Editor 2003-2013
February 2012
Josh Powell kills his sons
Josh was a suspect in the disappearance of his wife, Susan Cox Powell, who disappeared in December 2009. After Josh lost custody of his two young sons in 2001, he killed both boys, set fire to his home and took his own life. Susan is presumed dead.
2012 Presidential Election
Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney
2012 saw two politicians with strong Utah ties vie for the Republican presidential nomination — former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who resigned as governor to serve as the U.S. ambassador to China, and Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governor who headed the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. Romney became the official nominee and eventually lost to President Barack Obama.
March 2011
HB477 repealed
House bill 477 would have restricted public access to government records by gutting Utah’s Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA). The bill would have exempted certain electronic communication and charged for large requests. Utah lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to repeal the bill two weeks after it passed due to public outcry.
February 2011
Sloan retires
After 28 years with the Utah Jazz franchise, Jerry Sloan announced his retirement as head coach. The Hall of Fame coach had 1,221 career victories, 17 consecutive winning seasons, seven division titles and two NBA Finals appearances.
September 2007
Warren Jeffs found guilty
The leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was convicted in Utah on two felony charges of accomplice rape. The verdict was overturned in 2010 and Jeffs was extradicted to Texas where he is now serving a life sentence for sexual assault.
August 2007
Crandall Canyon mine collapse
Six miners became trapped in a mine collapse near Huntington, Utah. During the rescue effort a subsequent collapse killed three rescue workers. The six miners' bodies were never recovered.
February 2007
Trolley Square shooting
18-year-old Sulejman Talovic went on a shooting spree at a Salt Lake City mall, killing five people and injuring four. Talovic's rampage came to an end when he was shot and killed by police.
May 2005
The Salt Lake Tribune leaves historic Main Street
Citing the need for a more efficient work space and room to grow, Salt Lake Tribune publisher Dean Singleton announced signing a 20-year lease for Utah's largest daily at The Gateway. The newspaper's headquarters had been on or near Main Street for 134 years.
January 2005
Utes win Fiesta Bowl
Star quarterback Alex Smith led fifth-ranked Utah to a Fiesta Bowl victory, rolling over 19th-ranked Pittsburgh, 35-7. Utah fans packed Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz., as Smith dominated the game, throwing 328 yards and four touchdowns.
November 2004
Ken Jennings' winning Jeopardy streak ends
Jennings had a success rate of 90 percent on the popular quiz show, correctly answering more than 2,700 questions in 75 games and winning more than $2.5 million A 30-year-old software engineer from Murray and BYU grad, Jennings broke records for most money won on a game show and most consecutive appearances on a game show.
Editor 1991-2003
April 2003
Aron Ralston cuts off his own arm
Ralston was climbing in Blue John Canyon when his arm became trapped under a boulder. After five days, he took the desperate step of cutting off his arm with a pocketknife. His story was turned into the film "127 Hours."March 2003
Elizabeth Smart found alive
When Sandy police stopped a disheveled trio, something about the youngest member prompted them to ask, 'Are you Elizabeth Smart?" Indeed, it was the 14-year-old girl had been abducted from her bedroom in Federal Heights nine months earlier. Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee were eventually convicted of the kidnapping.
June 2002
Elizabeth Smart kidnapped
In the middle of the night, 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped from her Federal Heights home. Brian David Mitchell broke into her bedroom through a window, threatened the girl with a knife and took her into the foothills with his wife, Wanda Barzee. Her disappearance spawned a massive search.
February 2002
2002 Winter Olympics
Salt Lake City welcomed the world as host city to the 2002 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games. Over 2 billion viewers worldwide watched as 2,400 athletes representing 77 nations competed in the premier athletic event. The financial and broadcasting success of the Games overshadowed the bribery controversy that resulted in the resignation of several IOC members.
May 2001
Polygamist Tom Green convicted of bigamy
After a high profile trial, the Utah polygamist was convicted of four counts of bigamy and one count of criminal nonsupport. Green was also convicted on child rape in 2002 for impregnating his wife when she was 13.June 1997
Jazz lose NBA Championship
The Utah Jazz dominated the Chicago Bulls for most of Game 6, but the team fell apart in the fourth quarter, squandering a nine-point lead and giving Chicago its fifth championship in seven years. Final score: 90-86.
