Latest news with #Gustafson
Axios
2 days ago
- General
- Axios
Scoop: UTA to skip Utah Pride and all 2025 festivals during review
For the first time since 2022, the Utah Transit Authority will skip the Utah Pride Festival, following a pause on all festival and parade participation for the remainder of the year. Why it matters: Utah GOP lawmakers have previously expressed concerns over UTA's participation in the state's largest annual LGBTQ+ celebration. In 2023, text messages revealed some of them urged UTA to pull a rainbow-decorated bus that was set to appear in the parade. State of play: UTA spokesperson Gavin Gustafson told Axios that sitting out this year's events is necessary to "conduct a comprehensive review of our fare agreements, ensuring consistency and responsible stewardship of public funds." Gustafson said UTA board members and administrators made the decision in April and that it's centered on Ticket as Fare agreements, which allow tickets to approved events to serve as UTA passes. Zoom in: Axios obtained an April 2 email sent to senior leadership by executive director Jay Fox calling for the immediate cancellation of "all current agreements, plans, purchases, or discussions related to any UTA festival and parade participation this year." The email said the agency plans to provide a report in October to state lawmakers detailing the agreements and "their value." It also included talking points and guidance for responding to questions around the directive because it "may raise questions and concerns," and it told management to expect employee disappointment over the decision.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
4-car crash involving UTA bus stalls I-15 traffic near Farmington
UPDATE: All four lanes have been reopened as of 10:30 a.m. However, drivers may still experience residual delays. The full original story can be found below. ORIGINAL STORY FARMINGTON, Utah () — A four-car crash involving a UTA bus on I-15 has brought traffic to a near standstill between Farmington and Centerville early Tuesday morning. Corporal Jared Haywood with Utah Highway Patrol told the crash happened around 9 a.m. near mile marker 321 just north of Centerville, and involved a bus with the Utah Transit Authority. Gavin Gustafson, a spokesperson with UTA, said the crash appears to be a 'chain reaction accident,' based on preliminary information. One car reportedly crashed into another, and the UTA bus swerved to avoid the wreck, only to hit another car. Haywood confirmed that the crash did cause injuries, but it is unclear how many people were injured or how severe the injuries are. Gustafson said the bus was en route for the start of its shift and did not have any passengers on board, and the bus driver did not suffer any injuries. While the UTA bus sustained some minor damage, Gustafson said it was still in working condition. The Utah Department of Transportation said the crash is blocking four left-most lanes on southbound I-15, leaving only a single lane for traffic to pass through. UDOT said drivers can expect heavy delays and encouraged commuters to take an alternate route, if possible. Alternate routes include Legacy Parkway or detour to the West Davis Corridor. This is a developing story. ABC4 will update this post as new information becomes available. Trump threatens California funding over transgender high school athlete Indy 500 reports record-breaking viewership nationally for 109th race 4-car crash involving UTA bus stalls I-15 traffic near Farmington 5 vehicle-crash in Pleasant Grove leaves 1 in critical condition President Trump honors fallen soldiers on Memorial Day Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Intercept
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Intercept
Pro-Trump 2020 'Stop the Count' Activist Lands Top Job at the Interior Department
The day after Election Day in 2020, a large group of President Donald Trump's supporters descended on Detroit's Huntington Place convention center, at the time known as the TCF Center. They were trying to stop poll workers inside from counting ballots. Police ultimately blocked many of the Trump supporters from entering the room where the poll workers were fulfilling their duties, but the crowd gathered outside the room, banging on its windows. 'Stop the count!' they chanted. 'Stop the count!' The protests that day were encouraged by operatives from the Trump campaign, which sought to prevent the president's imminent election loss in Michigan by claiming that the vote count was fraudulent. According to court filings from special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into Trump's election interference efforts in 2020, a campaign operative whose name was redacted 'tried to sow confusion when the ongoing vote count at the TCF Center in Detroit Michigan looked unfavorable' to Trump's chances. When the unnamed campaign operative in the court filing — later identified by the Washington Post as Mike Roman — learned that there might be unrest at the TCF Center, he told a colleague present at the convention center: 'Make them riot.' Five years later, Gustafson's loyalty to Trump paid off. The TCF protest was part of a broader effort by the Trump campaign to 'create chaos, rather than seek clarity, at polling places where states were continuing to tabulate votes,' according to Smith's filing. Among the pro-Trump protesters at the TCF Center that day was a man named Daniel Gustafson, according to NBC News. Five