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ASSOCIATIONS
- Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson has formally accepted a leadership role with the nonpartisan National Lieutenant Governors Association. Nominated and approved by her peers, Henderson began service immediately as an at-large member of the NLGA Executive Committee. NLGA is the professional association supporting lieutenant governors and seconds-in-command in all 50 states and U.S. territories. Meeting three times a year, the committee is responsible for guiding the association as its members work to address issues and advance solutions for states and territories.
- Utah State Sen. Wayne Harper has been named president-elect of the National Conference of State Legislatures, a bipartisan organization serving the nation’s 7,386 state lawmakers and more than 30,000 legislative staff. Harper, the organization’s vice president, succeeds Rhode Island Speaker Pro Tempore Brian Patrick Kennedy, who became NCSL president at this year’s Legislative Summit in Indianapolis. Harper will be named NCSL president at the 2024 Legislative Summit. Harper has served in the Utah Legislature since 1997, in both the House and Senae during that time. He is the Senate president pro tempore and chairs numerous committees. Harper has been an active member of NCSL, serving on various committees and working groups. Harper began his public service career as a West Jordan city councilman. He received his bachelor’s degree in history and master’s degree from Brigham Young University.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
- Four Utah companies are on a list of “Most Trustworthy Companies in America 2023,” compiled by Newsweek, in collaboration with market research partner Statista. The list includes 700 U.S. companies in 23 industries according to their evaluations by U.S. customers, employees and investors. It considered a pool of 3,100 U.S. based companies (1,800 publicly held and 1,300 privately held) with revenues over $500 million. Utah companies listed are Vivint, Provo, No. 1 among companies in the category of appliances and electronics; Traeger, Salt Lake City, No. 9 for consumer goods; HealthEquity, Draper, No. 25 for financial services; and Qualtrics, Provo, No. 7 for software and telecommunications.
- Salt Lake City is ranked No. 99 and West Valley City is No. 199 on a list of “Best Cities for Thrifting,” compiled by Lawn Love. It compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on five categories, including access to thrift stores, consignment shops, flea markets and specialty reuse stores. The top-ranked city is New York City. The No. 200 city is Miramar, Florida. Details are at https://lawnlove.com/blog/best-cities-for-thrifting/#rankings.
- Utah is the fifth-most-affordable state for college students, according to a study by Forbes, with a total cost during 2020-21 being $16,518. The lowest cost was $17,177 in South Dakota. The highest was in Connecticut, at $28,425. The study found that in-state tuition costs an average of $9,400 per year nationally, up 10 percent over the past decade. Private college tuition costs an average of $37,600 per year, up 19 percent during that time. Out-of-state tuition has increased by 27 percent since 2010. Details are at https://www.forbes.com/advisor/education/affordable-states-to-get-a-degree/.
- Four Utah suburbs have been voted as having the most envied lifestyles in the U.S., a list compiled by MovingFeedback.com. It surveyed people to determine the 175 most desirable suburban lifestyles across the nation. Utah locations are No. 16 Holladay, No. 34 Park City, No. 43 Alpine and No. 148 North Ogden. The top-ranked location is Calabasas, California. Details are at https://www.movingfeedback.com/americas-most-envied-suburban-lifestyles/.
- Springdale is ranked No. 17 and Moab is No. 40 on a list of “budget-friendly honeymoon destinations,” compiled by HoneymoonAlways.com. It survey people to list the top 150 under-the-radar and inexpensive honeymoon destinations. The top-ranked location is Cedar Key, Florida. Details are at https://www.honeymoonalways.com/americas-favorite-affordable-honeymoon-destinations/.
EDUCATION
- Karla Bergeson has been elected chair and Keith Titus has been elected vice chair of the Weber State University Board of Trustees. Bergeson succeeds Kearston Cutrubus, who has led the board since 2021. Bergeson was appointed to the board in 2017 and served as vice chair since 2021. She is a former executive vice president and deputy general counsel for Citigroup’s credit card business in the U.S. Titus, a Weber State alum, is president and CEO at MarketStar, an Ogden-based global sales organization. He joined the board in 2021. Four new members also joined the board at its Aug. 14 meeting: Lori Belnap Pehrson, retired Northrop Grumman executive; Casey Hill, a partner with Lincoln Hill lobbying firm; Monet Maggelet, a former elementary school teacher and program officer at Call to Action Foundation & Call Foundation; and Tammy Gallegos, executive vice president and chief strategic engagement officer with America First Credit Union. Outgoing members of the board are Amanda Covington, Kearston Cutrubus, Louenda Downs and Karen Fairbanks.
