Dixie State name change passed by GOP-controlled Utah House

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Dixie State University in Southern Utah is one step closer to changing its name after the Utah House approved a renaming plan Wednesday over local backlash. The bill now moves to the state Senate. The school would be renamed Utah Tech University. A compromise provision would keep the name Dixie on the main campus in St. George, near the Arizona border. The GOP-controlled chamber approved the idea after multiple students and executives from the state’s burgeoning tech sector said the name often associated with the Deep South and slavery is met with confusion and distaste outside the state. Locals say it has its own meaningful regional history.