Sen. Mike Lee

OGDEN — It quickly became clear that Sen. Orrin Hatch was the “elephant in the room” for a group of Ogden neighbors.

At a Republican caucus Thursday night, 34 residents of the 12th precinct came together in a Ben Lomond High School classroom to decide who among them would go to the state and county conventions to represent their views.

SALT LAKE CITY — One expert on the legal right of the state to control land within its own borders says a potential court challenge by state lawmakers to federal land holdings in Utah comes down to a simple concept: control.

“He who controls the sod, controls the people,” Bill Redd said of a potential showdown over the 67 percent of the Beehive State owned by the federal government. Redd, a former San Juan County commissioner, said he has experienced firsthand the negative side of federal land control.

There are four bills now in front of the Utah House of Representatives that form the basis of a legal challenge to the federal government’s right to control approximately two-thirds of the land in the state. The bills invoke promises dating back to when Utah gained statehood in 1896.

BOUNTIFUL — Spencer Thueson interns for Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, but his biggest thrill to date in Washington, D.C., was attending Democratic President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.

HILL AIR FORCE BASE -- Three Utah government officials are claiming victory after the U.S. Air Force decided not to change its Air Depot Maintenance Strategy.

Utah Sens. Orrin Hatch (seen speaking in April at right) and Mike Lee and Rep. Rob Bishop were among the 13 members of the Senate Depot Caucus and the House of Representatives who signed a letter to the Air Force's leadership urging the Air Force to stick to its original plan.

According to a news release from Hatch's office, the Air Force had been in discussions about changing its Air Depot Strategy, and part of that would have a big effect on Hill Air Force Base.