View this email in your browser.

Welcome to Letter from the Editor, a monthly newsletter from Lauren Gustus exclusively for Salt Lake Tribune subscribers sent on the last Thursday of every month. If you’ve got a question for Lauren, please email to lgustus@sltrib.com. Thanks!

It’s been a busy month at The Tribune. 

We ratified our first-ever labor agreement with the Salt Lake News Guild, which represents news employees at The Tribune, The Southern Utah Tribune and The Moab Times-Independent.

We hosted our third successful NewsMakers event, an annual celebration of journalism and those who make the news. 

NewsMakers on Nov. 21 at the Utah State Fairgrounds. (Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune)

And we released our annual report, which details how we performed against our goals this year and what our plans are for 2026. Data reporter Andy Larsen writes it for us, and it is infinitely more entertaining than it sounds. 

At NewsMakers, we announced we will remove the paywall on sltrib.com in early 2026, which means impactful Tribune reporting will reach more people. 

As a donor and subscriber, you have made this work possible. We will ask you to keep supporting us as a member when we make this shift. Keep an eye on your inbox for more details on how to make this transition in the coming weeks, and if you have questions now, please email development@sltrib.com. 

But if you are inspired by our commitment to make this work accessible to all, I hope you will donate today. 

The Tribune leads the way when it comes to reporting that makes change in Utah. As the end of the year approaches, I’d like to share some of my favorite stories.

Earlier this year, Courtney Tanner broke the news that former USU President Betsy Cantwell spent more than $660,000 on two new vehicles, a climate-controlled golf cart and a bidet for her office, among other items, during her 18-months on the job. And this month, Courtney reported spending by Utah State University’s top leadership will — for the first time — be subject to four reviews a year to check all purchases for “prudence and integrity.” 

You can draw a direct line from the initial accountability reporting to the policy change that will benefit USU students and Utah taxpayers.

Our reporting also continues to change laws in Utah. Reporter Jessica Scheifels has long covered Utah’s troubled teen industry. The legislature passed a series of reforms a few years ago, in response to her reporting, but Jessica stuck with the story, and showed how kids continue to die in Utah facilities. During the 2025 session, lawmakers added additional protections for kids and families. You can read more about them here. 

Both Courtney and Jessica have worked stories that span months, if not years. They are joined by colleagues from across the Trib’s newsroom in doing this work, from Jose DaVila IV’s reporting on homelessness to Carmen Nesbitt and Megan Banta’s data-driven dive into how parents are spending millions in K-12 voucher money to Brook Larsen’s commitment to covering fire recovery in Pine Valley.

As a nonprofit, this is only possible with your support. Please help us continue to do critical accountability reporting in 2026.

The Tribune will always serve as a check on power. And we also want to share what’s working and where folks are stepping up. Here are a few of my favorites:

A free — that’s right, free — ski resort is reopening in Fairview thanks to a heck of a lot of volunteer work. After reporter Julie Jag wrote about it, the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation awarded the nonprofit Snowland a $1.46 million grant to support operations.

Julie also reminded us what unconditional love looks like, when she wrote about a dog named Buddy who guided his owner Jacob to his truck after a UTV crash. Jacb had two broken ankles and a broken leg. He crawled for 11 hours through the night as Buddy encouraged him to keep going. 

Jacob Schmitt with his dog Buddy, at his home in Ogden in July. (Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune)

“I would pet him, and then he’d go 20 feet more,” Jacob said. 

If you joined us at NewsMakers, you will remember teacher Kati Jo Christensen, whose TikTok dancing has paid off more than $28,000 in school lunch debt in Utah. Thanks to culture reporter Palak Jayswal for sharing Kati’s inspiring story with Uthans.

Speaking of helpers, Mark Eddington found a whole host of them in southern Utah, where more than 200 volunteers, including business owners who donated their time and construction equipment, helped scientists dig for dino bones on a tight timeline. 

Clayton Forster examines a rock at a St. George dinosaur site in March. Volunteers raced to extract fossils before construction began on a power substation. (Mark Eddington | The Salt Lake Tribune)

If you’re wondering how all of this is possible from a business perspective, I’d nudge you again to look at this year’s annual report. Perhaps give it a read while you’re watching football or winding down after Thanksgiving dinner. 

As we move into the holiday season, I’m grateful to get to do this work in Utah, with a fantastic team and passionate readers and supporters like you.

— Lauren Gustus