- The Young Living Alumni Center at Utah Valley University has officially opened to serve thousands of UVU alums. Young Living Essential Oils, based in Lehi, donated $4.5 million for the center’s construction. The center of over 30,000 square feet includes two stories with 25 offices, four conference rooms on each level, and a large event space. It will serve as a gathering place for alumni through conferences, networking events and university celebrations. It will also house the school’s philanthropies department, known as Institutional Advancement, which allocates donor funds to student scholarships, college initiatives, building needs and ongoing support for the success of future generations.
ENERGY
- Ionic Mineral Technologies, a Vineyard-based developer of advanced silicon anode battery materials, has appointed Eric Miller as chief financial officer. He is responsible for all financial aspects of the business, from day-to-day operations to capital management. Miller has 15 years of experience that spans battery materials and advanced manufacturing, most recently serving as CFO of Anovion Technologies. He also held leadership positions in corporate finance, business development, supply chain and operations with Amsted Industries, where Miller spearheaded growth efforts in automotive, heavy-duty commercial vehicle and rail businesses.
EQUIPMENT
- Powered by MRP, a Park City-based aesthetics device company, has appointed Brian Krzeminski as chief technology officer. Krzeminski has more than 25 years of experience in retail systems, payments platforms, web and mobile applications, and B2B ventures. At ezCater, Krzeminski played a role in establishing a new engineering team in Denver while influencing product direction for enhanced workplace ordering experiences.
FOOD
- Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and the Salt Lake City Sustainability Department have announced the list of groups that have been awarded funding through the SLC Food Equity Microgrant pilot program, which launched earlier this year. The new grant program provided $35,000 in total funding to increase residents’ access to fresh, healthy, affordable and culturally relevant food by supporting community-led projects aligned with the recommendations from the city’s Resident Food Equity Advisors’ 2021 Report. Selected for funding are Carry the Water Garden, East Central Community Council, First United Methodist Church, The Food Justice Coalition, Grünhof Greens, Jayhawks, New American Goat Club, Peace Gardens International Academy, Salt Lake Canning Co., Salt Lake City Food Not Bombs, Somali Community Self Management Agency, Vanavil Community Garden and Wasatch Community Gardens/Artes de Mexico en Utah. Also, 45 individual residents or households were awarded $250 each to support their own home food production efforts such as vegetable and herb gardens, fruit trees, food preservation, backyard chickens and beekeeping.
GRANTS
- Jobber, a provider of operations management software for home service businesses, has named 25 recipients of its $150,000 Jobber Grants program. Entrepreneurs were selected from thousands of applications and rewarded with funds ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 to help accelerate the growth of their home service businesses and recognize their community impact. Alexia Halliday, founder of Nice & Neat Homes, which provides professional home organization services in Salt Lake City, received a $10,000 Jobber Grant in the Career Builders category. Halliday has built her team from two to almost 20 in the past three years while creating job opportunities for stay-at-home moms who left careers to raise their families. Matt and Madi Mistvotai, of The Fresh Force in St. George, received a grant in the Community Caretakers category, for those who give back to the communities where they live and work.
HEALTHCARE
- Halia Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing innovative medicines to diseases driven by chronic inflammation and neurodegeneration, has opened a new 20,000-square-foot headquarters at The Summit, 3900 N. Traverse Mountain Blvd., Lehi. It will house a variety of research and development lab equipment managed by 18 current, full-time employees and contractors. It also will result in dozens of new jobs as pipeline programs enter the clinic, the company said.
- Valley Behavior Health, a Salt Lake City-based nonprofit organization dedicated to providing comprehensive behavioral health services, has appointed Russell Opatz as vice president of housing and support services. Opatz will be responsible for overseeing the organization’s housing and homeless programs and other supportive programs, including Valley’s in-house pharmacy and CLIA-certified lab. Opatz has over 10 years of experience designing and operating equitable and inclusive housing models that range from permanent supportive to multi-family affordable housing and homeownership. Prior to joining Valley Behavioral Health, Opatz served as a senior program manager at the Corporation for Supportive Housing and as the supportive housing and services director for Housing Connect, Salt Lake County’s public housing authority.
