Utah
He's an Arizona native, but former U.S. Ambassador Jeff Flake's Utah ties run deep
Jeff Flake is an Arizona native, born in the small community of Snowflake, and whose roots in the Grand Canyon State can be traced back to his great-great grandfather who helped found the town in the 1870s that, in part, bears the family name.
Flake would go on to represent his home state as a Republican member of Arizona’s delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives for six terms followed by a one term as a U.S. Senator. Later, he would accept an appointment by President Joe Biden to serve as the U.S. ambassador to Turkey.
But Flake’s myriad and long-running ties to Utah, decades of public service and deep international bonafides make one of his latest endeavors — taking on the post of board chair for World Trade Center Utah — feel like a fait accompli.
Flake said initial conversations about the position were posed during separate visits by WTC Utah executives, including current president and CEO Jonathan Freedman and Freedman’s predecessor Miles Hansen, while Flake was still serving his diplomatic mission in Turkey, which concluded earlier this month.
Then, during a trip back to the states over last year’s holiday break, Flake met with Freedman and former Utah governor and three-time U.S. ambassador Jon Huntsman Jr., who was serving as WTC Utah’s board chair at the time. While Flake initially balked at the idea, he said last winter’s pitch by Freedman and Huntsman was a clincher.
“We were back home from Turkey for Christmas, spent some time in Utah and went to meet Jonathan and Jon and they pitched the idea,” Flake said. “These are guys that are tough to say no to.”
But while the job offer was recent, the work and mission of WTC Utah had long been on Flake’s radar, thanks in part to his friendship with organization co-founder and former WTC Utah president and CEO Lew Cramer, who Flake met during his Beltway days. Huntsman recruited Cramer, an international business consultant and former U.S. Department of Commerce official, to help found WTC Utah in 2006. Adding to the network of connections, the Flake and Huntsman families are longtime friends as is Zions Bank veteran Scott Anderson, who was a founding member of WTC Utah and served as board chair for over a decade.
Huntsman, who over his career has served as U.S. ambassador to Singapore, China and Russia, said Flake’s combination of political and diplomatic experience made him the perfect candidate to head WTC Utah’s board.
“Having served in both the U.S. Senate and as ambassador to Türkiye, Jeff Flake brings unparalleled expertise in global policy and economic diplomacy,” Huntsman said in a statement. “His deep understanding of international relations and proven ability to foster cross-border partnerships will be critical as we continue to position Utah as a leader in global commerce.”
World Trade Center Utah is a private, nonprofit organization that works to accelerate growth for Utah companies through global networks, programs and services. Its stated mission is to “make Utah the crossroads of the world, one business at a time.”
Flake said his experience as a diplomat heightened his appreciation of the importance of international partnerships. He touted U.S. Commercial Services, a federal agency previously headed by Cramer, that carries out work similar to WTC Utah, but on a national scale.
“This is an agency that’s championing U.S. businesses abroad … advocating for relationships and connections all over the world,” Flake said.
Flake earned undergraduate and graduate degrees at BYU, which is also where he met his future wife, Cheryl. Their time in Utah also seeded their love of the state. All five of their children have attended the school and the family has owned a home in Provo for nearly two decades. Flake said they plan to split time between Utah and Arizona, where Flake may also be teaching part time at Arizona State University.
Flake is an investor in and consultant for multiple Utah-based businesses and has strong ties to the state’s tech sector.
In 2019, Flake made his fourth “Survivor” style trip to deserted islands in the Marshall chain with a group of executive’s from Utah tech innovation company, Podium.
Flake’s first was a solo foray in 2009 when he spent seven days and seven nights alone on tiny and uninhabited Jabonwod Island in what he called “an exceptional experience,” even though it included fending off sharks as he spear-fished. He would go on to take three more trips, one with his teenage sons in 2013, in 2014, when he made it a duo with Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, and the later trip with the Podium team.
