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ASSOCIATIONS
• Lisa Kirschner has been elected as a board of trustee member at the American Exploration and Mining Association one of the nation’s oldest mining associations. She will serve a three-year term. Kirschner has been a shareholder at Parsons Behle & Latimer, Salt Lake City, for the past 22 years and also a member of its Energy, Environmental and Natural Resources legal team. A water quality attorney, Kirschner has worked with numerous industries, including the mining industry, on permitting, enforcement and compliance issues at both the state and federal levels. She also writes and speaks extensively on water quality-related topics.
BANKING
• Idaho-based D.L. Evans Bank has hired Lexi Olsen as a business banking officer for the Northern Utah area. Olsen has eight years of banking experience and will be helping business customers with their business online banking needs, business capture and merchant services. She will work in the company’s South Ogden branch.
CONSTRUCTION
• Parametrix, an engineering, planning and environmental sciences firm, has hired George Benford as a principal consultant to lead the firm’s Salt Lake City office. He will be responsible for the firm’s Utah operations, which includes approximately 15 staff providing services in transportation and environmental planning, urban design and traffic engineering. Benford has more than 40 years of experience in the engineering industry, both in the private and public sectors. His expertise is in transportation, traffic, utilities and environmental studies, as well as public involvement. Benford most recently was principal engineer for 10 years at Horrocks Engineers. Prior to that, he was public services director for Ogden City.
CONTESTS
• The application deadline for the 2019-2020 Utah Entrepreneur Challenge is midnight Feb. 12. All college students in Utah are eligible to participate in the contest, which features $100,000 in cash and prizes, including a $40,000 grand prize. The contest is a business model competition managed by the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute and sponsored by Zions Bank. In addition to the grand prize, there are also prizes awarded for best business model, presentation and technology. Participating teams are judged by industry professionals and community experts. Details are at https://lassonde.utah.edu/uec.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Utah has the No. 9 healthiest economy in the U.S., according to rankings compiled by SeniorLiving.org, using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Bureau of Economic Analysis. The rankings were determined by analyzing data pertaining to unemployment rates, wages and gross domestic product in every state. Utah is tied for second in unemployment rate, at 2.4 percent; 17th for change in unemployment between 2015-19, 28th for average annual wage; and 28th for per capita gross domestic product.
• The Provo-Orem area is ranked ninth among small and midsize metro areas in a list of the “Top 10 Hottest Markets for Rental Investment in 2020,” compiled by The Motley Fool’s real estate investing website, Millionacres. The website analyzed 188 metropolitan statistical areas across the United States based on several market indicators, including price-to-rent ratio, annual population change from 2017-18, total annual growth in residential construction permits from 2017-18, and employment growth from October 2014 to October 2019. The top “hottest demand” market is Boise, Idaho.
• Utah has the nation’s lowest percentage of residents who are 65 and older, according to SeniorLiving.org, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Residents 65 and older account for only 11.1 percent of Utah’s population. The median age of Americans is 38., and 93,000 people in the nation are over 100 years old.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
• Western Governor’s University, Salt Lake City, has announced the university’s first globally available microcredential in information technology. The IT Career Framework MicroBachelors is designed to create pathways for people looking to advance their IT careers. Credit-backed and stackable, it can be a standalone credential, but it also allows working students to apply credit towards a bachelor’s degree program at WGU, pending admission. Its scope includes computer networking, security, scripting and programming skills. Like all WGU degree programs, it is competency-based, allowing students to advance as soon as they demonstrate mastery of course materials. It can be completed for less than $1,500. Details are at https://www.edx.org/microbachelors/wgux-information-technology-career-framework.
EXPANSIONS
• Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings Inc., a West Jordan-based outdoor specialty retailer company, has announced plans to open stores in Parker, Colorado, in February; Brentwood, California, in August; and Corona, California, in October. After they open, the company will have 107 stores in 27 states.
HEALTHCARE
• Collective Medical, a Salt Lake City-based company focused on real-time care collaboration, has appointed Wayne Grodsky as chief revenue officer. Grodsky has more than 30 years of healthcare executive leadership experience, mostly recently serving as chief growth officer at SOC Telemed. Prior to joining SOC, Grodsky served as enterprise growth officer with Zirmed (now Waystar), chief growth officer for Optum’s Risk and Quality Solutions business, and chief sales officer for Executive Health Resources (acquired by Optum).
• ATL Technology, a Springville-based development and manufacturing partner of medical device firms, has announced the expansion of its Costa Rica operations and the divestiture of its Catheter Research Inc. business unit to Biomerics. The expansion will add over 9,000 square feet of manufacturing space. ATL has been operating in Costa Rica since 2013. Since that time, the operations have grown to include over 85 employees and 22,000 square feet of manufacturing space. This announcement comes on the heels of ATL's decision to divest its CRI business unit. CRI, a manufacturer of interventional catheters and medical device assemblies with locations in Costa Rica and Indiana, was purchased by ATL in a joint venture with Biomerics in 2018. Financial terms were not disclosed. Proceeds from the sale will be invested in ATL’s internal research and development and growth initiatives.
INTERNATIONAL
• Seven Utah companies and organizations attended CES 2020 in Las Vegas in January as part of the World Trade Centers Association Delegate Program. Recruited for the program by World Trade Center Utah were Brydge, Funded Today, IconIQ Talks, Kiln, Soon App, Technology & Venture Commercialization at the University of Utah, and the Women’s Tech Council. The first mission of its kind developed by the WTCA, the program was a collaboration among the association, World Trade Center Las Vegas and the Consumer Technology Association, owner and producer of CES, the world’s largest technology event.
