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ASSOCIATIONS

• Dr. Michael L. Good, CEO of University of Utah Health, dean of the University of Utah School of Medicine and the senior vice president of health sciences, has been elected as chair-elect of the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC). Good, an anesthesiologist, academic leader and inventor of the human patient simulator, works to assure the professional and educational success of more than 20,000 faculty, staff and students at University of Utah Health. Prior to coming to the UofU, Good served as dean of the University of Florida College of Medicine.

BANKING

• Mountain America Credit Union has completed three replacement branches in Salt Lake City (Redwood Road and Sugar House locations) and Clinton. The new buildings are the first locations to highlight mural walls that feature images of the local community over the years. Each branch also offers extra private meeting space, allowing members to receive personalized financial guidance to help them plan for their short and long-term financial dreams. The Sugar House branch is at 2070 E. 2100 S. and its managed by Sam Spracklen, a seven-year veteran of Mountain America. The Redwood Road building at 1225 S. Redwood Road, replaces a structure that initially opened in 2000. Manager Tom Griffith has been with Mountain America for six years and has 14 years of finance and management experience. The Clinton branch at 1727 W. 1800 N. is managed by Janet Machado, who has been with Mountain America for five years. Mountain American has more than 95 branches across five states.

CONSTRUCTION

• Clyde Companies has formed a new subsidiary, Bridgesource LLC. Located in Ogden, Bridgesource will be instrumental in providing materials to concrete producers throughout the Intermountain West, including fly ash, a component of ready-mix concrete. Bridgesource has entered into an agreement to be the exclusive purchaser of fly ash from the Jim Bridger Power Plant in Wyoming. Plans are underway to build a storage and distribution facility located on the rail line in Ogden to facilitate the logistics and storage for the fly ash operation. Gary England has been hired as the division manager of Bridgesource LLC. He was integral in achieving Bridgesource’s exclusive contract with Bridger Power Plant and now leads a team of people with over 20 years of experience in the fly ash industry to oversee the operation.

• Sundt Construction Inc. has promoted Cade Rowley to senior vice president and Southwest and Intermountain regional manager for the company’s Transportation Group. He will oversee the company’s heavy civil construction work throughout Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Southern California. Rowley joined Sundt over 20 years ago as a field engineer. Since then, he has served in multiple roles within the Transportation Group, including project manager, area manager, business development manager, preconstruction manager and Southwest regional manager.

• Gov. Gary Herbert has declared October as “Careers in Construction Month.” According to the Utah Department of Workforce Services, Utah in August had 8,400 more construction industry jobs, up 7.4 percent from a year earlier.

CORPORATE

• Sizzling Platter LLC, a Salt Lake City-based restaurant management company, and the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Sizzling Platter Issuer Corp., have announced they intend to offer $325 million in aggregate principal amount of senior secured notes due 2025. The company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering of the notes to fully repay indebtedness outstanding under its existing senior secured credit facility and for general corporate purposes, including fees and expenses relating to the offering. Completion of the offering is subject to, among other things, pricing and market conditions. The notes and the related note guarantees will be offered through a private placement.

DIVIDENDS

• The board of directors of Clarus Corp., a Salt Lake City-based company that develops, manufactures and distributes outdoor equipment and lifestyle products focused on the climb, ski, mountain and sport markets, has reinstated the company’s quarterly cash dividend of 2l5 cents per share. The dividend will be paid Nov. 20 to stockholders of record on Nov. 9. The company started a regular quarterly dividend more than two years ago but temporarily replaced the cash dividend with a stock dividend earlier this year.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

• Utah leads the rankings of best states for the middle class, compiled by financial technology company SmartAsset, which considered the percentage of households in the middle class, the median household income adjusted for cost of living, median home value and homeownership rate. Utah was followed, in order, by Idaho, Minnesota, South Dakota and Iowa. The worst states for the middle class are New York, Louisiana, Connecticut, New Mexico and Oklahoma. The middle class, generally characterized as households that earn approximately two-thirds to two times the median national income, comprises slightly more than half of American households. Its figure of 52 percent is down from 61 percent in 1971. Details about the analysis are at https://smartasset.com/mortgage/best-states-for-the-middle-class-2020-edition.

