ST. GEORGE – Comedian Colin Jost poked fun at the City of St. George for its permit policy regarding dancing on the “Weekend Update” news satire segment of NBCUniversal’s “Saturday Night Live” television show Saturday.
In its Nov. 1 episode, the mock news co-anchor, sits with an image behind him marking St. George on a map then shifting to a photo of a grinning Kevin Bacon – Bacon starred in the 1984 movie “Footloose” about a young man who finds himself in a town that prohibits dancing. In the SNL news broadcast, Jost said:
Residents of St. George, Utah, are upset about a new city ordinance that prohibits dancing events without a permit. I’m on it, said Kevin Bacon.
The seconds-long snippet was tucked in with other news bites on such items as Ebola, the Pope’s stance on evolution, sexually transmitted diseases, midterm elections, Starbucks delivery service and Apple CEO Tim Cook being gay … among other morsels.
Click here to view the episode; the segment begins at about the 29-minute mark. Note: Saturday Night Live is not suitable for all audiences, viewer discretion is advised.
The spoof apparently stems from the city’s actions over a disputed dance permit for a Monster Mash party on Oct. 24 hosted by Heart of Dixie Events LLC at Fiesta Fun Center in St. George; St. George Police showed up with a strong presence to ensure no dancing took place. The prohibition came as a result of the city’s position that the event promoters had not complied with permitting requirements, a position the promoter has said came after issuing a permit stamped “approved.”
Read more: Dancing at Monster Mash party stopped by police over disputed event permit and Crashed Monster Mash dance: Promoter decries, city stands by permit process
The city does not have an ordinance that prohibits dancing. It does have conditions consistent with the Uniform Building Code that must be met for a dance hall business license, and it has imposed stipulations on event coordinators who want to include dancing at an event.
Yet, the perception created by a notable police presence over a Halloween dance party has caught attention beyond Utah-based media. Since St. George News broke the story on Oct. 26, the incident has been addressed on such blogs as The FreeThoughtProject.com, the DailyKos.com, BenSwann.com, OpposingViews.com and thestupidnewsnetwork.com. Heart of Dixie representative Jared Keddington said Fox News TV broadcast on the incident and that it was the discussion of talk radio for about two hours on a radio program out of New Hampshire.
This is not the first time the City of St. George has been fodder for satirists. In September 2013, the National Report, an internet-based satirical news site, posted an article claiming pornography is illegal in the city. St. George News published a story on that article, to which the National Report Editor-in-Chief Nigel J. Covington III commented. Speaking of the writer who had penned the satire, Covington said: “Mr. Horner has an almost daily habit for stirring the pot shall we say and not always do we receive such a nice friendly reply. We here at the National Report want to thank you again and we wish all the good people of St. George well.”
It is said that it pays to have a sense of humor.
Then again, the National Report was not finished with St. George. Eight months ago, it posted an article claiming the Mormon religion has five years left in existence due to LDS women being corrupted by “Party Crews” from Arizona. And again, in late summer, the publication mocked the LDS Church, in an article claiming a 21-year-old Mormon girl had sold her virginity on Ebay to raise funds for a roof repair at the St. George Temple.
Related posts
- Dancing at Monster Mash party stopped by police over disputed event permit
- Crashed Monster Mash dance: Promoter decries, city stands by permit process
- National Report satire on St. George creates a stir
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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2014, all rights reserved.
Wow. More great press for our finest. Saint George police. Ha ha
Fire the City Manager! Vote out any dinosaur that supports this ridiculous city policy!
The City Manager of St. George is appointed, not elected, and has been in the position for decades.
The Clampetts…that’s how we look to the outside world right now…like a bunch of intolerant hicks. The police force scanner audio is making facebook rounds. I’m sure this will all be on CNN….again.
Naw. The Clampetts were actually very open to learning new things and progressing through life. They also enjoyed Granny’s moonshine, and Jethro enjoyed the occasional big Ceegar.
St George could learn a lot from the Clampetts.
Was it not having the proper permit or the proper panties the reason they got shut down? I think not having the proper panties, the secret, magical type, was probably the real reason to get shut down. When in doubt about permissions, shouldn’t turn around, drop those magic panties and say “Yes Sir! May I have another?”
Most people outside of Utah (and ignorant of the LDS religion) will never understand how funny your comment is Koolaid. Those of us who are aware (and not of the “majority”) are spewing coffee through our nostrils as we fall to the floor in laughter. Thanks for starting my Monday out with those humorous images. Magic panties aound ankles, bend over, “yes sir! may I have another.” Bahahaha!
🙂
Ha, ha, ha, ha!
No, THIS is intolerant: “Saginaw Michigan police shoot homeless man with penknife 46 times.” If dance permit paperwork is what gets folks outraged in St. George, it is a great place to live.