INVESTMENT
• Stratus Medical, a Salt Lake City-based company focused on advancing radiofrequency (RF) ablation treatment for chronic pain, has completed a private placement to acquire the assets of NimbusRF from Biomerics and to provide growth capital funding to support the continued global expansion of the Nimbus RF Multitined Expandable Electrode for chronic pain. The investment was led by Med Venture Holdings. Nimbus was developed to address the need for an easy-to-use, efficient, cost-effective RF device that provides a large volume and optimally shaped lesion, which interventional pain specialists, orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons can use to treat pain. Nimbus is manufactured in Salt Lake City.
MINING
• The board of directors of Clifton Mining Co., American Fork, has authorized a stock repurchase plan, under which Clifton may repurchase up to $800,000 of its outstanding common stock. The extent to which Clifton repurchases its shares, and the timing of the repurchases, will depend upon a variety of factors, and the repurchase program may be extended, suspended or discontinued at any time. The company expects to finance the program from existing cash resources.
NONPROFITS
• Sutherland Institute, a Salt Lake City-based conservative, nonpartisan think tank, has announced that Sharlene Wells Hawkes has joined its board of directors. Hawkes is president and founder of Remember My Service (RMS) Military Productions, a division of StoryRock Inc. RMS Productions is a full-service video production and book publishing provider working specifically with military and veterans organizations. Her experience includes 16 years as a sportscaster with ESPN. Hawkes holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Brigham Young University and a master’s in integrated marketing communication from the University of Utah.
PHILANTHROPY
• The Weber Cares Program, which provides free food and resources to students in need, recently received a $3,225 donation from Weber Dining to aid in its efforts to combat food insecurity at Weber State University. Supported by the Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL), Weber Cares uses a three-pronged approach: the Weber Cares Food & Resource Pantry, which offers healthy food at no cost in the Shepherd Union Building; a voucher program, which provides emergency $10 food vouchers redeemable at any Weber Dining campus location; and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides state food assistance. The Weber Cares Program has been in operation since 2011. During the 2018-19 school year, the pantry helped more than 600 students. Weber Dining is known nationally as Sodexo.
REAL ESTATE
• Newmark Knight Frank has announced that three retail brokers have joined its Utah office: Matt Stephens, senior managing director; and Ted Lacy and Tyler Roeller, both managing directors. They have combined commercial real estate experience of more than 40 years and they specialize in national-scale tenant representation, with a focus on franchisees. All previously were with MTN Retail Advisors. Stephens has 13 years of experience, representing the retail interests of franchisees from national companies. Lacy has 21 years of retail experience, including a background as an in-house real estate professional for several corporations including Kroger, Kmart, and Academy Sports. He has expertise in the areas of site acquisition, market analysis, competitive analysis, financial analysis and lease negotiation. Roeller, a real estate veteran of five years, has supported the growth of a variety of national franchise concepts into new markets across the U.S.
• Inside Real Estate, a Draper-based real estate software company and technology partner, has hired Shaun Rosemann as executive vice president of customer success to oversee its recently expanded customer success division. Rosemann most recently led customer success at Numetric. The team expansion also includes Dan Mckeehan, who has joined Inside Real Estate as director of customer success. Mckeehan’s background in real estate includes roles at Dotloop, Zillow Group and Buyside.
RECOGNITIONS
• SaltStack, a Lehi-based creator of intelligent automation software for security operations teams, had its SaltStack SecOps products recognized as the Best SecOps Security Solution in the 2020 Tech Ascension Awards, and was as a Silver Winner in the Security Software category of the One Planet Awards. The products, SaltStack Comply and SaltStack Protect, are enterprise security operations solutions designed to deliver automated and orchestrated continuous compliance and vulnerability remediation for production infrastructure at scale from a single platform.
• Vitapul, a company developing an injection device that stores medication in a way that extends its shelf life, won first place and the $5,000 grand prize at the 2019-2020 University of Utah Opportunity Quest business model, executive summary competition. Ten teams advanced to the final judging and awards event at Lassonde Studios. The competition is managed by students at the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute and sponsored by Zions Bank. Other top teams included second-place winner Heimdall Health ($3,000), third-place winner Sawtooth ($1,000), and best video winner MounTins ($1,000). The institute, a division of the David Eccles School of Business, hosts branch Opportunity Quest competitions across Utah at partner universities. Participants are judged by industry experts based on the quality of their submission and pitch. Winning teams at Opportunity Quest receive prize money, and the winners advance into the top 20 of the Utah Entrepreneur Challenge where they will develop a full business model and compete against students across Utah for the grand prize of $40,000. Other teams that advanced to the final judging and awards are Coweb, GAIA Technologies, Life Ready, Parq, Rexchanger and Usobek.
SPORTS
• The first phase of the Mountain Expansion project and the new intermediate training hill at the Utah Olympic Park — now named “Hyeway” — is open for training. Ground was broken for the project last July. The first phase includes five alpine training lanes; one mogul lane; expanded terrain for freeski and snowboard athletes; 11 acres of lighted terrain; expanded, high-efficiency snowmaking capacity; and a fixed-grip quad chairlift. The project is a collaboration among the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, Park City Ski & Snowboard, Rowmark Ski Academy and University of Utah Ski Team winter sport organizations. Approximately $6.8 million of the total $11 million has been raised so far, with the second phase targeted to open in the winter of 2022. Phase 2 will focus on the west face of the venue.
• Legends Boxing, Salt Lake City, has opened three new gyms: Murray; owned and operated by Mike and Maryann Bygs; Wilmington, North Carolina; and Austin, Texas. Openings are scheduled in Utah, Michigan, Arizona and Atlanta in the next quarter. The company has six studios in the U.S., with 22 in development.
TECHNOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES
• Claravine, a Provo-based digital experience data management company, has opened an office in New York and hired E.J. Freni as its chief revenue officer. Freni has more than 15 years of experience in advertising and marketing tech.