• Utah is ranked third among states regarding fundamental metrics of success in the technology and innovation-driven “new economy,” according to the 2020 State New Economy Index, released by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. It is the highest ranking for Utah since 1999. Massachusetts tops the list, followed by California. Mississippi ranked last. The new report is the latest edition of a long-running ITIF series that measures the degree to which state economies are knowledge-based, globalized, entrepreneurial, IT-driven and innovation-based. The index, compiled every three years, measures 25 economic indicators in five categories. Utah has risen six positions since 2017. Since 1999, it has been as low as No. 16.

• Utah ranks No. 25 among states for having the most victims of romance scammers in 2019, according to SocialCatfish.com, using the most recent data from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. Americans lost $201 million to such scammers in 2019, up from $143 million in 2018, according to the FTC.

• Salt Lake City is ranked No. 45 among the best U.S. cities for remote workers, according to a list compiled by Lawnstarter. The analysis looked at the 150 largest U.S. cities across 15 factors, including remote job opportunities, Internet speed and the cost of renting a home office.

• Utah is ranked No. 18 in a list of states most affected by cybercrime in 2019, compiled by Safety.com using statistics from the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. Cybercrime caused $3.5 billion in damages in 2019 in the U.S. alone, according to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. Utah had cybercrime losses of nearly $46.5 million. Its $14,061 average loss per victim was third among states. It had 3,304 victims and 934 cybercriminals. Details are at https://www.safety.com/digital/cyber/states-most-affected-by-cybercrime/.

• Daggett County leads a list of Utah counties where their dollars stretch the furthest, compiled by financial technology company SmartAsset. The fifth annual study compared median income and cost of living data nationwide to find the counties where people hold the most purchasing power. The counties with the highest median incomes relative to the cost of living were the ones that ranked the highest. Daggett was followed, in order, by Summit, Morgan, Davis, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, Salt Lake Tooele and Millard counties. Details are at https://smartasset.com/mortgage/cost-of-living-calculator?year=2020#Utah.

• Several Utah cities are among the fastest-growing cities in America over a seven-year period ending in 2019, ranked by personal finance website WalletHub. WalletHub compared 515 U.S. cities across 17 metrics, including population growth. Among mid-sized cities are No. 89 West Jordan, No. 109 Salt Lake City, No. 129 Provo, and No. 148 West Valley City. Among small cities are No. 12 St. George, No. 21 Orem, No. 28 Layton, No. 45 Ogden, No. 69 Sandy. The fastest-growing U.S. city is Fort Myers, Florida. The slowest-growing city is Erie, Pennsylvania. Enterprise, Nevada, experienced the highest population growth, at 8.14 percent. Conversely, East Los Angeles, California, experienced the highest decrease. The full report is at https://wallethub.com/edu/fastest-growing-cities/7010/.

EDUCATION/TRAINING

• Weber State University has announced a new master’s program in social work, launching next year. The program, housed in the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, is currently accepting applications, which are due Dec. 1 for students aiming to start the program in fall 2021. Weber State will be the fourth university in Utah to offer a Master of Social Work. The university’s new MSW program will focus on clinical social work practice. Weber State already has a thriving undergraduate program in social work, which produces 50-75 social workers each academic year. The new MSW will be a traditional two-year program, but the Department of Social Work and Gerontology is planning to launch a one-year program to start in 2022 for students who already hold a bachelor’s degree in social work.

• The South Valley Chamber has established a leadership program dedicated to educating up-and-coming leaders. It will begin in January and meet once monthly for 10 months, covering topics such as economic development, the environment, education and transportation. The cost is $1,000 for chamber members and $1,500 for nonmembers. Participants will be required to participate in one community service project, one of their city’s council meetings, one of their school district’s meetings, and two South Valley Chamber events. The deadline for applications is Nov. 15. Details are available by contacting Karla Rogers at karla@southvalleychamber.com.

• Stadler Rail US in Salt Lake City recently honored the first cohort of students in the Talent Ready Utah apprenticeship program. The Talent Ready Utah center, in partnership with Stadler US, implemented a youth apprenticeship model called the Talent Ready Apprenticeship Connection (TRAC). The TRAC program is designed to provide meaningful work experience for students engaged in learning the skills they need for a successful career. Students split their time between the classroom and workplace, applying knowledge through a hands-on learning routine. Sixteen students have completed the apprenticeship’s high-school component and will now help as mentors to welcome the second cohort of apprentices starting this year.

