Utah News

Utah’s Mia Love was a trailblazer.

A child of Haitian immigrants, Love was a Saratoga Springs City Council member, mayor and then the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress. She died Sunday after a three-year battle with brain cancer at age 49.

When Love was first elected to Congress in November 2014, Salt Lake Tribune reporters Matt Canham, Robert Gehrke and Thomas Burr quickly published a book, “Mia Love: The Rise, Stumble and Resurgence of the Next GOP Star.”

The book tells the story of Love’s family immigrating to the U.S., her conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and her historic rise in politics.

Seven excerpts from the book were also published in The Tribune and are available below.

U.S. Rep.-elect Mia Love’s optimism and her promises to reduce the size and power of the federal government will collide with what is arguably the most partisan, gridlocked Congress in modern times.

Opponents used ambiguity around her family’s story to accuse Love of being “an anchor baby,” a derisive and debasing term. Love dismissed talk of her parents’ legal status as irrelevant: The United States government granted them citizenship, the trump card to end the conversation.

Love wanted to be an actor, a singer and a dancer. She turned to Broadway and then Utah, where she joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Love got married and then 9/11 and an invasion of insects drove her to politics.

Love’s magnetic personality and her ability to deliver a speech help her get through a fierce Republican primary.

By the end of a fierce, $10 million-plus race, just 768 votes decided the election.

A rematch in the making turned into a new contest — with a different outcome.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Mia Love of Utah, a daughter of Haitian immigrants who became the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress, died Sunday.

She was 49.

Love’s family posted news of her death on Love’s X account.

She had undergone recent treatment for brain cancer and received immunotherapy as part of a clinical trial at Duke University’s brain tumor center. Her daughter said earlier this month that the former lawmaker was no longer responding to treatment.

Love died at her home in Saratoga Springs, Utah, according to a statement posted by the family.

“With grateful hearts filled to overflowing for the profound influence of Mia on our lives, we want you to know that she passed away peacefully,” her family said. “We are thankful for the many good wishes, prayers and condolences.”

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox referred to Love as a “true friend” and said her legacy of service inspired all who knew her.

Love entered politics in 2003 after winning a seat on the city council in Saratoga Springs, a growing community about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City. She later became the city’s mayor.

In 2012, Love narrowly lost a bid for the House against the Democratic incumbent, former Rep. Jim Matheson, in a district that covers a string of Salt Lake City suburbs. She ran again two years later and defeated first-time candidate Doug Owens by about 7,500 votes.

Love didn’t 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 had suggested that a Black, Republican, Mormon woman couldn’t win a congressional seat in overwhelmingly white Utah.

She was briefly considered a rising star within the GOP and she kept her distance from Donald Trump, who was unpopular with many Utah voters, while he was running for president ahead of the 2016 election.

In an op-ed published earlier this month in the Deseret News, Love described the version of America she grew up loving and shared her enduring wish for the nation to become less divisive. She thanked her medical team and every person who had prayed for her.

Love said her parents immigrated to the U.S. with $10 in their pocket and a belief that hard work would lead to success. She said she was raised to believe passionately in the American dream and “to love this country, warts and all.” America at its roots is respectful, resilient, giving and grounded in gritty determination, she said.

Her career in politics exposed Love to America’s ugly side, but she said it also gave her a front row seat to be inspired by people’s hope and courage. She shared her wish for neighbors to come together and focus on their similarities rather than their differences.

“Some have forgotten the math of America — whenever you divide you diminish,” Love wrote.

She urged elected officials to lead with compassion and communicate honestly with their constituents.

“In the end, I hope that my life will have mattered and made a difference for the nation I love and the family and friends I adore,” Love wrote. “I hope you will see the America I know in the years ahead, that you will hear my words in the whisper of the wind of freedom and feel my presence in the flame of the enduring principles of liberty. My living wish and fervent prayer for you and for this nation is that the America I have known is the America you fight to preserve.”

In 2016, facing reelection and following the release of a 2005 recording in which Trump made lewd comments about groping women, Love skipped the Republican National Convention and released a statement saying definitively that she would not vote for Trump. She instead endorsed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the GOP race, but he dropped out months later.

