Company news information may be sent to brice.w@thecityjournals.com.
ASSOCIATIONS
• Several organizations have been approved for annual Sustainable Tourism Grants from the Park City Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau. The awards of up to $30,000 are designed to advance the Park City & Summit County Sustainable Tourism Plan. Awardees are Alf Engen Ski Museum, Park City Historical Society, Raising Voices Film & Conversation Series, Winter X Country Ski Access (Osguthorpe Farm), Recycle Utah (events recycling program), Summit Community Gardens (EATS), National Ability Center (voluntourism program), Summit Arts Market, East and South Summit Pop-up Film Screenings, Western Uinta Hut System, Park City Historic Mine Hiking Trail, North Summit newsletter, CREATE PC Local Artist Collective and Park City Opera.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Two Utah companies are on a list of “Most Promising Businesses,” compiled by financial media company MarketBeat and based on a survey. They are Five Star Franchising, Springville (ranked No. 58 overall), and CoFi, Lindon (No. 116). Respondents were asked who would get the money if they had $10,000 to invest in just one small business. The top-ranked company overall is Big Money Retirement Solutions of Greenville, South Carolina. Details are at https://www.marketbeat.com/originals/the-top-116-small-businesses-americans-want-to-fund-with-10k-2025-survey/.
• Salt Lake City, at No. 30, is the top-ranked Utah city on a list of “Top Cities for Installing Home Security Systems,” compiled by Home Gnome. It used nine metrics to produce the rankings. Several other Utah cities are listed, with No. 480 Provo being the lowest-ranked. The top location overall is Las Vegas. Details are at https://homegnome.com/blog/studies/top-cities-home-security-systems/.
• Three Utah main streets are on a list of “best for wellness walks,” compiled by senior living concierge Assisted Living Magazine and based on a survey. They are Main Street in Park City (No. 17 nationally), No. 26 Historic 25th Street in Ogden, and No. 67 North Main Street in Cedar City. The top-ranked location overall is Main Street in Lake Placid, New York. Details are at https://assistedlivingmagazine.com/top-100-best-main-streets-in-the-u-s-to-walk-2025-survey/.
• Three Utah cities are on a list of “Best Towns to Raise Free-Range Kids,” compiled by We Buy Houses In Denver and based on a survey of the most wholesome places to raise a family. They are Farmington (No. 50 nationally), No. 51 Cedar City and No. 100 Heber City. The top location nationally is Asheville, North Carolina. Details are at https://webuyhousesindenver.org/top-u-s-towns-for-raising-free-range-kids-2025-survey/.
• West Valley City, at No. 341 nationally, is the highest-ranked Utah location on a list of “Best Cities for Rain Gardens,” compiled by Lawn Love. It used four metrics: average monthly precipitation, supply access, public interest and groundwater pollution risk. The lowest-ranked Utah city is No. 406 West Jordan. The top-ranked location overall is Miami. Fourteen of the top 25 cities are in Florida. Details are at https://lawnlove.com/blog/best-cities-rain-gardens/.
• Utah’s fertility rate fell 35.8 percent between 2005 and 2023, the largest drop in the U.S. during that time. In 2005, there were 92.8 births per 1,000 women in Utah, but the figure was 59.6 in 2023. Despite the sharp decline, Utah still has the eighth-highest fertility rate in the U.S. and was ranked No. 4 among states where births exceeded deaths. The fertility rate nationally fell 18.4 percent during that time, from 66.7 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 in 2005, to 54.4 in 2023. Details are at https://www.valuepenguin.com/fertility-rates-study.
INTERNATIONAL
• World Trade Center Utah is seeking companies to participate in a business trip to Toronto and Sudbury, Canada, to help Utah companies deepen relationships and gain strategic insight into Canada’s mining landscape. The trip is in partnership with the Utah Mining Association, the Ontario Mining Association and the City of Greater Sudbury and takes place Aug. 24-28. Details are available at https://www.wtcutah.com/tradeevents/canada-august-business-trip-2025 or by emailing Jared Anderson at janderson@wtcutah.com.
INVESTMENT
• Ultion Technologies, a Las Vegas-based maker of advanced lithium iron phosphate battery cell technology and energy storage systems, has closed a Series A funding round led by Torus, a South Salt Lake-based energy storage company. The amount was not disclosed. The round also had participation from other investors, including Nevada state-sponsored venture capital program Battle Born Venture. Ultion’s Nevada facility produces advanced LFP batteries, and the Series A funding will enable it to scale domestic production capacity more than fivefold.
MANUFACTURING
• Nusano, a West Valley City-based physics company focused on producing radioisotopes, has received and successfully tested new equipment for its particle accelerator that will enable it to produce up to 12 different radioisotopes simultaneously. It has installed custom-built klystrons (high-powered microwave vacuum tubes) and fast-pulse modulators that, together with custom-designed fast-switching magnets, allow it to accelerate and steer its heavy ion particle beam. Other commercially available particle acceleration methods for radioisotope production are using low currents which support only limited isotope production, the company said.
