Utah
Utah Pride Center cuts spending for festival, with 'leaner model'
SALT LAKE CITY — As the 2024 installment of the Utah Pride Festival and Parade looms, the new leader of the sponsoring entity, the Utah Pride Center, says the organization is moving beyond the tumult that has characterized its operations for the past several months.
“We definitely are stable right now financially,” Chad Call, the new executive director of the LGBTQ advocacy group, said Wednesday. “We do have a very stable path forward.”
It’s required a dramatic shifting of gears, though. Call says the organization has sold its former location to offset debt incurred in the 2023 festival, dramatically reduced planned spending for the 2024 installment of the event and slashed full-time staffing from around 23 to four, which includes a contractor.
“I don’t see us returning back to a 20-person staff anytime soon. I think that we are working off the leaner model now and more sustainable model,” he said at a press conference at the center’s new headquarters in downtown Salt Lake City. Financial stability and sustainability are key goals.
Likewise, planned spending for the Utah Pride Festival and Parade, scheduled for June 1 and 2, has been cut considerably from 2023. The Utah Pride Center, he said, stemmed from an apparent “gross overspend,” though a report into the matter isn’t yet complete. This year, spending on staging and production will be cut considerably, with a reliance on Utah talent to mitigate performance fees. Smaller stages will be used, and nighttime hours will be limited to reduce spending on lighting.
More specifically, the total production budget, just one element of the overall spending plan, reflects an 80% reduction from 2023, he said, back to a level more on par with 2022 spending.
Overspending on the 2023 festival led to upheaval in the organization as Pride Center officials wrestled with financial uncertainty in the aftermath of the event. The organization temporarily closed its doors to the public last September and the new executive director brought on about that time, Ryan Newcomb, stepped down in late March due to health reasons after about six months on the job. What some viewed as high booth prices, meantime, prompted grumbling among some in the lead-up to last year’s festival.
Call, who took over from Newcomb as interim executive director before formally taking on full-time leadership duties, acknowledged the frustration the tumult may have generated among some. At the same time, he defended the organization — which operates support groups for the LGBTQ community and, significantly, manages the pride parade and festival each year — as needed.
“There’s purpose in this organization. It’s clear to me that, despite all of the turmoil and change, that this organization is still wanted, and it’s still needed by the community,” he said.
The annual festival and parade probably impacts more people in the LGBTQ community than any other single event in Utah, he said. Moreover, he emphasized increased efforts to reach out to other LGBTQ organizations around Utah, which will be able to set up booths for free for the first time at this year’s festival.
“We want to support those organizations. We want to partner with them. We don’t want to compete with them,” he said. The parade will include more than 16,000 participants while 100,000 more are expected to watch.
Call had served as a volunteer for the Utah Pride Center before taking on executive director leadership duties. “This organization has been something that has meant a lot to me over the years, and it’s something that I have seen a lot of growth in and a lot of potential in,” he said.
He previously worked as a producer for WEBB Production, a corporate production company.
A Utah physician is warning that 21 data centers in various stages of development could significantly worsen air quality along the Wasatch Front.
Dr. Brian Moench, with Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, said the planned data centers are cause for alarm. Each facility is expected to generate its own electricity using natural gas power plants.
While natural gas is cleaner than coal, Moench said it still produces nitrogen oxide, which contributes significantly to ozone, particulate formation, and smog.
“There’s no safe level of air pollution. All of it is harmful, even at the very lowest doses,” Moench said.
Moench said health advocates have legitimate reasons to be concerned about what the facilities could mean for public health in the region.
“There is a real legitimate concern on the part of any health advocates about what this impact will mean to the Wasatch Front and public health if all these data centers are built or even if just a few of them are, and that’s not to address the impact on the Great Salt Lake shrinking up and becoming a toxic dust bowl. That’s the next leg of this argument,” he said.
Moench also raised concerns about electronic waste. As computer chips and equipment become obsolete and are replaced, he said the volume of e-waste produced is something no one has yet addressed.
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UTAH COUNTY, May 11, 2026 (Gephardt Daily) — Two males, ages 14 and 19, were transported to area hospitals Sunday after the side-by-side they were riding rolled down the side of a mountain.
Utah County Sheriff deputies and Santaquin police responded to the 6:07 p.m. call. Two medical helicopters were called to the scene, in the Pole Canyon area, as was a Department of Public Safety helicopter with a hoist in case it was needed, Sgt. Austin Edwards, Utah County Sheriff‘s Office, told Gephardt Daily.
“Eventually, rescue workers were able to make it to the spot on the hill where the vehicle had come to rest, and they were able to secure the victims, stabilize the victims, and get them back down the hill again to where the helicopters were waiting,” Edwards said.
“The 19-year-old male was transported to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, and the 14 year old was transported to Primary Children’s in Lehi.”
Both were said to have critical injuries, which were not considered to be life threatening, Edwards said.
“The cause of the rollover is still under investigation, so we don’t have that information available just yet.”
Photos: Utah County Sheriff
In what has a chance to be one of the most important nights in Jazz history, the Utah Jazz jumped in the NBA Lottery to the #2 spot for the upcoming NBA draft.
Here are the final results, which show all the movement.
Aside from it being a massive night for the Wizards, Jazz, Grizzlies, and Bulls, it was a devastating night for a few teams, but no one more than the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers, in their trade for Ivica Zubac, had a stipulation on their pick that if the pick was top-4 they kept it. But if it fell below 4, they would give it to the Clippers which is exactly what happened. Now, the Clippers, who are without Zubac, find themselves with a #5 pick to build around.
For the Jazz this is a culmination of four years of rebuilding that ends with an extremely satisfying end. Utah will now have one of the tier-1 players from this draft: AJ Dybantsa or Darryn Peterson. The player Utah drafts will be one of their cornerstone pieces and will have the chance to not only play, but be a part of a team that will be competing for the playoffs this season.
The Utah Jazz now have a Sinister Six core: Darryn Peterson (If AJ Dybantsa goes #1), Keyonte George, Ace Bailey, Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Walker Kessler (if he signs). It’s quite the core with a mix of youth and veterans in their prime. With this group, the Jazz will have a chance to be one of the top teams in the Western Conference. Yes, the Thunder and Spurs are going to be difficult to beat, but Utah has the mix of talent, coaching, and depth that could absolutely do the trick.
Now the Utah Jazz look forward to the NBA Draft that be on June 23rd. Let the posturing begin!!
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