Kevin O'Leary has released his promised letter responding to a demand from Senate President J. Stuart Adams to shrink the Stratos data center project and put up certain environmental guardrails and transparency requirements. Panelists Taylor Morgan and Leah Murray join Lindsay to unpack what this means for the political debate over data centers in Utah and across the nation. Plus, Governor Spencer Cox has declared June as Fidelity Month, a move local advocates are calling ‘a slap in the face’ to the LGBTQ+ community. In doing so, Utah joins a handful of other red states in forgoing a pride month declaration to instead focus on the importance of fidelity to God, spouses and families, and our country and communities. We evaluate what might have motivated the move from a politician once thought of as a heterodox voice in the GOP on LGBTQ+ issues.

Shark Tank host and multi-millionaire Kevin O'Leary sat down with Lindsay Aerts to respond to the pushback to his data center project in Box Elder County. He tells us that he feels blindsided by the letter published by Senate President J. Stuart Adams which asked him to cut down the size of the Stratos Project by 75%. Panelists Adam Gardiner and Erin Rider join Lindsay to unpack what happened here and what we can make of O'Leary's first on-camera comments to local TV news. Plus, Republican candidates for Congress clash on stage as primary ballots sent out. We discuss whether Rep. Blake Moore, state Rep. Karianna Lisonbee, Rep. Celeste Maloy or former Rep. Phil Lyman moved the needle on debate night.

Primary season is heating up in Utah as candidate for Utah's congressional race on both sides of the aisle prepare to take the debate stage. Panelists Leah Murray and Taylor Morgan join Lindsay to set both the expectations and the stakes. We are just days away from ballots going to Utahns across the state. Plus, President Donald Trump is dealing with low approval ratings here in Utah. The president has always had a tougher time with Utah voters than those in other red state. We look into what it might take to change that as his party heads into an important midterm election.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has declared a drought emergency after a record low snowpack has left our reservoirs below where we'd like them to be heading into the hottest and driest part of the year. It comes amid growing tensions over data center development in the Utah, with locals at city council meetings across the state voicing their concerns about potential environmental impacts of these projects meant to support emerging technology and economic growth. Lindsay Aerts sits down with decision makers in the state's Department of Natural Resources to understand how the state goes about making decisions about our state's water use.

It's a data driven episode of IUP+ for you today. Rep. Blake Moore's campaign released new internal polling data that shows him with a comfortable lead over state Rep. Karianne Lisonbee. We're also seeing a new local poll digging into how Utahns feel about plans for a data center in Box Elder County, which found that most people are not convinced the economic gains justify the water tradeoffs. Panelists Leah Murray and Adam Gardiner join Lindsay to assess how seriously both polls should be taken and what insight we can glean either way. Plus, GOP lawmakers sound off on the DOJ plan to create a $1.776B fund for those who believe the department prosecuted them for political purposes.

President Donald Trump is wrapping up his visit to China to discuss economic collaboration with a large group of business leaders in tow. Panelists Taylor Morgan and Adam Gardiner join Lindsay to discuss what the two countries have to offer one another and how the US should approach the idea of greater economic and security collaboration with China. Plus, Prop 4 is proving to be a major topic of discussion in Utah's CD-2 Republican primary contest. Rep. Blake Moore defends his role in the anti-gerrymandering effort while supporters of Rep. Karianne Lisonbee accuse him of paving the way for Utah to send a Democrat to Congress.

Utah Supreme Court Justice Diana Hagen is stepping down after allegations that she was involved in an extramarital affair with the lead lawyer for the plaintiffs suing the state over redistricting. State leaders had been promising a new investigation into the claims that Utah's Judicial Conduct Commission found to be speculative because they don't believe the commission went far enough to investigate them. Panelists Taylor Morgan and Leah Murray join Lindsay Aerts to unpack what the move signals for judicial independence in Utah. Plus, Utah Senator John Curtis seems to be considering running for governor. We analyze why we're hearing about those plans so far ahead of primary season and under two years into his first term in the senate.

State and local leaders are facing continued backlash over plans to move forward with a data center planned in Box Elder County. Panelists Taylor Morgan and Erin Rider join Lindsay to discuss how the state and developers can address both the angst and what some are calling confusion and misinformation.

For context on the incident between ABC4's Bayan Wang, you can see the full story below and read the accompanying statement.

https://www.abc4.com/news/digital-exclusives/reporter-jj-nursery-utah-senator-jerry-stevenson-box-e…

KTVX/KUCW stand on the story we aired and posted on ABC4.com.

We presented the events of Bayan Wang’s interaction with Senator Jerry Stevenson completely and accurately.

ABC4 arrived on the property after communicating with J & J management. It was not our intention to interview Sen. Stevenson after the state informed us he was unavailable. What you see on video was an unplanned encounter after Sen. Stevenson approached our team in the parking lot.

After the events captured on camera, and our debrief with police, ABC4 accepts the Senator’s apology and intends to respect the trespassing warning issued at that time.

Bayan Wang is declining to press charges against the Senator at this time.

The Box Elder County commission votes to move forward with plans for a massive data center despite weeks of public pushback. It's a fraught time for data center development across the country and here in Utah in particular. Just this past week, Governor Spencer Cox came out in support of developing more data centers in our state and across the nation as a matter of national security in the AI tech race against China. Panelists Leah Murray and Taylor Morgan join Lindsay to unpack the impact of this decision and whether the political fallout could be larger than you might think at first.

Utah's most senior member in the House is heading into a serious primary challenge. Outgoing state Rep. Karianne Lisonbee is fresh off a commanding victory at the Utah GOP State Convention over incumbent Rep. Blake Moore. She joins Lindsay today to discuss the perspective she hopes to bring to Washington and why she think it's time for voters to move on from Rep. Moore. Plus, some leaders in the state GOP are calling on voters to not retain two justices on the state supreme court. We talk to leadership at the Utah State Bar to hear their concerns about the party becoming so directly involved in a judicial retention election.