The top 5 issues Utahns read about from Utah News Dispatch in 2025

People take part in the “No Kings” protest in Salt Lake City on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

Utah made big headlines in 2025, sometimes for deeply tragic reasons. 

In a year marked by divisive rhetoric across the nation, those stories were among the most read on Utah News Dispatch’s website, along with announcements about homelessness, Sundance and decisions impacting kids. 

As news pushed the Beehive State into the national spotlight, here are some of the issues that rose to the top for Utah News Dispatch readers.

Fatal shooting as thousands march in Salt Lake City

As 10,000 Utahns joined in a nationwide No Kings demonstration protesting President Donald Trump’s policies and administration, shots rang out, sending the crowd fleeing and leaving one man dead.

When the chaos cleared, police said an armed volunteer, identifying himself as a “peacekeeper” for the event, had spotted a man with a rifle and shot at him, wounding him and hitting a bystander as he passed with the marchers. Arthur “Afa” Ah Loo died of his injuries, and the demonstrator with the rifle, who was legally permitted to carry his firearm in the protest, was released from jail without charges after nearly a week.

Months later, prosecutors publicly identified the armed volunteer, 43-year-old Matthew Scott Alder, and charged him with manslaughter, a second-degree felony. He is scheduled to make an initial court appearance Jan. 6.  

Charlie Kirk assassinated at Utah Valley University

The first stop of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s “American Comeback Tour” was planned for Utah Valley University, where he would engage with students and the public in his signature “prove me wrong” question-and-answer debate. As he spoke at the campus’ open-air event, he was killed by a single shot that police say was fired by a lone gunman on a roof.

After a nearly three-day manhunt, Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Washington County resident, was arrested after family members and a family friend convinced him to turn himself in, according to police documents. Meanwhile, mourning for Kirk — and political and professional recrimination for those who spoke negatively about him — swept the nation.

Robinson has been charged with aggravated murder, a first-degree felony. Before he was even arrested, Utah officials were pledging to pursue a death penalty in the case, if he is convicted. As court hearings get underway, Robinson’s attorneys are pursuing restrictions on photos and videos of the proceedings.

Homeless services campus site revealed

For months, state officials searched for a site for what they say will be a centralized location for wraparound services for Utahns experiencing homelessness. When the news broke that they had landed on a location, reaction was swift and strong.

The site for the new 1,300-bed shelter is located at 2520 N. 2200 West, Salt Lake City. It’s an open field located directly west of I-215 and roughly a mile south from North Salt Lake’s city boundaries, in Salt Lake City’s Northpointe area. The small agricultural neighborhood lacks public transit and is far-flung from other services located around downtown.

The new homeless campus is envisioned by state homeless leaders to be a place where people experiencing homelessness can go for all of their services, all in one spot. But advocates have decried the strategy as a ploy to warehouse vulnerable Utahns out of sight and force people into mental health or drug treatment (and in an environmentally important zone, to boot). Surrounding neighbors also fear for what it means for their property values and public safety.

Sundance is out, and a flag ban is in

Two hot-button issues became intertwined in Utah this year — the announcement that the Sundance Film Festival will leave its home in Park City after more than 40 years, and legislation by Republican lawmakers banning most flags from classrooms and government buildings, notably LGBTQ+ banners. The Hollywood news site Deadline reported Utah’s flag ban could have tipped the scales out of the state’s favor.

Both developments drew dismay from the state’s Democrat-led capital city, even as Salt Lake City leaders came up with a loophole in the flag ban law. Meanwhile, some Republican legislators were eager to bid “Bye Felicia” to the film festival that they said doesn’t align with the state’s conservative values.

Sundance’s departure from Utah is a blow not just to local filmmakers, but also the state’s economy. In 2024, the Sundance Film Festival generated about $132 million in gross domestic product for Utah, 1,730 local jobs, $69.7 million in Utah wages, and $13.8 million in state and local tax revenue, according to an economic impact report. 

Legislation, lawsuits and debates impacting youth

As lawmakers and state leaders prioritized issues impacting youth in 2025, several made the list of Utah News Dispatch’s most-read reports. 

Those included:

• News that the company operating some of the most visited pornographic websites in the world, including Pornhub, agreed to pay Utah $5 million over allegations that it didn’t do enough to remove videos depicting rape, child sexual abuse and secret recordings. 
• A bill to restrict the allowable age gap between an underage minor and his or her adult spouse, reducing the age difference to four years.
• A debate among the Utah State Board of Education over whether schools were complying with a 2024 law restricting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in all public institutions. 

More of Utah News Dispatch’s most-read stories:

• Utah senator announces he’s leaving the Republican party, joining Utah Forward Party
• After decades on death row, Ralph Menzies dies of natural causes instead of firing squad
• Mike Lee outrages Minnesota politicians with social media jabs about lawmaker’s murder
• Utah entrepreneur ‘The Bull’ pleads guilty to $20 million scheme involving 530 victims
• Senate abandons compromise with unions, passes ban on public sector collective bargaining