August 1997
Ownership change for The Salt Lake Tribune
U.S. Sen. Thomas Kearns took ownership of the Salt Lake Tribune in 1901 and the Kearns' descendants retained ownership until 1997 when the paper was sold to cable TV company Tele-Communications Inc., which subsequently merged with AT&T. The Tribune was later sold to Denver-based MediaNews Group.
September 1996
Grand Staircase-Escalante declared a National Monument
Citing powers granted by the Antiquities Act, President Bill Clinton created the 1.9 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to protect the southern Utah wilderness area from development. Utah's Congressional delegation and local officials strongly condemned the unilateral move, but environmentalists praised the president's action.November 1995
The Salt Lake Tribune's website launches
The digital version of the Salt Lake Tribune made its debut on the World Wide Web.
December 1995
Enid Greene Waldholtz scandal
Investigated by a Washington, D.C., grand jury convened under the direction of then-U.S. attorney (now U.S. Attorney General) Eric Holder, Greene Waldholtz was never charged with a crime, although she did pay fines for campaign violations. Her then-husband and campaign treasurer, Joe Waldholtz, was convicted of several felony fraud counts after being exposed as a hoaxster — and, for a time, a federal fugitive — who had created an elaborate fictitious biography of personal wealth.June 1995
Salt Lake chosen for 2002 Olympic Games
Salt Lake City beat out three other cities bidding for the 2002 Winter Olympics. It was the eighth time the games had been awarded to a host city in the United States.
March 1994
Salt Lake City Library hostage incident
Clifford Lynn Draper, armed with a semi-automatic hand gun and a bomb, held several people hostage in a conference room of the downtown Salt Lake City library. Draper made a litany of demands ranging from back pay he believed he was owed by the military to platinum bullion to a full presidential pardon. Hostage Lloyd Prescott, a Salt Lake County Sheriff's lieutenant, eventually shot Draper, who later died at LDS Hospital. The bomb did not detonate.September 1991
Alta View Hospital hostage incident
Richard Worthington, a 39-year-old father of eight, took nine hostages, including three infants, in an attempt to kill the doctor who had performed a tubal ligation on his wife. One hostage, nurse Karla Roth, was shot and killed by Worthington during the incident. After nearly 18 hours of negotiation, Worthington surrendered. A TV movie based on the crime was released in 1992.Editor 1981-1991
March 1989
Cold fusion and the University of Utah
University of Utah scientists Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons announced to the press that they had achieved cold fusion in a jar of water. However, their experiment could not be reproduced and their claims were soon discredited.January 1988
Standoff at the Singer compound
Hoping to overthrow The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Addam Swapp bombed an LDS stake center which led to a 13-day standoff with police at a polygamous compound. Swapp's father-in-law, John Singer, had been killed by police 10 years earlier and Swapp believed his actions would lead to Singer's resurrection. Lt. Fred house was killed during the gun battle that ended the standoff.Swapp was granted parole in July after serving 25 years.
January 1987
Airplanes collide in midair
A SkyWest commuter airliner collided with a small private plane as the airliner was approaching Salt Lake International Airport. All 10 people aboard the planes were killed.October 1985
The Mark Hofmann bombings
Hofmann forged multiple historic Mormon documents he hoped The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would buy. His famous forgeries include the Oath of a Freeman and the Salamander letter. Rather than be exposed as a fraud, Hofmann killed two people with homemade bombs before he was injured by a third bomb that exploded in his car.
January 1985
BYU wins national championship
"During the 1984 college football season, the BYU Cougars, led by coach LaVell Edwards, went undefeated, eventually winning the national championship.
December 1984
The Wilberg Mine disaster
In a terrifying tragedy outside of Orangville, 18 miners and 9 company officials perished in a fire that cut off the escape route for the victims.
July 1984
The Hi-Fi murders
In a crime that horrified the nation, Air Force airmen William Andrews and Dale Pierre Selby tortured five victims during a robbery of an Ogden stereo shop. The men tied up their captives in the basement, forced them to drink Drano, raped the teenaged girl and shot all of them. Three of the victims died. Andrews and Selby were both executed.
