- Trump cabinet officials announced an effort to give federal lands to states for affordable housing projects.
- Gov. Cox praised the initiative as the biggest step federal officials could take to increase housing supply.
- There are nearly 220,000 acres of federally controlled land within Utah city boundaries.
Utah
Gov. Cox says the Trump administration just changed the game on affordable housing in Utah. Here’s how
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox heralded a Trump administration decision to use some federal lands for residential developments as the biggest change Washington, D.C., could make to address the nation’s housing affordability crisis.
On Monday, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who oversees the management of federal lands, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, who oversees affordable housing programs, announced a new partnership to identify underutilized lands for “tailored housing programs with guidance from states and localities.”
“This is by far the most significant action the federal government can take to make housing less expensive,” Cox told the Deseret News in a statement. “This effort will help ensure more Utah families have a shot at the American dream.”
The new federal initiative, which closely mirrors the HOUSES Act introduced by Utah Sen. Mike Lee, aims to simplify the land transfer process and promote housing-friendly policies that take into account important environmental considerations, according to the announcement posted on X.
Some criticized the proposal, saying it would sacrifice public access to federal lands for private development. But it attracted praise from voices on both sides of the aisle who see the amount of federally controlled lands in the West as being in tension with housing supply.
How much of Utah is federal lands?
Nearly 65% of Utah is owned and managed by the federal government. No other state lacks as much control of its territory with the exception of Nevada. Many states in the Midwest and on the East Coast have less than 4% of their land controlled by federal agencies.
In January, Cox’s senior adviser on housing affordability, Steve Waldrip, called the idea of opening up federal lands for home construction “a great solution” to Utah’s housing crisis that has seen the median house price explode to at least five times the median household income in 60% of the state.
Population growth is currently outpacing construction by around 6,000 units a year in Utah, Waldrip said. If this trend continues, last year’s shortage of 37,000 homes could grow to 45,000 homes over the course of 2025.
Much of this shortage is caused by the high cost of construction supplies, infrastructure and land. Meanwhile, 217,000 acres within Utah city boundaries, and 650,000 acres within a mile outside of city limits, is owned and managed by the Bureau of Land Management or the National Forest Service, Waldrip said.
On Wednesday, Cox reiterated that removing federal obstacles to building on the thousands of acres of federal land along the Wasatch Front will help to increase housing supply and decrease costs for Utahns.
“By responsibly identifying underused federal properties and streamlining the regulatory process, this initiative will cut through the red tape that has slowed down housing development for far too long,” Cox said.
But if municipalities could build on this land they would still be faced with the problem of massive infrastructure needs, including new roads and plumbing, that would need innovative funding mechanisms with the state’s help, according to Waldrip.
Mike Lee’s HOUSES Act
Utah’s senior senator took Monday’s announcement as an opportunity to promote a novel piece of legislation he has pushed for the last three years.
Lee’s Helping Open Underutilized Space to Ensure Shelter — or HOUSES — Act, would allow municipalities to purchase federally managed land touching city limits for the purpose of developing affordable homes.
“The Houses Act would give hardworking Americans access to affordable, single-family housing by opening up unused federal land in or near municipalities for that purpose,” Lee said in a post resharing Burgum and Turner’s video.
Lee’s proposal has received repeated praise from Cox and state lawmakers but has not had much luck in congressional committees. But a source familiar with Capitol conversations said Lee is expected to work with the administration on advancing the use of federal lands for single-family housing along the lines of his HOUSES Act.
Utah’s Legislature passed a resolution in support of Lee’s bill during the 2024 legislative session. In August, the state announced a landmark lawsuit asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether the federal government has constitutional authority to maintain unappropriated public lands in the state against the state’s wishes.
The Supreme Court refused to hear Utah’s case in January. But Cox and Utah Attorney General Derek Brown announced they will continue their efforts to control more of Utah’s public lands with a lawsuit in federal district court.
VERNAL, Utah — While Vernal is known for dinosaurs, with many being discovered in the area, there is a different kind of creature making waves for being found nearby.
Scientists at the Utah Department of Natural Resources Division of State Parks at the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum spend their days studying bones, but gathering them is a rarity.
That’s why when they heard of a perfectly preserved Ice Age discovery, they were thrilled.
What is it, you ask? Well, those of us here at FOX 13 News are especially excited about it because it is a perfectly preserved red fox skeleton.
Her name is “Roxy,” and she was found undisturbed in a cave in the Uintah Mountains, representing one of the most significant Ice Age mammal discoveries in the region.
The bones were known about for years, but it wasn’t until the U.S. Forest Service dated some of them that the researchers realized what a rarity they had on their hands. When they learned how old the bones were last year, they knew they had to collect them, and then they recently learned the species.
“This is probably the most exciting vertebrate skeleton I’ve ever collected,” said John Foster, the curator of collections at the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum. “I hate to say it, but it was a lot more fun than a dinosaur.”
The fox skeleton includes skull material, neck, back, tail, ribs, and what Foster describes as one of the best-preserved parts: the left lower jaw.
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Among his favorite elements are the individual claws from the front paws of the animal.
Incredibly, you can make out the details in them as if the fox died just a few years ago, but she’s quite a bit older than that.
At 26,000 years old, Roxy predates the pyramids, written language, and even farming.
Red foxes are the most widely distributed terrestrial carnivores in the world.
The team of researchers said the species appeared in North America from Eurasia between 300,000 and 130,000 years ago.
Roxy remained perfectly preserved on the surface of that remote cave until scientists carefully extracted her.
The recovery process was challenging, requiring hours of hiking just to reach the cave entrance, followed by more hours navigating to the back of the cave where the skeleton lay.
