Angelina Nading, a junior at Uintah Excessive Faculty in Vernal, poses along with her Utah state flag design outdoors of the state Capitol on Thursday. Her design is one in all 20 semifinalists now on show in Salt Lake Metropolis, Cedar Metropolis and Logan whereas the state narrows the sector down for a possible new state flag. (Carter Williams, KSL.com)
Estimated learn time: 5-6 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Angelina Nading beams as she runs over to a set of 20 flags aligned close to the steps of the state Capitol on Thursday.
Nading, a junior at Uintah Excessive Faculty in Vernal and a member of town’s youth metropolis council, instantly sifts via the designs looking for a blue flag with eight stars circling an outdated beehive design. It is a design she created after attending a flag design workshop earlier this 12 months, as state leaders requested Utahns to submit designs for a brand new state flag.
Months after submitting that design, she’s clutching the blue material in her fingers for the primary time and picturing in her thoughts how this design might presumably fly throughout Utah sometime quickly.
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“All week I have been telling my buddies and my academics about this. I used to be actually excited driving up right here and getting to speak about my design,” she informed KSL.com, as her flag and 19 different just lately launched designs waved behind her. “I am actually proud that I can go down in historical past. It is simply superb.”
The Utah State Flag Job Power unveiled all 20 semifinalist designs for a potential new state flag on Sept. 8 after receiving 5,703 designs in the course of the winter and spring. These 20 semifinalist designs have since prompted a bevy of responses in a public remark interval making an attempt to pinpoint what Utahns need in a design that represents the state immediately.
Nevertheless, Thursday marked the primary time Utahns bought an opportunity to see these designs in a bodily type. All the designs have been printed out on material flags to permit residents a greater view of the designs in a manner that 2D designs simply cannot. Everybody will be capable of see the way it waves within the winds or flies in reverse like a flag would outdoors of a constructing whereas they choose the designs.
College students from a fourth grade class at Layton’s Ellison Park Elementary Faculty show the 20 semifinalists for a brand new Utah state flag throughout an occasion on the Utah Capitol on Thursday morning. The flags will stay on show on the Utah Capitol via Oct. 5. (Picture: Carter Williams, KSL.com)
It is a tactic that is supposed to assist slender down the sector of semifinalists, says Sen. Daniel McCay, R-Riverton, a member of the duty drive.
“Apparently, I can see strengths from flags which might be right here printed immediately for the primary time,” he mentioned, staring on the 20 finalists. “We have been these now for months. We have been them on a flat pc display and we have been them printed on paper. However while you print them at this scale, some issues I did not love about sure flags, I now actually like about them.”
The flags delivered to the state Capitol this week will stay on show on the Utah Capitol’s Corridor of Governors via Oct. 5, the ultimate day of public touch upon the semifinalist designs. Related shows might be held on the Cache County Historic Courthouse, 100 N. Important in Logan, and at Beverley Taylor Sorenson Middle for the Arts on the campus of Southern Utah College in Cedar Metropolis over the following two weeks, as effectively.
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A few of the 20 semifinalist state flag designs picked by the Utah State Flag Job Power and a design committee fly outdoors of the Utah Capitol Thursday morning. (Picture: Carter Williams, KSL.com)
Greater than 20,000 folks have already submitted their ideas on a brand new flag over the previous few months, mentioned Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson. She hopes the bodily shows will generate extra feedback within the subsequent two weeks.
“That is actually necessary. We need to know what the general public has to say about it,” she mentioned. “Inform us what you suppose — what you want and what you do not like about all of those flag designs.”
Time for a change?
The duty drive will contemplate all the general public feedback gathered after Oct. 5, because it narrows the sector to a handful of finalists, to pick out or refine the flag design, which they’ll advocate for adoption to the Utah Legislature. The Legislature will finally vote on whether or not to undertake the proposed flag design or maintain the present flag that has remained largely untouched since 1911.
Utah’s present flag will not be retired if a brand new flag is picked. It should change into the official flag of the governor’s workplace, which means it’ll proceed to have a house on the Utah Capitol for years to return.
It is also potential that not one of the flags on show over the following two weeks will fly over the state Capitol quickly. The duty drive and a panel of designers will evaluate the general public remark suggestions to determine concepts folks need however might additionally merge among the themes collectively, mentioned Rep. Steve Helpful, R-Layton.
“(The designs) can nonetheless evolve as a result of we’re taking public enter as we go,” he mentioned. “However these designs characterize the voices of hundreds and hundreds of Utahns of all ages, backgrounds and walks of life.”
