Huntsman announced Tuesday that the traditional address - delivered before a joint House and Senate session inside the state Capitol for nearly 90 years - will be presented this year in Fillmore at the Territorial Statehouse, which housed the pre-statehood Legislature for one session in 1855.

There's ''endless carping about politics today being driven by the needs of the Wasatch Front," said Huntsman, who traces his family roots to Fillmore, where he learned to drive and shoot a rifle. "We've got 29 counties and we need to recognize our friends in rural communities."

The start of a four-year renovation of the Capitol necessitated a new forum for the speech, as it did Huntsman's Jan. 3 inauguration, which has been moved to Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City.

Residents of the central Utah town of Fillmore are happy to oblige for this year's State of the State, which will be presented on an as-yet-unspecified day during the week of Jan. 17.

"This will be the biggest thing that's happened for quite a while," said Larry Paxton, owner of Larry's Drive In, a 68-seat hamburger and shake hangout where Huntsman says he plans to take lawmakers to dinner after his speech. "It [is] neat that he comes back and honors the community and himself."

Besides, he adds, "Utah doesn't end at Provo."

That's one of the reasons Huntsman says he wants to bus legislators and a select group of dignitaries and family members to the Territorial Statehouse, which can accommodate only about 100 people inside its main chamber. The speech is expected to be televised live, and some lawmakers have joked that they will forgo the long drive and sit at their desks in Salt Lake City to watch Huntsman's address.

Mike Deaver, who is heading Huntsman's inauguration activities, says most legislators will make it to the event, which he estimates will cost $7,000 to $10,000.

Senate President-elect John Valentine, R-Orem, said he doesn't mind a trip to rural Utah.

"It's his party, so we'll do our best to accommodate him," Valentine said, noting that not all lawmakers will attend because of the timing, the first week of the legislative session.

Fillmore, named after President Fillmore, has about 2,200 residents and many of the town's shops carry the name "First Capitol."

The 148-year-old red sandstone Statehouse was never fully completed, leaving out three of the four wings initially planned for the building, which was abandoned for the state Capitol in Salt Lake City.

Fillmore Mayor Sam Starley says it is an honor that Huntsman would pick the town for his first State of the State speech.

"I'm thrilled as can be to have him come here," said Starley, a distant relative of Huntsman. "We'll do it up well. I'm hoping we can make Governor Huntsman proud of making this decision."