“Of course, it was completely nerve-wracking collecting it. The scariest part was deciding that we hadn’t missed anything,” Foster said. “We’re trying not to break anything. It was six hours in there just to get all that done.”
Before Roxy was discovered, few Ice Age mammals had been found in northeastern Utah. Foster said the only one of note that he personally knows of is a shin bone of a camel found in the 1980s south of Vernal.
Now that the bones have been acclimated and preserved, the science can begin.
To start, researchers will take small portions of two ribs and send them off to be carbon dated, which should provide dating accuracy within about 100 years.
Next, the team will also analyze ear bones to extract DNA and conduct isotope analysis.
DNA and isotope analysis will unlock what Roxy’s diet was like, and if it was any different from modern red foxes.
It also might offer clues to the relationship between different canine species, from foxes to wolves, to my two adorable spaniels.
Finally, one question Foster is hoping the DNA might answer is what color her fur was, since it was the Ice Age, and a red fox might stick out like a sore thumb.
All of this discovery is the reason Foster says he keeps coming back and doing what he does.
“That’s kind of the highlights of doing this stuff,” he said.
All of this adds up to making Roxy the most important skeleton discovered, ever…
Okay, I made that last sentence up but we’re partial at FOX13 since Roxy is one of us!
Following the science that will be done, Roxy’s bones will go on display at the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park so we all can share in her incredible story.
SALT LAKE CITY — The wait is finally over for gaming fans. As of 10 p.m. on Wednesday, the highly anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 is officially on sale — and it’s flying off the shelves.
At a Best Buy store in West Jordan, a line of people wrapped around the building.
People line up outside of a Best Buy in West Jordan to get a Nintendo Switch 2 on June 4, 2025. (Nathaniel Gillis, KSL TV)
“I’ve been here since one o’clock,” said one excited gamer to KSL TV.
At the GameStop in Taylorsville, eager fans enjoyed a little pre launch party outside the store were employees dressed up like Mario characters. For these gamers, this is the best day ever. It’s been eight years since the original Nintendo Switch was released, and this moment has been a long time coming.
People line up outside of a GameStop in Taylorsville to get a Nintendo Switch 2 on June 4, 2025. (Nathaniel Gillis, KSL TV)
“I’m super excited for it,” said CJ Raulli. “This one is supposed to be a lot more powerful, like a PlayStation in your hand.”
Earlier in the day Damir Krizanovic, managed to make it inside the store to snag the very last pre order.
“We stopped everything we were doing,” Krizanovic said. “We had one goal in mind — and it was to get a Switch 2.”
What’s new with the Switch 2?
The Nintendo Switch 2 is expected to be a major upgrade over its predecessor. Gamers are especially excited about its enhanced performance and redesigned controllers.
“Eight years is a huge gap, the specs and everything are much better than they were before. The controllers were always too small and fragile. These are better — bigger and fit in your hand nicely,” said Krizanovic.
Price Tag and What’s Next
The console, bundled with the new Mario Kart game, will set buyers back around $600. Additional games are priced at $80 each.
“Absolutely, I got work off tomorrow,” one gamer laughed, ready to spend the night immersed in the new system.
Conference realignment has reared itself again in Utah. This time, it is Utah Valley University that is on the move.
The Big West Conference announced Wednesday morning that the Wolverines will officially join the conference in 2026-27, leaving behind the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). UVU will join the Big West as a full member. It is a reunion of sorts, as UVU was a member of the Big West from 1978 to 2005.
“We are thrilled to welcome Utah Valley University to The Big West,” Big West commissioner Dan Butterly said in a statement. “UVU brings a tradition of competitive excellence and a rapidly growing athletic program that aligns perfectly with our membership and vision for the future. Their addition expands our geographic footprint into a vibrant and strategically significant region, while elevating the level of competition across the board. We look forward to the energy and excitement the Wolverines will bring to The Big West.”
UVU, which sponsors 14 Division 1 sports, will compete in the Big West in:
- Baseball.
- Men’s basketball.
- Women’s basketball.
- Men’s cross country.
- Women’s cross country.
- Men’s golf.
- Women’s golf.
- Men’s soccer.
- Women’s soccer.
- Softball.
- Men’s track and field.
- Women’s track & field.
- Women’s volleyball.
Wrestling will continue to be a part of the Big 12 conference.
“Utah Valley University is proud to be part of The Big West. This marks an important milestone for the university, our 47,000 students, 125,000 alumni, and nearly 400 student-athletes,” UVU president Dr. Astrid S. Tuminez said in a statement “We look forward to competing and growing in a new and dynamic environment, and learning from our peers in The Big West.”
Added UVU athletic director Dr. Jared Sumsion: “The Big West is an outstanding conference with a proud history of success at the highest levels of Division I competition. We are excited to take on this new challenge and appreciate The Big West’s confidence in our university and athletic program.”
The addition of UVU brings Big West membership up to 11. UVU rejoining the league can be traced back directly to the decisions of Texas and Oklahoma to leave the Big 12 for the SEC.
Here’s the turn of the events that led to UVU’s return to the Big West:
- Texas and Oklahoma leave the Big 12 for the SEC.
- USC and UCLA leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten.
- BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF join the Big 12 (the latter three defecting from the American Athletic Conference).
- Oregon and Washington leave the Pac-12 and join the Big Ten.
- Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah leave the Pac-12 and join the Big 12.
- Cal and Stanford leave the Pac-12 and join the ACC.
- Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State announce that they are leaving the Mountain West Conference to remake the Pac-12 alongside Oregon State and Washington State.
- The Mountain West adds Hawaii and UC-Davis (previously Big West Conference schools) as full-time members in wake of defections to the Pac-12.
- UVU joins the Big West.
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