom aides and obtain other resources for English language learners, if a school district can show that one of their schools had a 75% increase in students learning English compared to the previous three-year average, and that the school lacks the funds to support the increase.
Debate commission shifts to UVU, the U
Late in the session, Rep. Nelson Abbott, R-Orem, introduced a bill that would have created a university-run election debate committee that would likely replace the nonprofit Utah Debate Commission.
Rep. Nelson Abbott, R-Orem, introduces House Majority Whip Karianne Lisonbee, R-Syracuse, to sponsor HB252 in the Senate Committee room at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
The bill, which would have established the Utah Debate Committee at Utah Valley University to host primary and general election debates, failed in committee a week before the end of the legislative session. But senior appropriators ensured that the plan to shift responsibility for debates to public universities would still move forward.
The final-night “bill of bills” allocated $300,000 to Utah Valley University’s Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy, and $300,000 to the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics with the intent for the institutions to “collaborate on a proposal to host nonpartisan candidate debates” and to establish “a statewide, nonpartisan debate organization.”
“The universities are going to figure it out,” said Senate Budget Vice Chair Scott Sandall, R-Tremonton. “They’ll figure out where they’re going to house it, where they’re going to do it.”
Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, and House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, both communicated that they think universities will be better suited to handle the logistics and organization of nonpartisan political debates.
School and big tech
Hands-on high school: Lawmakers approved $145,000 in funding for athlete and ambulance grants for high school rodeo, which would support trips from high school school rodeo clubs and the presence of EMTs at events.
Social media shakedown: The Legislature also appropriated money for the enforcement of two groundbreaking pieces of social media legislation: $51,500 to enforce the App Store Accountability Act, which would require app stores to obtain parental consent for minors downloading apps, and $195,000 to implement Data Sharing Amendments, which would give social media users with the right to manage their own data.
Connor Bedard ended a seven-game point drought on Friday as his game-winning goal capped a two-point night for the Chicago Blackhawks star in a 4-3 victory over the visiting Utah Hockey Club.
Connor Bedard ended a seven-game point drought on Friday as his game-winning goal capped a two-point night for the Chicago Blackhawks star in a 4-3 victory over the visiting Utah Hockey Club.
The Utah Hockey Club (28-25-9) visits the Chicago Blackhawks (19-35-8) at United Center in the third meeting of the season between the two Central Division Rivals. After a 4-2 win over the Detroit Red …
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. MT
WHERE: United Center – Chicago, Illinois
TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL Sports Zone 1280 AM, NHL App
The Utah Hockey Club (28-25-9) visits the Chicago Blackhawks (19-35-8) at United Center in the third meeting of the season between the two Central Division Rivals. After a 4-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings last night, Utah has now won four of its last five games and is just three points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
ONE-TIMERS
Nick Schmaltz was drafted 20th overall by Chicago in 2014.
Utah has allowed just eight total goals in the last five games.
Dylan Guenther leads the team with 23 goals.
Eight Utah Hockey Club skaters have scored at least 10 goals this season.
Utah’s power play has been clutch; 21 of Utah’s last 28 power-play goals have either tied the game or given Utah the lead.
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
Utah and Chicago lock horns for the third time this season after Utah won the previous two matchups at Delta Center. The Blackhawks have won two of their last three after losing five in a row and have the second fewest points in the Western Conference with 46.
The Blackhawks acquired goaltender Spencer Knight and a first round pick from the Florida Panthers in exchange for five-time all-star defenseman Seth Jones. Since the trade, Chicago is 1-1-0, including a 5-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings in which Knight stopped 42 of 43 shots. The Hawks’ last effort resulted in a 4-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday. In that game against Ottawa, Chicago’s lineup contained nine players aged 23 or younger and 10 players who were selected by the Blackhawks in an NHL draft.
Up front for the Blackhawks, Ryan Donato is having a career year, and he leads the club with 23 goals on the season. Connor Bedard leads the team with 49 points (16G, 33A).
WHO TO WATCH
UTAH: #67 LAWSON CROUSE – Crouse scored the fourth goal for Utah last night against Detroit and now has 10 tallies on the season. The winger has reached double-digit goal totals in each of his last four seasons.
