Company news information may be sent to brice.w@thecityjournals.com.
BANKING
• D.L. Evans Bank, based in Idaho, has joined the Utah Small Business Credit Initiative. The bank opens in a new tab at the initiative’s Loan Participation Program, a partnership that expands access to financing for Utah’s small businesses. Founded in Idaho as a family partnership, D.L. Evans Bank has grown into a financial institution with over $3 billion in assets and 39 full-service branches across Utah and Idaho.
CONSTRUCTION
• SoLux Home, a luxury custom homebuilder, has launched in Heber Valley, Park City and Summit County. The boutique company says it offers a personalized, innovative and transparent approach to building mountain estates that cater to individual lifestyles. It is currently building two homes in Hideout’s gated community and a third in the Heber Valley. SoLux Home’s leadership team has over 30 years of combined expertise in technology, professional engineering services, luxury homebuilding and project management.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Three Utah locations are on a list of “economic bellwether towns” in the U.S., compiled by financial media company MarketBeat and based on a survey about cities that feel economic shifts first. They are (in order) Logan, St. George and Price. Details are at https://www.marketbeat.com/originals/which-us-towns-see-economic-change-first-2025-survey/.
• Two Utah locations are on a list of “America’s ‘Witchiest’ Enclaves,” compiled by TarotCards.io and based on a survey to identify areas of alternative beliefs across the country. They are Sugar House, ranked No. 63 nationally, and No. 75 9th & 9th, both in Salt Lake City. The top-ranked location overall is Cassadaga, Florida. Details are at https://tarotcards.io/blog/top-183-most-spiritual-places-in-the-us.
• Three Utah locations are on a list of most coveted “off-the-radar” artistic landmarks in America, compiled by art provider Rivers Wall Art and based on a survey of art lovers. They are the Sun Tunnels in the Great Basin Desert, ranked No. 10 nationally; No. 66 “Point of View” Installation in Salt Lake City; and No. 72 Gilgal Garden in Salt Lake City. The top-ranked location overall is Kaka’ako Street Art in Honolulu. Details are at https://www.riverswallart.com/blogs/art-surveys/coolest-public-art-displays-united-states.
EDUCATION
• Salt Lake Community College is among institutions expected to participate in “Strive to Thrive,” a three-year initiative to accelerate Latino student success. Strive will work to boost college enrollment, retention and completion by helping institutions adopt evidence-based coaching and student success strategies. Strive was launched by InsideTrack, a nonprofit with a nearly 25-year track record of unlocking student success for millions of college students through coaching. The initial Strive cohort includes emerging Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and one recently designated HSI.
INVESTMENTS
• Intermark Steel, a Price-based steel fabrication company, has received an investment from Advantage Capital, a firm that invests in underserved areas. The amount was not disclosed. With the investment, made through the Utah Rural Jobs Act, the company plans to expand and add 24 high-quality jobs. Intermark Steel’s portfolio includes the Salt Lake City International Airport, Manti Sixth District Courthouse and Goldener Hirsch Luxury Hotel. The firm says it is now poised to execute on larger, more technical contracts, including work for the Huntsman Mental Health Institute Translational Research Building; Texas Instruments’ Lehi campus expansion; and TSMC’s third semiconductor fabrication plant in Phoenix, Arizona.
• Unity Partners LP, a Dallas-based private equity firm, has completed its investment in Ampleo, a Salt Lake City-based company focused on fractional finance, marketing and HR-managed professional services. Ampleo management and Brooks Growth Partners, led by Ampleo board member Jeremiah Jewkes, partnered with Unity in the investment. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed. Ampleo was founded in 1996. Bennett Tueller Johnson & Deere LLC served as legal advisor to Ampleo on the transaction. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to Unity Partners.
PARTNERSHIPS
• Cellectar Biosciences Inc., a New Jersey-based late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of cancer, and Nusano, a West Valley City-based physics company focused on the production of radioisotopes, have signed a multi-year supply agreement. Nusano will provide Cellectar with iodine-125 (I-125) and actinium-225 (Ac-225) for its clinical studies and future commercial needs. Both will be produced at Nusano’s radioisotope production facility in Utah. CLR 125 is for triple negative breast cancer and CLR 225 is for pancreatic cancer.
• Scorpion, a Lehi-based provider of digital marketing and technology solutions for law firms, has announced a strategic partnership with Clio, a Canada-based legal technology platform company. The strategic integration aims to help firms convert more leads, track ROI, and scale with confidence. As part of the collaboration, Scorpion has been named Clio’s sole Preferred Marketing Partner, while Clio becomes Scorpion’s sole Preferred Software Partner for legal services.
• The Sundt Foundation recently awarded $15,000 in grants to three nonprofits in Utah and Idaho. Living Planet Inc. has been awarded $5,000 to support its mission to inspire individuals to explore, discover and learn about Earth’s diverse ecosystems. This grant will allow the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium to expand its STEAM education initiatives. Funding will provide free and low-cost field trips, outreach programs and teacher workshops. Utah Veterans Alliance was granted $5,000 to further its work honoring and supporting Utah’s veterans through everyday acts of service. The funds will help provide immediate, practical assistance to veterans in need, including financial assistance for housing, groceries and transportation repairs. The foundation is funded primarily by contributions from employees of Sundt Construction Inc., which are matched by the company. To date, the foundation has awarded more than $17 million in donations. Sundt Construction is an Arizona-based general contractor with an office in Salt Lake City.
