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Opinion: Utah's power grid needs infrastructure improvement — now

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Opinion: Utah's power grid needs infrastructure improvement — now


They say the best time to plant a tree is yesterday. The best time for transmission buildout was 20 years ago.

Transmission buildout is not optional. It is a necessary next step in achieving affordable, clean energy access for all Utahns and updating our power grid. To move energy across the state from city centers in Salt Lake City to more rural areas like Cache Valley or Tooele County, updating our aging infrastructure is a necessity. This necessity is growing daily, as is the need for modernization and build-out in order to meet the Beehive State’s rapidly growing energy demand. Once we’re done playing catch-up, Utah is uniquely positioned to get ahead of the curve and become a national leader in this new frontier of energy abundance.

Many Utahns are well aware of this fact, and Governor Cox is no exception. He has championed Operation Gigawatt, Utah’s new plan for powering its energy future, over the past year. Even if Utah produces all the energy in the world, however, it won’t matter without the means to transport it across the state. Fortunately, the plan has stated “increasing transmission capacity” as one of the four key areas of the initiative. At a time when energy demand is skyrocketing, Operation Gigawatt could not have come along sooner.

With 70% of U.S. transmission lines over 25 years old and nearing the end of their useful life, our nation faces an undeniable need for infrastructure improvement. The time for transmission buildout is now. As one of the fastest-growing states in both economy and population, Utah must keep up with the ever-growing need for power. Our population is spreading out across the state due to city centers filling up fast, and the energy needs follow.

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While the need to produce more clean, sustainable energy will come, the production is not the only problem. The U.S. has nearly 2,600 gigawatts of energy generation trapped in the queue waiting to be connected to the grid and reach Utahns who need it most. This is enough energy to power 2,277,600 homes on average a year, and it is simply not being used. If we focus more effort on transmission buildout, we can utilize the energy that is just sitting there and be prepared to transport newly produced energy more effectively in the future. This means transmission buildout should be at the top of our priority list.

Yet another benefit to building out our transmission is that Utahns’ existing monthly bills will go down, and the ability for local economies to grow will skyrocket. Transmission buildout projects such as the Cross-Tie transmission line — a 214-mile line connecting Utah and Nevada, expected to be in service by 2028 — not only aid us in our effort toward energy dominance, but also provide a wide range of jobs to local communities with otherwise very little economic stimulation. These projects could help small businesses in these rural communities simply by bringing the power and more people into town.

The bottom line is that right now is the time for transmission buildout in Utah, and it should be at the forefront of the conversation surrounding energy grid development. Expanding the grid will benefit all Utahns across the board by lowering monthly bills and reducing reliance on high-cost power sources. Along with cheaper energy, providing more renewable energy access means less price volatility for Utah, and modernizing the grid also creates jobs and economic growth in local communities.

We should have planted our tree 20 years ago, but there is no better time than the present to put transmission buildout at the top of our priority list and begin achieving energy abundance for Utah.



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Utah man dies of injuries sustained in avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon

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Utah man dies of injuries sustained in avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon


A man died after he was caught in an avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon over the weekend.

A spokesperson for the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Thursday that Kevin Williams, 57, had died.

He, along with one other person, was hospitalized in critical condition after Saturday’s avalanche in the backcountry.

MORE | Big Cottonwood Canyon Avalanche

In an interview with 2News earlier this week, one of Williams’ close friends, Nate Burbidge, described him as a loving family man.

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“Kevin’s an amazing guy. He’s always serving, looking for ways that he can connect with others,” Burbidge said.

A GoFundMe was set up to help support Williams’ family.

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911 recordings detail hours leading up to discovery of Utah girl, mother dead in Las Vegas

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911 recordings detail hours leading up to discovery of Utah girl, mother dead in Las Vegas


CONTENT WARNING: This report discusses suicide and includes descriptions of audio from 911 calls that some viewers may find disturbing.

LAS VEGAS — Exclusively obtained 911 recordings detail the hours leading up to the discovery of an 11-year-old Utah girl and her mother dead inside a Las Vegas hotel room in an apparent murder-suicide.

Addi Smith and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, lived in West Jordan and had traveled to Nevada for the JAMZ cheerleading competition.

The calls show a growing sense of urgency from family members and coaches, and several hours passing before relatives learned what happened.

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MORE | Murder-Suicide

Below is a timeline of the key moments, according to dispatch records. All times are Pacific Time.

