From the Bear Den: Issue 10
Updates, upcoming events, community features, in memoriam update for Michael
From the Bear Den
Issue 9
Box Elder Accountability Referendum(B.E.A.R.) •
• August 10, 2026
In This Issue:
Events recap, legal update, news articles, upcoming events, in memoriam update, and more!
In Memoriam
As of today, August 10, 2026, we have raised $1,635 for Michael’s family! Let’s keep it going and share the GoFundMe everywhere!
We here at B.E.A.R. have posted a GoFundMe to help the family our dear friend and supporter Michael Smith left behind, including his son and mother.
Every dollar helps, and if you can’t donate, but still want to help, sharing is free and easy and still helps more than you know!
Click the picture to go the GoFundMe, or CLICK HERE. Thank you so much for your kind words across our socials!
Events Recap
August 8, 2026
Wheat and Beet Days parade in Tremonton
The parade team that walked the parade reported that it was a success and a good parade!
HELP WANTED
To apply for a support role, fill out the
*All positions in B.E.A.R. are volunteer positions.
Current Roles we are seeking:
Table helpers for events!
Parade walkers for the upcoming County Fair parade and Peach Days!
We also need Volunteers to help man the booth at the County Fair! August 26, 4pm to 10 pm, and august 27-29, 11 am to 10pm. Please sign up to volunteer and watch for an email and/or text about volunteer opportunities!
People ready to be boots on the ground when we can gather signatures!
Newsletter helper!
Our amazing social media manager is looking for people to interview about how they feel the data center will affect their way of life!
If you are willing to do any of these things, please fill out the volunteer form above, and/or email/message us!
If you want to do an interview with the lovely Farrah, you can message the B.E.A.R. Instagram page!
If you have already filled out the volunteer form, somebody should be reaching out to you shortly if they haven’t already - if you have not had any contact and it’s been more than a couple weeks, please reach out to us! (We are learning new things every day to streamline the process! Thank you so much so far for your patience with us.)
Press corner
News articles featuring the Box Elder Accountability Referendum Team and other relevant news
August 3, 2026
O’Leary, Box Elder County ask for dismissal of lawsuit over citizen referendum
August 4, 2026
FACTBOX: Energy affordability dominates US midterm contests as climate takes backseat
August 5, 2026
Indigenous nations weigh whether to invite data centers onto tribal lands
A 500MW Utah Data Center Wants to Dump 250,000 Gallons of Waste Water Into the Great Salt Lake Daily
Data Centers Didn’t Jack Up Your Bill—Utility Greed Did | Opinion
August 6, 2026
Kevin O’Leary wants to atone for his data center sins
Inside Kevin O'Leary’s massive Utah data center STANDOFF
August 7, 2026
August 8, 2026
Utah’s governor just tightened the rules for Kevin O’Leary’s giant AI data center
Opinion: Utah Olympians taking a stand for the future
August 9, 2026
Kevin O’Leary said he messed up the messaging on his massive Utah data center plan
Donald Trump’s data centers blitz is losing support
August 10, 2026
Data Center Foes’ Newest Tack: Sue Locals Over Approval Process
Discussions on Data Centers
I don’t have much in the way of discussion this week, but I did want to address that while we are seeing more news about data centers being proposed, we are also seeing more news about people rising up and fighting them, and not just here in Box Elder County.
Tooele County is making a lot of noise regarding their proposed data center - and they need your support and encouragement!
The fight isn’t ongoing here in Utah either - every day more and more news comes out about people getting loud about not wanting data centers in their backyards.
My aunt in Topeka, Kansas, informed me that Topeka has a data center proposed, so I did my thing and did the google. It looks like the people are already rising up and expressing their opinions regarding the data center! A 12 month moratorium has already been imposed by the city council. Unfortunately, the data center’s site is in unincorporated Shawnee county, so the city’s moratorium doesn’t legally stop them.
To Topeka and Shawnee County residents, and everyone else fighting these resource vacuums, I say: make sure you go to and pay attention to your county commission meetings also! Keep being loud, keep fighting, do not give up!
What are YOUR thoughts, questions, concerns?
Submit your responses!
Mark Your Calendar!
Upcoming Events
August 12, 2026 5 pm
Commission Meeting
SAVE THE DATE
August 26th- Box Elder County Fair Parade
Anticipated line up ~4pm
Wear green and orange!
We will also have a booth - Here is what we are needing and hoping for:
1. Vehicle/driver for parade, both during and maybe hitching a ride back to the beginning to our cars.
2. Someone strong to wear a bear puppet if it’s finished by then.
3. At LEAST: 2 people to do parade candy, 2 people to hand out flyers, 2 people to carry our main banner, possibly another 2 people for our second banner.
4. Volunteers to do 2 hour shifts at the fair from Wednesday through Saturday night.
5. A canopy for our booth, ideally with enclosed sides.
August 26-29 - Booth at the fair, we need volunteers to help man it so we can do it in shifts and not have people overheating!
September 11-12 - Peach Days, we will have a table in front of Full Circle Wellness on Main Street in Brigham, we need several volunteers to help man the table so we can do it in shifts and not have people overheating!
September 12th-Peach Days parade
Anticipated line up ~9am
Need a million people to walk with us!
September 26th - Trash Car Race at Box Elder County Fairgrounds - more information to come!
County Fair, Peach Days
We have a couple more parades coming up in the next couple of months and could use a large showing of support to walk in the parades. We need Box Elder County to see that there are many people who support putting this issue on the ballot for residents to vote on.
We encourage you to wear orange and green if you have those colors. We hope to have shirts available very soon that people can receive as a donation gift.
Please respond which events you can attend to walk with us. We will need people to carry the banner, pass out flyers, pass out stickers or candy. It should be a lot of fun!
*Please note that more details will be forthcoming and some changes will likely be made.
We also need Volunteers to help man the booth at the County Fair! August 26, 4pm to 10 pm, and august 27-29, 11 am to 10pm. Please sign up to volunteer and watch for an email and/or text about volunteer opportunities!
Voices from the Den: What’s On Your Mind?
I didn’t have any friends, family, or neighbors send me anything this week, other than my aunt in Kansas as I mentioned in the Discussions segment. Do you have any thoughts you’d like to make public about the data centers?
You can submit your responses and your own letters to the editor with these buttons!
Cave Paintings
Submit your artwork for future newsletters! YES, photography counts! Crafts count!
The Picnic Basket
The community recipe corner! If you have a recipe you’d like to share with the community and see featured here, please send it over to:
Let me know if you’d like your name included as the contributor, just initials, or if you’d like to remain anonymous, and if you’d like any social media linked.
This week’s recipe:
I have at least 5 boxes of vintage recipe cards(thanks Grandma).
Alright, alright… I’m sorry about last week(not sorry though because LOL, the puke reaction in the BEAR group was worth it)
This one is actually one we’ve tried and LOVED!
Enjoy!
What’s your go to summer recipe?
Share your favorites with us!
Feedback & suggestions
Did we miss something? Want to see something added? Constructive feedback is always welcome! (Please don’t make me cry.) Thank you so much for reading, subscribing, and for just being you. We couldn’t do this movement without you.
Brigette Cottam
Box Elder Accountability Referendum Mama B.E.A.R.
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