St. George City Council

Southwest Utah residents are continuing grassroots efforts to highlight transit needs in communities outside the Wasatch Front — and to push local leaders to take action.

The divisive campaign for three open council seats included smear tactics, vandalism and attacks related to St. George’s ongoing drag show controversy.

While the debate mostly stuck to the city’s pressing issues like affordable housing and water, it also highlighted the sharp divisions that have formed over cultural topics.

The city will vote on Nov. 21 if it wants to keep funding new recreation projects the way it has since the 1990s.

The drag show fundraiser for Pride of Southern Utah brought fans and performers together after a year of controversy, bans and lawsuits in southwest Utah.

The new, larger city hall under construction in downtown is a sign of the growing pains St. George is going through as it rapidly expands.

Preliminary results indicate the three incumbent candidates will get enough primary votes to move on to this fall’s general election. They’ll face off against three political newcomers, including two who have made preserving Dixie heritage a centerpiece of their campaigns.

The judge called the city officials' attempt to stop the show unconstitutional. A statement from the city says it is committed to ensuring public parks remain open to those who want to hold events.

The move to stop allowing public comments at council meetings earlier this spring prompted protests about free speech. Residents will be able to speak at meetings again starting this summer, but they’ll have to follow some new rules.

St. George’s mayor recently ditched in-person public comment at council meetings in favor of written statements. The move and the angry response point to larger questions about the state of democracy and civility.