While seeking a third term in 2018, Love tried to separate herself from Trump on trade and immigration while still backing her party’s positions on tax cuts. Despite Republican voters outnumbering Democrats by a nearly three-to-one margin in her district, though, she lost by fewer than 700 votes to Democrat Ben McAdams, a former mayor of Salt Lake City.

Trump called out Love by name in a news conference the morning after she lost, where he also bashed other Republicans who didn’t fully embrace him.

“Mia Love gave me no love, and she lost,” Trump said. “Too bad. Sorry about that, Mia.”

After her loss, Love served as a political commentator on CNN and as a fellow at the University of Sydney.

Following Trump’s election in November, Love said she was “OK with the outcome.”

“Yes, Trump says a lot of inconsiderate things that are unfortunate and impossible to defend,” Love wrote in a social media post. “However, his policies have a high probability of benefiting all Americans.”

KEARNS, Utah — Practice, at least, offered something different as the Detroit Red Wings made their first foray to Salt Lake City since the scenic capital gained an NHL franchise.

The real trick, of course, will be for the Wings to finish their next game with a different result; namely a victory. They’ve only done that twice in their last 11 games, and that’s left them stalled at 70 points, five points and four teams behind the second wild card.

Their next chance to make inroads comes Monday when they take on the Utah Hockey Club – formerly the Arizona Coyotes franchise – and preparation for that took place Sunday at the 275,000-square-foot Utah Olympic Oval,  the long-track speed skating venue for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics and an official U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Site.

“It’s fun,” Lucas Raymond said. “A lot of history in a place like this. Just driving in, seeing the mountains and all that, it’s pretty cool. My first time in Utah, so, it’s good.”

The Wings (32-31-6) expect to regain the services of defenseman Jeff Petry. Forward Elmer Söderblom practiced Sunday, but needed to be re-evaluated before any decision was made on his readiness.

Whatever the lineup looks like Monday at Delta Center, the message is uniform: It’s up to the Wings to show they want to make the playoffs.

MUST READ: Detroit Red Wings mailbag: This question shows far franchise has fallen

“We can talk about this all we want, and it’s great and we care and everybody wants to be there,” coach Todd McLellan said. “And there’s 32 teams that talk about it. Only 16 teams make it. And those 16 find ways to win games. We haven’t been doing that lately. So enough talking about it. Let’s do it.

“It’s not the fancy stuff. It’s not always the power play. It’s some of the grunt stuff that it’s hard to calculate its impact on the game until you start doing it over and over and over again. We talked about shot-blocking and net-play and board-work and shift-length. When you pull up the NHL website or even analytics, there’s not a lot of scores or grades for that stuff. But it all leads to wins and losses and enough talking about it – let’s do it.”

That message was a continuation of McLellan’s comments after the Wings began this trip (which ends Tuesday at the Colorado Avalanche) losing 6-3 at the Vegas Golden Knights. The Wings started well, generated scoring chances and scored twice on man advantages, so to still come away with nothing was deflating.

“We have to get back to our game,” Raymond said. “We have talked a lot for a long period of time of where we want to be, and it’s time for us to show up and take that step. It’s fun, right – it’s exciting times. We’re still in it. We have to get back to our game and start playing with a little more desperation and urgency.”

MORE: Todd McLellan sounds alarm on Red Wings: ‘Not sure we want to do’ hard work

It was around this time last season that Raymond put together an impressive stretch, leading the team with 12 points the last 10 games. It’s the time of year that tends to show what players are made off.

“We’re all keeping an eye on each other, and I don’t mean that from a manager or coach’s perspective,” McLellan said. “Teammates are looking at teammates – what are you going to give me tonight – which I think is really valuable. We need more from you – that type of thing goes on. But then that secondary level of coaches and managers watching at this time of year is really important as well.”

Practice, at least, seemed upbeat, and McLellan called it, “a good day for us. We needed to skate today. Wasn’t an over-exertion skate. We know what’s ahead of us, these two games, and then four games in six nights. But enough to get the crap out of your legs and feel good about yourselves again. Coming off right now, I feel good about our opportunity tomorrow.”