The sojourn with Heinrich was intended to show that the growing political divide could indeed be bridged.
“We wanted to prove that Republicans and Democrats could get along,” Flake said in a 2019 interview. “I think we were both just getting disgusted with the partisan divide and … an environment in which we couldn’t even have lunch together.”
For the 2019 expedition, Flake, Podium founder and CEO Eric Rea and five other company leaders tested their collective mettle on Biggarenn Island without food or water and only a small selection of basic tools, hammocks and a desalinator in a test of tenacity and collaboration, according to Flake.
Flake said the series of survival adventures was inspired by a childhood book.
“This all started way back when I was a kid,” Flake said. “Growing up on a dry dusty ranch in Snowflake, I read a sailing book called ‘Dove’ about a kid that circumnavigated the world.
“I read more sailing books and survival stories and just always wondered if I were marooned on a deserted island, could I survive?”
SANDY — Vibes were as high as the temperature in some cases as thousands gathered at Real Salt Lake’s home stadium to cheer on the United States’ 2-0 win over Australia in the second match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Fernando Sanchez took it all in, between belts of his drum standing in front of more than 4,000 people at the Sandy stadium.
“I was born and raised in Mexico City,” said Sanchez, who hosts a podcast called the “Fercho Show” from his current home in Utah. “But I’m from the U.S. now.”
Four years after scoring just two goals in three group games before a 3-1 exit to the Netherlands in the Round of 16, the United States is flying under Mauricio Pochettino, exciting fans across the country — from the sellout crowd at 69,000-seat Lumen Field in Seattle to watch parties around the world, including Friday in Sandy.
“The vibe is amazing,” Sanchez told KSL.com. “You can see all of the people who came out, everybody is happy because this World Cup means so much for Utah, for everybody. It’s the best of the best from each country fighting on the field. That’s what it feels like, and it’s so good to be part of this game.”
Less than 24 hours after some 9,200 fans showed up at America First Field for Mexico’s 1-0 win over South Korea, Real Salt Lake employees braced to host as many as 6,000 American fans who submitted an RSVP to spend a portion of the Juneteenth holiday in 94-degree weather.
In-game hydration breaks became as much of a necessity for fans as the players in Seattle, with hundreds flooding the open hydration stations, concessions area, and a few food trucks at each “quarter break” installed by FIFA for the first time at a men’s World Cup.
While final attendance dropped to around 4,500 fans in Sandy, the spirits remained high as Folarin Balogun, who scored two goals in a 4-1 win over Paraguay in the World Cup opener, forced the opening goal off Australia’s Cameron Burgess.
Alex Freeman, the son of former Super Bowl champion Antonio Freeman who at 21 is the youngest player on the roster, doubled the advantage in the 43rd minute off a set piece that was initially ruled offside.
But after a lengthy video review where fans refused to sit down, pandemonium ensued as the U.S. fans in Sandy recognized their national team was moments away from clinching passage out of the group in the first men’s World Cup on home soil since 1994.
It’s the first time the United States men’s national team has won consecutive games at a World Cup tournament since 1930.
Yet it’s not just the wins, but how the Yanks are winning that has Americans excited about a sport that has made significant strides domestically in three decades since the founding of Major League Soccer.
The U.S. is winning with an exciting brand of attacking soccer led by Balogun, who grew up in England but chose to represent the country of his birth over his parents’ native Nigeria in 2023, and Christian Pulisic, the AC Milan winger with 33 goals in 87 international appearances from Pennsylvania who did not play Friday due to a calf injury.
“There’s a lot of American pride,” said St. George youth soccer player Tate Hurst, who showed up to the watch party with a half-dozen club teammates at Fire SC during Western Presidents Cup regional this weekend. “The American dream.”
Sunburn, heat and hydration aside, the moment created a memory for thousands of soccer fans and casuals alike. That included RSL season ticket holders, waiting until the end of the month-long international break for the club’s MLS season to resume in July.