INVESTMENTS
- American Battery Factory Inc., an American Fork-based battery manufacturer leading the development of the first network of lithium iron phosphate battery cell gigafactories in the United States, has received development capital in Series A funding from investors, including a significant investment from Lion Energy. The amount was not disclosed. Other investors in the Series A include hybrid manufacturing partner FNA Group and an undisclosed battery-cell equipment manufacturing company. Lion Energy, a developer and manufacturer of high-quality energy storage products for personal and commercial use, incubated ABF for 18 months before its unveiling to the public in March 2022. FNA Group is a hybrid manufacturing partner that will provide its technology to ABF’s battery cell production.
MANUFACTURING
- Owlet Inc., a Lehi-based company focused on smart baby monitoring, has appointed Marc Stoll to its board of directors. Stoll is an investment partner at Eclipse, a strategic investment firm. Stoll’s experience spans more than 25 years across the global finance and technology industries, and his expertise in leading corporate strategy and operational excellence. Prior to Eclipse, he was president and COO at Nextiva and has more than two decades of experience combining his financial and technology expertise derived from time as CFO at Anaplan and as vice president of Worldwide Sales Finance at Apple. Stoll also served as corporate controller at CA Inc. and as head of technology equity research at Julius Baer Investment Management. He has served on the public boards of Arista Networks, Earthlink and Windstream, and on private boards as an investor and advisor. Stoll will be the replacement designee of Eclipse, which maintains the right to designate up to two directors as a result of the company’s February preferred stock financing, replacing Jayson Knafel, who resigned from Owlet’s board and stepped away as a partner of Eclipse into a full-time CFO role.
MEDIA
- Kiswe, an interactive cloud video company, and the NBA have announced a partnership to bring Utah Jazz games directly to local fans via SEG Media’s new subscription-based streaming service. SEG Media is the new sports media company from Smith Entertainment Group that produces Utah Jazz games and other team content. The service will deliver high-quality content and allow fans to engage with the team online at their convenience. Kiswe’s technology provides interactive features to enhance the streaming experience, such as a chat-and-cheer option to foster a deeper connection between the team and its loyal supporters. More details about the Utah Jazz-branded streaming platform, including subscription options, pricing, programming and interactive features, will be announced in September. SEG Media and the Utah Jazz were advised by Endeavor and WME Sports. LHB Sports’ Lee Berke represented Kiswe.
MILESTONES
- Summit Global Investments, based in Bountiful, has announced that its semi-transparent ETF, the SGI Dynamic Tactical ETF, has attracted more than $100 million in assets since launching in March. A semi-transparent ETF provides investors the benefits of traditional mutual funds combined with those found in traditional ETFs but discloses its holdings quarterly rather than daily.
NONPROFITS
- Visit Salt Lake, a private, nonprofit corporation promoting Salt Lake as a convention, meetings, sports events and travel destination, has hired Celina Sinclair as director of strategic alliances. In her new role, she oversees and executes strategy and implementation associated with the long-term stewardship of Visit Salt Lake’s strategic partners. Playing a leading role in managing the newly created Convention & Tourism Assessment Area, she serves as the primary liaison with regional hotels and stakeholders. Sinclair has more than a decade of tourism industry and destination marketing organization experience, including serving as partner relations lead at the Utah Office of Tourism. Her education includes a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Utah.
OUTDOOR RECREATION
- Solitude Mountain Resort has provided updates on developments that are part of $16 million in capital improvements coming to the resort. Eagle Express has been completely removed to make way for the installation of the new high-speed, six-person lift. Concrete foundations for new lift towers are being poured and terminal installations are scheduled to begin in September. Eagle Express is projected to be operational by mid-December. To improve skier access to Honeycomb Canyon this winter, three new Wyssen remote avalanche control systems are being installed off of Fantasy Ridge. The towers will allow Solitude’s avalanche mitigation team to remote-detonate explosive charges in key areas of the mountain. Gravity Logic and the Solitude Bike Park team have been making progress on a series of new downhill mountain bike trails off of Moonbeam Express. Several technical and freeride trails are on pace to be completed and open to ride before the end of the season. These new trails will vary in difficulty level to accommodate riders of all skill levels. Along with Honeycomb Canyon, existing mountain bike trails Queen Bess, Serenity and Eagle Ridge are closed while these projects are underway.