The rink the Wings practiced on sits like an island in the middle of the speed-skating oval, which is billed as the “Fastest Ice on Earth.” Defenseman Ben Chiarot took a turn before practice.

“Felt like ice,” he said. “It was just cool to check it out.”

Raymond declined.

“It looks exhausting,” he said. “But it’s a cool track and cool venue.”

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings embrace first trip to Utah, renew playoff chase

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Mia Love of Utah, a daughter of Haitian immigrants who became the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress, died Sunday.

She was 49.

Love’s family posted news of her death on Love’s X account.

She had undergone recent treatment for brain cancer and received immunotherapy as part of a clinical trial at Duke University’s brain tumor center. Her daughter said earlier this month that the former lawmaker was no longer responding to treatment.

Love died at her home in Saratoga Springs, Utah, according to a statement posted by the family.

“With grateful hearts filled to overflowing for the profound influence of Mia on our lives, we want you to know that she passed away peacefully,” her family said. “We are thankful for the many good wishes, prayers and condolences.”

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox referred to Love as a “true friend.”

“Her legacy of service inspired all who knew her,” Cox said in a statement. “We pray for her family and mourn with them.”

Love entered politics in 2003 after winning a seat on the city council in Saratoga Springs, a growing community about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City. She later became the city’s mayor.

In 2012, Love narrowly lost a bid for the House against the Democratic incumbent, former Rep. Jim Matheson, in a district that covers a string of Salt Lake City suburbs.

She ran again two years later and defeated first-time candidate Doug Owens by about 7,500 votes.

Love didn’t 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 had suggested that a Black, Republican, Mormon woman couldn’t win a congressional seat in overwhelmingly white Utah.

She was briefly considered a rising star within the GOP and she kept her distance from Donald Trump, who was unpopular with many Utah voters, while he was running for president ahead of the 2016 election.

In 2016, facing reelection and following the release of a 2005 recording in which Trump made lewd comments about groping women, Love skipped the Republican National Convention and released a statement saying definitively that she would not vote for Trump. She instead endorsed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the GOP race, but he dropped out months later.

While seeking a third term in 2018, Love tried to separate herself Trump on trade and immigration while still backing her party’s positions on tax cuts. Despite Republican voters outnumbering Democrats by a nearly three-to-one margin in her district, though, she lost by fewer than 700 votes to former Salt Lake City Mayor Ben McAdams, a Democrat.

Trump called out Love by name in a news conference the morning after she lost, where he also bashed other Republicans who didn’t fully embrace him.

“Mia Love gave me no love, and she lost,” Trump said. “Too bad. Sorry about that, Mia.”

After her loss, Love served as a political commentator on CNN and as a fellow at the University of Sydney.

Following Trump’s election in November, Love said she was “OK with the outcome.”

“Yes, Trump says a lot of inconsiderate things that are unfortunate and impossible to defend. However, his policies have a high probability of benefiting all Americans,” Love wrote in a social media post.

Mia Love, the first Black Republican woman elected to the U.S. Congress, died Sunday following a three-year-long battle with brain cancer. The former congresswoman, born to Hattian immigrants in 1975, represented Utah’s 4th Congressional District from 2015 to 2019.

Utah public officials shared their sympathies in news releases and comments on social media shortly after the news broke on Sunday. Here’s what they said:

Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson

“Mia Love was a fearless leader, a history-maker, and a woman of deep conviction. Utah—and our nation—are better because of her courageous work and unwavering belief in the American Dream,“ Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson wrote on X. ”My heart is broken over the loss of my dear friend. Gabe and I send our prayers and love to her devoted family that she so cherished. ”

U.S. Sen. Mike Lee

“This is truly heartbreaking. Mia Love was an outstanding public servant and a dear friend,“ wrote Sen Mike Lee, who served with Love in Congress, on X. “Her passing leaves a deep, painful void.”

[READ: Mia Love, Utah’s history-making former congresswoman, dies at 49]

U.S. Sen. John Curtis

“Mia Love’s words remind us what makes America great—not government, but the people. Her ‘living wish’ calls on us to embrace self-reliance, compassion, and courage—principles our country was built on,” Sen. John Curtis said earlier this month, sharing a link to an oped Love wrote ahead of her death.