But for one afternoon — and perhaps another, as the club plans to host a similar watch party next Thursday when the United States hosts Türkiye in Los Angeles (8 p.m. MT, FS1) — each soccer fan was pulling for the same team.
Except, perhaps, for the dozen or so Australia fans in the corner of the east lawn who represented their own Socceroos for the entire 90 minutes.
“Soccer brings everybody together,” one RSL staff member said over the public-address system as fans headed for the parking lot while James Brown’s “Living in America” blasted over the sound system after the full-time whistle. “That’s what today was all about.”
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah athletics is making a notable change to the Huntsman Center gameday setup, but the move is about more than where the team sits.
The Runnin’ Utes are moving the team bench from the east side of the Jon M. Huntsman Center to the west side, returning the bench to the side it occupied during the Rick Majerus era. The change will also move the MUSS and band from the west side to the east side.
The shift is part of a larger effort by Utah Athletics to improve the student-section experience, create a more consistent setup inside the Huntsman Center and better connect the arena to the university’s growing College Town Magic initiative.
Enhancing The MUSS And Fan Experience
Nowlin said the primary motivation behind the change is improving the MUSS and the overall fan experience.
“The reason we’re doing this is we want to enhance the MUSS,” Utah’s Deputy Athletics Director & Chief Revenue Officer, Patrick Nowlin said. “As an ongoing effort, we’ve been working on for the past two years, how do we enhance the fan experience?”
One issue Utah identified was that the MUSS had been located in different areas for different events. Moving the student section and band to the east side gives the department a more consistent location to build around.
“We wanted to create a better fan experience,” Nowlin said. “We wanted to be able to have one spot that we can build on, which means we can brand. We can enhance everything about it.”
The move also ties directly into College Town Magic. Nowlin said the area around the Huntsman Center will include more than 2,900 total beds, including more than 1,400 new beds, giving students a direct path from nearby housing to the student-section entrance.
“There’s over 2,900 new beds that are right there, which will be right at the branded entrance, right where the student section is,” Nowlin said. “They don’t have to go far at all. So it’s just a walk straight down from the dorm, right in the door.”
And according to Utah’s Patrick Nowlin, the move is not limited to men’s basketball.
“It’s not just men’s basketball. It’s all Huntsman Center events,” Nowlin said.
A Nod To Utah Basketball History
While the move is primarily about fan experience, there is also a clear basketball-history component.
The west-side bench location is where Utah sat during the Majerus era, when the Runnin’ Utes were one of the top programs in the country and the Huntsman Center had a different level of edge. Alex Jensen was part of that era as a player, and now, as Utah’s head coach, the move reconnects the current program with one of its most successful periods.
Nowlin said the historical connection was part of the conversation, even if it was not solely Jensen’s decision.
“Yeah, it’s a nod to history,” Nowlin said. “I think Alex, him being here, he’s a steward of the program. There’s a lot of history to having it on that side.”
Still, Nowlin made clear the change was not simply pushed through by Jensen.
“It wasn’t a push from him,” Nowlin said. “It was a concerted effort from everybody to where, how do we create an area that the MUSS can have, but also how do we lean into our history, but still move forward in a way that we can honor that, but create an unbelievable environment.”
That is the heart of the move. Utah is trying to bring back a piece of its basketball identity while also reworking the building for the future.
How Fans Will Be Impacted
The change will affect some season-ticket holders, donors and fans seated near the current bench, MUSS and band areas, but Utah tried to limit the disruption.
Nowlin said the department spent months working through the seating impact and expects fewer than 200 accounts to be directly affected. Those accounts are in sections T, U and V.
“This wasn’t something that just came about,” Nowlin said. “We’ve been working on this for a few months now, and we wanted to find a way that we could minimize the accounts that were directly impacted, but still create the fan experience change we were after.”
Utah’s plan is to work individually with affected fans and mirror their seat location as closely as possible on the other end of the court.
