Stuart Adams

So I, I mean, I, [sighs] I think we've talked about this on the podcast before, too, because, you know, we've heard from various state leaders on this race with China around AI and data centers.

We heard from Senate President Stuart Adams about this, who was like, "The coun- the country that controls AI and data centers will control the world" kind of vibe.

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

"And so that's why Utah has to be a part of this effort, so that we can, you know, w- do something in the name of national security against China." So I-

The meanest Canadian ever.

There was a powerful politician in Utah named Stuart Adams, longest serving president of the state Senate in its history.

He lost to a challenger, Stephanie Hollist, who was a former university lawyer and vocal opponent of the Kevin O'Leary data center project.

Why did he lose? Squarely because he supported the data center project in Utah and his opponent opposed it.

Thanks to our listeners for tuning in as well.

On the other side of the news, Juab County residents say echoes of what happened in Box Elder County earlier this year that ended up costing two, uh, county commissioners their political jobs in the primaries and the Senate President himself, who has been a lawmaker here in Utah from the Davis County area for decades.

Both, uh, the commissioners and the Senate president given the boot by voters in the primary over unhappiness with a proposed Box Elder County data center project and the process that they felt left the public out, was trying to fast-track it through the state's MIDA board.

MIDA board not directly involved in this one, as far as we know yet, but residents of Juab County say they've had the same experience.

But fighting has also ramped up in the Red Sea and the other main thoroughfare, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Iranian-backed Houthis have been fighting with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations for control of it.

Vice President Vance told reporters today the US is monitoring.

Vance also commented on reporting from The New York Times that said he would bypass top Pentagon leadership, like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and get unvarnished assessments from commanders in the Mideast and other places regarding the Iran war.

On June 3rd, the group filed a lawsuit in Utah's 1st District Court appealing that decision.

A second suit, filed in Utah's 3rd District Court by the non-profit Alliance for a Better Utah and five Box Elder County residents, asks the judge to void the entire agreement establishing the Stratus Project area and to remove Utah Senate President Stuart Adams and State Senator Jerry Stevenson from META's board, arguing that they had been unconstitutionally serving on it while simultaneously holding seats in the state legislature.

something the plaintiff says Utah's constitution bars.

Both Adams and Stevenson were appointed to Mita's board in 2008, two years before either of them held a legislative seat.

The land use approval had already happened at the Box Elder County Fairgrounds by the board he chaired.

On June 23rd, Utah's primary election day, voters delivered the verdict.

Stuart Adams lost his race.

In the final weeks, he had tried to get out in front of it.

Um, there are, uh, concerns over water, uh, pollution, heat, noise, light pollution, uh, the, the, uh, overall environmental effects of, of especially a very large data center like the one that, uh, was proposed in Box Elder County that received a massive statewide backlash and actually cost a couple of elected officials their positions in, in the primaries in June, uh, for supporting it.

Um, this was-- or in the case of the Box Elder County commissioners, being forced to support it by [chuckles] the MIDA board and its chair, uh, Utah State senator and senate president, and only until the end of the year, uh, uh, Stuart Adams.

Uh, because he did lose his primary as well, um, fair to assume because of his role in all of this, uh, you know, pushing it through, fa- trying to fast-track it.

Um, that's one side.

But also digging into some of the lesser discussed elements that have, uh, you know, come up in the debates over data centers, where they're located, uh, what the guardrails should be here in Utah.

Utah lawmakers are going to take this up again in the legislative session starting January of 2027, and many have admitted to me they are-- they don't-- they're not sure what to do.

They know that, that some rules need to be written, and, and they've, they've saw, you know, uh, Senator Stuart Adams, Senate President Stuart Adams, lose his primary over all of this, trying to fast-track a data center through the MIDA board as the chair.

Uh, the two, uh, Box Elder County commissioners as well lost their primaries, uh, assumedly, I think it's a fair assumption, over this issue.

Right.

So What's going to be interesting for Utah's legislature is, you know, do you listen to the head of the party and Donald Trump and, you know, a popular political figure to some degree here? Or do you listen to your constituents and especially in kind of rural areas who have, you know, you've seen from Stuart Adams the consequences of not.

And ultimately, I think that side will probably win out.

And we're going to see some legislation this winter that curtails this to a significant degree.

But that off-site recognition came only after Utah's top elected leaders twice rejected requests for a marker on Capitol grounds, nearer to where Coleman was lynched.

When Senate President J. Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz, most prominently voicing their dissent, Republican officials on the Capitol Preservation Board voted both in 2023 and 2025 to block proposals to install signage educating visitors about Coleman.

Because, you know, it just casts a negative light on our past.

We can't have that.