“I am inspired by her faith, her fight, and her unwavering commitment to advancing the American dream,” he said. “May we all honor her wish by facing the impossible with grit and patriotism.”

U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens

“I’m heartbroken to hear of Mia’s passing. She was a trailblazer, a faithful servant, bright light in so many lives, and a dear friend,” wrote Rep. Burgess Owens on X. “Our Utah communities mourn with the Love family, and we pray that they find peace in Heavenly Father’s love and comfort, and in the love Mia brought to all.

“Mia served Utah’s 4th District with distinction, bringing passion, energy, and unwavering dedication to everything she did,” Owens added. “It is a profound honor to follow in her footsteps and build upon the foundation she laid.

“Today, while we grieve her loss, we also celebrate her tireless commitment to public service, her historic contributions, and the countless lives she touched through her work.”

U.S. Rep. Mike Kennedy

“Katrina and I extend our heartfelt prayers and condolences to the Love family,” wrote Rep. Mike Kennedy, the newest member of Utah’s congressional delegation, on X.

“Mia was a steadfast believer in the promise of America,” he said. “I vividly remember her sharing how her parents came to our country with just $10 and a belief in the American dream — a dream she brought to life through her deep love for family, her dedicated public service, and her unwavering commitment to Utah and our nation.”

This story is breaking and will be updated.

There will soon be a new scenic way to travel between Utah’s and Colorado’s capital cities.

Rocky Mountaineer, which operates the luxury Rockies to the Red Rocks train route, announced a few changes on Tuesday, including a plan to rebrand as Canyon Spirit in the U.S., as well as an extension of the route to include more of Utah beginning next year.

Rockies to the Red Rocks — established four years ago — takes passengers to and from Moab and Denver, with an overnight stay in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, along the way. However, starting in 2026, the route will include Salt Lake City, as well as mountain passes and lines passing through the Great Basin to connect with the existing service route, according to Armstrong Collective, Canyon Spirit’s parent company.

The three-day excursion will also include overnight stays in Moab and Glenwood Spring.

“We could not be more excited to bring our Canyon Spirit train to Salt Lake City, and to expand our Rockies to the Red Rocks route further into the beautiful state of Utah,” Tristan Armstrong, CEO of Armstrong Collective said in a statement.

The expanded service is slated to begin on April 21, 2026, with trains heading both east and west.

Company officials said other aspects of the journey won’t change. Canyon Spirit will still include dining spaces, onboard hosts providing “historic storytelling” of the region — and plenty of space to take in views of the mountains and red rocks between Salt Lake City and Denver.

Three-day plans are slated to begin at $2,123 per person before tax, which includes the overnight hotel stays. Customers can also select package add-on days to include other activities, including tours of Arches and Canyonlands national parks, explorations of other outdoor areas in the Moab area, and rafting tours of the Colorado River for an additional price.

“Although the name of our train is changing, our world-class service and onboard experience will remain the same,” Armstrong added. “(We) all look forward to sharing the beauty of the American Southwest with even more guests from across the United States and around the world.”

West Valley City • A few weeks ago, No. 4 Utah claimed its first Big 12 regular season title.

On Saturday, the Red Rocks won their first Big 12 Championship with a 197.775 score at the Maverik Center. It’s their first outright conference title since 2021 when it won the Pac-12.

The last two seasons the Red Rocks had to settle with a four-way tie for the Pac-12 crown.

“Just really excited for the team tonight,” Utah head coach Carly Dockendorf said. “It’s our first Big 12 championship that we were a part of, and we came in here to win, and I felt like we executed that really well.”

Senior and former Olympic silver medalist Grace McCallum was named the Big 12 Gymnast of the Year.

Freshman Avery Neff, who missed a portion of the year due to two severe ankle sprains, also earned her first major collegiate award, taking home the conference’s Newcomer of the Year award.

“There’s not a ton of words to really say,” Neff said of her individual award. ”I didn’t think I would be here, and the fact that I persevered through pain, I persevered through the mental toughness of it, I think, kind of speaks volumes of itself. I’m just proud of myself that I got to this point. The trophy is kind of a cherry on top.”

