This is your daily news rundown for Tuesday, Feb. 3. In this edition:
- The LDS church is contributing funds, lands, and volunteers to the 2034 Olympics
- Republican leaders are suing to block Utah's new congressional map
The LDS church is pledging its support for the 2034 Utah Olympics
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is contributing funds, land, and volunteers for the 2034 Utah Olympics.
That includes access to Block 85 in downtown Salt Lake City as an official Olympic venue and church-owned land near proposed Olympic sites that could be used for parking.
The church also supported the Olympics when they last came to Salt Lake City in 2002.
Republican leaders are suing to stop Utah’s new congressional map from being used
Republican leaders are officially suing to block Utah’s recently redrawn congressional map from being used.
The lawsuit was filed against Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson by a group of county commissioners and Congressional representatives Celeste Maloy and Burgess Owens.
It’s part of a yearslong battle over a citizen-led initiative called Proposition 4 that aimed to prevent gerrymandering with an independent redistricting commission.
It led to a state court implementing a new congressional map that wasn’t drawn by lawmakers — something the lawsuit claims was unconstitutional, arguing the Legislature has the sole authority to draw those maps.
Republican lawmakers are also trying to get enough signatures to put a ban of Proposition 4 on November’s ballot.
The League of Women Voters of Utah, one of the plaintiffs in the original gerrymandering case, said that the current map is fair and legal and that they would continue to defend Proposition 4 and the rights of voters.