CHICAGO: #8 RYAN DONATO – After a goal on Wednesday against Ottawa, Donato now has four goals over his last three contests for the Blackhawks. This season is the first time that Donato has hit the 20-goal plateau, and the Boston, Massachusetts native has eight goals in 10 games since the start of February.
LOOK BACK
Utah defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-2 last night at Little Caesars Arena. Goaltender Karel Vejmelka helped keep Utah in the game throughout the night with 38 saves on 40 Red Wings shots, marking the second most saves in a game for Vejmelka this season.
Dylan Guenther led off the scoring just 2:08 into the first frame, but Detroit eventually took the lead with first-period tallies from Dylan Larkin and Jonatan Berggren. Nick Schmaltz tied the game at 2-2 on the power play in the second frame following a perfect saucer pass from Barrett Hayton.
Later in the third, Kevin Stenlund provided the game-winner and Lawson Crouse scored on a setup from Jack McBain.
LAST MEETING
Utah won its second straight game at home on Feb. 25 against the Chicago Blackhawks. After giving up a power-play goal to Chicago’s Seth Jones in the first period, Clayton Keller tied the game at 1-1 in the final minute of the second. Lawson Crouse scored the game-winning goal with 7:48 to go in regulation.
Utah outshot Chicago 37-22 and dominated at the faceoff dot, winning 61.5% of the draws. Every Utah forward registered a shot, and Utah finished with 10:17 worth of offensive zone possession time- the second most in a game this season.
CLAYTON KELLER
With an assist on Nick Schmaltz’s second-period goal last night, Clayton Keller picked up the 300th apple of his career. The Chesterfield, Missouri native now has 488 points (188G, 300A) in 581 career games in the NHL.
Keller’s 29 power-play points (6G, 23A) are now tied for the third most in the NHL this season, as are his 23 power-play assists. He now has recorded a point on 71% of Utah’s power-play goals this season, the fifth highest percentage for any one player this season.
MICHAEL KESSELRING
Defenseman Michael Kesselring picked up a pair of assists last night against Detroit and now has 25 points (6G, 19A) in 62 games this season for Utah. The goal, assist, and point totals for Kesselring this season mark a new career high, surpassing the 21 points (5G, 16A) he posted in 65 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season. The 25-year-old rearguard now has four multi-point efforts under his belt this season.
LOOK AHEAD
Utah returns home on Monday, Mar. 10 to face the Toronto Maple Leafs at Delta Center. The two clubs last saw each other on Nov. 24, and Toronto pulled out a narrow 3-2 victory. Monday will mark the third straight game in which Utah is facing an Original Six franchise.
Alex Jensen, who was the top target for the Utes, replaces Craig Smith, who was fired in late February in his fourth season at Utah.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah hired Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Alex Jensen to be its men’s basketball coach.
Jensen, who was the top target for the Utes, replaces Craig Smith, who was fired in late February in his fourth season at Utah. Jensen has been an NBA assistant coach for 12 seasons. He spent 10 years with the Utah Jazz before joining Dallas in 2023. Utah will be his first head coaching job since leading the Canton Charge in the NBA D-League from 2011-13.
Jensen was a former player at Utah under Rick Majerus, playing with the Utes in the 1994-95 season and then from 1997-2000 following a two-year break for missionary work. He totaled 1,279 points and 896 rebounds over four seasons at Utah. As a senior, he earned first-team All-MWC honors while averaging 13.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.
This marks Jensen’s first coaching job in the collegiate ranks since serving as an assistant coach under Majerus at Saint Louis from 2007-11.
Jensen will be tasked with rebuilding the Utes into a contender in the Big 12 Conference and getting the school back to the NCAA Tournament. Utah hasn’t reached the NCAA Tournament since the 2015-16 season and made a single NIT appearance in Smith’s four seasons.
Vejmelka’s right pad/toe save on Red Wings center Dylan Larkin with just over a minute remaining in the first period was a possible game-changer with Utah already trailing 2-1. So was his point-blank …
All four forward lines score in first game of critical, two-game road trip
Utah GM Bill Armstrong told his troops this week that they had earned the right to stay together. In the next breath, he handed out four contract extensions to walk the talk.
His team repaid him with a gutsy 4-2 win in Detroit on the day before the NHL trade deadline.
