By McKenzie Romero | Editor
Before Charlie Kirk came to Utah Valley University, Turning Point USA was in communication with the school about concerns about people being able to access the roof of the Sorensen Student Center near the stage.
The response the organization got back from the school’s police chief, according to the Kirk family, was “I got you covered.” Minutes into Kirk’s speaking event, he was killed by a single shot fired from a different nearby rooftop.
In today’s Dispatch we take you through the claims in the Kirk family’s official notice of their intent to sue the school, where auditors found election compliance issues in the state, and the end of greenhouse gas emission restrictions for power plants.
“Through a series of stunning failures and reckless decisions, the UVU Parties created a foreseeable danger to Charlie. Those decisions ultimately rendered Mr. Kirk helpless to the rooftop shooter in an assassination that could have been avoided had the UVU Parties only taken reasonable steps to plan and oversee a safe event.” — Charlie Kirk’s family in a notice of claim, the first step in filing a lawsuit over his death.
People visit a memorial set up in honor of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University in Orem on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
By Annie Knox
Calling Charlie Kirk’s death at Utah Valley University “entirely preventable,” his family says he wouldn’t have been shot and killed last year had the university put in place tighter security protocols. Their letter announcing their intended lawsuit marks the first time they have publicly blamed the university in his death.
Attorneys for the Kirk family note that six UVU police officers staffed the event attended by some 3,000 people. They allege, without providing evidence in the notice, that UVU Police Chief Jeffrey Long sought approval from then-university President Astrid Tuminez to assign six more officers for the event, but the request was denied.
Ballots whiz through a processing machine at the Salt Lake County Government Center in Salt Lake City as votes are cast in Utah’s primary election on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
By Katie McKellar
After years of close scrutiny and multiple audits, a new legislative audit says the office of Utah’s chief election official has been “diligent in improving” the state’s election system — but some county clerks “did not fully implement all changes” to their elections.
Legislative auditors, according to the report, did an in-depth review of three counties — Utah, Wasatch and San Juan — calling some repeated errors, even after instruction, “concerning.” Auditors continue to note, as they have in past audits, that they’ve found no “significant fraud” in Utah’s elections.
The coal-fired Intermountain Power Plant near Delta, Utah is pictured on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
DC BUREAU
By Jacob Fischler
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will revoke limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that run on coal and natural gas, according to regulatory documents signed by Administrator Lee Zeldin.
The administration framed the action to repeal 2024 limits on greenhouse gas emissions from virtually all power plants other than wind, solar or hydro-powered as lowering energy costs, which the war with Iran has driven up, as energy producers will save at least $310 million on compliance. The move could produce a tenfold increase in coal power, the agency said.
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