Andie Pedersen holds up a portray from Harper Morgan, who’s a affected person at Main Kids’s Hospital, on Monday in Lehi. Todd and Andie Pedersen donated $35 million to assist assist an initiative to construct the nation’s mannequin well being system for youngsters. (Scott G Winterton, Deseret Information)
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LEHI — A Utah household is donating $35 million to Main Kids’s Hospital within the hope of inspiring others to open their wallets to enhance kids’s well being care within the rising southern finish of Salt Lake County.
Todd Pedersen, founder and chairman of Vivint Sensible Residence, and his spouse Andie Pedersen mentioned they have been on the lookout for the most effective long-term service challenge for his or her household.
After talking to businesswoman and philanthropist Gail Miller about Main Kids’s Hospital’s initiative to enhance well being care for youths, “I believe all of us felt strongly about it, and I believe at that time, it was a no brainer,” Andie Pedersen mentioned Monday because the couple and others introduced the donation on the building web site of the hospital’s new Lehi location.
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Katy Welkie, CEO of Intermountain Main Kids’s Hospital and vp of Intermountain Kids’s Well being, famous this yr marks the one hundredth anniversary of the hospital “and its mission to take care of and assist the youngsters of the Mountain West.”
In January 2020, the hospital introduced “a promise to construct a mannequin well being system for youngsters in Utah, within the Mountain West, that might function a job mannequin for all the United States,” she added.
The Lehi location is now midway full, she mentioned, and the constructing is predicted to open in early 2024 to serve kids within the space.
Andie and Todd Pedersen “need one thing that can have an actual, lasting and life-giving influence on children for many years to come back,” Welkie mentioned.
Gail Miller talks with Todd and Andie Pedersen after the announcement that the Pedersens are serving to assist an initiative to construct the nation’s mannequin well being system for youngsters on Monday in Lehi. (Photograph: Scott G Winterton, Deseret Information)
Particulars of how the $35 million can be used weren’t launched on Monday, however hospital officers mentioned they’ll announce extra subsequent month. An inpatient tower on the Lehi hospital can be named for the Pedersens, Welkie famous, explaining that the hospital would not have been attainable with out folks just like the Millers and Pedersens.
Miller mentioned one in every of her household’s guiding rules — although lofty and “in all probability unattainable” — “is to go about doing good till there’s an excessive amount of good on the planet.”
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“However there isn’t any hurt in attempting,” she mentioned.
Miller emphasised the significance of the brand new hospital, as new houses “are popping up in every single place” round it.
The hospital will assist sufferers like Harper Morgan, 10, who stood smiling with Miller as she spoke throughout the information convention. Harper was recognized with leukemia when she was 4 years previous.
“She remembers being scared after studying about her prognosis, and when she first began going to Main Kids’s Hospital,” Miller mentioned.
It was a scary expertise for Harper to be on the hospital with folks she did not know. “However the workers instantly put her relaxed, and as soon as she turned accustomed to the docs, she trusted them,” Miller mentioned.
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Now Harper is finished along with her most cancers remedy, and “she is stuffed with life and power, and her dad calls her a complete warrior.”
Harper lives close to the brand new hospital, and as soon as the Lehi location opens, she will not have to go to Salt Lake Metropolis if she wants follow-up remedy, Miller famous.
Gail Miller stands with Harper Morgan, who’s a affected person at Main Kids’s Hospital, as they announce a serious donation from the Todd and Andie Pedersen household to assist assist an initiative to construct the nation’s mannequin well being system for youngsters on Monday in Lehi on the building web site for the brand new hospital. (Photograph: Scott G Winterton, Deseret Information)
“This new hospital campus is a key piece of a a lot bigger imaginative and prescient, and it should distinguish Utah and the intermountain space as a mannequin for built-in, high-quality pediatric care,” Miller mentioned.
Harper introduced a present to the Pedersens that she mentioned is from her “favourite Halloween film.”
“Ought to we be scared?” Todd Pedersen quipped, earlier than Harper introduced the couple with a portray she created of “The Nightmare Earlier than Christmas.”
Andie Pedersen mentioned her household wished to donate their cash to inpatient remedy to allow them to go to sufferers and get to know them.
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Todd Pedersen mentioned he tries to emulate what his dad and mom taught him about “doing good for others … not simply financially … how we take care of others, the time we put into others, the respect that we give them.”
“For me, it’s so cool to dwell in a group the place … we have now folks surrounding us eager about the way forward for this group and the way forward for the youngsters of this group with reference to this Main Kids’s Hospital,” he mentioned.
His spouse mentioned they have been at a spot of their lives the place they wished to offer earlier than constructing a brand new dwelling or spending cash in another approach.
The brand new Main Kids’s Hospital in Lehi on Monday. The hospital introduced a serious donation from the Todd and Andie Pedersen household to assist assist an initiative to construct the nation’s mannequin well being system for youngsters. (Photograph: Scott G Winterton, Deseret Information)
“I suppose all of us felt like this could come earlier than the rest in our life,” she mentioned.
Todd Pedersen mentioned they’ve had associates and quick household who’ve benefited from the providers of Main Kids’s Hospital. They wished to set an instance for different households in the neighborhood who’ve been “blessed” financially, of which he famous there are a lot of in Utah’s tech sector.
He described the donation as an funding that serves “as many individuals within the greatest approach attainable.”
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Ashley Imlay covers state politics and breaking information for KSL.com. A lifelong Utahn, Ashley has additionally labored as a reporter for the Deseret Information and is a graduate of Dixie State College.
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SALT LAKE CITY — Going to a Utah Jazz game is more than just basketball. After pausing for a few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Nu Skin Stunt Team is back — and it’s a performance you don’t want to miss.
