By McKenzie Romero | Editor
When a threatening letter containing an unidentified white powder was mailed to Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson’s office, staff there and a local U.S. Postal Service inspector were already on the lookout.
That’s because election officials in at least four other states received similar messages last week, and the message meant for Henderson was intercepted over the weekend before it could be delivered.
In today’s Dispatch we update you on Henderson’s undaunted response to the threat as the days tick down to the Nov. 3 elections, how Utah’s Sen. John Curtis is pushing in Congress to get money to the Great Salt Lake, and why brown bears are struggling in Utah and around the country.
“Nothing is going to disrupt the midterm election. We won’t let it happen.” — Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson in a social media post after a local postal inspector intercepted a threatening letter containing white powder on its way to her office.
Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson speaks to reporters at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Sept. 1, 2026. (Katie McKellar/Utah News Dispatch)
By Katie McKellar
Reports of threatening letters containing suspicious white powder in Arizona, Ohio, Oklahoma and Louisiana began last week, prompting building evacuations and an FBI investigation. The letter sent to Utah was intercepted by the Postal Service and given to the FBI.
This isn’t the first time threatening packages have been sent to Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson. It happened in September 2024, when the FBI found a letter containing white powder addressed to Henderson’s office. It was signed by the “United States Traitor Elimination Army.”
At right, Tim Davis, Utah Department of Environmental Quality commissioner, briefs U.S. Sen. John Curtis and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin during a tour of the Great Salt Lake at Farmington Bay on Saturday, May 23, 2026. (Pool photo by Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune)
GREAT SALT LAKE COLLABORATIVE
By Katie McKellar
During a discussion focused on water and saving the shrinking Great Salt Lake, U.S. Sen. John Curtis said he’s trying to drum up the political will in Congress to help President Donald Trump’s $1 billion proposal for the lake materialize.
He argued the ailing lake is a “regional issue,” with ecological and economic threats that could hurt not just Utah, but the West. He also said it could have global implications, if state and federal leaders figure out a way to save the saline lake — which hasn’t been done before, ever.
Bears rummage through garbage at a dumpster in Whitefish, Montana. (Photo courtesy of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks)
STATELINE
By Alex Brown
Across much of the United States, a warm winter and persistent drought have decimated the natural foods that black and brown bears rely on. The adaptable eaters are turning to human food, raiding garbage cans, breaking into homes and cars, tearing through chicken coops and pulling down bird feeders.
Wildlife officers in many states have received a record number of calls, working overtime through the summer to deter bears, put out traps and euthanize animals who pose persistent problems. In Utah, which has a smaller bear population than many other Western states, wildlife officers have euthanized 70 bears this year, up from the previous record of 24.
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