July 1984
The Lafferty brothers: Murder in the name of God
Brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty were fundamental Mormons who believed they were prophets. After Ron's wife left him, he placed the blame partially on his sister-in-law, Brenda Wright Lafferty, the wife of his youngest brother Allen. He recorded a revelation which called for the deaths of Brenda and her infant daughter along with people who had supported his ex-wife during the divorce. Ron and Dan murdered Brenda and her baby by slitting their throats. Dan is serving a life sentence with possibility of parole, while Ron awaits execution.July 1983
Serial killer Arthur Gary Bishop
Former Eagle Scout and Mormon missionary Arthur Gary Bishop sexually abused and murdered five boys, ages four to 13, over a four-year period. Bishop claimed an addiction to child pornography was to blame for his violent fantasies. He was executed by lethal injection in 1988.
Spring 1983
The floods of '83
Heavy floods turned State Street into a river, while the town of Thistle was buried in mud. Alta was closed by mudslides, which also plagued Farmington and Fairview. Eleven Utah counties were declared a disaster area.See our A Look Back gallery of the floods
1981-1987
The Unabomber's Utah connection
Unabomber Theodore "Ted" Kaczynski, a former mathematics professor turned recluse, staged bombings across the country over a 17-year period. He killed three people and injured 23.Two of his home-made bombs were mailed from Utah, one in May of 1982 and one in November of 1985. Both resulted in injuries.
In February 1987, Kaczynski was spotted planting a bomb outside a Salt Lake City computer store by an employee. The store owner, Gary Wright, was injured by the blast. The employee's eyewitness account resulted a highly publicized police sketch.
Editor 1950-1981
June 1979
Jazz move to Utah
Five years after the New Orleans Jazz began in Louisiana, the franchise moved to Salt Lake City.August 1978
Sundance film festival begins
The annual film festival began as an endeavor to showcase small-budget independent filmmakers.
August 1978
International Dune Hotel murder-suicide
Rebecca David killed six and injured one of her children, ages 6 through 15, by throwing them from the 11th floor balcony her Salt Lake City hotel. After she had thrown the last of children from the railing, she jumped to her own death. The tragedy occurred after the mother learned that her husband, Immanuel David, had committed suicide.June 1978
LDS church opens priesthood to blacks
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced a revelation that all worthy male members of the church could hold the priesthood and there would no longer be restrictions based on skin color.
January 1977
The execution of Gary Gilmore
Gary Gilmore received the death penalty for the murder of two Utah county men in 1976. Gilmore chose to die by firing squad and was the first person executed after capitol punishment was reinstated in the United Stated in 1976. His execution reignited the debate over state-sanctioned executions.
May 1971
Utah Stars win the ABA Crown
The Utah Stars played in Utah from 1970 to 1975. The team won the ABA championship with a victory over the Kentucky Colonels in the 70-71 season.
March 1968
Dugway sheep incident
More than 6,000 sheep in the area west of Skull Valley died suddenly after an incident involving a nerve agent at the Dugway Proving Ground, a chemical and biological weapons research site for the United States Army. In a report released 30 years after the incident, officials admitted that a nerve agent most likely caused the animals' deaths.
September 1966
Glenn Canyon dam dedicated
The 710-foot-high concrete structure located in northern Arizona was built to regulate the flow of the Colorado River. The dam created Lake Powell, the second-largest largest man-made reservoir in U.S.
November 1965
United Airlines Flight 227
A passenger flight on route to San Francisco with more than 90 people aboard crashed while attempting to land at Salt Lake City International Airport. the crash killed 43 people.September 1963
President Kennedy visits Utah
John F. Kennedy visited Utah and spoke at the Tabernacle on Temple Square.
See the Look Back gallery of the presidential visit with links to his speech.
1962
Utah Shakespearean festival presents its first season
Fred C. Adams started the theatre company in Southern Utah to attract summer tourists. The first season featured three of Shakespeare's plays. The company now produces eight shows per season.
June 1956
Grand Canyon crash
Two airliners collided over the Grand Canyon, killing all 128 people aboard. The Salt Lake Tribune won a Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting for its coverage of the crash.
July 1953
The Short Creek raid
Arizona officials raided the polygamist community of Short Creek and took all of the men, women and children into custody. The community was renamed Colorado City in 1960.See the photo gallery
1953
JOA
The Salt Lake Tribune and The Deseret News enter into a joint operating agreement that controls printing, advertising, distribution, circulation and marketing of both papers.