McCallum added: “I didn’t even know it was a thing. Honestly, I got called up, and I was like, ‘Oh, wow, really,’ But yeah, I feel very honored.”

While Utah swept the Big 12 crown and several of its gymnasts took home individual awards, the Red Rocks didn’t have a perfect meet. Junior all-arounder Makenna Smith took a fall on the balance beam, leaving her with a season-low 9.3 in the event. The score was dropped, however, due to it being Utah’s worst score in the rotation.

Utah also struggled on uneven bars and vault, where it finished with a 49.3750 and a 49.3250, respectively.

Utah knows it will have to improve on its deductions in those rotations to make a run in the NCAA regionals. But, coming off a Big 12 championship and a win over the Bruins, Dockendorf likes where her team is at.

“We want to be peaking at the right time and not too early,” Dockendorf said. “We’re still leaving some room to improve. We have about four weeks to go, so I just think that their confidence is building, and their performance every time that they’re out there and showing that they can have the right mindset. We need to be able to be at our best when it counts the most.”

Focused on their sticks

One reason the Red Rocks were able to cross a score of 198 a week ago was due to their landings.

That wasn’t the case this weekend.

McCallum was handed several deductions on vault and uneven bars due to botched landings. She still finished vault with a 9.9, but her lowest score of the night was a 9.825 on uneven bars, the lowest of any Red Rock in the event.

“I know I want to put a lot of work into [the landings],” McCallum said. “I can stick it easy when there’s no pressure, and then when the pressure kicks in, I kind of overthink things a bit so working on that, and then I think just keeping the momentum going from meet to meet. Having a winning mentality from here on out, I think will be key for us to go where we want to go.”

Neff, who tied second for the best all-around score against UCLA, finished the Big 12 Championship with a 39.5.

She also left points on the table with her landings.

“I mean, we definitely didn’t do what we did last week,” Neff said. “There were not as many sticks and things like that. We’re focusing on our sticks and things like that. And even though we’re still conference champions, I know that our whole team is still going feeling like we can do better, and I think it’s going to push us to do even better at regionals and nationals.”

With a bye week coming before regionals, the Red Rocks will have plenty of time to correct their errors. Then, maybe, they can begin their run to an 11th national championship.

“We seemed like we kind of gave away a few tenths on some of our landings,” Dockendorf said. “Again, we don’t want to be perfect yet. When it really counts, it’s going to be at national championships. So for us to come out here and compete and do as well as we did, I think that those landings will continue to take care of themselves as we continue on.”

Utah responds with strength

Makenna Smith took the first fall of her career on Saturday.

The junior was attempting to finish her acro series before slipping off the beam and onto the ground.

Weeks ago, Smith’s mistake would have trickled down into the rest of Utah’s lineup. That didn’t happen on Saturday.

McCallum followed up with a 9.925. Then Neff and Ana Padurariu finished the event with a pair of 9.95s.

“Earlier this year, when we had a mistake, we didn’t come back nearly as strong as we did today,” Dockendorf said. “For all three of them sitting here — Avery, Grace and Ana to kind of just focus on what their job was and not let Makenna’s routine affect their own performance really just showed the strength of these three women sitting here.”

“I was a bit nervous before,” Neff said. “I just kind of relied on my confidence, and that I knew what I was doing. My gymnastics is not Makenna’s gymnastics, so I just aimed to do what I know how to do, do what I do in the gym and do what I do at practice.”

If a mistake like Smith’s were to occur during regionals the Red Rocks are confident that they’d be able to respond like they did tonight.

“[We are] gaining more confidence each week and just tuning out those little things, I feel like it’s slowly starting to come together, which is good,” Dockendorf said.

What’s Next?

Utah will host the NCAA Regionals from April 2-5 at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

A package of bills that one state senator described as “a hodgepodge of different tweaks to policy” made it through Utah’s Legislature with hours to spare.

All this year’s changes to housing policy, from parking rules to density allowances and short-term rental enforcement, move the state in the right direction as it seeks to address a deep lack of supply that’s led to inflated housing prices, said Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan.