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A brand new state flag is supposed to contribute to our widespread id as a state, it isn’t meant to cancel something previously. It isn’t going to cancel our outdated flag.
–Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson
Letting go may be tough although. Henderson acknowledges that not everybody has been on board with the potential change as Utah continues to maneuver ahead with its flag redesign course of. In reality, she was in that camp when McCay and Helpful first approached their colleagues concerning the concept a couple of years in the past.
She thought it could be a waste of time and power however then she discovered extra concerning the potential of what a great flag design might imply for Utah as she mirrored on its previous.
Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson applauds college students from an Ellison Park Elementary Faculty fourth grade class who volunteered to carry Utah’s 20 semifinalist flags throughout a Thursday morning ceremony. The flags will stay on show on the Utah Capitol via Oct. 5. (Picture: Carter Williams, KSL.com)
A ZCMI seamstress designed Utah’s first flag in 1903 simply so Utah might have a flag on show on the 1904 St. Louis World’s Honest. This authentic design basically served as the idea for the 1911 design, when the state up to date the flag. But the present flag appears to be like awfully acquainted to about half of the opposite state flags from afar. It does not actually stand out, Henderson says, and it does not actually characterize Utah immediately. This ultimately helped her change her thoughts concerning the concept.
“Making a flag is a very uncommon alternative to characterize the previous, current and future to the remainder of the world,” she mentioned. “Till now, Utahns have by no means had an opportunity to weigh in or provide their concepts for what their state flag ought to seem like or what must be included on their state flag. … A brand new state flag is supposed to contribute to our widespread id as a state, it isn’t meant to cancel something previously. It isn’t going to cancel our outdated flag.”
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The method additionally opens the door for Utahns like Nading to probably change into part of state historical past.
She’s thrilled with that prospect, but in addition excited to see how the remainder of the flag redesign course of shakes out.
“It is form of like a mixture of feelings. … I am nervous and I hope it may be picked as a result of that may be superb,” she says. “However even when it does not, that may be fantastic. The entire course of and getting to fulfill these fantastic folks is simply superb.”
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Carter Williams is an award-winning reporter who covers common information, outdoor, historical past and sports activities for KSL.com. He beforehand labored for the Deseret Information. He’s a Utah transplant by the best way of Rochester, New York.
SALT LAKE CITY — After taking the official oath of office on Wednesday, Derek Brown has become Utah’s newest attorney general.
Now that he’s in office, what’s next? He joined Inside Sources to talk more about his priorities for office.
Below is a partial transcript of this interview as well as the full podcast.
KSL NewsRadio modified this interview for brevity and clarity.
HOST TAYLOR MORGAN: What are your priorities as you take office?
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GUEST DEREK BROWN: I think the key to that is transparency. When I served in the House of Representatives, I learned that people appreciate when you are open and you make it clear to them what you’re doing. And as people understand what we’re doing in the Attorney General’s Office, we’ll see successes, there will be an increase in trust … That’s just the natural outgrowth of transparency, and I’m going to be doing a number of things proactively so that we build that feeling of not just transparency but [also] trust.
MORGAN: My understanding is that you and your family have put your assets into a blind trust … and you have officially stepped down from any non-profit boards. Is that correct?
BROWN: That’s correct… I just feel like it makes sense, in light of this position, to just eliminate any potential conflicts of interest in advance. I’m a little sad to do it because these are great people. I love being there, making a difference. But at the same time, I feel like we’ve got those organizations onto a good footing.
People make Utah great, not government, says Gov. Cox at inauguration
MORGAN: [How] would you explain your role to listeners? What does the Utah attorney general do primarily?
BROWN: We have 280 attorneys, and they provide legal counsel for all the boards, commissions, and agencies of the state. Everything from the University of Utah to UDOT to DMV… So there’s literally 280 attorneys that do every conceivable area of the law… It is the largest law firm in the state of Utah, so my job is to make sure it’s also the best, most efficient, most well-funded, and well-respected law firm in the state of Utah.
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Listen to the podcast below for the entire interview.
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Have a story idea or tip? Send it to the KSL NewsRadio team here.
“Sometimes they go in, and sometimes not,” Boqvist said. “I feel like our line played pretty well. We’re working hard and winning a lot of pucks down low, trying to play with speed. When we have time and space to do stuff, we will.”
From there, penalties proved costly for the Panthers.
After coming up short on their first two trips to the power play in the period, the third time was the charm for Utah as Logan Cooley lit the lamp to cut Florida’s lead to 2-1 at 13:41.
