News roundup: Dallas or Denver for GOP '16 convention

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

RNC convention comes down to Dallas or Denver. Daw gets revenge against Layton. Shurtleff/Swallow donor settles fraud case.

Happy Wednesday. The Republican National Committee could possible announce this morning that its 2016 convention will be in Dallas, or at least that the final two candidates for the big gathering are Dallas and Denver, according to a Denver station. The other two candidates for the nominating convention, Kansas City and Cleveland, lack the infrastructure the RNC wants. Announcement comes at 11 a.m. Eastern/9 a.m. Mountain. [9News]

Topping the news: Former Rep. Brad Daw defeated incumbent Dana Layton in the primary yesterday on his way to reclaim his old seat. Cedar City's Sen. Evan Vickers and Rep. John Westwood won the GOP nominations against challengers who attacked them for supporting the change to Utah's convention process. [Trib] [UtahPolicy] More legislative election results here: [Trib].

-> SL County voters handed the GOP nod for county assessor to incumbent Kevin Jacobs and Democrats choose Jeff Hatch over Chris Stout for their party's nominee for county auditor. [Trib] More county results here: [Trib].

-> A company that donated significant campaign funds to both John Swallow and Mark Shurtleff in their bids for Utah Attorney General settled a fraud case by giving millions back to its customers. [Trib]

-> A legislative audit found that conservation money appears to be spent more on administration and overhead than actually preserving anything. [Trib] [DNews]

Tweet of the day: From @KPete801: "I voted weeks ago by mail, so all day I have had sticker envy."

-> From @MichelleFields: "Um. I'm at a Katy Perry concert. Definitely thought I was the oldest person here, but then I ran into Congressnan Aaron Schock"

Happy Birthday: To Mike Gehrke and Ted Pease.

Correction: Former AG John Swallow had a $10,000 stash in his home, according to a search warrant from the June 2 raid on his home. Yesterday's Cornflakes mistakenly attributed whose home it was found in. We regret the error and offer our apologies.

In other news: Kate Kelly says she does not regret the actions that got her excommunicated from the LDS Church and says she will continue to fight for female ordination. [Trib] [DNews] [KSL] [Fox13]

-> Snowbird let out a yodel today when the DABC granted it a permit to serve alcohol at its Oktoberfest celebration. [Trib] [DNews] [Fox13] [KUTV] [KSL]

-> A state agency that monitors emergency service providers needs more oversight and better regulations, an audit found. [Trib]

-> Paul Rolly reviews a plethora of problems patrons report in using the parking kiosks in Salt Lake City. [Trib]

-> Several high-profile Utah GOP lawmakers are banding together with a letter in support of immigration reform. [Trib] [DNews] [KSL]

-> Salt Lake County's Zoo, Arts and Park tax is a hit with local politicians who plan to put a measure on ballots in November for an extension. [Trib] [DNews] [KUTV]

-> WWII veterans from Utah flew to Washington this week as part of the Honor Flight program, which sends former soldiers to the nation's capital to visit memorials. [Trib] [DNews]

Nationally: Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., secured his position against tea party candidate state Sen. Chris McDaniel. [WaPost] [WSJ] [Politico] [LATimes] Rep. James Lankford, R-Okla., won the Republican primary outright by ousting state House Speaker T.W. Shannon. [WaPost] [WSJ] [Politico]

-> The White House's Jennifer O'Connor, a former IRS lawyer, testified at a House Oversight Committee investigating Lois Lerner's emails that she was not still working with the agency the computer crash was discovered. [WSJ] [Politico]

-> An archivist says the IRS did not follow the correct legal procedure when Lerner's emails went missing because it didn't report the problem to the National Archives. [NYTimes]

-> A recent poll shows the majority of voters are unhappy with the way President Barack Obama reacted to the situation in Iraq, giving him an all-time low for an approval rating. [WaPost] [LATimes]

-> Check out this awkward Vine video that's gone viral. The video shows U.S. legislators at the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony and there's lots of uncomfortable handholding. [WaPost]

Where are they?

Rep. Jason Chaffetz talks with the Council for Responsible Nutrition, attends a Judiciary hearing on music licensing, takes part in a hearing about unaccompanied alien minors crossing the border and speaks with the president of Weber State University.

Rep. Chris Stewart speaks with the Institute for the Study of War, goes to a Financial Services Appropriations bill mark up and attends a Republican Study Committee meeting. Stewart also meets with the president of Weber State University and is later briefed on Iraq and Syria.

Gov. Gary Herbert visits the Department of Human Services, ceremonially signs a bill in regards to Safety Week, attends a Board and Commissions meeting and conferences with Goldman Sachs Economic Connections.

Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox speaks to the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics, attends a commission on civic and character education and gives a keynote address at the Goldman Sachs/SLCC small business graduation.

SL Co. Mayor Ben McAdams attends the Utah Association of Counties meeting.

SLC Mayor Ralph Becker participates in a solar farm media event and travels to Chicago for a National League of Cities Finance Committee meeting.

President Barack Obama meets with Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell, speaks with Israeli President Shimon Peres with American Jewish community leaders and honors the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship team. Obama then talks with Senate Democrats and delivers remarks at the League of Conservation Voters dinner.

Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Email us at cornflakes@sltrib.com. If you haven't already, sign up for our weekday email and get this sent directly to your inbox. [Trib]

— Thomas Burr and Courtney Tanner Twitter.com/thomaswburr and Twitter.com/CourtneyLTanner