ST. GEORGE — There are no limits to the possibilities of connecting people to businesses in Southern Utah, but it will take a collaborative effort that is less about “me” and more about “we” in the coming years.

This was the message conveyed by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and other speakers at the 28th annual What’s Up Down South Economic Conference Thursday at the Dixie Center St. George. 

It was the yearly chance for business leaders, clients, influencers and public officials to take stock of where the business and economy in Southern Utah is and where it’s going. Where the Utah spotlight is usually heavy on the Salt Lake City metropolitan area and Silicon Slopes, this is the chance for Greater Zion and Tech Ridge to shine. 

Along with the speakers and breakout sessions, local government leaders revealed new business initiatives taking place in their cities, including the announcement that Hobby Lobby is planning to open a store in St. George.

Below a video backdrop of Southern Utah scenery and speaking without a teleprompter, Cox started the daylong conference with a presentation he called “Keeping Utah Weird.” The weirdness, he said, began with settlers who were “weird people nobody else wanted” and is now what he says are Utahns’ attitude that they can still rise from poverty to prosperity and that if someone else wins, they win too.

He said this is separating Utah and its southern area from the rest of the nation.

“There’s this weird state, this weird place called Utah, where we still work together to solve our problems right here,” Cox said, noting that more people nationwide are continuing to separate into ideological tribes that are keeping business and industry initiatives from being done.

“We are builders in Washington County. You are builders. We are building something great, something that will outlive us. We will make sure that our kids and grandkids have a better life than we have. And we’ll do it by taking care of each other the right way.”

Cox noted that among the greatest problems the local economy here faces is the need for more housing.

“That’s where we build wealth, right?” Cox said. “What happens 50 years from now in our country to have a generation that was never able to own their own home. We can be the first state in the United States to figure this out. We can build. We must build and we will.”

The future generations were also on the mind of Mark Knold, the chief economist for the Utah Department of Workforce Services, who spoke after Cox. To laughter, he told the hundreds inside the Dixie Center’s ballroom, “I’m retiring in April so that frees me up so I can say anything I want. I’m thinking more of our legacy.”

And Knold told the summit attendees the reason for some current economic woes, including a worker shortage, is that the baby boomers are retiring and there just aren’t the same numbers in the the later generations to replace them in the labor force.

“I’m one of the issues,” Knold said. “We’re going to retire but we’re still going to be buying things and not helping produce those things at the same time.”

He said it is a bigger problem nationwide than in Utah, which unlike many other states experienced a second baby boom in the 1980s. Even so, he said local businesses are facing the quandary of how to build the local labor force and the possible solutions all have their issues, he said. 

Among those solutions are the following:

• Pressure baby boomers to hold off retirement and remain in the labor force.
• Import products and increase the use of immigrant labor.
• Offset departing labor with automation and artificial intelligence.
• Incentivize birth.
• Let the economy naturally shrink.

Knold didn’t offer advice for what solution to pick but pointed out AI and robotics won’t ultimately boost the economy.

“Robots don’t buy houses, don’t buy groceries, don’t buy health care,” Knold said. “They’re not taking money out of their wallets to make the economy bigger.”

Bookending Cox and Knold were videos featuring local cities from St. George to Ivins to Springdale with mayors touting economic projects and developments in their areas. 

In one of the presentations, St. George Economic Development Director Chad Thomas noted the 2025 arrival to St. George of outdoor goods store REI Co-op with its first Southern Utah store. 

He also revealed that another store Southern Utahns have been saying they have been clamoring for on social media – Hobby Lobby – is also coming to St. George but didn’t specify a date.

Alas, another store locals have been calling for will still have to wait. 

“I’ve heard Trader Joe’s a billion times but that’s OK,” Thomas said. 

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