By Stephen Dark The following story was reported by The Utah Investigative Journalism Project in partnership with The Deseret News. One late June 2021 afternoon, Carbon County victim advocate Denna Fausett drove to Mesquite, Nevada. She picked up 25-year-old Josie Powell at the trailer park she lived in and brought her back to downtown Price,...
Category: News
Complaint alleges Salt Lake City councilman broke campaign laws to get elected
By Cathy McKitrick The following story was reported by The Utah Investigative Journalism Project in partnership with The Salt Lake Tribune. Sore loser. Sour grapes. In hindsight, Billy Palmer figured that’s how people would likely see his campaign finance complaint against fellow City Council candidate Alejandro Puy. Palmer filed his complaint with the Salt Lake...
Bills helping renters face uphill battle in Legislature dominated by real estate industry
The following story was supported by funding from The Economic Hardship Reporting Project and was reported by The Utah Investigative Journalism Project in partnership with The Salt Lake Tribune. Lacey Whyte knows all about the “scarlet E” that comes with having an eviction on your record and how difficult it makes it to get into...
Southern Utah town’s apocalyptic spending project raises eyebrows.
By Sara Tabin The following story was reported by The Utah Investigative Journalism Project in partnership with The Spectrum & Daily News and the Salt Lake City Weekly. The past couple years have been rife with existential threats for Utahns—earthquakes, wildfires, supply chain shortages—not to mention multiple waves of coronavirus surges. It’s been enough...
Your GRAMA could be featured in The Utah Reporters’ Almanac
The Utah Investigative Journalism Project is excited to announce a very special project we have in the works, a resource guide especially for journalists we’re calling The Utah Reporters’ Almanac. It’s going to be full of useful tips and articles on everything from searching databases to understanding recent laws affecting transparency and open access....
A year after Jan.6 protests, Utah law enforcement is still trying to navigate armed protests
The following story was supported by The Fund for Investigative Journalism and was reported by Eric S. Peterson of The Utah Investigative Journalism Project in partnership with the Deseret News. On Jan. 17, 2021, the Utah Capitol was ready for anything. A little over a week after the tumult of the insurrection at the nation’s...
Learn how to follow the 2022 Legislative Session
The Utah legislative session is just around the corner and there will be a lot to keep track of. Thankfully we got you covered! The Utah Investigative Journalism Project in partnership with The Utah Headliners Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists are hosting a virtual crash course on the 2022 legislative session, Friday Jan....
Salt Lake apartment complex hikes rent after receiving the most federal aid in Utah
(Eric Peterson | The Utah Investigative Journalism Project) Jeremy Arrieta broke his lease and left the Solara apartments in Salt Lake City, now named Downtown West, a year ago due to a septic leak inside and a fatal shooting outside his apartment. Now he’s facing a lawsuit from the Law Offices of Kirk Cullimore. The...
UIJP Wins Gold in National Journalism Contest
The Utah Investigative Journalism Project brought home the gold from the National Association of Real Estate Editors 71st annual journalism competition. UIJP won for the competitive “Best Investigative Report or Investigative Series” category for our reporting on evictions that happened in 2020 despite moratoriums in place meant to stop the practice. The judges’ comments noted...
Did these Utah Multi-Level Marketing companies really need giant PPP Loans?
The following story was reported by Eric S. Peterson of The Utah Investigative Journalism Project in partnership with Utah Stories. While many U.S. industries have gone under or struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic, many multilevel marketing businesses appear to be bounding through it without a scratch. On May 26, 2021, the Direct Selling Association, representing...