“We just really enjoy having them. They have so much energy and the athleticism that they bring is unmatched,” said Meikle LaHue, the Utah Jazz director of entertainment. “They are so impressive and the entertainment that they bring is, I mean, I’m on the edge of my seat when I watch them perform because the tricks they do are just crazy.”
Working for the Jazz is a dream come true for the stunt team members.
“This is the pinnacle of what it gets to be on a stunt team for being a professional cheerleader for the NBA. It doesn’t get any better than that, in our sport,” said national champion Hailey D’Lynn. “Being able to wear this team name on my chest, it’s amazing and it’s a dream come true, it’s what we all strive for.”
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Rookie Cameron Canada added: “This has been a dream of mine for like as long as I picked up the sport and just to be able to be this close to the NBA and represent the state of Utah in front of all the fans, grateful to be having this opportunity.”
The Stunt Team was started 12 years ago. They spent 10 years entertaining Jazz fans, and when it went away, the performers missed being on the Delta Center floor.
“Last year, [Coach] announced ‘the Stunt Team is going to make a comeback this year,’ and I was so excited I was like, ‘Finally! Yes, I’ve been waiting for this,’” cheered the longest-tenured member, Elsa Hassett.
Head Coach Summer Willis shared how rare it is to see stunt teams in the NBA.
“You don’t see a lot of stunt teams on the professional level so the fact that we get to be one of them and represent is just a huge opportunity,” said Willis.
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The Nu Skin Stunt Team performs at Utah Jazz games throughout the season during timeouts and quarter breaks.
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Utah’s bid to gain control over millions of acres of federal land, dealing a blow to the state’s efforts to assert greater authority over its natural resources.
Why It Matters
Federal agencies currently oversee nearly 70 percent of Utah’s land, including areas crucial for energy production, mining, grazing and outdoor recreation. Utah officials have argued that state control would ensure better local governance and unlock revenue opportunities through taxation and development. However, the state’s proposal excluded its iconic national parks and monuments from the transfer.
Utah’s push for control highlights a broader debate over federal land management in the West, where sprawling landscapes often fall under the jurisdiction of agencies like the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Critics of federal oversight argue it limits economic potential, while supporters counter that it safeguards public lands for conservation and recreational use.
What To Know
In a brief order on Monday, the high court denied the Republican-led state’s request to file a lawsuit aimed at transferring ownership of approximately half of Utah’s federally managed land, an area comparable in size to South Carolina.
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The Supreme Court, as is customary in such instances, provided no explanation for its decision, stating only that “the motion for leave to file a bill of complaint is denied.”
The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington on December 17, 2024. The Supreme Court on Monday rejected to hear Utah’s bid to gain control over millions of acres of federal land. The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington on December 17, 2024. The Supreme Court on Monday rejected to hear Utah’s bid to gain control over millions of acres of federal land. J. Scott Applewhite/AP
The decision comes after Utah sued in August to try to gain control of 18.5 million acres that is held by the federal government.
The filing, which state leaders said was the result of “decades of legal analysis,” targeted BLM land “unappropriated” to parks, monuments or other national sites.
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, Senate President Stuart Adams, House Speaker Mike Schultz and Attorney General Derek Brown said they were disappointed in the court’s decision.
The federal Bureau of Land Management declined to comment to The Associated Press.
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What People Are Saying
Republican Utah Governor Spencer Coxsaid in August: “Utah deserves priority when it comes to managing its land. It’s been a tragedy to see what this administration and past administrations have done to our land, closing down roads that have been open for generations.”
Cox, Senate President Stuart Adams, House Speaker Mike Schultz and Attorney General Derek Brown said in a statement to The Salt Lake Tribune: “We are also heartened to know the incoming [Trump] administration shares our commitments to the principle of ‘multiple use’ for these federal lands and is committed to working with us to improve land management. We will continue to fight to keep public lands in public hands because it is our stewardship, heritage and home.”
Utah House Minority Leader Angela Romero, a Democrat, praised the Supreme Court’s decision in a statement to The Salt Lake Tribuneas a “win for all Americans and the protection of our environment. Today’s actions serve as an important reminder that our public lands should not be privatized or exploited for short-term benefits.”
What Happens Next
While it’s unclear what state officials will do next, the state said in a statement to The Salt Lake Tribune that they “remain able and willing to challenge any BLM land management decisions that harm Utah.”
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear Utah’s challenge against public lands, striking a major blow to the state’s effort to wrest control of millions of acres of land from the federal government.
The state in August filed a lawsuit asking the court to declare the federal Bureau of Land Management’s ownership of 18.5 million acres of land in Utah unconstitutional, with potential ramifications for public lands across the country.
The filing, which state leaders said was the result of “decades of legal analysis,” targeted BLM land “unappropriated” to parks, monuments or other national sites.
Utahargued the BLM’s ownership and oversight of that land harms the state’s sovereignty and that the federal government should start to “dispose of these lands.”
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“We’re grateful the Supreme Court swiftly rejected the State of Utah’s misguided land grab lawsuit,” Steve Bloch, legal director for the environmental nonprofit Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, said in a statement. “For more than 100 years, the Supreme Court has affirmed the power of the federal government to hold and manage public lands on behalf of all Americans.”
The state has paid Clement & Murphy, PLLC, a law firm based in Virginia, over $500,000 since 2023 to litigate the case.
Utah has also budgeted over $2.6 million for a public relations campaign to raise “awareness” that the BLM’s policies for public land in the West “are harming Utahns by restricting access to public lands, hindering active management, and reducing economic and recreation opportunities.”
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance in December sued the Utah governor and attorney general for bringing this case to the Supreme Court.
The group wants the state 3rd District Court to bar Utah from questioning the constitutionality of “unappropriated” public lands in any court.
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