- Big-D Signature, along with Brighton Resort and Bluebird Day Architecture, has announced the construction of Sidewinder Grill, a mid-mountain rest area for skiers and snowboarders. The single-story 4,618-square-foot hybrid structure includes three repurposed shipping containers. One container serves as a pre-constructed restroom pod while the other two containers combine to one large kitchen as a commercial counter-style restaurant. On each side of the container module, two dining halls framed with heavy timber and steel will accommodate 180 people. Exterior seating areas will provide 7,600 square feet of outdoor seating occupancy on a heated concrete terrace. Currently, the only lodge at Brighton Resort is at the bottom of the mountain. Construction on Sidewinder Grill is slated to be finished for the 2023-24 winter season. Based in Park City, Big-D Signature is part of the Big-D family of companies.
PHILANTHROPY
- Ken Garff Automotive (based in Salt Lake City), their Hawaii dealership group, Aloha Kia, and Kia America recently donated $200,000 to support the Maui relief efforts. The donation will be distributed between the Hawaii Community Foundation and the Red Cross. In addition to the financial commitment, the Ken Garff Foundation and Aloha Kia are dedicated to supporting their employees directly affected by the Maui wildfires through employee and family assistance relief; an employee volunteer program that includes transportation assistance for nonprofit organizations helping with the Maui relief; and emotional support assistance.
REAL ESTATE
- Mountain West Commercial Real Estate, a Salt Lake City-based commercial real estate brokerage firm, has hired McSean Thompson, partnering with Matthew Porter to focus on gas stations and retail investments throughout the Mountain West region. During his tenure at the UAE’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Thompson implemented a $700 million annual funding model for public colleges and universities. He also played a crucial role in establishing the Centre for Higher Education Data and Statistics. He has consulted with senior housing operators, driving operational improvements, and has closed over $110 million in investment transactions.
- Magnus Commercial Properties has opened its newest hotel, the Fairfield Inn and Suites Salt Lake City Cottonwood, at 6433 S. Highland Drive, Holladay. It has 106 guest rooms, including a number of suites. Other features are a fitness center, an indoor pool, and a 900-square-foot conference room. It is Magnus Commercial Properties’ fifth hotel in Northern Utah, with two others underway. Magnus Hotel Management will manage the property operations.
RECOGNITIONS
- The Utah Office of the Legislative Auditor General and two legislative staff members were recognized during the National Conference of State Legislatures annual summit in Indianapolis. OLAG received the Excellence in Evaluation Award from NCSL for its unwavering dedication to enhancing program evaluation, accountability and cost-effectiveness. This award honors a single state legislative office that has demonstrated substantial advancements in program evaluation or performance auditing within a four-year timeframe, with only one recipient acknowledged each year. Andrea Wilko, chief economist for LFA, received the Legislative Staff Achievement Award for the Standing Committees. She helps lead a team of economists that support the Legislature through long-term planning efforts, including budget stress-testing, volatility analysis, tax change analysis and long-term budget development over her 30 years of service at LFA. Aundrea Peterson, deputy chief of staff for the Utah Senate, received the Legislative Staff Achievement Award from the Legislative Information and Communications Staff for her leadership skills, innovative thinking, strategic planning and dedication to the legislative institution. Peterson is the current chair of LINCS, which focuses on improving effective communications between the legislature, media and constituents.
- Western Governors University, based in Salt Lake City, has selected Dr. Andrew Nydegger among 15 recipients of the 2023 Distinguished Graduate Award. The online, nonprofit university presents the honor to alumni across the nation who have made remarkable contributions in their professional fields and to their communities. Nydegger is the only recipient from Utah among this year’s winners. Nydegger is a prominent advocate for the nursing profession in Utah and across the nation. He is the current president of the Utah Nurses Association and the director at large for the Executive Leadership committee of the American Nurses Association. He also is the Utah delegate to the Nursing Advocate Institute and a senior administrator for the Arizona College of Nursing. Nydegger is a veteran of the US Air Force. His education includes a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Utah and two master’s degrees from WGU.