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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · 14d

How could the maps the Utah Legislature is considering change Utah's political landscape? I ran the numbers to see how each of the four districts have performed in recent elections.

www.sltrib.com/news/politic...

Will Utah’s congressional districts be more competitive with the Legislature’s new maps?

The Salt Lake Tribune compared the Legislature's five congressional map proposals to election data. Here's what a reported found about districts.

www.sltrib.com

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Sep 3

Pornhub’s owners are paying Utah $5M and potentially up to $15M to settle allegations from the state and FTC that they hosted child sexual abuse and non-consensual videos and images.

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Porn company will pay Utah millions to settle allegations of posting child sex abuse materials

Aylo, the parent company of Pornhunb, will pay Utah $5 million — plus fines — to settle allegations of sharing child sex abuse material on their websites.

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Aug 28

They don't like it, but Republican Lege leaders say they will obey a court order to redraw the state's congressional maps while also pursuing "every legal option."

Gibson’s ruling, they said, “unconstitutionally” ties their hands and sets unreasonable deadlines.

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Utah lawmakers will obey order to redraw U.S. House maps while pursuing ‘every legal option’

Legislative leaders begrudgingly say they will redraw Utah's congressional maps under a judge's timeline while still continuing to pursue "every legal option available."

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Aug 28

Trump trashed an Utah judge’s decision as “unconstitutional” and “activism” aimed at tearing down the Republican majority. He says he wants to make sure the state’s “four Republican Congressmen stay right where they are!” — including Rep. Celeste Maloy.

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President Trump calls Utah’s gerrymandering ruling ‘absolutely unconstitutional’

President Trump called Utah’s gerrymandering ruling “absolutely unconstitutional” in a Wednesday post on Truth Social, and assailed an “activist judiciary” that wants to take away GOP’s advantage.

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Aug 26

Breaking: Judge Dianna Gibson has struck down Utahs congressional boundaries, ordering the Legislature to adopt new maps within 30 days that comply with the 2018 Better Boundaries initiative.

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Utah judge tosses Legislature’s gerrymandered congressional maps, orders new maps redrawn

A judge threw out Utah’s congressional maps and ordered the Legislature to draw new districts that comply with the 2018 voter-backed Better Boundaries initiative, which sought to ban partisan gerryman...

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Aug 22

On Monday, a judge will decide if Utah’s congressional boundaries were illegally gerrymandered to help Republicans.

The long-awaited decision may trigger a remapping of Utah’s 4 House seats as Texas & Calif. are redrawing maps for political advantage.

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Judge to rule in Utah’s gerrymandering lawsuit Monday

On Monday, a Utah judge is expected to rule whether the Legislature illegally gerrymandered Utah’s congressional districts and needs to redraw the boundaries.

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Aug 8

Democratic Sen. Nate Blouin has called for Senate President Stuart Adams to resign over his involvement in changing a law that helped an 18-year-old high schooler facing rape charges.

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‘Do the right thing’: Utah Senate president who intervened in child rape case must resign, Democratic senator says

Democratic state Sen. Nate Blouin is calling on Utah Senate President J. Stuart Adams to resign after The Salt Lake Tribune first reported that Adams had initiated a change to Utah law that helped an ...

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Aug 6

My original reporting of this story is available here:

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Utah’s Senate president prompted law change that helped a teen charged with child rape

An 18-year-old high schooler was facing potential prison time and having to register as a sex offender until help came from a powerful ally — Senate President J. Stuart Adams.

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Aug 6

My original reporting of this story is available here.

www.sltrib.com/news/politic...

Utah’s Senate president prompted law change that helped a teen charged with child rape

An 18-year-old high schooler was facing potential prison time and having to register as a sex offender until help came from a powerful ally — Senate President J. Stuart Adams.

www.sltrib.com

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Aug 4

This story is now in front of the paywall, so you no longer have to be a subscriber to read it … but if you’d like to support journalism:

sltrib.com/subscribe/

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Aug 4

Believe that as of this morning that story is out from behind the paywall.