Fillmore and Rep. Stephen Whyte, R-Mapleton co-chair the Commission on Housing Affordability and sponsored most of the bills geared at making it easier to build homes in Utah. Many of those bills were proposals from the commission, which brings together developers, local government officials and others with stake in the housing space to reach a consensus on policy changes.

“In totality, I think we’ll make some good progress,” said Fillmore, a member of Senate leadership, during a media availability in the final days of the session. “There is demand for housing at the first rung of the economic ladder, and the government is constraining supply there.”

Lawmakers need to keep working to “lessen government interference in that market so that demand can increase to reach supply,” he said.

Democrats are “just happy to see any type of movement,” said Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, even though they’d like to see more.

Laurie Goodman, a fellow with policy think tank Urban Institute’s housing finance policy center, said it sounds like lawmakers are trying to address the “one thing after another after another” that has led to Utah having some of the highest housing costs in the country.

“The reason housing costs are so high is because we don’t have supply,” she said. “But there’s no single reason for the lack of supply.”

That means “every little thing helps incrementally,” Goodman said.

She pointed to California, where bills passed each legislative session since 2016 have led to a massive increase in accessory dwelling units — or separate housing units that share a lot with a main residence — from around 1,000 permitted to more than 28,000 in 2023.

Those bills addressed barriers to ADU construction, from requirements on parking and lot size to Homeowner Associations prohibiting them, she said, “making a deliberate effort to break down additional obstacles as they emerge.”

“You just sort of have to attack things one by one by one,” Goodman said.

Here are the bills lawmakers passed that aim to address Utah’s housing crisis, sponsored exclusively by Republicans, and legislation that was left behind, most of which were sponsored by Democrats.

Bills that passed

Density for affordability, ownership

HB37 has several provisions related to housing, including a new ability for local governments to allow developers to build more densely in exchange for owner occupancy and affordable units.

Specifically, it lets cities, towns and counties allow denser single-family neighborhoods in exchange for requirements like:

The bill, if signed by Gov. Spencer Cox, also would let local governments approve denser multi-family developments in exchange for similar requirements.

Short-term rental regulation

HB256 will make it easier for officials to enforce local rules about short-term rentals in their communities.

If Cox signs the bill, cities, towns and counties that regulate short-term rentals to use a listing on a website like Airbnb or Vrbo to prove violation of local rules as long as officials have other information proving the property is a short-term rental.

Research from 2024 found short-term rentals of entire homes are eating into the existing housing supply in Utah’s centers of tourism.

Cities can use Utah Homes Investment Program funds

HB360 seeks to create more homeownership by allowing the state’s biggest cities to create revolving loan funds to rehabilitate and sell single-family homes through the Utah Homes Investment Program.

The bill, if signed, will allow cities with at least 65,000 people to enter loan agreements with financial institutions or the Utah Housing Corporation for up to $10 million.

Cities would then use those funds to buy, rehabilitate and sell homes. The sale would include a deed restriction that homes remain owner-occupied for at least five years.

Based on American Community Survey estimates for 2023, it would apply to around 15 cities, with all of those but St. George located on the Wasatch Front.

Ogden and Salt Lake City already have similar programs, said Steve Waldrip, who serves as the governor’s senior adviser for housing strategy. The bill includes a provision that would let them expand those programs.

Waldrip called the bill a “low-cost way for the state to help cities improve their communities.”

Fillmore, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, described it as “a consensus bill that seeks to increase the supply of new, affordable owner-occupied housing.”

The bill also allows schools and the Utah Department of Transportation to sell surplus land for below market value if the sale is related to housing affordability and extend or repeal ending dates for programs.

Reducing government regulation

At 7,611 lines, HB368 took a year of work to get to a point where it would reduce government regulations to improve processes while not jeopardizing the health and safety of residents, Whyte said.

The bill — which aims to reduce bureaucracy, streamline approval processes and let the free market produce innovative approaches — clarifies existing land use law and codifies best practices, the representative said, but doesn’t create any new policies.

One example of a fix is that there were two different definitions of the term “identical plans,” he said, and that created a lot of challenges over the years.

