KUER State and local officials at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new crime lab based in the Utah Department of Public Safety building in Iron County. A new southern Utah crime lab opened in Cedar City on Monday. Local and state officials hope it will cut down on the length of investigations for law enforcement in the southern part of the state. The lab can process DNA, blood and substance testing — usually those samples would be sent to the state’s main center in Taylorsville. Chad Dotson, the Iron County Attorney, said it will help speed up the timeline for investigating things like drug distrubtion, sexual assault and murder.