This past year could be the start of something big.
Utah scored some major wins in 2024. No, sadly, not the football team. But the state. The Olympics are coming back. An NHL hockey team found a new home. A world leader of a war-torn nation paid Salt Lake City a visit. Another world leader closer to home turned 100 years old.
Overall, the Beehive State enjoyed a good year, though it wasn’t without controversy, such as over the future of beloved Abravanel Hall and ongoing issues from the continued effort to rehabilitate the Great Salt Lake. The state’s elections were spicy as a write-in candidate for governor made waves.
Big plans that would reshape downtown Salt Lake City emerged, and the Salt Lake City Council voted to increase the sales tax to help fund the project. Another project to revitalize the city’s long-neglected west side also continues to move forward with local government support.
Looking back at 2024, Deseret News editors identified some of the most significant Utah stories/issues of the past 12 months. Here’s a list of 10 in no particular order:
Olympics part deux
After more than a decade of bidding to bring the Olympics back, Utah was named the host of the 2034 Winter Games by the International Olympic Committee. The IOC vote was held in Paris ahead of the 2024 Summer Games on July 24, Utah’s Pioneer Day, and came after a presentation by Gov. Spencer Cox, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and other bid leaders about plans for what will add up to a $4 billion event now less than a decade away.
New faces, new places in Congress
Utah will have a new face in the U.S. Senate for the first time in six years since Republican Sen. Mitt Romney decided not to seek a second term. Voters didn’t look far for a replacement, electing GOP Rep. John Curtis to fill the seat alongside three-term Republican Sen. Mike Lee.
Curtis’ move opened up his 3rd Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Former state GOP lawmaker Mike Kennedy emerged as the winner and will join fellow Republican Reps. Blake Moore, Burgess Owens and Celeste Maloy, who won her first full term in office in November.
The puck drops here
Ryan Smith made his desire to bring an NHL hockey team to Utah public in January. In April, the struggling Arizona Coyotes landed in his lap. League commissioner Gary Bettman brokered an unprecedented deal for Ryan and Ashley Smith to buy the team and move it to Utah. The team made its debut amid great enthusiasm among hockey fans who have packed the Delta Center for every game. For now, they’re cheering for the Utah Hockey Club as the club doesn’t have a permanent name or logo. Smith Entertainment Group, with online help from fans, narrowed the list of possible names to Blizzard, Mammoth, Outlaws, Venom, Yeti and Utah Hockey Club.
Extreme makeover
In bringing the NHL team to Utah, Smith Entertainment Group also unveiled a $3 billion plan to revitalize downtown Salt Lake City and remodel the Delta Center to accommodate Utah HC and the Utah Jazz, which it also owns. The Utah Legislature passed a bill to create a downtown sports, entertainment, culture and convention district. Salt Lake City and SEG signed a participation agreement and the City Council approved a sales tax increase that will raise as much as $900 million to cover bonds to help pay for the project. The future of beloved Abravanel Hall and Japantown Street, site of two historic churches, came into question. City, county and company officials have made assurances the home of the Utah Symphony will remain intact and the street will be enhanced.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Utah
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Salt Lake City in July at the invitation of Gov. Spencer Cox and Jonathan Freedman, honorary consul of Ukraine in Utah and president and CEO of World Trade Center Utah. While in the state, Zelenskyy gave a 10-minute speech at the National Governor’s Association meeting at the Grand America. Wearing his trademark olive-green T-shirt and pants, he said, “evil must always, always lose.” Zelenskyy also met with both Democratic and Republican governors attending the conference, Utah elected officials, business executives and leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
President Russell M. Nelson turns 100
No other president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has lived as long as President Russell M. Nelson, who turned 100 years old on Sept. 9. “The length of your life is not as important as the kind of life that you live,” said President Nelson during a broadcast celebrating his century-long life. He said he did not know why God has allowed him to live this long, but he felt himself teeming with gratitude. The program, broadcast from the Conference Center Theater, included his family members, and Latter-day Saint, government, religious and civic leaders. Tributes to President Nelson told the story of a man led by God to love, build bridges and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Gov. Spencer Cox keeps the same address
Republican Gov. Spencer Cox had no trouble winning a second four-year term over Democratic state Rep. Brian King in the solidly red state. Cox touted signing the largest tax cut in Utah history, his efforts leading litigation and legislation to protect children from the harms of social media and positioned himself as a conservative who delivers on his promises. But the election wasn’t without lots of noise from a write-in candidate who lost to Cox in the GOP primary election. State Rep. Phil Lyman continued his campaign, claiming the governor wasn’t a legitimate candidate. He asked the Utah Supreme Court to remove Cox from office as well as toss out the primary results. Lyman’s court challenges were unsuccessful.
West side, best side
In February, the Larry H. Miller Company announced plans to put $3.5 billion into mixed-use development on Salt Lake City’s long-neglected west side, including a potential Major League Baseball stadium. The Utah Legislature passed a bill that would raise the rental car tax to help pay for the ballpark should a big league team come to Utah. The project includes new headquarters for Rocky Mountain Power, green space and trails, a beautified Jordan River, housing and retail. In December, the Salt Lake City Council rezoned 93 acres the Miller Company owns from the Jordan River to Redwood Road and North Temple to I-80. It also signed a development agreement with the company. Work is expected to start in early 2025.
Making the lake great again
The Great Salt Lake continues under duress due to drought and over depletion, despite a good water year. This year, tens of thousands of acre feet of water were dedicated to the ailing lake either through leases or outright donations, including from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the three largest water districts in the Great Salt Lake watershed. The Utah Inland Port Authority approved a $2.5 million grant to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to support the preservation of the lake’s shoreline. Meantime, Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment say planned inland port development threatens to upend much of the work that has been done to save the lake. The U.S. House passed the Great Salt Lake Stewardship Act with bipartisan support.
A doctor in the house
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced in July that BYU would build a medical school on campus. Church leaders said the school would focus on teaching, that it would draw students from around the world and that research would emphasize areas of strategic importance. The school will not be a hospital, but partner with the state’s other medical school at the University of Utah and with Intermountain Health. Dr. Mark Ott was named the medical school’s founding dean in October.
Back in blue, seeing red
Utah and BYU rekindled their longtime rivalry as conference opponents for the first time in more than a decade. Utah joined BYU in the Big 12 after the demise of the Pac-12. The Utes were expected to win the conference, while the Cougars were predicted to finish near the bottom. The opposite played out. BYU finished in a four-way tie for first but missed out on the championship game through a tiebreaker. The 10-2 Cougars will meet Colorado in the Alamo Bowl. Utah finished 5-7 on the season and didn’t go bowling. And BYU topped Utah in a hard-fought rivalry game 22-21.
Contributing: Lisa Riley Roche