Cameron Diehl, executive director of the Utah League of Cities and Towns, described it as meat and potatoes – substantive and good for you but not very glamorous.

Loosening parking requirements

SB181, if signed into law, will prevent some cities and counties from requiring garages with affordably priced, single-family homes

It also will define what qualifies as a parking space and make it so local governments can’t require spaces to be larger than certain dimensions. It will not stop local governments from requiring on-site parking.

“It really can be a way to bring the price of a first home down on a small lot,” Fillmore, who sponsored the bill, said of removing the garage requirement.

Construction material costs have skyrocketed in recent years, with the price for some materials growing by more than 70% between 2020 and 2024, according to the National Association of Home Builders, meaning garageless homes are less expensive to build — and buy.

SB181 will only apply to owner-occupied homes that are affordably priced, setting a ceiling of 80% of the median home price in any given county and only applies to the state’s 90 largest cities and Box Elder, Cache, Iron, Salt Lake, Summit, Tooele, Utah, Washington and Weber counties.

Inviting condo construction

Condo construction keeps declining in Utah, but lawmakers are hoping SB201 will turn that around.

The bill mostly focuses on regulating homeowner associations. But if signed by Cox it also will require condo owners to give developers written notice describing a defective design or construction flaw and requesting the developers fix the problem before they could sue.

The developers then would have nine months to complete repairs. If they didn’t, owners could sue — but only after the nine months have passed.

Claims are common on new buildings and have a “chilling effect on a sponsor’s willingness to build for owner-occupants,” according to the Urban Institute. That occurs even though many people buying their first home now turn to condos and town homes.

Goodman of the Urban Institute said condo construction has been falling for years – long before affordability cropped to the forefront. That heavily reflects that it’s harder to finance condos, she said, and the frequency of condo defect litigation.

Giving developers time to fix any problems will help, she said, even though it isn’t a silver bullet. The bill will help with the margins, Goodman said, but doesn’t solve the problem or answer the question of whether a claimed defect needs fixing.

Other legislative actions

Lawmakers also gave the green light to other legislation:

Bills that didn’t make it through

Several other bills focused on housing either didn’t make it out of committee or never got a hearing.

Many were authored by Democrats, including a bill that looked to bolster the Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund with revenue from liquor sales and bills intended to help renters by requiring 60-day notice for a rent increase and making it optional for judges to triple damages in awards to landlords in eviction cases.

A resolution to study price fixing in rental housing and recommend the Utah attorney general join a related lawsuit also died in committee.

Another pair of bills targeted investor ownership of single-family homes.

Investors have been buying more single-family homes and often buy cheaper homes available on the market, according to a study from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

HB149, sponsored by Republican Rep. Tyler Clancy of Provo, would have added language prohibiting institutional investors like hedge funds from buying homes, but it never received a hearing.

Rep. Gay Lynn Bennion, D-Cottonwood Heights, sponsored HB151, which would have required people purchasing a home within the first month after listing to sign a legal document saying they intend to live in the house.

The bill had a big caveat. Owners could claim an exigent circumstance and avoid the process, and the bill did not give a strict definition of what would qualify.

Bennion said the point was to raise the importance of homeownership to buyers’ and sellers’ conscience.

HB88 also failed to make it through a committee. Sponsored by Rep. Ray Ward, R-Bountiful, it would have required some cities to allow accessory dwelling units on lots with detached, single-family homes and modular units – homes built off-site and transported to a location – in residential zones.

Megan Banta is The Salt Lake Tribune’s data enterprise reporter, a philanthropically supported position. The Tribune retains control over all editorial decisions.

SALT LAKE CITY — It didn’t take long for the Lightning to realize Saturday that their first game in Utah would be a challenge, as the Delta Center lived up to its billing as one of the loudest arenas in pro sports.

With its booming sound system and impassioned fans that seem to be right on top of the action, it’s no wonder it was known as one of the toughest places to play in the NBA for so many years.

In the Utah Hockey Club’s first season after relocating from Arizona, it’s been an amazing atmosphere. Combine that with a hungry young team intent on crashing the NHL playoffs, and it made for a tough task for the Lightning.