Utah goaltender Karel Vejmelka was the story of the game on Thursday, stopping 38 shots to earn his fifth win in his past six outings.
Dylan Guenther, Nick Schmaltz, Kevin Stenlund and Lawson Crouse scored, the penalty kill was a perfect three-for-three against the NHL’s second-ranked power play unit, and Utah crept a little closer to the final wild card spot in the Western Conference with a win against a team that is trying to claim its own wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Utah rallied from a 2-1 deficit despite being outshot 40-19. Utah has won three of its past four games, four of its past six, and seven of its past 10.
“We had a kind of slow start today, but after the first period, we played a pretty good second and even better in the third,” Vejmelka said. “It’s a big team win tonight.”
Playoff watch: The only other team of note in the race for the Western Conference’s final wild card spot that was in action on Thursday was the Calgary Flames. They lost, 3-2, in overtime in Dallas on Thursday. Overall, Utah drew within a point of the St. Louis Blues with a game in hand, within two points of the Vancouver Canucks, and within three points of the Flames, who hold the final wild card slot.
Extensionenergized: Utah signed four players to contract extensions this week: forward Alex Kerfoot, defensemen Olli Määttä, Ian Cole and Vejmelka. They all seemed energized by the security in Thursday’s game.
Kerfoot set up Dylan Guenther’s first period goal with a terrific backhand pass. Määttä logged 18:20 of ice time, he was a plus-1, and he drew a game-clinching penalty on Patrick Kane late in the game. Cole logged 21:32 of ice time and recorded a goal-saving blocked shot late in the game.
And then there was Vejmelka.
Utah’s starter, who just agreed to a five-year extension on Wednesday, made 38 saves to mark his highest save total in a road game this season. Two saves in particular stood out.
Vejmelka’s right pad/toe save on Red Wings center Dylan Larkin with just over a minute remaining in the first period was a possible game-changer with Utah already trailing 2-1. So was his point-blank glove save on forward Alex DeBrincat, moving left to right, with just over a minute left in the second period and the game tied, 2-2.
“We got an elite performance from Veggie,” Utah coach André Tourigny said. “We demanded a lot from him tonight. I want to help him a little better, but you know what? That’s what a team is. When you stick together, sometimes it’s one guy, another night it’s another guy.
“He was really, really good, tuned in, made key saves at key moments.”
Bjugdstad injured: Utah center Nick Bjugstad missed the game with an upper-body injury that landed him on injured reserve. The IR stint is retroactive to Utah’s last game on March 1 which means he is eligible to play in the team’s home game against Toronto on Monday.
Players who are placed on IR must miss at least seven days.
Quotable: “We had one period to go out there and win an important hockey game and that’s what we did,” said associate captain Lawson Crouse of his team’s two-goal third period. “It shows a lot of courage from our team. There’s definitely things we need to improve on, but getting a win like that feels good.”
Up next: Utah travels to Chicago for the only time this season to face the Blackhawks on Friday. Utah leads the season series, 2-0. In the first game in Utah Hockey Club history, Dylan Guenther had two goals, Connor Ingram made 24 saves and Utah beat the Blackhawks, 5-2 at Delta Center on Oct. 8. Utah won the second meeting at Delta Center on Feb. 25 when Crouse scored the game-winning goal on a backhander with 7:48 left in a 2-1 victory.
Tina Cannon, Utah’s first female auditor, accused the Senate president of bullying and kicking her out of the Capitol building.
Utah’s new state auditor, Tina Cannon, the first woman to hold the office, is accusing Senate President Stuart Adams of “bullying” her out of her Capitol office space — making her the only official elected statewide without a presence in the building.
“It is just a huge bullying tactic over, oh, the first Republican woman elected statewide, oh, then push her right out of the Capitol,” Cannon said in an interview Thursday night. “That’s exactly what it’s about.”
But, in a statement to The Salt Lake Tribune, Adams said he was transparent with Cannon and that her allegations were disappointing.
“We were transparent about the amendment by inviting Auditor Cannon to a meeting with Sen. McKell, the bill’s sponsor, my staff and myself to discuss it. During the meeting, when Auditor Cannon asked if funding requests and office space were connected, I specifically stated that it was in no way tied together,” Adams said.