years later, Gustafson's loyalty to Trump paid off. He served as a public liaison on Trump's inauguration committee, according to his LinkedIn profile, and, in January, landed a top job at the Interior Department. Gustafson is among a cohort of Michigan Republican activists who have received plum positions at Interior, a huge federal agency that manages hundreds of millions of acres of public land across the country, controls vast oil and gas resources, administers the National Park Service, and enforces the Endangered Species Act. Gustafson did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The Interior Department did not provide a comment by press time. According to his LinkedIn profile, Gustafson is currently serving as the Interior Department's deputy director of the office of intergovernmental and external affairs, which acts as a liaison between the Interior secretary's office and state and local governments. His rapid ascent to a powerful government post aligns closely with the vision GOP operatives laid out in Project 2025, the sweeping policy blueprint meant to guide a second Trump term. Among other things, Project 2025 called on a future Republican administration to 'dismantle the administrative state.' Trump allies spent months ahead of his inauguration compiling and vetting a list of Trump loyalists to install in government positions. A review of Gustafson's LinkedIn profile shows that he has little if any experience in land, wildlife, or resource management. What he does have is years of experience working as a Republican operative. At the time of the Michigan unrest, the afternoon following Election Day 2020, Gustafson was working for the Michigan Republican Party in the key swing state. According to his LinkedIn profile, he served as 'Regional Field Director — Trump Victory,'an apparent reference to the behemoth fundraising operation that involved the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee, and numerous state-level Republican parties during the 2020 election. Like thousands of other Republicans around the country, Gustafson sprang into action as Trump's chances of victory dwindled. On the morning of November 4, Trump tweeted that he was leading, often solidly, in many key states run by Democrats. 'Then, one by one, they started to magically disappear as surprise ballot dumps were counted,' he wrote. At the TCF Center, Gustafson can be seen in videos banging on a window and recording on his cellphone. What followed were protests and disruptions at vote counting sites, including in Philadelphia and in Detroit. According to Smith, the special counsel who investigated interference in the 2020 race but shut down his work in December 2024 after the election, Trump 'sometimes used these confrontations to falsely claim that his election observers were being denied proper access, thus serving as a predicate to [Trump's] claim that fraud must have occurred in the observers' absence.' At the TCF Center, Gustafson can be seen in videos banging on a window, recording on his cellphone, and wearing a baseball hat emblazoned with an American flag in the shape of the state of Michigan. The same hat is visible in several photos on Gustafson's personal Facebook page. Also present at the protest was Meshawn Maddock, the former co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party and one of the 16 'fake electors' in the state charged with multiple felonies for their parts in trying to overturn poll results. (Gustafson hasn't been accused of involvement in the fake elector scheme; the case is winding its way through court.) Gustafson's role in the Trump campaign's effort to cast doubt on the will of Michigan voters appears to have gone well beyond simply protesting at the convention center in Detroit. A Daniel Gustafson was one of several poll challengers in Michigan who signed a sworn affidavit alleging Election Day misconduct or interference. 'Large quantities of ballots were delivered to the TCF Center in what appeared to be mail bins with open tops,' Gustafson's affidavit read. 'These ballot bins and containers did not have lids, were not sealed, and did not have the capability of having a metal seal. The ballot bins were not marked or identified in any way to indicate their source of origin.' His affidavit was among several that the right-wing Michigan legal group Great Lakes Justice Center submitted as part of its failed voter fraud lawsuit against the city of Detroit and surrounding Wayne County. Rudy Giuliani, who at the time was Trump's personal lawyer, cited those affidavits to advance his false claim that the 2020 election was rigged against Trump. One case filing notes that Gustafson 'has taught numerous Poll Challenger training classes.' A Facebook post from Michigan Republicans, dated October 29, 2020, lists Gustafson as the contact for anyone interested in attending a training for poll watchers and challengers. In a November 13, 2020, ruling, Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny rejected the lawsuit brought by the Great Lakes Justice Center and threw cold water on claims that Gustafson and other poll challengers made in their affidavits. 'Mr. Gustafson's affidavit is another example of generalized speculation fueled by the belief that there was a Michigan legal requirement that all ballots had to be delivered in a sealed box,' Kenny wrote. 'Plaintiffs have not supplied any statutory requirement supporting Mr. Gustafson's speculative suspicion of fraud.'