Sad that the biggest concerns in St George are stray dogs getting shot and this dance permit thing. Nobody cared about the biggest internet scammer resides in St George, about the murders and suicides in this town, the corrupt good ole boy city government nor about the girl who was assaulted by three boys in Santa Clara. Nope, let’s talk about high school sports, dogs and babies. It’s not that crimes don’t happen in St George; it’s that the people don’t want to hear about them. Sweep it under the rug mentality.
Your article is contradictive. The corrupt “good ole boy” city government of St George is why your issue ended up with me on SNL lastnight…is the city council not the culprit for of the so-called dance permit to be had at your clubs and venues?
ED. NOTE: We are unable to verify this is the real Kevin Bacon.
Yup, just like in the movie. Don’t you just love the YOULOSE on the picture?
Way to go St. Geezy. Alright! Looking good. The rest of the country is LAUGHING at you. Can’t wait for the “then just move” comments.
i just moved. This is just one of the reasons, St. George needs to update itself.
I’m really glad that I no longer live in St. George. I thought it was great when I moved there ten years ago, but after a few years I was not very happy. Free at last.
I’m really glad you no longer live in St. George as well. We are much better off without your “kind” in our midst.
Shelley must not be drinking that DIX Koolaid from DIXIE like them other DIXIE DIX
Wow, Mr. Mayor, what is your kind? I am a professional person, a Registered Nurse, and have worked for over forty years and paid my dues. I felt a little out of place, and definitely not accepted in St. George, because I did not belong to the dominant religion. It was a bit of a culture shock when I arrived there, but I decided to stay for a while. Sorry to have to talk about religion, but it is what it is. I lived on a street where I was the minority, and never felt accepted at all. I stopped waving at my neighbors soon after I moved there due to their unfriendliness. I have a few wonderful friends who are LDS and accepted me during the ten years I spent in St. George, but other than that, I guess you are much better off without my kind.
I hope the city “fathers” are extremely proud of themselves. Bunch of dorks that shouldn’t be allowed to run a dog pound. In fact, I apologize to all the workers in all the animal shelters in Dixie. You are all a far more upstanding bunch than this bunch of clowns in the SG City Hall.
Footloose is playing tonight….Baja cable, channel 60…..isn’t it ironic, don’t you think. LOL
This is the good ol boy system at its best. Boy do they have egg on their face now.
The whole country is mocking us. Nice job city government. It’s time for a change.
Kevin Bacon we need ur help!!!!! Please come a soon as u can! We need to dance!!! Help us please!!!
There has been miscommunication on both sides of the issue, but fact of the matter is, there is no ban on dancing. The city just simply asks that for large scale events, that you apply and follow the appropriate processes to obtain a permit. The event organizer did not follow the correct order when applying for this permit, nevertheless, the city continued to try to work with him even though he applied for his permit much too late. When applying for his permit, he knew that there could not be dancing allowed because he applied for his permit too late. When the city failed to uncheck the dancing section on his permit, he took advantage of it in an attempt to deceive. The event worker has been through this before, he knew what he was doing. He has been in trouble with city governments before. Also, the police are just doing their jobs. They are great people, and work to serve you. When the police do something that is out of line, there is an internal affairs division to ensure that what police officers do is justified. they do not need us and it is not our job to judge the police force. Give the city workers a break, they are only trying to do what is best for our community.
Why would we believe that? The city “failed to uncheck the dancing section of his permit” then they should have sucked up their mistake and allowed dancing. If the guy “applied for the permit too late” then all of it (not just one section) should have been denied. The city is either evil or idiots…which is it?
¶ It’s refreshing to have read that there was a commenter (THE LOCOMOTIVE) who replied to this article, that ACTUALLY UNDERSTANDS that there was a VALID reason as to why the City of St. George did not allow the dancing.
¶ The INSTRUCTIONS and REQUIREMENTS for a Special Event Application specifically state:
“Applications must be submitted no later than 30 DAYS before the event set up date to allow adequate time for various City Departments and outside agencies to review the details of the permit request and make their recommendations”.
¶ City spokesman Marc Mortensen said that Keddington did not file for the permit soon enough and also added: “Had this actually come to the city a month in advance, which we typically require for large-scale events, there wouldn’t have been an issue”.
¶ Marc Mortensen also stated:
“Via the power of social media, who knows how many could have showed up and would that have overburdened that particular neighborhood and could it have potentially created problems, that’s what we try and avoid”.
¶ Party organizers Heart of Dixie have held The Monster Mash for three years now, BUT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME it took place in St. George.
¶ Organizer Jared Keddington said they thought they’d be able to have their party at Fiesta Fun Center, a local outdoor entertainment venue, but found out days before the party they’d need a special event permit???
