From the Bear Den: Issue 6
Updates, upcoming events, community features
From the Bear Den
Issue 5
Box Elder Accountability Referendum(B.E.A.R.) •
• July 13, 2026
In This Issue:
July 7th commission meeting recap, legal update, news articles, upcoming events, and more!
The Legal Update
Since last week’s newsletter, we still have crickets - we are, however, hopeful to hear something this week.
Events Recap
July 7th
Commission Meeting
The commission meeting on July 7th was the smallest commission meeting I’ve been to since this whole thing started. There wasn’t very many residents in attendance at all, but that didn’t stop me from still calling them out. My public comment this week was short and sweet:
It has now been 64 days since you yelled at the residents of Box Elder County to “for hell’s sakes grow up” and there still has not been a public apology. We haven’t forgotten, and we are still waiting for the basic respect this community deserves. If you want this community to tryst your decisions, you need to start by treating us with respect, not contempt.
Keep showing up to these commission meetings and making comments! This fight is not over!
July 11th
Stratos documentary screening at Shuman Park
The Stratos documentary screening at Shuman Park was such a fun experience! We had about 20 people show up, give or take a few, so it was a small intimate gathering, and that gave us a chance to mingle and chat with everyone!
We didn’t get very many pictures because we were just living in the moment, but here’s what we did get!
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 Little Valley Days in Mantua(July 18th), 24th of July, and local festival season!
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! Here’s her video!
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
July 6, 2026
Life inside ‘Data Center Alley’: What Utah can learn from Loudoun County, Virginia
July 7, 2026
After Utah data center controversy, Curtis calls for federal transparency standards
Video Utah’s Stratos project draws warnings from Virginia’s ‘Data Center Alley’ -Read the Article here
Meta AI data center found infecting water with deadly bacteria in the US
July 8, 2026
Data center projects are now coming in bigger than ever. Here’s a look at why
July 9, 2026
Timeline: How the Kevin O’Leary data center plan came to be, and what’s happened since
Data center fights pit social values, democracy and capitalism against each other
Clean Energy Resources to Meet Data Center Electricity Demand
Can Growing Community Backlash Quiet the AI Data Center Boom?
July 10, 2026
Grand County pauses data center applications to develop new land-use rules
Wyoming Officials Trace Rare Bacteria Back to Zuckerberg’s $800 Million ‘Project Cosmo’
July 11, 2026
July 5, 2026
Discussions on Data Centers
This week, we’ve heard people saying they thought that the fight was over, that the data center is happening no matter what, or that it was all a done deal. This could not be farther from the truth! This fight is not over by any means. We are just in the dreaded legal limbo, and hopefully will have news this week.
This past week and past few months we’ve also seen stories coming out about data center side effects -
The contaminated water in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
EMFs(Electromagnetic Frequencies) scrambling honeybee navigation.
The wells drying up in Georgia.
The constant noise in Virginia causing adverse health effects, like chronic sleep disturbance, mental fatigue and anxiety, even outdoor avoidance.
There has also been rumor of Texas cattle ranchers reporting no live births for two years, but there has been NO EVIDENCE supporting this in my research other than Facebook posts, so I’m chalking this one up to JUST RUMOR. Everything else has been verified.
What are YOUR concerns? Did I miss something?
Submit your responses!
Mark Your Calendar!
Upcoming Events
July 14th 2026
Grow the Flow Panel in Brigham City!
USU Brigham City Campus
Autoliv Auditorium
6pm
Little Valley Days in Mantua(18th), 24th, County Fair, Peach Days
We have several 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!
July 18th-Little Valley Days in Mantua UT.
Meet at the LDS Church at 237 Willard Peak Rd, Mantua UT 84324 at 9:15am.
Box Elder County Commission Meeting
July 22, 2026
11:30 AM
Commission Chambers
Box Elder County Courthouse
01 South Main Street, Brigham City, Utah
This is for a public hearing to receive public input for an Agricultural Protection Area in Riverside.
Here’s the agenda link
July 24th - Pioneer Day
Bear River City meet at the LDS Church at 8:15am.
5870 N 4700 W St, Bear River City, UT 84301
SAVE THE DATE
August 26th- Box Elder County Fair Parade
Anticipated line up ~4pm
September 12th-Peach Days parade
Anticipated line up ~9am
Voices from the Den: What’s On Your Mind?
A newsletter shouldn’t just be a one way street, it’s a community megaphone. Moving forward, this section belongs entirely to you. This is where we will feature your thoughts, letters to the editor, questions, and personal perspectives on the future of Box Elder County.
This week, I just want to reflect on some of the conversations I’ve had.
Overall, people are still very concerned about the effects this data center will have on the area in all aspects once it’s built, of course.
The national support we have for this movement is staggering - we have one supporter on Instagram who is incredibly knowledgeable on all things Stratos data center, and keeps the conversation going online in comments on videos everywhere about data centers, and this person is from CALIFORNIA!
We will not stop fighting this. None of this is a done deal at this point.
What YOU can do, is keep the conversation going, whether it’s online, with friends and family, acquaintances, random people, etc. Keep talking about the Stratos data center and telling people the fight is not over, it’s just beginning, and spread the word about both the StopStratos.org website, and this newsletter so people can stay informed, learn how to be involved, and be involved.
You can also call, email, or write to your elected officials, especially the governor, and the state senators and representatives. Keep the noise going.
And thank you once again for your continued support in this fight. Together we are stronger!
You can submit your responses and your own letters to the editor with these buttons!
Cave Paintings
Submit your artwork for future newsletters!
The Backyard
Pull up a chair and relax! The fight to protect our county is hard work, so this is our space to slow down, share a local recipe, and challenge our brains.
Here is this week’s puzzle! Zero votes means Editor’s Choice!
You can click the puzzle to play or print.
This week is a jigsaw - photo credit to Spenser Heaps from Utah News Dispatch
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:
My great grandmother’s Chili Sauce!
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.
bear_the_fight
bear_the_fight
BEAR Box Elder Accountability Referendum
I’m so grateful for this when I forget dates lol