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BANKING
- The board of directors of Zions Bancorporation NA, based in Salt Lake City, has authorized a share repurchase for fiscal year 2025 of up to $40 million. Zions operates banks in 11 western states, including Utah.
CONSTRUCTION
- Sterling Infrastructure Inc., based in Texas, has announced that its Ralph L. Wadsworthsubsidiary has been awarded two major transportation projects. One is the Interstate 15 1800 North Interchange project for the Utah Department of Transportation that will enhance regional mobility in Davis County. The project has a total value of $195 million and is expected to begin in spring 2025 and continue through late 2027. RLW has a 60 percent interest in the project, while joint venture partner Whitaker Construction holds the remainder.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
- Salt Lake City is ranked No. 1 and Ogden is No. 2 on a list of “best metro areas for HVAC technicians,” compiled by Home Gnome. It compared 380 of the biggest U.S. metros based on three categories, looking at average hourly wages for HVAC technicians, projected industry growth, and HVAC jobs per 1,000 total jobs, among nine total metrics. Salt Lake City is ranked No. 1 for projected industry growth, No. 7 for the number of HVAC technicians per 10,000 households, and No. 40 for the number of HVAC employers. Other ranked Utah cities ae No. 10 St. George, No. 12 Provo and No. 48 Logan. Details are at https://www.homegnome.com/blog/studies/best-metro-areas-hvac-technicians/.
- Salt Lake City is ranked No. 2 for growth in women-owned home services business openings from 2023 to 2024, a list compiled by Yelp. The She-conomy Services Report showed the city’s openings grew 46 percent. Home services was the top category for total women-owned business openings in the city, beating out categories like beauty services that have traditionally led women-owned business totals. The report attributed the growth to a housing boom and a rise in new residents. Louisville, Kentucky, topped the list, at 53 percent growth. Details are at https://trends.yelp.com/sheconomy-services-report-2025.
EDUCATION
- The Master of Business Creation (MBC) program at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business graduated 16 students from the online option for the period ending last fall and has admitted 17 students into the online option starting this spring. The fall online students started 14 companies and are from two states, Utah and Texas. They completed the MBC Online option, a virtual, flexible format that spans three semesters. The spring group started 16 companies and are from four states: Utah, California, Idaho and Arizona. The MBC program is provided by the Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy at the Eccles School in partnership with the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute at the UofU. Applications are open to join the MBC Online and In-Person programs in fall 2025. The priority application deadline is March 20, and the regular deadline is June 15.
- ThrivePoint Academy, a free-tuition public charter school offering online and hybrid education for grades 7-12, has opened enrollment for its first Utah location, located at 1589 W. 9000 S., West Jordan. The academy aims to meet the needs of students who thrive outside of traditional educational settings. It has both online and hybrid learning options. Students are required to attend school at least twice a week, where they connect with their coach and teacher to work on their classes and achieve their goals.
HEALTH CARE
- MDVIP, a membership-based healthcare network of over 1,300 primary care physicians nationwide, has partnered with Salt Lake City physicians Dr. Celia Garner and Dr. Nicholas G. Hanson to open new MDVIP-affiliated practices at 24 S. 1100 E., Suite 310, Salt Lake City. Garner is an internist who has been practicing in the Salt Lake Valley for 15 years. Her special interests include preventive health and wellness as well as helping patients navigate and address acute and chronic conditions. Hanson is a family physician who has been practicing in Utah for 12 years. He received his medical degree from the University of Utah School of Medicine. His clinical interests include hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and sports medicine, and he is affiliated with CommonSpirit Holy Cross Hospital and Intermountain Health LDS Hospital.
NONPROFITS
- United Way of Northern Utah, Comcast and other funders have launched a nonprofit incubator and Comcast Lift Zone designed to equip local nonprofit organizations with technology, training and collaborative space. The Behnken Nonprofit Learning Campus at 2955 Harrison Blvd., No. 201, Ogden, will provide an innovative, low-cost workspace for nonprofit organizations, including access to private offices, shared workspaces, grant research stations, and meeting rooms equipped for hybrid collaboration. The Comcast Lift Zone within the space will offer nonprofits high-speed Internet and digital tools.
PARTNERSHIPS
- Sinclair Oil has announced a partnership in the form of a three-year agreement with the Utah Hockey Club. Sinclair will be an official partner of UHC through 2027. As part of the sponsorship, Sinclair will designate a “lucky row” at select home games and deliver Dino merchandise and up to $25 off in fuel to those seated in the randomly chosen area. Special co-branded station giveaways are under development, as are other annual promotional events with the team.