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released an annual report, “Caring for Those in Need 2024.” Last year, $1.45 billion was provided worldwide for humanitarian projects, emergency aid, food aid and other support measures. Church members and friends volunteered a total of 6.6 million hours in 192 countries and regions. In 2024, a total of 3,836 humanitarian projects were implemented, including initiatives in the areas of health care, food security, emergency aid and clean water access.
RECOGNITIONS
• The ChamberWest Hall of Fame Award recipient for 2025 is Ben Horsley, superintendent of Granite School District. He will be recognized at the chamber’s annual awards gala Sept. 10, along with finalists in four award categories: Business of the Year, Small Business of the Year, Best Place to Work, and Volunteer of the Year. Horsley was appointed as the district superintendent July 27, 2024. He previously served as the communications director and chief of staff for Granite School District.
• The Healthcare Financial Management Association recently presented its highest achievement award, the Richard L. Clarke Board of Directors Award, to Dan Liljenquist, executive vice president and chief strategy officer at Intermountain Health. At Intermountain Health, Liljenquist oversees the health system’s strategy, corporate development, government relations, consumer experience, strategic partnerships and digital technology services teams. Liljenquist is the lead architect and board chair of Civica, a nonprofit pharmaceutical company (Intermountain Health is a founding partner in Civica Rx). Liljenquist also serves on several nonprofit boards, including the Civica Foundation, Equable Institute and CenterPoint Legacy Theatre. Before joining Intermountain in 2012, Liljenquist served in the Utah State Senate, and he was a former strategy consultant with Bain & Co. Inc. Liljenquist’s education includes earning a bachelor’s degree in economics from Brigham Young University.
• The Total Security 360 cybersecurity product by FatPipe Inc., based in Salt Lake City, has been recognized with the Product of the Year Award by TMC’s MSP Today. The award honors innovative, best-in-class solutions that significantly enhance managed service providers’ capabilities to deliver exceptional value to their clients. Winners were selected by the editorial staff at TMC’s MSP Today based on each solution’s innovation, demonstrated business value, and ability to meet critical customer needs. Total Security 360 combines advanced and comprehensive cybersecurity measures aimed at providing enterprises with seamless, reliable and highly secure network connectivity across cloud, hybrid and on-premise environments.
• A baby monitoring product by Owlet Inc., based in Lehi, has been named a winner in the Health category of the 2025 Baby Innovation Awards, a recognition platform highlighting the most innovative companies, services and products in the baby care industry.
RETAIL
• Walmart is accepting applications through July 25 for its “Open Call 2025,” an annual event where U.S.-based small businesses pitch products that are made, grown or assembled in the U.S. directly to Walmart and Sam’s Club buyers. Selected businesses could land a deal that puts their products on shelves across the country. This year, Walmart is expanding its search. In addition to shelf-ready products, the company is also accepting applications from innovators developing breakthrough manufacturing technologies, including sustainable packaging, automation and supply chain solutions. Selected businesses will be invited to a pitch event at Walmart’s headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, taking place Oct. 7-8. Details are at https://corporate.walmart.com/suppliers/investing-in-american-jobs/events/annual-open-call. Walmart notes that Salt Lake City’s Grind Goods, a veteran-owned oral care company, earned a “Golden Ticket” at the 2022 Open Call. Today, their product is sold in more than 450 Walmart stores nationwide.
TECHNOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES
• HeroDevs, a Salt Lake City-based provider of security and compliance solutions for deprecated open source software, has announced the Open Source Sustainability Fund, giving $20 million to directly support open source creators, projects and maintainers that follow end-of-life (EOL) best practices. The fund is designed to benefit open source creators, support the development of underfunded projects, and ensure the long-term sustainability of technologies used by nearly every enterprise worldwide. It will financially support maintainers who thoughtfully plan and communicate EOL milestones, in addition to its never-ending support (NES) solutions that provide security updates for deprecated versions of dozens of popular open source software. Accepted applicants will receive between $2,500 and $250,000 in donations. Applications open July 22. To be accepted, applicants must demonstrate strong community adoption and traction, show their commitment to following security best practices when announcing and conducting EOL motions for their project, and agree to the fund’s requirements. Details are at herodevs.com/sustainability-fund.
• BioUtah, Utah’s life sciences trade association, has announced its support for the newly launched Life Sciences Workforce Collaborative, a national nonprofit initiative dedicated to strengthening talent pipelines across the U.S. The collaborative, formerly known as the Coalition of State Bioscience Institutes (CSBI), debuted at the recent 2025 BIO International Convention in Boston. It aims to build a competitive and future-ready life sciences workforce nationwide by connecting industry, academia and government partners through data-driven insights, best practice sharing, and collaborative programs. BioUtah said its participation in the LSWC will help shape best practices for workforce development in Utah and provide access to national insights.