PARTNERSHIPS
• The Picklr, a Kaysville-based indoor pickleball franchise, has announced a partnership with Prime Energy, naming the beverage brand as the official energy drink of The Picklr. Prime Energy will serve as an in-club exclusive, with the brand to be featured across The Picklr’s nationwide network of clubs through branded courtside signage, exclusive product placement, and integrated digital content.
PHILANTHROPY
• Bank of Utah, based in Ogden, is helping 30 nonprofits across Utah by providing more than $200,000 in grant funding through the Member Impact Fund, a program created by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines. This year, more organizations received grants through Bank of Utah than through any other participating financial institution. The funding will bolster initiatives ranging from food banks and youth programs to affordable housing and the arts. Organizations receiving grants stretch from Logan to St. George. The Member Impact Fund provides matching grants from FHLB Des Moines to its member financial institutions, including Bank of Utah, to help nonprofits and public agencies better serve their communities. Recipients were selected based on their need for funding to support capacity-building or working capital.
• Alsco Uniforms, a Salt Lake City-based uniform, linen and facility service provider, is donating $25,000 to the Salvation Army to support flood relief and recovery efforts following the devastating floods in Texas. Alsco operates nine laundry facilities across the state. The company also is providing 500 personal first aid kits for the Salvation Army to distribute. The Salvation Army has deployed mobile kitchens and rapid response units to provide food, beverages, blankets, clothing and other essentials to people affected by the flood.
REAL ESTATE
• Tri Pointe Homes Inc. has opened its first Utah community, Polaris at Terraine, at 7202 S. Ramble Road, West Jordan. It is one of four new neighborhoods planned for more than 300 new homes in the Salt Lake City area, including Holladay Hills and Orem. The Polaris at Terraine model home opened to the public Aug. 2. Tri Pointe Homes operates in 12 states and the District of Columbia.
RECOGNITIONS
• Halia Therapeutics, based in Lehi, is on a list of “Six Startups Changing the Way We Age,” compiled by website BioSpace. The six biotech companies “are playing in the largely underappreciated longevity space, developing therapies that may improve the quality of aging.” Biospace spoke to experts and consulted PitchBook to find biotechs with strong investor support that are working on compelling pathways and mechanisms or are advancing decisively. Halia targets chronic, low-grade inflammation that underpins many of the physiological hallmarks of aging, such as the loss of stem cells, protein imbalance and the build-up of old, damaged and dysfunctional cells.
• Nightingale Education Group, Salt Lake City, has been ranked as the “Nation’s Top Education Workplace in 2025” in the category of entities with 500 to 999 employees by Top Workplaces and based on an employee survey by Energage. Nightingale Education Group has several operating divisions, including Nightingale College. Nightingale Education Group is ranked No. 1 of 16 mid-size organizations The Energage survey consisted of 24 questions for employees, including whether the organization offers a work-life balance, fair wages and strong values.
• Groove Technology Solutions, a Salt Lake City-based company focused on integrated technology solutions for hospitality, senior living, multifamily, government and commercial properties, has received the 2025 DIRECTV Hospitality Dealer Dedication Award. The award recognizes outstanding service and innovation in delivering customized entertainment experiences for hotels, motels, senior living, health care and other group living or institutional environments.
• Goldener Hirsch, Auberge Resorts Collection, in Park City has been recognized as the No. 1 Favorite Resort in Utah in the Travel+Leisure 2025 World’s Best Awards, based on a survey of its readers. Other Park City resorts on the list are No. 2 Stein Eriksen Lodge Deer Valley; No. 3 The Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge Resorts Collection; and No. 5 the St. Regis Deer Valley. The No. 4 resort is Ofland Escalante in Escalante.
• Five Utah companies are on a list of “America’s Best Midsize Companies of 2025,” compiled by Time and Statista. They are No. 157 Extra Space Storage, No. 303 Myriad Genetics, No. 407 SkyWest Airlines, No. 430 HealthEquity and No. 470 R1 RCM. The companies were ranked by employee satisfaction, revenue growth and sustainability transparency. The list includes both the core and upper mid-market segments, with the upper threshold of $10 billion in annual revenue.
RETAIL
• Layton Hills Mall and Utah State University Extension in Davis County have launched the “Walk the Hills” program as a community wellness initiative. The program aims to provide a family-friendly, accessible way for residents to stay active and connected throughout the year. Mall doors will open at 9 a.m., with meet-ups scheduled for the third Thursday of every month.
TECHNOLOGY
• Canary Speech, Provo, is one of eight startups selected for the 2024-25 “Mission for the Future” program of LG Nova. Selected from over 1,000 submissions, the eight companies will collaborate with LG through the LG Nova Innovation Program, gaining access to global resources, investment opportunities and the chance to shape the future of digital health. Canary’s technology screens for mood, stress and energy levels using a single 20-second audio clip.