- 401GO, a Sandy-based retirement plan provider, has announced a strategic partnership with Isolved, a human capital management technology provider. The new offering, Isolved 401(k), aims to simplify compliance, reduce administrative burdens, and deliver impactful benefits, all while potentially maximizing savings through tax credits and deductions for the more than 189,000 employers leveraging Isolved People Cloud. The partnership provides Isolved customers with flexible, automated 401(k) solutions that reduce complexity and ensure compliance.
PHILANTHROPY
- Alsco Uniforms, based in Salt Lake City, has donating $50,000 to the Salvation Army to support wildfire recovery efforts across Southern California region. It also has supplied over 8,000 face masks and partnered with the Dream Center, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit, to distribute laundry detergent to those directly impacted by the fires. The donated detergent will be included in care packages distributed to families as they return home and begin the rebuilding process. Alsco operates three laundry facilities in Southern California (Vista, Anaheim and Los Angeles) that provide uniform, linen, floor mat, first aid and restroom supply services. Alsco has more than 200 locations and 16,000 employees, providing laundry services and other services and products to over 350,000 customers in 13 countries.
- For the 12th consecutive year, Walmart and Sam’s Club stores, including those in Utah, are participating in the “Fight Hunger. Spark Change” campaign. The goal is to provide people facing hunger with access to the food and resources they say they need. Through March 31, shoppers can donate at check-out in stores or clubs or round up at Walmart.com and the Walmart app; donate at the campaign donation websites; or purchase participating products in-store or online at Walmart.com or SamsClub.com, with suppliers donating the monetary equivalent of at least one meal on behalf of a Feeding America partner food bank at Walmart and five meals at Sam’s Club, up to applicable limits. Since its inception in 2014, the campaign has generated more than $206 million and helped secure 2 billion meals for the Feeding America network of local food banks, including Utah Food Bank.
- Wells Fargo volunteers recently participated in Junior Achievement of Utah’s “JA in A Day” program at Escalante Elementary School east of Salt Lake City International Airport. The Wells Fargo volunteers helped the students learn grade-appropriate financial education skills that will help them succeed financially in the future. Financial education is one of the four pillars of Wells Fargo’s community outreach efforts across Salt Lake City and Utah.
- Make-A-Wish Utah is joining forces with 43 Jersey Mike’s Subs locations in the Salt Lake City area for the 15th Annual March “Month of Giving” campaign to support local charities. During the month, customers can opt to round up their purchase to the nearest dollar or donate $1, $3 or $5 when placing their order. The campaign culminates in Jersey Mike’s “Day of Giving” on March 26, when local Jersey Mike’s restaurants will give 100 percent of the day’s sales to Make-A-Wish Utah. The company hopes to exceed last year’s record-breaking national fundraising total of $25 million to help local charities nationwide. Jersey Mike’s Subs has more than 4,000 locations.
REAL ESTATE
- KBS, an owner and operator of commercial real estate, has announced that last year it leased a total of over 78,000 square feet of space to 10 tenants at Second+State, a 13-story, Class A property with 203,607 rentable square feet at 215 S. State St., Salt Lake City. It previously was known as Parkside Tower. CBRE’s Scott Wilmarth, Nadia Letey and Roman Bernardo assisted KBS in the lease transactions. The newly signed tenants include Squire & Co. PC, increasing their space to more than 12,000 square feet; Nelson & Naegle, which leased nearly 7,000 square feet; and Big-D Construction/Mission Critical, leasing nearly 10,000 square feet. WebBank has renewed its lease for nearly 30,000 square feet of office space.
RECOGNITIONS
- ACG (Association for Corporate Growth) Utah recently announced the winners of its 2025 Deal of the Year Awards, recognizing exceptional transactions and the visionary leaders driving Utah’s dynamic business landscape. Recipients are Private Equity Deal of the Year, Mo’Bettahs; Strategic Merger Deal of the Year, Spiff; Growth Equity Deal of the Year, Vision Graphics; and Public Markets Deal of the Year, Waystar.
RESTAURANTS
- Beans & Brews Coffee House has opened a location at 230 N. 1000 W., Suite 100, Logan. It is the first of two Logan locations planned by franchise owner Macy Bryan, who will also introduce the brand’s first mobile unit to the region. Bryan lives in Elwood and is a licensed mental health therapist with a practice in Logan. Founded in 1993 and franchising since 2004, Beans & Brews Coffeehouse has over 80locations open and 112 under development.
RETAIL
- La Sportiva, an international outdoor apparel and footwear retailer, is opening its first Utah location at the Post District development in Salt Lake City. The store will occupy 5,153 square feet of leased space. Mountain West Commercial Real Estate agents Andy Moffitt, Garrett Blomquist and Scott Brady represented the landlord, Blaser Ventures, Lowe Property Group and Bridge Capital, in the lease transaction.