Tampa Bay’s 6-4 loss left it impressed with its opponent and the atmosphere, but also aware it didn’t play well enough to win.

“We’re like a yo-yo right now,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “Good game, tough one, good game, tough one. Listen, I’m not taking anything from that team. They’re going to be a lot to handle. Hockey in Utah is here to stay. The environment was exceptional. … And they’re going to be an exciting team in the years ahead.”

Inside the Lightning dressing room, players talked about Utah’s speed. But Cooper said it was more that his team lacked the necessary pace to win.

“I think they play with great energy,” Cooper said. “I think this atmosphere is amazing, that they’re fueled by their fans. So, there’s so many good things to like about hockey in Utah in general, and they have a good young team. But I can’t sit here and say speed was a factor other than the fact that maybe we played really slow.”

With Florida and Toronto losing Saturday, Tampa Bay (40-24-5) missed an opportunity to move into first place in the Atlantic Division by percentage points. The Panthers and Maple Leafs have two more points than the Lightning, but Tampa Bay has a game in hand on both.

Former Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev skated a team-high 22:43 and was plus-3 for Utah in his first game since being traded to Utah in June.

Quick-response goals hurt

There’s nothing that kills momentum like scoring a goal and then giving one up on the next shift. The Lightning did that twice Saturday.

Just over three minutes after the Lightning successfully challenged an apparent Utah goal for a missed stoppage in play, Anthony Cirelli tied the score 2-2 at 5:22 of the second period. He scored from between the hash marks off a feed from Brandon Hagel.

But Alex Kerfoot scored just 36 seconds later after Utah spread out the Lightning in the defensive zone. Kerfoot was left alone at the back post, where Kevin Stenlund placed a puck from the left circle for an easy tip-in.

“You’re right back to where you were,” said Lightning center Brayden Point, who scored two goals but was on the ice for the Kerfoot goal. “And we’ve got to battle through that. That’s going to happen in games. That next shift is really important. And they came out hungrier on that next one than we did.”

Jake Guentzel tied the game back up with 2:37 left in the period, tipping in a Nick Perbix shot. But Utah scored against Cirelli’s line just 30 seconds later, as Logan Cooley tipped in John Marino’s shot from the right point.

“It’s terrible,” Cooper said. “We’re putting our guys out there that you’re depending on for that not to happen, and they’re giving them up. That definitely popped our balloon a little bit.”

Teammates don’t help Halverson

When Jonas Johansson, who was slated to start Saturday, had to leave the team to handle a family matter, the Lightning summoned goaltender Brandon Halverson from AHL Syracuse to make hit first NHL start.

The situation would have been overwhelming for any player, as Halverson arrived in Salt Lake City early Saturday morning for a 3 p.m. Mountain start after flying on multiple planes.

Halverson allowed five goals, all at even strength, on 24 shots. It was only his second NHL appearance and first since he played 12:33 for the Rangers in relief of Henrik Lundqvist on Feb. 17, 2018.

“That game was not on him at all,” Cooper said. “He gave us everything he had. It was definitely tough travel for him. … The tough part is we didn’t give well enough in front of him, and you’re playing a hungry team that’s trying to battle for a playoff spot. So, if you’re not going to match that intensity, you’ve got no chance. We definitely didn’t match that intensity.”

On the game’s first goal, Josh Doan was left wide open just outside the crease between two Lightning skaters. The puck was gift-wrapped on a behind-the-net feed from Jack McBain that Halverson never saw.

Later in the first, Halverson made a suburb save on Michael Kesselring on a breakaway and kicked the puck away with his left pad. But Logan Cooley got a step on Nick Paul and put in the rebound.

After Cooley’s second goal gave Utah a 4-3 lead late in the second, the Lightning allowed straight three shots on net early in the third. The third shot found the back of the net, after Nick Schmaltz beat Victor Hedman to the puck.

“They’re a really talented team, and they’ve got a lot of speed, and I think they were just faster than us (Saturday),” Point said. “They won a lot of pucks, they made a lot of plays around us, and our structure wasn’t good enough to to kind of compete with their skill level.”

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