Nearly a year since her face started smiling down on Salt Lake City from billboards across town, Julia Reagan, who died last year at the age of 81, has turned into an internet obsession.

The big picture: Reagan's billboards are raising discussions about how we memorialize — and commodify — the dead in the internet age.

• While many find them to be a touching tribute to a loved one, some online critics say they've morphed into "a viral marketing endeavor."

Between the lines: Her image has spurred memes, online discourse, and at least one tattoo. Last week, a short-lived store hawking Julia Reagan merchandise was taken down within 24 hours after receiving backlash.

• She received loud applause after one of the billboards was featured in the backdrop of drag queen Trixie Mattel's DJ party, Solid Pink Disco, at Rockwell this month.
• The ads have also popped up in other states like Minnesota and Indiana.

Catch up quick: William "Bill" Reagan, founder of the state's largest billboard company, Reagan Outdoor Advertising, erected more than 300 billboards last year in cities where his business operates, honoring his wife of almost 60 years, KSL NewsRadio reported last July.

• Along with her photo and name, they feature messages like "cherished in life, honored in memory" and "wife, mother and grandmother we will miss you."
• "I never really had a chance to say goodbye to her," Bill told KSL NewsRadio at the time. "Now, she's right on the board so I can say goodbye every time I see one."
• Bill did not respond to Axios' request for comment.

Flashback: According to her obituary, Julia was born in Maryland and attended the University of Utah, where she earned a Ph.D.

• She met Bill at a dance in 1965 and they eloped after their fifth date.
• She was an avid sports fan, a devoted mother, and enjoyed traveling and ballroom dancing with her husband.

The bottom line: A Reagan Outdoor Advertising representative told ABC 4 that the billboards will stay up until the end of June, but will return in the future to mark the anniversary of her death.

Lawsuit pending

Utah is one of the least federally reliant states in the nation — yet more than a quarter of its revenue comes from D.C., per a recent analysis.

Why it matters: The Trump administration and congressional Republicans are looking for ways to cut federal spending, and some states may be more vulnerable than others to major decreases.

By the numbers: As of 2022, federal funding accounted for more than 29% of Utah's revenue, according to a Pew Charitable Trusts analysis of the latest available census data.

Zoom out: Most states get an even bigger share of tax funding from federal sources.

• It accounts for more than half of revenue in Louisiana and Alaska and nearly 50% in Arizona.

The intrigue: Utah is one of the few red states that isn't heavily reliant on federal funds.

• Of the four states that get a smaller share of their revenue from D.C., only oil-rich North Dakota went for Trump in November.

Catch up quick: Utah, Wyoming and Nevada are the only three states that send more money to federal government coffers than they receive and also supported Trump.

• 13 states total give more to the feds than they get.

Why states are worried

🏜️ A Republican plan to sell public lands in Utah and Nevada for housing could turn into a giveaway to developers and mining companies without bringing much relief to the West's housing shortage, critics say. (Associated Press)

🔌 Thousands of Utahns lost power along the Wasatch Front as of Monday evening. (KSL.com)

• A powerful windstorm persisted throughout the day.

🛢️ An oil tanker crashed into a Wellington home Monday, sending multiple people to the hospital. (FOX 13)

🎬 Summit County is eliminating its annual funding for the Sundance Film Festival now that organizers have announced their departure for Boulder, Colorado in 2027. (KPCW)

• The festival received $130,000 last year.

A couple weeks back I told you about the wind-pummeled desert camping trip that turned my tent into a sand castle.

• It finally convinced my family to get the dream tent we've wanted for years.

Turns out you had your own gear picks you wished you'd bought earlier.

Reader Anna T. told us about a camping trip to Wyoming's national parks with her young kids and husband.

• "After being in denial that our air mattress was leaking, we woke up the next morning flat on the ground," she wrote.
• That turned into a last-minute side-trip to REI for a camping accessory that multiple people have told me changed their camping lives: The humble cot.

Reader Adrienne A. reached her limit with a heavy camping chair she'd kept around despite a bent bar that turned folding and unfolding it into a Greco-Roman wrestling match.

• "Finally in a fit of rage my partner threw it across the fire pit and declared a new one is in order. It arrives this week! Thank you REI co op," she writes.

We compared the Utah Museum of Fine Art's cost of adult admission against other major museums in select Axios Local cities.

By the numbers: UMFA visitors paid about 33.5% less than those visiting the Museum of Modern Art in New York City or the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Zoom in: The museum is featuring a Himalayan Buddhist devotional art exhibition until July 27.