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Minnesota State Fair getting pay-by-mobile parking in 2025
The Brief The City of Falcon Heights is bringing pay-by-mobile parking to streets near the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in 2025. Parking zones will cost $25 per day, and there will be about 1,000 spots available. The measure passed 5-0 at a Falcon Heights City Council meeting Wednesday night. FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (FOX 9) - The City of Falcon Heights on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve pay-by-mobile parking for the Minnesota State Fair starting this year. The city council met Wednesday night and voted 5-0 to implement the program in time for the State Fair, one of the largest in the country. What we know If you plan on driving to the Great Minnesota Get-Together, there should be more parking options on streets near the State Fairgrounds. The measure creates paid parking zones in neighborhoods east of Snelling Avenue that provide about 1,000 spots near the State Fair. Why you should care City officials say the program will charge a flat fee of $25 per day for vehicles to park between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. during the 12 days of the Minnesota State Fair. Fees can be paid online through a web site, app or automated pay-by-phone line. Enforcement will be tied through a vehicle's license plate. The program will also include hiring trained ambassadors to be in parking zones to direct traffic, answer questions and enhance public safety. The city approved five actions related to the program, including a one-year agreement with ParkMobile to be the vendor. Under the agreement, the City of Falcon Heights will receive about 80% of the fees. Dig deeper City officials say residents who live on streets in the designated parking zone will receive one free parking pass in the mail starting in July. They'll have the option to request additional passes, and there will be up to 600 properties eligible for the passes. What they're saying Falcon Heights Mayor Randy Gustafson reacted to the vote Wednesday night. "Pay-by-mobile parking provides an excellent solution to promote safety for our Falcon Heights residents and the hundreds of thousands of visitors we welcome to our city during the Minnesota State Fair," Gustafson said in a statement. "We heard from our residents during this process on how we could improve the plan, and we believe the version adopted by the City Council will meet the needs of our community." Timeline Temporary parking zone signs will be installed before the start of the Minnesota State Fair, and removed after Labor Day. The Source The measure was passed at the Falcon Heights City Council meeting Wednesday night.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
West Valley mom charged with attempted murder after trying to drown 7-year-old son: police
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (ABC4) — A West Valley City mother has been charged with attempted murder after trying to drown her 7-year-old son, according to the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office. Petrice Shirley Mary Garcia, also known as Petrice Gustafson, 35, is charged in Salt Lake County with attempted aggravated murder (first-degree felony), disarming a police officer – firearm (first-degree felony), three counts of aggravated child abuse – intentionally or knowingly (second-degree felony), and criminal trespass – dwelling (class A misdemeanor). On May 3, 2025, West Valley police responded to a report of child abuse. One individual reported that a boy — later identified as Gustafson's 7-year-old son — was 'bleeding and had blood all over his shirt,' court documents state. The caller reported that Gustafson's son had ran to their home and said that his mom tried to kill him by hitting him on the head with a statue and trying to drown him. PREVIOUSLY: 7-year-old found covered in blood, woman arrested for child abuse The caller stated she then saw Gustafson come out of her house saying, 'Call the cops, I tried killing my son,' a statement of probable cause reads. Gustafson allegedly then entered the caller's residence through the front door while completely nude. The caller's husband tried to get Gustafson out of their home as Gustafson then allegedly confronted his own child and assaulted him. Another witness added that he saw the child running down the street asking for help. He told police the boy had blood all over, and that Gustafson was also running down the street completely nude and jumped a neighbor's fence. Gustafson allegedly then saw the caller near his garage and assaulted him before the man tackled her to the ground, holding her until police arrived. Both Gustafson and her child were taken to separate hospitals for treatment following the incident. Medical staff said the boy had wet clothes and wet shoes. While in the hospital, Gustafson reportedly struck a witness and a nurse, pulling her hair. When an officer restrained her, Gustafson grabbed for the officer's gun, saying, 'You're going to have to kill me.' Upon investigation of Gustafson's home, police found a bathtub filled with water, a broken statue weighing 3-5 pounds, and a 'considerable amount of blood' around the bathtub, court documents state. The child detailed to police a disturbing story of physical abuse in the incident. 'Medical records show [the child] suffered a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI), multiple scalp lacerations that required closure with 15 staples, and a forehead laceration that required four sutures,' court documents state. '[The child] also sustained bruises and abrasions on his ankles, his right shin, his right upper thigh, his right hand and wrist, his left third knuckle, and his right forearm. He also had swelling and bruising to his nasal bridge.' Doctors with Safe and Healthy Families found that the boy's injuries cannot be explained by accidental injury, preexisting medical illness, reasonable discipline, or benign events and should be considered 'trauma inflicted.' Gustafson told police she was 'pretty sure she hit [the child]' and that she 'may have grabbed something' to hit him with but 'could not remember.' Gustafson is reportedly on active probation and has an extensive criminal history, including multiple convictions related to possession of narcotics. The State has requested that she be held in Salt Lake County Jail without bail. Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. West Valley mom charged with attempted murder after trying to drown 7-year-old son: police Best Small Cars for 2025 Chris Buescher is back at Kansas Speedway, reliving the closest Cup Series finish in NASCAR history Vietnam War: Nurses reflect 50 years later Above-average warmth with increasing wind for Mother's Day weekend Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
