UTAH

Redford hailed at Sundance kick-off

PARK CITY — Robert Redford liked to say that everybody has a story. He’s not the only person who said it, but he is one of the few who did something to celebrate it, his daughter, Amy Redford, said on Jan. 21 ahead of the Sundance Film Festival’s opening day.

Thanks to her father’s vision, the Sundance Institute he founded and its year-round programs have helped shape and nurture American independent film for the past 40 years. This year’s Sundance Film Festival is a grand goodbye party: It’s the first without Redford following his death in September, and the last in Utah before the festival relocates to Boulder, Colorado.

Robert Redford’s legacy and Sundance’s decades-long history in Utah are key themes of the 2026 festival, which began Jan. 22 with over a dozen films premiering throughout the day.

Screenings were proceeded by a short video tribute to Redford, which was met with roaring applause at the Eccles Theater.

With the dust settled from Oscar nominations, the festival is in full swing with the world premieres of Amir Bar-Lev’s documentary “The Last First: Winter K2” about the changing culture of extreme mountain climbing, Rachel Lambert’s tender drama “Carousel,” starring Chris Pine and Jenny Slate, and Judd Apatow’s portrait of comedian Maria Bamford’s mental health journey on the opening day list.

The Sundance Film Festival runs through Feb. 1.

ARIZONA

Suit alleges Sinema broke up marriage

PHOENIX — Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema had a romantic relationship with a member of her security detail that led to the breakup of the man’s marriage, his ex-wife alleges in a lawsuit seeking at least $75,000 from Sinema.

Matthew and Heather Ammel had “a good and loving marriage” with “genuine love and affection” before Sinema interfered, pursuing Matthew Ammel despite knowing he was married, Heather Ammel alleges in her lawsuit.

Sinema and her attorney did not respond to requests for comment.

The lawsuit was quietly filed late last year in Moore County, North Carolina. It captured global attention when it was moved to federal court.

North Carolina is one of a handful of states that allow jilted spouses to sue for “alienation of affection” to seek damages from a third party responsible for the breakup of their marriage.

Sinema left Congress after the 2024 election. She declined to seek reelection to the Senate, capping a tumultuous single term in which she alienated liberals and left the Democratic Party to become an independent.

She now works for the Washington-based legal and lobbying firm Hogan Lovells. She has lobbied for data center development and research funding for the psychedelic drug ibogaine.

WYOMING

Residents sour on state economy

Most Wyomingites believe the state’s economy is not growing enough, or nearing a recession, according to survey data from the Wyoming Business Council.

The Wyoming Business Council was scheduled to present survey data on voters’ perceptions of local and statewide economic growth to the Natrona County Board of County Commissioners on Jan. 6.

The survey, conducted by the Tarrance Group, surveyed 500 “likely” voters across Wyoming.

State residents were asked to describe the strength of their local economy as well as the state’s, to share their optimism about economic growth in the next five years and to identify what changes they believe would bring economic development.

Especially in Natrona County, those surveyed indicated they would like to see infrastructure improvements and job opportunities more so than other changes, according to data in the meeting agenda packet.

In Natrona County and across Wyoming, respondents deemed the high cost of living the biggest economic challenge locally.

Those surveyed in Natrona County also tended to attribute more responsibility for economic development to local government bodies than the private sector, but nearly two-thirds of the same group said they would not be in favor of slightly higher taxes to support bringing jobs and other economic opportunities.

MONTANA

Fate of governor’s mansion up in air

Rotted ceilings, toilets that can’t flush and a shoddy electrical system are just a few of the problems plaguing the former executive residence for Montana’s governor. Oh, and it’s also full of asbestos.

The fate of the 67-year-old building could be decided soon. In a survey that closed in December, the state Department of Administration asked the public whether the house should be demolished to create a park, remodeled for some other use or sold.

Years and millions of dollars worth of deferred maintenance have led to the sad state of the governor’s executive residence, located just up the road from the State Capitol on Carson Street. It has sat empty for the last five years, after Gov. Greg Gianforte and his wife moved out of the home in 2021 just nine months into his first term to make space for renovations that never came.

Maintenance issues include a roof replacement, asbestos abatement, repairs to rotting exterior fixtures and complete demolition and replacement of the entire electrical, HVAC and plumbing systems, according to a presentation from the Capitol Complex Advisory Council.

When Gianforte, who sold the tech company he founded to Oracle in 2012 for about $1.5 billion, vacated the Carson Street home, he and his wife purchased a home in Helena’s Mansion District on the other side of downtown from the Capitol. They lived there before purchasing the historic Samuel T. Hauser mansion in 2024, with plans to donate the property to the state after he leaves office in 2028 at the end of his second term.

The 12,000-square-foot Carson Street mansion was built in 1959 and designed by Billings architect Chandler C. Cohagen. The two-level property is meant to resemble a ship as the “Ship of State,” pointed towards the Big Belt Mountains, with the design described as “western, naturally,” by Cohagen.

The property has six bedrooms, four bathrooms, a 350-square-foot kitchen, a ballroom, hosting and dining spaces and a three-car garage, with about 1.2 acres of green space.