10:33 a.m. — Call 1

After Addi and her mother failed to appear at the cheerleading competition, Addi’s father and stepmother called dispatch for a welfare check.

Addi and her mother were staying at the Rio hotel. The father told dispatch that hotel security had already attempted contact.

“Security went up and knocked on the door. There’s no answer or response it doesn’t look like they checked out or anything…”

11:18 a.m. and 11:27 a.m. — Calls 2 and 3

As concern grew, Addi’s coach contacted the police two times within minutes.

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“We think the child possibly is in imminent danger…”

11:26 a.m. — Call 4

Addi’s stepmother placed another call to dispatch, expressing escalating concern.

“We are extremely concerned we believe that something might have seriously happened.”

She said that Tawnia’s car was still at the hotel.

Police indicated officers were on the way.

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2:26 p.m. — Call 5

Nearly three hours after the initial welfare check request, fire personnel were en route to the scene. It appeared they had been in contact with hotel security.

Fire told police that they were responding to a possible suicide.

“They found a note on the door.”

2:35 p.m. — Call 6

Emergency medical personnel at the scene told police they had located two victims.

“It’s going to be gunshot wound to the head for both patients with notes”

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A dispatcher responded:

“Oh my goodness that’s not okay.”

2:36 p.m. — Call 7

Moments later, fire personnel relayed their assessment to law enforcement:

“It’s going to be a murder suicide, a juvenile and a mother.”

2:39 p.m. — Call 8

Unaware of what had been discovered, Addi’s father called dispatch again.

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“I’m trying to file a missing persons report for my daughter.”

He repeats the details he knows for the second time.

3:13 p.m. — Call 9

Father and stepmother call again seeking information and continue to press for answers.

“We just need some information. There was a room check done around 3:00 we really don’t know where to start with all of this Can we have them call us back immediately?”

Dispatch responded:

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“As soon as there’s a free officer, we’ll have them reach out to you.”

4:05 p.m. — Call 10

More than an hour later, Addi’s father was put in contact with the police on the scene. He pleaded for immediate action.

“I need someone there I need someone there looking in that room”

The officer confirmed that they had officers currently in the room.

Addi’s father asks again what they found, if Addi and her mother are there, and if their things were missing.

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The officer, who was not on scene, said he had received limited information.

5:23 p.m. — Call 11

Nearly seven hours after the first welfare check request, Addi’s grandmother contacted police, describing conflicting information circulating within the family.

“Some people are telling us that they were able to get in, and they were not in the hotel room, and other people saying they were not able to get in the hotel room, and we need to know”

She repeated the details of the case. Dispatch said officers will call her back once they have more information.

Around 8:00 p.m. — Press Conference

Later that evening, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police held a news conference confirming that Addi and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, were found dead inside the hotel room.

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The investigation remains ongoing.

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Ban on AI glasses in Utah classrooms inches closer to passing

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Ban on AI glasses in Utah classrooms inches closer to passing


AI glasses could allow you to get answers, snap photos, access audio and take phone calls—and now a proposal moving through the legislature would ban the glasses from Utah school classrooms.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Kizzy Guyton Murphy, a mother who accompanied her child’s class on a field trip to the state Capitol on Wednesday. “You can’t see inside what the student is looking at, and it’s just grounds for cheating.”

Mom Tristan Davies Seamons also sees trouble with AI glasses.

“I don’t think they should have any more technology in schools than they currently have,” she said.

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Her twin daughters, fourth graders Finley and Grayson, don’t have cell phones yet.

“Not until we’re like 14,” said Grayson, adding they do have Chromebooks in school.

2News sent questions to the Utah State Board of Education:

  • Does it have reports of students using AI glasses?
  • Does it see cheating and privacy as major concerns?
  • Does it support a ban from classrooms?

Matt Winters, USBE AI specialist, said the board has not received reports from school districts of students with AI glasses.

“Local Education Agencies (school districts) have local control over these decisions based on current law and code,” said Winters. “The Board has not taken a position on AI glasses.

MORE | Utah State Legislature:

Some districts across the country have reportedly put restrictions on the glasses in schools.

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“I think it should be up to the teachers,” said Briauna Later, another mother who is all for preventing cheating, but senses a ban could leave administrators with tired eyes.

“It’s one more thing for the administration to have to keep track of,” said Later.

The proposal, HB 42, passed the House and cleared a Senate committee on Wednesday.

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