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Aug 2

It’s going away in a few months. But until then someone has to pay the bills.

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Aug 2

Here’s the backstory on how Senate President Stuart Adams spurred a change to state law that helped a teen facing child rape charges.

It highlights issues around how the criminal justice system deals with such cases.

www.sltrib.com/news/politic...

Utah’s Senate president prompted law change that helped a teen charged with child rape

An 18-year-old high schooler was facing potential prison time and having to register as a sex offender until help came from a powerful ally — Senate President J. Stuart Adams.

www.sltrib.com

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Jul 21

Can someone please explain how movie theater popcorn is so addictive?

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Jul 17

This rare dinosaur skeleton — which had been housed at Thanksgiving Point until last year — just sold for $30.5 million, making it the third most expensive sale of a specimen in history.

www.sltrib.com/artsliving/2...

Jurassic perk? A rare dinosaur skeleton from a Utah museum sells for massive amount at auction

A Ceratosaurus skeleton sold for millions of dollars at auction Wednesday. It had previously been owned by Thanksgiving Point.

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Jun 23

Wanna own a dinosaur? Sotheby's is auctioning off this rare Ceratosaurus that spent more 20+ yrs at the Thanksgiving Point museum before being sold last year.

Paleontologists worry it may end up in private hands, away from scientists and the public.

www.sltrib.com/news/2025/06...

Do dinosaur bones belong in a museum or a ‘McMansion?’

Sotheby's is auctioning a Ceratosaurus skeleton that used to be displayed at the Mountain America Museum of Ancient Life in Utah. Do dinosaur bones belong in a museum or a "McMansion?"

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Jun 16

Yeah. He got it up before we did. Still hoping to get something from the senator.

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Jun 16

Read the scathing letter a senior staffer for Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith sent to Mike Lee’s office, chiding Lee for joking about the slaying of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband.

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‘Have you no decency?’ Read the scathing letter a Minnesota US Senate staffer sent to Mike Lee

After Utah Sen. Mike Lee promoted right-wing conspiracy theories about the man who killed Melissa Hortman and her husband, a senior staffer for Sen. Tina Smith wrote a blistering email to Lee’s staff.

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Jun 16

MN Sen Amy Klobuchar rips Mike Lee for blaming deadly shooting of state lawmakers on “Marxists” and linking him to Gov. Tim Walz.

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‘This is not a joke’: Sen. Amy Klobuchar rips Mike Lee for posts about a deadly Minnesota shooting

Sen. Mike Lee's unfounded claims on social media about the slaying of a Minnesota lawmaker have angered his U.S. Senate colleague from the state.

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Jun 15

This is all so bleak. Be safe. Be kind to each other.

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One person ‘critically injured,’ one arrested after shooting as 10,000 march in Salt Lake City during No Kings protest

Near the end of a march from Pioneer Park to the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building, shots were fired. Salt Lake City police said they transported one person to a hospital and arrested another.

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Jun 14

Hi. I’m Robert.

I’m gonna be spending a little more time over here. Come say hi.

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Apr 28

Here is a first crack at a story on labor unions meeting the requirements to get their repeal effort on the ballot.

www.sltrib.com/news/politic...

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Apr 28

Assuming the figures hold, the anti-bargaining law will be put on hold and voters will decide in the 2026 election whether to repeal the ban.

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Apr 28

Opponents will have until June 21 to try to get people to rescind their signatures — a "knock-off" provision that could push them back under the targets in certain senate districts and off the ballot.

But with more than 100,000 signatures left to count, it will be very hard.

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Robert Gehrke @robertgehrke.bsky.social · Apr 28

BREAKING: Labor groups met the requirements to qualify a referendum for the ballot repealing HB267, which bans collective bargaining for police, fire and teachers unions.

As of this morning, they had more than 148l verified signatures and met the targets in 15 senate districts.

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