“It is deeply disappointing that the auditor has chosen to spread inaccurate information that is completely false,” the Senate president added.
Cannon, a Republican, said Adams, R-Layton, shouted at her during a meeting earlier this week and told her she would be relocated.
“I was told that I would be written into legislation and removed from the Capitol, and I wouldn’t even know — while he was yelling at me — wouldn’t even know it was coming,” Cannon said. “That feels pretty bullish to me.”
She also said she was not able to fight against the plan to move her because legislative leaders were holding up a $1.5 million budget request for staff salaries, which left her “feeling held hostage, to not be able to say what I knew was happening.”
Thursday evening, they agreed to fund a third of the amount, a few hours before adding language to a bill relocating her from the Capitol to offices southeast of the historic building where most of the auditor staff works.
Freshman Rep. Nicholeen Peck, R-Tooele, challenged the sponsor, Rep. Val Peterson, R-Orem, over the decision and asked if the auditor was on board with the move. Peterson said he couldn’t speak to whether the auditor approved of it or not.
“I can,” Peck shot back. “She doesn’t like it.”
The bill passed the House on a 49-18 vote five minutes after the provision relating to the auditor was added with no other discussion. If it passes the Senate Friday and is signed by the governor, the effective date is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2025 — which Cannon said means she is “basically squatting” in the space.
“[I was] vehemently opposed to this. It was not done with my cooperation,” Cannon said.
“I was threatened [by Adams] that he would do it and that’s exactly what he did — while holding my budget and my staff hostage in the other hand,” Cannon said.
Cannon’s predecessor, John Dougall, and a few staff members had worked out of office space just off the Capitol’s rotunda since he took office in 2013. His predecessor also had office space in the Capitol. Cannon had kept Dougall’s suite since taking office in January and opened a new Transparent Utah office, where the public can get assistance searching government financial information.
Cannon said Adams told her he planned to use the space for junior senators who currently have offices in the building where Cannon would be relocated because, Cannon said she was told, it makes them feel like “second-class citizens.”
Note to readers • This story is breaking and will be updated.
SALT LAKE CITY (March 6, 2025) – Utah Hockey Club announced today the signing of goaltender Karel Vejmelka to a five-year contract extension.
SALT LAKE CITY (March 6, 2025) – Utah Hockey Club announced today the signing of goaltender Karel Vejmelka to a five-year contract extension.
“Karel’s confident demeanor helps set the tone for our team every day,” said Chris Armstrong, president of hockey operations for Utah Hockey Club. “It allows our group to play to its strengths, knowing he is back there to make the key saves. Vej has earned this commitment from our organization, and we are grateful to have him as an important piece in our future.”
“Karel has been integral to the success of our team this season,” said Bill Armstrong, general manager of Utah Hockey Club. “He is a talented goaltender that competes every night he takes the net and has solidified one of the most critical positions on our team. We are thrilled to have Karel signed for the next five years.”
The 28-year-old Vejmelka has earned a 16-16-4 record with a 2.45 goals against average (GAA), .910 save percentage (SV%) and one shutout in 38 games with Utah in 2024-25. He has established new single-season bests in goals-against average and save percentage, and his 16 wins are just two shy of matching his career high set with the Arizona Coyotes in 2022-23. Vejmelka has also posted a career-high nine wins on the road this season, including a franchise-record, five-game road win streak from Nov. 26 to Dec. 20.
Vejmelka has played 178 career NHL games over four seasons with Utah and Arizona, registering a 60-91-15 record, 3.26 GAA, .901 SV% and six shutouts. The 6-foot-4, 202-pound netminder ranks 10th all-time in games played and wins among Czech-born goaltenders.
A native of Trebic, Czechia, Vejmelka won back-to-back Czech Extraliga titles with HC Kometa Brno in 2017 and 2018. He posted a 77-84-0 record, 2.56 GAA, .913 SV% and 13 shutouts over nine Extraliga seasons with Brno, Dukia Jihlava and HC Pardubice.
Vejmelka has also represented Czechia at the 2014 IIHF Under-18 World Championship and each of the last three IIHF World Championships (2022-24), and he helped Czechia win the gold medal on home soil in 2024.
Vejmelka was originally drafted by the Nashville Predators in the fifth round (145th overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft.
