ARO Spotlight: Liz Setterberg, Archivist and Public Art Specialist

Since joining the Department of Cultural & Community Engagement in 2023, Liz Setterberg has been on a mission to preserve Utah’s cultural treasures. As Archivist and Public Art Specialist for the Utah Division of Arts & Museums, she blends her expertise in geography and archival studies with a passion for diversity and oral histories. This year, she stepped into the

When Tangee Sloan joined West Jordan in 1997, she had no idea her career would lead to preserving the city’s history—and transforming how its records are managed. Her path started in Police Records, shifted to IT for over two decades, and eventually led her to a role as City Recorder & Customer Service/Passport Manager, which she calls “the best decision

Meet Ann Richins, a dedicated professional with over nine years of service at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC). After spending seven and a half years as the assistant director of the library, she transitioned to the Risk Management Department, where she took on the role of Approved Records Officer (ARO) in November 2022. For this spotlight, Ann shared shared her

Being a records officer for a government agency is a tough job, especially for a large entity like the Utah State Board of Education (USBE). This month, we’re highlighting Ben Rasmussen, USBE’s appointed records officer and Director of Law and Professional Practices, for all the hard work he does. USBE is in the middle of a big project to clean

The Archives receives records all the time, but what do we do with them after we get them? The first step in receiving records is to document the transfer of legal custody to the State Archives. We do this either by utilizing a transfer form, by which a government entity signs the records over to us, or by a deed

The Utah State Archives and Records Service holds vital records for the state of Utah, including birth and death certificates, divorce records, and court records. Sometimes when perusing these records, an interesting story emerges. In a District Court Territorial Minutes book, Records and Information Management Specialist Maren Peterson unravels the story of Ann Eliza Webb suing her estranged husband, Brigham

Early Life On January 6, 1828, Green Flake was born into slavery on the William Jordan Flake Plantation in North Carolina. Green was “gifted” to James, William’s son, as a wedding present in the 1840’s when Green was in his early teens. Shortly after marrying, James Flake moved to Mississippi in hopes of claiming land. Green was separated from his

In 1894, Congress voted to invite Utah into the Union. President Grover Cleveland signed the Enabling Act, which allowed Utah to officially form a Constitutional Convention. Utahns moved with enthusiasm as they had been waiting for the opportunity to become a state for decades. They held an election to choose the delegates and convened the convention in March of 1895.

The Latter-day Saints settled the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, and for the next fifty years they and following settlers fought for statehood. It took seven attempts to finally realize that goal. 1849 The Latter-day Saints settled the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. Part of the appeal of the land was that it belonged to Mexico. They felt they had

In the last post, we explored the political obstacles that prevented Utah from becoming a state until 1896. There was another large obstacle that made Congress wary of giving Utah statehood: polygamy. Polygamy started in April of 1841 when Joseph Smith married his first plural wife. By the time the Latter-Day Saints moved from Nauvoo, Illinois, to the Salt Lake