Utah
How Kimball Kjar co-founded Utah Warriors Rugby – Utah Business
The Founder Series is a column by and about Utah founders and how they got to where they are today. Click here to read past articles in the series.
I didn’t wake up one day and say to myself, “I’d like to start a professional rugby team.” In fact, I was more than happy doing what I was doing at the time. But the thing that attracted me to this business was the impact sports has on communities—especially for kids.
Community identities are built and sustained by sports. Everyone knows what it means to be a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, and everyone knows what the Lakers mean to the city of Los Angeles. Rivalries between Brigham Young University (BYU) and the University of Utah are something that can literally divide families along blue or red lines.
This type of passion is something very few businesses can replicate. You don’t see downtown parades celebrating Amazon’s annual earnings reports, even if they beat all industry expectations, do you? Nor do you often see adults and children wearing hoodies, hats or jackets with the logos of General Electric or Berkshire Hathaway. The power of sports teams is unrivaled in the level of impact that they can have on individuals, families, businesses—and, above all—our youth.
A game of hooligans played by gentlemen
Sports have always been a part of my life. Like most kids raised in Utah in the ‘80s, soccer, basketball, wrestling, football and other outdoor sports like skiing or snowboarding were a big part of everything I did.
But it was a chance interaction with my college roommate as a freshman that led me to take up the sport of rugby after I decided—at the last minute—that I didn’t want to follow through with the opportunity to wrestle for BYU. His brothers had all played rugby at the university, and when he said, “You should go and try out,” my response was, “Sure, why not.”
I may not have known all of the rules that freshman year, but my wrestling fitness carried me, and I was able to make the team. Following my freshman year, a mission call for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints took me to Brisbane, Australia, where my passion for the game of rugby deepened. This eventually led to a call-up with the USA National Rugby Team, the USA Eagles, after returning from my mission.
Through my six-year Eagles career, I saw what rugby meant to communities and what the sport did for kids in places like South Africa, New Zealand, France, England, Ireland and other countries. Rugby is one of the world’s largest sports, and despite its perceived brutality, it supports one of the world’s most inclusive cultures for all ability levels and walks of life. It also is led by a deep sense of respect and integrity that is unrivaled by any other top-tier professional or international sport. In fact, Winston Churchill once called rugby a “game of hooligans played by gentlemen.”
For example, after every professional and international match, opposing rugby teams—along with their staff and key supporters—get together for an after-match meal that sees each team’s captain share congratulatory comments, often offering a man-of-the-match gift to the opponent. Can you imagine if LeBron James and James Harden appeared at an after-game social and were asked to “congratulate” each other and their opposing teammates? It’s unthinkable in today’s culture of sports celebrity.
Rugby evokes something truly powerful in people that I believe is exactly what society needs. That’s why the Utah Warriors core values, as represented by the four stripes on each jersey, are community, family, tradition, and respect.
Building a league that can endure
After my time with the Eagles, I went into coaching and supporting the administrative aspect of the game of rugby at the local and national levels. This was essentially volunteer work while I built a professional career and grew a variety of businesses with some amazing business partners.
In 2015, one of these businesses was in the talent acquisition and executive search industry within the high-tech sector. We had worked with numerous Bay Area and Utah-based early and late-stage tech companies and were building a decent business within a highly competitive industry.
Around the same time, domestic and international momentum for a professional rugby competition in the United States was picking up. The first attempt at such a competition was called PRO, which stood for “Professional Rugby Organization.”
In the end, PRO lasted just one season in 2016. A window of opportunity arose after that failure, which led to the emergence of a different competition. Because I was involved in the rugby community, I was looped into various groups who wanted to help professionalize rugby in the States.
Utah
Man arrested in Wyoming wanted for rape, domestic violence in Utah
RAWLINS, Wyoming (KUTV) — A man wanted for alleged rape and domestic violence in Utah was arrested in Wyoming.
He is “behind bars thanks to the work of eagle-eyed troopers with the Wyoming Highway Patrol,” WHP said on social media.
Troopers were alerted to a Be On The Look Out (BOLO) call at approximately 7 a.m. on Thursday for a suspect in a white Chrysler Seabreeze.
MORE | Crime
Troopers in Rawlins, Wyoming, spotted the vehicle just after 8:30 a.m.
The suspect was arrested without incident and transported to the Carbon County Jail.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
_____
Utah
Hill AFB ends Starbase program that sparked STEM interest among Utah students
CLEARFIELD — A program empowering northern Utah children to discover the possibilities of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics will end after more than a decade of operation.
This week, Hill Air Force Base announced that it is ending its sponsorship of the Starbase program.
Starbase, a U.S. Department of Defense program, is offered throughout the country to provide hands-on learning experiences to young students — primarily fifth graders, according to a description on the curriculum’s website.
Starbase at Hill Air Force Base opened in 2011, and over the past 15 years, has ignited early STEM interest in more than 25,000 students in Davis and Weber counties.