EXPANSIONS

• Purple, a Lehi-based comfort products manufacturer, has announced an exclusive partnership with Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc. to bring Purple products to all 280 of the mattress and bedding retailer’s locations across Canada. It is the first time Purple products will be available for purchase in physical retail locations outside of the U.S. In addition to stocking Purple flagship products, Sleep Country Canada will launch an exclusive mattress to the Canadian market.

HEALTHCARE

• Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah has announced appointments for two cancer center members. Brad Cairns has accepted an appointment as chief academic officer at HCI. Cairns will lead initiatives designed to support professional development and increase faculty’s career satisfaction. HCI currently houses more than 200 cancer-focused faculty members from 30 academic departments or schools at the UofU. Cairns also will continue his service as professor and chair of the Department of Oncological Sciences at the UofU and will continue to lead his cancer research laboratory as an HCI and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. Cairns previously served as senior director of basic science at HCI. Alana Welm has accepted an appointment as senior director of basic science, a role previously held by Cairns. Welm will provide senior leadership oversight of two basic science cancer center programs under the umbrella of HCI’s Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG), as well as research resources utilized by many faculty members. Welm will continue to lead her cancer research laboratory focused on breast cancer metastasis.

• LUMEA, a Lehi-based digital pathology company, has appointed Dr. Richard Lash as chief medical officer. Lash has extensive diagnostic experience in both academic and commercial environments, and has led the development of molecular diagnostics, clinical research and biotechnology in several large organizations. Lash is taking on the LUMEA role in addition to his current work as president of a medical consulting company in Texas and as associate clinical professor of pathology at UT-Southwestern Medical Center. Lash previously was chief marketing officer and executive vice president of operations at Inform Diagnostics, formerly Caris Life Sciences.

• Pharos Capital Group LLC, a private equity firm based in Dallas and Nashville, has announced that its post-acute care provider platform, Charter Health Care Group, has acquired two hospice service providers, including Heartwood Home Health & Hospice in the Salt Lake City area. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisitions are Charter’s third and fourth add-ons in 2020. Both management teams will remain with their organizations. Charter is based in Southern California. It serves over 3,600 patients and has multiple locations across Utah and four other states.

INSURANCE

• PrimeOne Insurance Co., Salt Lake City, has named Los Angeles-based Eric Jarvis as its chief operating officer. Jarvis has 21 years of experience in the insurance industry, most recently the head of the consulting firm Elevate Management Inc.  He previously led KnightBrook Insurance Co. and the Knight Insurance Group.

INVESTMENTS

• Passive Logic, Salt Lake City, has secured $16 million in Series A funding to launch its AI technology to power smart buildings. The round was led by venture funds Keyframe Capital and Addition. Other investors include RET Ventures, A/O Proptech and NREP. The U.S. Department of Energy followed the Series A raise with a $1.1 million contract to define an industry Digital Twin technology standard for next-generation automation systems. Additional backing for the standard comes from Swiss HVAC component manufacturer Belimo.

• Savory, a Salt Lake City-based Mercato Partners fund, has announced it has invested in Via 313 Pizzeria, a restaurant concept based in Austin, Texas, and specializing in Detroit-style pizza. Financial terms were not disclosed. Its first location opened in 2011 with a small trailer in downtown Austin, and quickly added a second trailer before the end of the year. It has expanded into three brick-and-mortar locations. Savory’s portfolio also includes The Crack Shack, Mo’ Bettahs, R&R BBQ and Swig.

NONPROFITS

• Registration has opened for Utah Food Bank’s 15th annual Utah Human Race. Typically held Thanksgiving morning and attracting nearly 5,000 participants, this year’s virtual race allows participants to complete their race anytime between Nov. 1 and Nov. 27 from wherever they’d like. All registration fees and sponsorships from the family-friendly 5K/10K fun run will benefit Utah Food Bank. Details are at www.UtahHumanRace.org.

PHILANTHROPY

• The employees at Solutionreach, a Lehi-based patient relationship management software company, raised over $40,000 in September for the Utah chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) through virtual events and challenges, including a talent show and “Light the Night” event. Solutionreach also worked with local organizations, including a blood drive and the Women Build group from Habitat for Humanity. The seventh year of the Solutionreach “Giving Games” was a virtual event. Over the past seven years, Solutionreach and its employees have collectively donated almost $300,000 to LLS through the annual Giving Games competition.

