As for health care, the governor said it's "a troubling inconsistency" that the state is among the most advanced in the medical sciences while far too many Utahns cannot afford adequate health care.

More than 300,000 Utahns lack insurance, he said, an issue that "is crying out for a fix."

That fix won't come fast, though. Lawmakers are expected to act on a proposal that will provide a framework to get started on a major overhaul of the state's health-care system, a multi-year process, according to Huntsman.

His speech was interrupted by applause more than a dozen times, and he received several standing ovations, including after thanking Wendy Black, the wife of one of the men who died while trying to rescue miners trapped in Crandall Canyon Mine last summer.

He sprinkled his speech with references to communities throughout the state and recognized a number of accomplished Utahns including Nobel Prize winner Mario Capecchi and the state's only surviving Medal of Honor recipient, George Wahlen.

Utah Army National Guard Sgt. Gordon Ewell, who was left legally blind and deaf after being hit six times during the 59 combat missions he completed in Iraq, was also honored, as the governor called for the Ogden Veterans Nursing Home to be built.

"Hard work, geography and history have dealt us a fortunate hand. Now it is up to 'We the people' to fulfill our destiny," Huntsman said, calling on everyone to work together to make the state greater.

"Pre-eminence is within our grasp," he said. "We must aspire to reach higher."

Legislative Republicans took it as a good sign that Huntsman didn't bring up tax cuts in his speech. Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, said the governor has already given the majority party hope he'll go along with tax cuts and now they have even more.

"If he had said, 'No, we should not have tax cuts,' that would be a clear signal that we were headed for a major negotiation. But by not mentioning it at all, it appears to us that he's saying, I'm willing to talk," Valentine said.

Minority Democrats, however, said Huntsman didn't talk about tax cuts because they're not a priority.

Both Senate Minority Leader Mike Dmitrich, D-Price, and House Minority Leader Brad King, D-Price, said tax cuts don't make sense given the state's needs in areas like education and the faltering national economy.

But Democrats were generally pleased with what they heard from Huntsman.

"The priorities, I think we liked a lot," King said. "What can you say against economic development, education, air quality and health insurance? These are things the Democrats have stood for, for a long time."

House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, was a little less enthusiastic about Huntsman leaving out another topic, immigration. "Our constituents are asking and saying, 'Deal with it,"' Curtis said. "This is one where the governor probably looked at it and said, 'I'll let you guys ... walk through that briar patch."'

Educators met the speech with cautious optimism. Mark Cluff, vice chairman of the State Board of Education, was especially supportive of efforts to bring the best teachers into Utah classrooms.

"I have great hope for continued and improved funding for education in this state, and quality teachers are No. 1," he said after the speech. "I'm very hopeful, but there is a lot of work to do to make sure these things take place."

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Contributing: Tiffany Erickson

E-mail: lisa@desnews.com