Stomping out any would-be comeback for Utah, Boqvist regained the two-goal cushion for the Panthers when he cashed in on the empty net from deep in his own zone to make it 3-1 at 17:59.
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At 19:38, Eetu Luostarinen tacked on another empty-netter to make it 4-1.
Finishing strong, the Panthers led 12-3 in scoring chances at 5-on-5 in the third period.
“I liked the bench,” Maurice said. “I liked the mood of it. They’re pulling for each other, supporting each other, battling and grinding. Understanding we come into this building, these teams come wired for us and are ready. Get out of the first period even. We’re good on the road like that. Then I thought we built. Halfway through the first period we got our game going.”
THEY SAID IT
“He’s earned it. We’ve used him at left and right wing, and he’s played center for us. He’s played with different people. He’s a really competitive guy.” – Paul Maurice on Jesper Boqvist
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“Speed, skill, hard work. He works really hard, but he also has that ability to take over games with his speed and skill. He has a great shot. We’ve seen that all year in practices and games. He’s fun to watch. He’s one of those players where it’s just a matter of time until he breaks out, and he’s breaking out right now. It’s been fun to watch.” – Aleksander Barkov on Jesper Boqvist
“He’s so good, right? It’s so fun to watch. Playing against him for a couple years, it’s not easy.” – Jesper Boqvist on Sergei Bobrovsky
CATS STATS
– Carter Verhaeghe extended his point streak to three games.
– The Panthers are 7-for-8 on the penalty kill over their last two games.
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– The Panthers have four players with at least 30 points this season.
– Sergei Bobrovsky is the third goaltender to earn a win against 33 NHL franchises.
– Sam Bennett won a team-high nine faceoffs.
– Matthew Tkachuk and Jesper Boqvist each recorded five hits.
– The Panthers held Utah to just eight shot attempts at 5-on-5 in the third period.
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WHAT’S NEXT?
Grab your popcorn.
Meeting for the third time this season, the Panthers will try to improve to 3-0-0 against the Boston Bruins when the two rivals clash at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.
Gov. Spencer Cox plans to discuss unlocking energy potential on public lands among other issues as he heads to Mar-a-Lago on Thursday along with Republican governors from across the country to pitch their priorities to President-elect Donald Trump.
“I plan to talk to him, if I get the opportunity, about energy and about public lands and how we can unleash the energy potential, especially in the West,” Cox told reporters Wednesday after his ceremonial inauguration. “We need significant reform in the energy space, especially when it comes to nuclear, being able to permit nuclear.”
One of Cox’s main goals for his second term is doubling energy production within the next decade, and his vision for achieving that includes bringing nuclear power to the Beehive State for the first time.
Utah’s history with all things nuclear has been fraught, since an untold number of residents were sickened by exposure to fallout from atomic bomb tests in neighboring Nevada. Utah was later targeted as a site for a high-level nuclear waste repository — a plan that ultimately was abandoned.
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Cox said he expects discussions to arise on housing affordability, border security and inflation — topics that are concerns for all of the GOP governors.
Utah’s chief executive said he also anticipates raising the status of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National monuments — which were created by Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, respectively, slashed to a fraction of their size during the first Trump presidency, and then restored under President Joe Biden.
Utah has sued the federal government over those monuments, and Cox said he would like to see the lawsuit progress.
“I don’t love the pingpong game that’s going back and forth,” he said. “That’s not good for anybody and it’s not helpful. And so, ultimately, we need the Supreme Court to decide some of those major issues.”
Cox has had an evolving relationship with the incoming president. He did not vote for Trump in 2016 or 2020, but, after an assassination attempt on candidate Trump in July 2024, the Utah governor wrote the former president a letter saying he believed he could unite the country.
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He later appeared alongside Trump at Arlington National Cemetery, spurring controversy because political campaigning is not allowed in the hallowed space, and Cox’s campaign sent out a fundraising email featuring an image from the meeting.
(@GovCox via X) Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, far right, poses for a photograph with the family of Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover and Republican candidate for president Donald Trump at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. Trump and Cox joined the Hoover family to commemorate the passing of Hoover, who was killed three years ago during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Cox later apologized, calling it a mistake.
Since Trump won the election in November, the governor has expressed an eagerness to work with the incoming administration, particularly when it comes to deporting criminal migrants.
He said he has been “working very closely” with Utah legislators who presented a suite of bills aimed at “making sure that we’re getting rid of the offenders who are here and trying to fix legal immigration,” a move that Cox said would require a federal solution.
