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ST. george – Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney stopped by St. George News and parent company Canyon Media on Tuesday to share what he’s doing in this corner of the state as he makes his way through southern Utah on a tour of parts of the state. Communicate with local and national issues.
Romney joined longtime Canyon Media radio host Carl Lamar for an on-air interview shortly after in an interview with the St. George News.
Asked what brought him to St. George, Romney said, “I wanted to have an opportunity to see what the weather is doing here and what kind of climate we’re experiencing and how it affects the community here.”
“I also wanted to talk to some local businesses and spend some time at Utah Tech (University) and see what their vision is for the future of their facility and the area. … It’s very, very impressive.”
Romney visited Utah Tech on Monday evening and on Tuesday accompanied county water officials to tour the Intermountain Precision Genomics Institute. His run in the state puts him back on the Wasatch front on Wednesday.
Utah’s junior senator was able to take time off from work in Washington, D.C., for Congress’ annual recess each August.
of Utah Tech Name
Speaking of Utah Tech, the St. George News asked him for his thoughts on the university’s new name.
“I think there’s a recognition that Utah Tech is developing people in STEM subjects and engineers and chemists and people who go into medicine,” he said. It will have a more technological orientation than the average university in Utah or the country.
Romney added that the new designation makes more sense as the university continues to pursue its goal of becoming a polytech-style institution.
The conversion of the former Dixie State University to Utah Tech University and the process has been a topic of discussion for both supporters and opponents of the institution’s former name. Proponents say the original name is well-loved for the area’s heritage, while opponents see Dixie’s name more negatively because of its ties to the antebellum South, slavery, and the Confederacy.
“I don’t have a problem with the word Dixie,” Romney said. “I think Dixie is a good name, but I think it’s a good indicator of where Utah Tech wants to focus.”
The Sustainable Water Title and the Lake Powell Pipeline
Recently, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation told the states that share the Colorado River — Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico (upstream states) and California, Nevada, and Arizona (downstream states) — to reach a consensus on river cuts. Water use by 15% or more due to reduced river flows. If the states don’t make a decision, the rollback will do it for them — and it has, according to the Associated Press.
Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico’s one water-use deadline has come and gone as federal officials try to keep Lake Mead and Lake Powell productive by keeping hydroelectric power from Glen Canyon Dam.
“If the federal government has to step in, I think that’s unfortunate because when the federal government steps in, they don’t have enough information,” Romney said before BuRec announced Tuesday’s pending cuts.
As a federal agency, the Bureau of Reclamation can fall under the political influence of whichever party is in power at the time, Romney said, adding that the decision is better left directly in the hands of the states.
And frankly, Utah is not taking full advantage of the water rights that we have, and it’s allowing other states — especially California — to get more than what’s available to California, and California needs all that water. He is used to taking it,” he said.
But it shows some changes for (the Colorado Basin states) given the drought we’ve had. I think we need to explore a little bit of other options to bring water from other places, if you will.
No matter what measures are taken and changes are made in the future, Romney will not be cheap, they should be implemented in addition to water conservation activities.
Regarding the Lake Powell pipeline, the senator said Lake Powell is currently too low for pipeline construction to be considered by water regulators.
“We continue to see (Lake Powell) go down,” he said. “That (pipeline) will again be a hot topic and a viable option for Washington County. But I think that if the water level is too low, this is not something that can be part of the immediate solution.
Utah goes to the Little World Series
The Snow Canyon Little League All-Star baseball team recently defeated the Nevada Paseo Verde Little League team and will play in the Little League World Series in Williamport, Pennsylvania. The game starts on Wednesday and runs until August 28.
For sending a Utah team to the Little League World Series for the first time, Snow Canyon’s team earned congratulations and recognition from the likes of Donavan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz to Gov. Spencer Cox and now Utah’s junior senator.
“This is amazing,” he said. “And of course, you know, we have great athletes here. Great energy, great passion, teamwork, sacrifice, dedication… some of the best athletes in the world. I wouldn’t be surprised to see our Utah athletes go to the championships. That would be wonderful.”
This is the first of two articles looking at Senator Mitt Romney’s visit to Canyon Media and St. George News. This article focuses on local and regional issues, while the second focuses on national issues and the senator’s career in Washington, D.C.
Copyright Saint George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.
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