SALT LAKE CITY — As 2025 comes to a close, FOX 13 News is looking back at some of the events and stories that defined this busy year. Here's a look at some of our top headlines.
Redistricting battle reshapes Utah politics
For some political scholars, 2025 was the year of redistricting, the drawing of new borders for congressional districts. While the practice typically would happen once a decade following a census, many states, including Utah, saw mid-decade redistricting.
In late August, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott made the state’s new congressional map official, calling lawmakers into multiple special sessions to get it done.
Democrats called the move a partisan power grab and launched redistricting efforts in California to counterbalance it. That then grew and six states finalized new maps in 2025: Texas, California, Utah, North Carolina, Missouri, and Ohio.
But Utah's new map didn't come without some controversy.
A lawsuit was brought by the League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government against the Utah State Legislature. The plaintiffs accused the legislature of overriding the will of voters who passed Proposition 4, which created an independent redistricting commission.
They also argued that the map that the legislature adopted for the congressional boundaries was illegal gerrymandering to favor Republicans.
Judge Gibson sided with the plaintiffs, ruling that Prop. 4 is law and throwing out the map created by the legislature and the ones crafted by the independent commission that were crafted under a "compromise" law. She ordered the legislature to draw new maps. They did, under protest while pursuing appeals that continue. The legislature maintains it has the sole constitutional authority to draw maps.
In late December, Judge Gibson ruled to allow the Utah State Legislature to appeal one of her rulings in the case to the Utah Supreme Court.
"The Court leaves it to the Utah Supreme Court to determine if, as a matter of law, this suffices to establish appellate jurisdiction," she wrote in an order obtained by FOX 13 News.
The high court's decision will ultimately decide if the legislature can appeal the map Judge Gibson accepted, creating a more competitive Salt Lake County-centric district.
Utah's NHL team gets a new name
May 7
A long-awaited name came for the NHL team calling Salt Lake City home when officials announced that the team formerly known as the Utah Hockey Club would now be known as the Utah Mammoth.
“From day one, we committed that this team would be built with and for the people of Utah, and we are excited to celebrate today’s launch with the entire state. The community chose the Utah Mammoth brand, and it stands as a symbol of who we are, where we came from, and the unstoppable force we’re building together,” Ryan and Ashley Smith said in a statement.
That wasn't the last thing that brought excitement to the ice for the Mammoth this season. Just before the puck dropped for the team's home opener of the season, Tusky the Mammoth emerged from a block of ice as the team's first-ever mascot.
Fatal shooting mars downtown Salt Lake City protest
June 14
On June 14, during a largely peaceful "No Kings" protest, shots rang out leaving a Utah fashion designer Afa Ah Loo dead.
The shooting stemmed from a man, Arturo Gamboa, being seen walking through the protest with an AR-15 rifle. One of the volunteer peacekeepers, Matthew Alder, fired three times toward Gamboa, with one of those shots fatally wounding Ah Loo.
Gamboa was released from jail nearly a week later, as a deadline was reached without charges being filed against him.
It wasn't until nearly 6 months later that the Salt Lake County District Attorney would announced charges were filed against Matthew Alder for his role in the deadly incident.
Finally in early December, once fully cleared of charges, Arturo Gamboa finally spoke out about the shooting. "I did not fire a single shot. I did not have any ammunition in the rifle," explained Gamboa. "However, the blame was placed squarely on my shoulders."
West Valley City festival shooting leaves 3 dead
June 15
Three people, including an infant, were killed in a shooting on June 15 at WestFest, the annual festival event held in West Valley City. In total, 5 people were shot in the incident.
The victims included Fnu Reena, a 41-year-old woman who was an uninvolved bystander, 8-month-old Anderson Garcia Cabrera Junior, and 18-year-old Hassan Lugundi, who investigators believed to be the target of the shooting.
Following the shooting, officials also confirmed that Reena was pregnant at the time of her death.
Two teenagers suffered non-fatal gunshot wounds to their arms. One was a 17-year-old girl, and the other was a 15-year-old boy. Police later confirmed that they were not involved in the initial altercation but were innocent bystanders.
On June 20, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced they had charged 16-year-old suspect Matthiz Cantre Lauti Ioane-Register, with 13 charges in total, including 4 counts of aggravated murder, 5 counts of felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, one count of felony discharge of a firearm causing bodily injury, and 3 counts of felony discharge of a firearm.
Measles outbreak spreads across the state
June 20
In June of 2025, the state of Utah confirmed its first case of measles for the year. In the months since, 156 cases of the infection have been confirmed by health officials.
The most prevalent place with measles outbreaks is southwest Utah, where 114 cases have been reported this year. Of the 156 cases in Utah, only 9 of the victims were vaccinated. 7 of the victims had an unknown vaccination record.