“If you’re on one end and now you’re going on the other end, we will work with you to get you in the seat that is similar to where you were and allow you to have the same experience you’ve had, just on the other end of the court,” Nowlin said.
Utah will also hold a virtual seat-selection process from July 7-17, allowing fans who want to move to choose from available options.
“We’re going to take care of everybody, but we’re also going to allow people the choice and the freedom to be able to make the changes they want to make,” Nowlin said. “We want to create every opportunity we can to give our fans opportunities to choose their own experience.”
Not Part Of The Huntsman Renovation
The bench and MUSS move is not directly tied to the larger Huntsman Center renovation discussions. Nowlin said the change is instead connected to College Town Magic and Utah’s effort to improve the student and fan experience inside the building.
“It does not have to do with the renovation, but it does have to do with College Town Magic,” Nowlin said.
The move could create some new seating and premium opportunities, particularly around courtside and floor seating. Nowlin said Utah is still evaluating those possibilities.
“By doing this, this will create additional opportunities for us on courtside and floor,” Nowlin said. “We’re also looking to how do we enhance our premium experience across the board. So this is a step in a process that will continue.”
The Bottom Line
Utah’s bench move is not just a nostalgic callback to the Rick Majerus era, and it is not just a seating chart adjustment. It is part of a broader effort to reshape the Huntsman Center experience.
The team bench is moving back to the west side, where Utah sat during some of the program’s most successful years. The MUSS and band are moving to the east side, where Utah believes it can build a stronger, more consistent student-section identity tied to College Town Magic.
For Utah Athletics, it is another step toward rethinking how the Huntsman Center looks, sounds and feels on game day. For Jensen, the move reconnects the program to its winning past.
The symbolism will matter to longtime Utah basketball fans. The logistics will matter to students, band members and season-ticket holders. But the larger goal is simple: make the building feel more intentional, more connected and more like home again.
Steve Bartle is the Utah insider for KSL Sports. He hosts The Utah Blockcast (SUBSCRIBE) and appears on KSL Sports Zone to break down the Utes. You can follow him on X for the latest Utah updates and game analysis.
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SALT LAKE CITY – The San Juan County assessor has resigned partway through his second term, following a recommendation that he be removed from office.
Rick Meyer’s resignation became effective on Monday, according to San Juan County Commissioner Lori Maughan. A copy of Meyer’s resignation letter was not immediately available.
This comes after the Utah State Tax Commission determined that Meyer had failed to follow the law and was “unfit to perform his duties.” In a letter last week to San Juan County commissioners, the tax commission recommended “the immediate removal of the San Juan County assessor from office to protect the public interest and restore the integrity of the property tax system in San Juan County.”
Among other things, Meyer was accused of failing to tax agricultural buildings, misclassifying property, and giving property tax exemptions to certain parcels, including vacant land, when he shouldn’t have.
The recommendation to remove Meyer from office was the first under a recent state law giving the Utah State Tax Commission more power to take corrective action against county assessors who aren’t doing their jobs properly. Assessors play a major role in the property tax process by determining the value of property throughout their counties.
Yet, it was unclear whether the San Juan County Commission could have actually removed Meyer from office had he not stepped down.
With Meyer’s resignation, the San Juan County Assessor’s Office has just one employee left. Deputy assessor Nathan Pitts will run the office until the San Juan County Republican Party recommends a replacement and the County Commission appoints one.
“It’s me holding down the fort here,” Pitts told KSL on Thursday, noting that he has spoken with the Utah Association of Counties and the state tax commission about plans for this interim period. “Everybody’s on board to assist and try to make it the best as we can, (but) I’ve definitely got my work cut out for me.”
Pitts said he does not plan to run for county assessor to replace his old boss.
“That is not my intention at all,” he said. “I’m quite content as a deputy assessor.”
Meyer was first elected as San Juan County assessor in 2020 and won reelection in 2024. His current term was set to conclude in 2029.
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.
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