Axios Salt Lake City celebrates four years of local journalism
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
It's hard to believe that four years have passed since we sent our very first newsletter.
Why it matters: We don't just want to tell you what happens; we want to understand the attitudes, values and context underlying the news.
Here's what we've been up to over the past year:
In politics, we chronicled Sen. Mike Lee's shift from staid constitutionalist to Very Online MAGA-monger.
- We held a tuning fork next to the pitch of reactions to Charlie Kirk's assassination and the lasting fallout.
- We examined the contentious redistricting battle that produced Utah's new blue-leaning congressional district and reported on state leaders' sweeping changes to the judiciary.
We kept an eye on our backyard, offering a forest-level view of:
- What Washington wants to do with our public lands.
- The philosophy driving Utah's Great Salt Lake response.
- What was happening behind the scenes as state leaders quietly ushered in a proposal for the world's largest data center.
Here in town, we followed fights, tragedies and milestones:
- We captured restaurant owners' protests over escalating ICE raids.
- The aftermath of the deadly shooting at the downtown No Kings protest.
- The push to change street signs named after disgraced civil rights icon Cesar Chavez.
- How Michelin Guide's arrival could level up our growing food scene.
And we added to our ongoing scrapbook of daily life: The spectacles, the norms, the fears, the frustrations, the victories, the joys, the new arrivals and the sad goodbyes.
It's been a wild journey, following the quirks of a culture that constantly lurches between stagey drama and earnest enthusiasm, between moral rigidity and hot mess, between devil-may-care individualism and devoted communities, between fixed notions of cultural identity and creative weirdness.
What we're watching: We have plenty to look forward to in the coming year, including:
- The imminent midterm elections, which will likely see Utah send a Democrat to Congress for the first time in nearly a decade.
- The groundwork already being laid for the mayor and governor races, which are (checks notes) two years off.
- The development of downtown's sports and entertainment district.
- Mr. Wonderful's controversial data center proposal in Box Elder County.
♥️ Thank you for joining us for the ride.