In all of the cases, only 16 people had to be hospitalized.
Measles vaccine recommendations:
- Children should receive two doses of measles vaccine: one dose at 12 to 15 months of age and another at 4 to 6 years.
- Adults born before 1957 generally do not need to be vaccinated because they are likely already immune to measles due to widespread infection and illness before the measles vaccine became available in 1963.
- Adults who were vaccinated before 1968 should have a second dose because the vaccine used from 1963–1967 was less effective than the current vaccine, which became available in 1968.
- Adults who were vaccinated in 1968 or later are considered fully protected whether they have one or two doses, though certain higher risk groups (college students, healthcare workers, international travelers) should have two doses.
Two police officers killed in Tremonton
August 18
Two officers with the Tremonton Police Department were killed, and another was injured with a K9 officer, after a suspect opened fire on them following what police called a domestic disturbance.
Sgt. Lee Sorensen and Ofc. Eric Estrada were identified as the victims in the shooting.
Deputy Mike Allred from the Box Elder County Sheriff's Office and his K-9 Azula were fired at and struck when they arrived at the scene to help. Both have since been released from the hospital.
The August shooting was the first shooting of a law enforcement officer in Box Elder County in over 12 years.
Investigators stated that the officers were called to a home near North Park Elementary School at around 9:30 p.m. following someone calling 9-1-1 multiple times and hanging up.
When officers arrived and were speaking to a member of the home, it was then that detectives say 32-year-old Ryan Michael Bate emerged from the house and fired at officers.
After the shootings, bystanders were able to convince Bate to put down his weapon, and he was taken into custody.
Bate faces charges of aggravated murder for which prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty. His next court date is set for June 24 at 9:00 a.m.
Summer fires displace families, burn thousands of acres
Wildfire season for the Beehive State was an active one. According to Utah Fire Info, in the 2025 season, a total of 1,159 fires were fought and burned more than 164,800 acres.
702 of the wildfires were determined to be human-caused. 374 of the fires were determined to be caused by natural incidents.
Forsyth Fire
June 19- August 7
The Forsyth Fire burned 15,662 acres in southwest Utah following its natural start on June 19. It took until September 2 for firefighters to have the fire under control, and it wasn't officially "out" until November 17.
The fire destroyed 13 homes and the surrounding community in the months since has been attempting to rebuild and mitigate flood concerns in the burn scar.
Monroe Canyon Fire
July 13-September 5
The Monroe Canyon Fire was by far the largest wildfire in Utah in 2025. The fire burned 73,721 acres after being discovered on July 13.
Investigators still do not know what caused the fire, which officials deemed out on October 27.
Millcreek Apartment Fire
July 25
Residents of the Willow Glen Apartments in Millcreek were left shocked after a devastating fire that burned down two buildings on the property.
“It’s a mass tragedy you know, it brings a lot of empathy,” said Xander Gerber, Willow Glen apartment resident. Gerber has lived there for about seven years with his family.
Arson investigators with the ATF and Unified Fire Authority determined that the fire was caused by a lawnmower that hit a rock, sparking the fire. The wind helped aid the fire in spreading quickly, according to officials.
Four firefighters were injured in the battle against the blaze but have since recovered.
Conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk killed at Utah Valley University
September 10
While speaking at a college event on the campus of Utah Valley University hosted by his nonprofit political youth organization, Arizona-based Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk was shot and killed.
Immediately before the shooting, he was taking questions from an audience member about gun violence.
"Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?" the person asked. Kirk responded, "Too many."
The questioner followed up: "Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?"
"Counting or not counting gang violence?" Kirk asked.
Then a shot rang out.
The next two days were a frantic search for the alleged shooter, and the arrest of Tyler Robinson wasn't announced until September 12 by Governor Spencer Cox.
The first mention of Robinson being in custody came from President Donald Trump, who shared the news during an appearance on FOX & Friends.
"I think, with a high degree of certainty, we have him," Trump said.
In the months following Robinson's arrest, court dates have passed, largely focused on the media's impact on the case.
LDS Church leadership changes after Nelson's death
September 27
In late September, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said goodbye to Russell M. Nelson, the charismatic sentimentalist who oversaw a global temple building boom as president of the church.
Nelson led the faith up until his death in late September at the age of 101.
About 600 members of Nelson's family were in attendance with the estimated 20,000 others, for his funeral service on October 7.
A week after the service, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Dallin H. Oaks as the new president of the church. Eyring, 92, has been an apostle since 1995, and a member of the First Presidency since 2007 — serving under three presidents: Nelson, Thomas S. Monson and Gordon B. Hinckley.
