The Democrat even delivered a dig about Huntsman's family business while talking about economic development. Springmeyer asked why the Huntsman Corp. has "only a minor presence here."

Huntsman said the corporation's chemical manufacturing plants need to be located near waterways but that profits come back to Utah to fund the Huntsman Cancer Institute, which employs hundreds of people, as well as a number of charities.

In his closing statement, the governor asked that Utahns help out "those who are falling on hard times" by contributing to homeless shelters and food pantries. If Utahns pull together, he said, "these tough times won't seem so tough."

Springmeyer said in his closing statement that Huntsman and his family are "extraordinarily generous to this state" and that Huntsman's father was the "closest thing we have to a saint."

---

E-mail: lisa@desnews.com