• American Express has given a $15,000 grant to Needs Beyond Medicine, based in Salt Lake City, to be used for its Relief Program. The program provides financial assistance for Utah residents who are cancer patients undergoing treatment. The grants given to the patients will be used for necessary non-medical living expenses, such as rent, utilities, groceries, transportation and other essential costs.

• Select locations of sports pub ’Bout Time Pub & Grub are participating in a new promotion to allow front-line workers that work in healthcare, first responders, police, firefighters, active military or education to order and receive one free entree for a limited time. Other party members of the “essential workers” can join the promotion for only $1 when they order items from a special menu. The offer can be redeemed at Ogden, Kimball Junction, The Gateway and West-West Valley (off of 5600 West) locations. The promotion is good for the remainder of October or as long as the funds from the special program from the COVID-19 CARES Act funding from the state of Utah remain.

• Gabb Life, an interactive youth website by Provo-based Gabb Wireless, will have six months of contests to inspire youngsters to “live beyond the screen.” The first contest, in partnership with teen artist Tyler Gordon, is a T-shirt contest, and participants will vie to win cash, cellphones, merchandise and a personal art lesson with Gordon. The winner’s T-shirt design will be added to the Gabb Life apparel line. Entrants (anyone 17 or younger) can submit T-shirt designs through Oct. 29. Details are at https://gabblife.com/t-shirt/. Gabb Life will subsequently host skateboarding, surfing, ski/snowboard and music contests.

REAL ESTATE

• Mountain West Commercial Real Estate has welcomed Spencer Greer and Preston Miller as brokers in its Salt Lake City office. Both previously were with Pentad Retail/Hospitality. They formed their team in 2018. Greer focuses on site selection and landlord representation, while Preston focuses on investment, owner/user and development acquisitions. Greer began his commercial real estate career at Marcus & Millichap. He graduated from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s in Chinese literature. In May 2021, Spencer will graduate from the University of Utah with a Master’s of Real Estate Development. Miller began his career in commercial real estate in May 2008 and spent short stints at CBRE and Cushman Wakefield and a nine-year stint at Pentad Retail/Hospitality. He graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in economics.

• Woodside Homes, Salt Lake City, has established new home standards designed to make its homes healthier places to live. Its “Healthy Home” solution is branded with the slogan “It’s What Inside that Counts” and will be the standard in all Woodside homes in Utah, Nevada, California and Arizona. The homes will include improved air purification, better air quality, protection from mold, better-tasting water, and improved hygiene. Details are available at www.woodsidehomes.com.

RECOGNITIONS

• Foldax, Salt Lake City, has been named a Cardiovascular Device Company of the Year finalist by MedTech Outlook Magazine. Ten companies were selected. Foldax was honored for its Tria biopolymer heart valve.

• SecurityMetrics, an Orem-based data security and compliance company, has announced that its patented web skimming solution technology, Webpage Integrity Monitoring (WIM), has been named the winner of the “Overall Web Security Solution of the Year” award in the fourth annual CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards program conducted by CyberSecurity Breakthrough, an independent market intelligence organization. WIM simulates normal transaction activities, adding items to the cart, filling out shipping and billing info, all the while watching for any changes to the state of the webpage. This year’s Breakthrough program attracted more than 3,750 nominations from over 20 different countries throughout the world.

• Impartner, a Salt Lake City-based channel management platform and partner relationship management provider, has been recognized with three 2020 ACQ5 Awards: International Technology Company of the Year, SaaS-Based PRM Solution Provider of the Year and Gamechanger of the Year for CEO Joe Wang. This is the third consecutive year Impartner has received multiple ACQ5 awards, which are chosen from nearly 100,000 submissions from the corporate news site’s global readership. The awards recognize organizations and individuals that demonstrate an ability to deliver services and skills to meet clients’ needs and adapt to market and regulatory conditions and are world-class in the way they are run and in the services they deliver to clients.

• Ivanti, a Salt Lake City-based company that automates IT and security operations, has been named a “Leader” in the 2020 Gartner Magic Quadrant for IT Service Management Tools. Ivanti had been positioned in the “Challengers” quadrant in the 2019 report. Leaders in this Magic Quadrant jointly account for more than 70 percent of the market share for 2019.