¶ “I” have never applied for or held a special event before, yet it took only a few minutes to find the links for the Special Event Application AND for the Instructions and Requirements”
¶ The city is neither “evil”, or “idiots”! – The have valid reasons, for their concerns and people out here are just either misguided, or just too lazy to actually research something, before spouting off their uneducated opinion.
You, like others, fail to understand the real point here. Yes, there is a formal process for obtaining the permit. We all understand that, and we understand that Keddington failed to follow that process. However, the city issued a permit nevertheless except for the dancing provision. No one, not you or any city officials, has explained why dancing could not, or would not, be approved on short notice if the rest of the permit could be. What was it about dancing that they objected to? There is a conspicuous silence from the city on this topic, and you have failed to provide any insight into that controversy.
I think Chris is failing to understand the real point.
Sorry Chris, strike my comment. Dave Rabbit has fallen down the rabbit hole
Dave rabbit. You were not there nor do you have any idea what you are talking about. Yea yea. Mark mort said this, he said that.
Total damage control by the city.
The permit should have never been issued if they did not want anyone to dance. Period.
You probably believe everything out of Obamas mouth too.
Perhaps you mean to say that there is no “official” ban on dancing…
” it is not our job to judge the police force” Are you serious? If you believe that, you truly are a sheep. It is every citizen’s job to judge all of our public servants. If you believe that they will simply “police” themselves, you are a chump.
Mr. Rabbit needs to go back to busting tires for a living. He is much better at that, than he is at his comments here.
It is not our job to judge the police. I feel it is very important to criticize the police to make sure that all unfair actions are addressed but it is not our job to make the final ruling as to whether or not what the police do is justified. We will not know and should not know everything about a crime and the way the police handle it. The “internal affairs division” have “policed” officers before and have made fair rulings. police officers who have acted out of line, have been fired and in some cases, imprisoned themselves. In this case, the police were entirely justified in their actions.
Obviously this comment was prepared by the city. And it is wrong.
Wrong. We were forced to Apply for a permit to dance on private property. The big issue here is that people have to get a permit to dance . The permit was issued. If there was to be no dancing then no permit would be needed! Anyone can seek out and find another side to the story But the fact of the matter is that the city forced us to get a permit to dance on private property. Then they had the police stake out the dance and come in and shut it down.
Dear locomotive. I was at the event and no the police were not just trying to do their job. They came there to bully and were very intimidating and rude.
You need to get your facts straight. And why is a permit needed ( besides the city fee of course) to hold an event that is on private property that is already zoned for those kinds of events and entertainment. You are so misinformed. Another fine example of the city government trying to tell everyone what to do on private property that was zoned for this kind of thing.
You must work for code enforcement.
The reason that you must obtain a dance permit is to ensure that a large event, such as a dance, should and can be held at a certain location. For example, the city would not issue a permit for a large community event in someone’s garage; this would be out of order and could cause problem in a surrounding areas. If you are just having a party at a private residence, you do not need a permit because it is a small scale event, but for something at such a large scale, such as this event, a permit is required.
The idea behind a permit is to protect the surrounding community, not to determine what can and can’t be done at an event.
Saint George, Utah USA, I am booking a flight to SGU from Denver soon. Very soon 🙂
ED. NOTE: We are unable to verify this is the real Kevin Bacon.
Hope so!!!
Don’t waste your time…after living in Utah for 13 years I agree with my Dad that UTAH is like living in another country. The “BOOK OF MORMON” IS UTAH”S BIBLE . IT CHANGES EVERY OTHER YEAR..LOL
THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE ARE UNWORTHY , THEY CAN NOT ENTER INTO THE UPPER RANKS AS THEY ARE UN WORTHY TO BE WITH GOD:
WOMEN ARE INFERIOR. : UNLESS MARRIED TO A TEMPLE WORTHY MAN
DARK SKINNED PEPOLE WHO : THEY ARE INFERIOR AS THEY ARE DIRTY
GAYS UNTIL RECENTLY WERE EXCOMMUNICATED DUE TO MENTAL ISSUES
EACH PROPHET CAN MAKE ANY CHANGES AS THEY SEE FIT IT IS A CULT
THE LDS MORMONS ARE NO BETTER THEN JEFF WARREN’S FLDS IT IS A CULT
UNTIL RECENTLY LDS WERE THE MAJORITY…NOW IT IS THE MOLLY MORMONS AND JACK MORMONS ” OFFSPRING THAT GO AGAINST THE GRAIN CLAIMING THEY HAVE NO TATOOS ARE VIRGINS ETC.WHILE CLAIMING THEY ARE TEMPLE WORTHY”..YET MY KIDS GO TO SCHOOL WITH THESE PHONIES AND THEY ALL DO THEY SAME THINGS. EXCEPT ON SUNDAY’S ETC. IN THE STG AREA THE LDS IS A STATUS SYMBOL LIKE BEING RICH…THEY THINK THEY ARE BETTER WHEN REALLY THEY ARE JUST HYPOCRITES …THE PROBLEM AS THEY SEE IS LACK OF CONTROL AS THEY DONOT WANT OUTSIDERS QUESTIONING THEM THEY FEAR LOSS OF POWER..THEIR ARE SOME REALLY NICE PEOPLE BUT AS A WHOLE THEY ARE BRAINWASHED AND A CLIQUE.