Heather Ingle, a mother of two daughters — 14 and 11 — who have been in the program, said she was sad to hear that Starbase will no longer be offered at the northern Utah base.
“Just the thought of other kids not being able to have that guaranteed program, I think it’s sad,” she said.
Ingle’s oldest daughter participated in the weeklong Starbase program in Montana while their family was stationed in the Great Falls area. More recently, her 11-year-old daughter participated in it at Hill Air Force Base while the family has been stationed in Utah.
She said her 14-year-old was “strongly influenced” through the exploration of hands-on science, technology, engineering and mathematics experience and has shifted her career goals around based on what she learned.
Her younger daughter, on the other hand, wasn’t initially as interested in it.
“And then the first day happened, she came home and she loved it, and totally denied that she didn’t want to go that day,” Ingle told KSL. “She really enjoyed it — she likes to learn new things.”
A Hill Air Force Base press release issued Tuesday didn’t go into specifics about why they’re concluding the program, but it did allude to a funding issue.
“Today, northern Utah benefits from a robust network of STEM programs, many of which were inspired or accelerated by Starbase’s early success. This expansion, combined with changes in national program funding, marks a natural moment for transition. Concluding the program allows Hill AFB to realign resources to meet the growing demands of its core national security mission, confident that the community is well supported by a diverse and vibrant STEM landscape,” the base said.
Starbase’s final days at Hill Air Force Base raised a question for Ingle regarding the program’s future elsewhere, as their family will soon be relocating back to Montana and hopes their youngest child has an opportunity to experience it.
“I have a 5-year-old as well, and I really am hoping that the Starbase program in general continues,” she said.
A spokesperson for Hill Air Force Base said the program there will finish out the remainder of the school year and that it’s still active “at some other bases currently.”
Northern Utah benefits from a robust network of STEM programs, many of which were inspired or accelerated by Starbase’s early success.
–Hill Air Force Base
The base said it’s thankful to the many people who helped make Starbase a cornerstone in local STEM education.
“The base remains deeply committed to community partnership and will continue supporting educational outreach that inspires the next generation of innovators, leaders and problem‑solvers,” the base said.
For Ingle, she’s grateful for the opportunities her daughters have had at Starbase and for how it showed them a career they, too, can one day pursue.
“Outside of the doctor, lawyer, cop, firefighter — you know, it opens their eyes into so many different careers and specialties out there that you can touch, and I love that exposure,” she said.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
Utah
Special Olympics torch run reaches Utah Capitol – KSLNewsRadio
SALT LAKE CITY — The “Flame of Hope” made its way to the Utah State Capitol Wednesday morning as Special Olympics athletes and law enforcement came together for the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run.
The event is part of a 45-year tradition that raises awareness and support for Special Olympics athletes while strengthening the partnership between law enforcement and the community.
Paralympians ski in shorts and T-shirts, and some ask: Shouldn’t these Games be earlier?
“Law enforcement across the country teams up with Special Olympics chapters throughout the country and we do a torch run which is a fundraiser,” said Bill Newell, Law Enforcement Torch Run Council Chairman.
Organizers say the goal goes beyond fundraising — it’s about visibility and recognition for athletes across Utah.
“We want them to be recognized. We want the community to see these athletes and what tremendous people they are and what great contributions they make,” Newell said.
For athletes, the Torch Run is also a chance to be seen and celebrated for their accomplishments.
“I would like to thank the First Lady, Commissioner Mason, Chief Reed, Special Olympics Utah and everyone who joined us today. Thank you for being here. Because of you, athletes like me are seen, heard and celebrated,” said Special Olympics athlete Josh Roberts.
The Torch Run will continue across Utah throughout the month, leading up to the Special Olympics Utah Summer Games in Cedar City on May 28.
“Join us in Cedar City for the Special Olympics Utah Summer Games. Come cheer, come celebrate and be a part of something very special. It’ll be the best thing you’ll do all summer,” Roberts said.
Law enforcement agencies across the state will continue participating alongside Special Olympics athletes as the Torch Run moves from community to community ahead of the final leg in Cedar City.
-
Utah1 minute agoMan arrested in Wyoming wanted for rape, domestic violence in Utah
-
Vermont7 minutes ago
VT Lottery Gimme 5, Pick 3 results for May 7, 2026
-
Virginia13 minutes agoVirginia traveler returns from cruise hit by hantavirus outbreak
-
Washington19 minutes agoWashington looking for solutions to looming water challenges | Cascadia Daily News
-
Wisconsin25 minutes agoWisconsin universities and schools impacted by Canvas data breach
-
West Virginia31 minutes ago
West Virginia Lottery results: See winning numbers for Daily 3, Daily 4 on May 7, 2026
-
Wyoming37 minutes agoWyoming wildlife managers detect chronic wasting disease on Pinedale-area feedground
-
Crypto43 minutes agoState issues cease-and-desist to halt suspected crypto pyramid scheme in Hawaii