• InXpress, a South Jordan-based global business-to-business shipping and logistics franchise, was named in the first-ever “Culture100” award-winners list, compiled by Franchise Business Review. InXpress was recognized for its company culture and included within The Top 100 Franchises, which received the highest ratings for leadership, mission, community and overall franchisee satisfaction. Franchise Business Review surveyed InXpress franchisees on 37 benchmark questions.

RESTAURANTS

• Tucanos Brazilian Grill will open a new $3 million, 8,455-square foot restaurant at 265 N. West Promontory in Station Park in Farmington in late October. The new locale offers two private rooms and a large heated and covered patio for special events. It will employ 125 people and have a payroll of $1.5 million annually. Tucanos Brazilian Grill opened its first restaurant in Provo in 2000 and has since opened locations in the Gateway in Salt Lake City, University Place in Orem and five more across the United States.

• Gyro Shack has announced a franchise growth plan that includes adding three to six locations in the Salt Lake City area. Serial entrepreneurs Mark Urness and Matt Jeffries, now owners of the franchise, have positioned the brand for large-scale growth throughout the western half of the United States. The Mediterranean quick-service brand has nine locations. The company plans to open a corporate location in Phoenix this year and to add five franchise locations in 2021.

RETAIL

• University Place, a 120-acre mixed-use development in Orem, has added five stores: Cotopaxi, DM Fashion, Bronxton, Barber League and Lisa’s Passion For Popcorn. Each will open during the fourth quarter of this year. Founded by a Brigham Young University alumni, Cotopaxi is an outdoor gear brand and benefit corporation with a social mission. DM Fashion, also known as Diviine Modestee, is a brand founded and run by a local mother and her three daughters who hand-pick and design every piece of clothing and swimwear for women and juniors. Bronxton will feature men’s and women’s surf-style clothing from major brands. Every item made under the Bronxton label is designed by local Utah artists and many are made in Utah. Barber League provides services found at a traditional barber shop. Lisa’s Passion For Popcorn is a Utah family-owned and operated business offering gourmet popcorn in 25 flavors.

• The Woodhouse day spa will open Nov. 2 at 4690 S. Holladay Blvd., in Holladay Village. The 6,500-square-foot spa will feature three quiet rooms, changing lounges, 14 treatment rooms and a steam room. It is owned by Ryan Patano and operated by Elizabeth Leh.

SPORTS

• Ski Utah has listed the opening dates for Utah’s ski resorts for the 2020-21 season. They are Nov. 21 for Alta Ski Area; Nov. 20 for Brian Head Resort, Park City Mountain and Solitude Mountain Resort, Nov. 20; Nov. 25 for Snowbasin Resort; Nov. 30 for Snowbird; Dec. 4 for Nordic Valley and Sundance Mountain Resort; Dec. 5 for Deer Valley Resort; and Dec. 18 for Eagle Point Resort. Opening dates have yet to be announced for Beaver Mountain, Brighton Resort, Cherry Peak Resort, Powder Mountain and Woodward Park City.

TECHNOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES

• Carrus, a Lehi-based technology platform that provides training solutions to the healthcare sector, has appointed Albert Prast as an independent director on the company’s board of directors. Carrus is a portfolio company of Denver-based healthcare private equity firm Revelstoke Capital Partners. Prast has over 25 years of senior executive leadership experience in the healthcare IT industry. He has expertise in leading technology vision, strategy and execution for a number of healthcare technology companies, with a specific focus on consumer driven healthcare solutions for payors. Prast is an operating partner at Revelstoke and currently sits on the board of multiple healthcare technology companies, including DataLink, VectorCare, Revel Health, RxREVU, NucleusHealth and Omicron Media. Prast has also previously served as chief technology officer and senior vice president of cloud for Optum, and has held CTO/CIO position at various companies, including Aerocare Holdings (current), Connextions and Rotech Healthcare.

• Ivanti, a Salt Lake City-based company that automates IT and security operations, has appointed Melissa Puls as senior vice president and chief marketing officer. Puls has decades of experience, most recently serving as senior vice president and CMO at Avid. Prior to her role at Avid, Puls also held CMO and marketing leadership positions at Optanix, Progress, Iron Mountain and Infor.

• BambooHR, a Lindon-based software company focused on human resources, has created two new executive positions. Ryan Sanders, co-founder, has become chief product officer, charged with leading engineering, product design and product management. Alan Whitaker will join the company as head of artificial intelligence.