I really think Utah has changed a lot in the past 15 years.
When I left, Utah was a total red state with out question,
This thing where Utah kids have really strange or misspelled names didn’t exist then but it does now (not convinced it is totally unique to Utah but it definitely has a strong following there)
When we come home to visit I’m starting to understand the “Utah Mormon” thing (even though my wife’s aunt is as Utah Mormon as they come and she’s from TN).