People handcuffed and tasered and beaten with billy clubs and pepper sprayed and thrown in jail for dancing news at 11 courtesy of the St George anti dance Swat Team… notice I capitalized swat team. so I don’t get arrested by the St George Nazis
@ real life if you don’t like it move LMAO… Sorry couldn’t pass it up
The city council meeting is Thursday, November 6th @ 5PM. Will those Mormons who claim they are upset with the city ordinance make their voices heard and demand the ordinance be retracted? I bet most realize they have bishops in the city council, and being they are supposed to be obedient mormons to their bishops, they will simply cower, tuck their tails and continue letting their bishops control them. News sources should have cameras and reporters at the city council meeting to video and report the bully atmosphere the mayor, the city manager, the council members and the police force will have. You watch their actions on November 6th. They will shut down any demonstration or protest of their dance ordinance. They will not change it for you. This will be an example of how in St George, you do not live in the land of the free. Now do as you are commanded by them.
But this is ‘Murika … where “THAT is against MY religion, so nobody else should be allowed to do it either.”
I am Heavenly Father and I approve this message. I love all my little sycophants!
Dancing is what kept me out of trouble as a teen. I lived in a town about the size of St. George and I loved going to the school and city sponsored dances. The weekends I wasn’t at a dance, I was looking for excuses to avoid going to alcohol parties. In my mind, dancing promotes good health and good values.
But this wasn’t a school dance. This was a dance that was sponsored by folks the city deem to be not good enough to be allowed to do business.
If the city of SG thinks this is going to go away…..stay tuned!
The only way this won’t go away, is if we keep it alive, or if there is a law suite, or best of all, both! SG Citizens go to every city council meeting, write letters to the editor, both on this sight and at the Spectrum. Talk about it on talk radio.
Otherwise, this issue will die long before any of these yo-yos at SG are up for re-election.
I HAVE DECIDED TO ASK FOR FORGIVNESS FROM ALL THOSE OF WHOM I MAY HAVE OFFENDED MOSTLY GOD, HIS SON, AND HIS FAITHFUL CHURCH MEMBERS. AS YOU CAN TELL I AM A STRIPPER AND A PROSTITUE. BEING ABUSED BY PEOPLE WHO WHERE CLOSE TO ME, I HAVE DECIDED TO BE A NEGATIVE PERSON NO MATTER WHERE I AM AT. I CANT GO TO THE DR. FOR HELP THEY MAY FIND MY DESEASE. I DONT HAVE KIDS BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN FIXED. MY WHOLE LIFE IS A LIE. SORRY MOMA IAMA HOREA. SORRY DAD SO ISA YOURA WIFEA. PLEASE FORGIVE ME I AM TO STUPID TO KNOW WHAT I DO.
TO EXPLAIN MYSELF I HAVE BEEN STRIPPED OF ALL MY DIGNITY therefore becoming a stripper. I HAVE SOLD MY SOUL FOR PERSONAL GAIN becoming a PROSTITUE of society. I thought I better explain this. I was afraid of recieving to many personal requests from the ones who either sponsored this dance or the ones of whom attended this dance. You know the ones, the ones that follow some rules but not all, the ones that raise children, but their children are stupid, the ones like me that say we believe in things spiritually, but don’t want to follow any commandments, the ones that want money, but won’t work hard, the ones like me that have children, but can’t keep or find a spouse, the ones like me that love my children so much, but can’t love their mother or father so we have a broken home. The ones that love to complain, but never never ever do any thing positive in life. The ones that curse the LDS people, but prefer to use LSD. The ones that complain about polluting the earth, but fill our children’s minds with pollution. The ones that want to save Mother Earth, but can’t save our selves or our family. The ones that are JUST LIKE YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND I
I’m surprised stgeorgenews didn’t mark this as spam, lol.
Like c’mon lady. Everyone has problems. Crying online isn’t going to fix it.
Call girl. Are you high?
Cali Girl were you a member of the drama club in high school? You just gave a very good performance how you posted your thoughts so passionately… incoherent but definitely full of passion and conviction!
If only Trump could take a joke.