Taylorsville Journal | August 2026

Ice cream entrepreneur has the competition licked

By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com

Hidden Oak Gourmet Creamery takes ice cream to the next level.

J

eff the Ice Cream Guy has a particular set of skills. For instance, he can convince you that sweet corn, green chili and ice cream belong in the same sentence, and he’ll have you coming back for more.

As the founder of Hidden Oak Gourmet Creamery, Jeff spent years curating interesting ice cream flavors for a sophisticated take on Utah’s favorite dessert. His signature flavor, strawberry basil, made him a favorite at farmers markets, where his unusual combinations garnered a lot of attention. He attracts the type of person who

His artisanal French-style ice cream is made from scratch, steeped with local herbs and other fresh ingredients, and cooked in a sous vide. He sold his first batch of ice cream on Oct. 8, 2022 and built a commercial kitchen seven months later.

Now his ice cream can be found in several local grocery stores, including The Store in Holladay and Salt Lake, and he has a shop at the Salt Lake City co-working space Church & State on 370 S. 300 East.

The journey hasn’t been easy. The Taylorsville resident figures he’s lost $10,000 worth of ice cream over the last four years due to recipe disasters or equipment breakdowns. He said it’s been a whirlwind of

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COMMON GROUND

Utah’s future belongs to the brave

Common Ground will be a column of rotating viewpoints that highlight specific feelings across the political spectrum, and it will always end with possible ways to come together.

Bravery is a Utah value. It’s right up there with toxic positivity and passive aggression. Many of us have brave ancestors who left their homes and walked hundreds of miles to the Salt Lake Valley, pulling a handcart full of kids who kept asking, “Are we there yet?” That takes courage.

In the face of religious persecution, the pioneers built communities, orchards, temples, schools and arts programs because they were not afraid to do hard things.

It’s time for that type of bravery again. We need to speak our hearts and our truths, and not be led by political partisanship. We need to vote for the people who stand for us, not profit from us.

It’s not just Democrats who believe federal leadership has been catastrophic. It’s not just Democrats who are disappointed in our state’s leadership. Look at the primary election where Republicans voted out three prominent legislators: that took courage. It took people voting their conscience, not just swallowing the party line.

TAYLORSVILLE TEAM

The Taylorsville Journal is a monthly publication distributed directly to residents via the USPS as well as locations throughout Taylorsville. The views and opinions expressed in display advertisements do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions held by Loyal Perch Media or the City Journals. This publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express written consent of the owner. © 2026 Loyal Perch Media, Inc.

Peri Kinder Common Ground

Bravery means standing for what’s right, even in the face of opposition. It means we choose communities over conflicts and the future over fear. Courage puts people first. It shows we care about people who want healthcare, food, housing, education and inclusion. Those aren’t elite desires. Those are human needs.

The people of Utah want to take back their power. We’re tired of seeing state leaders making shady deals, getting backroom payoffs and pushing legislation that benefits their personal bottom line. How many property developers do we need on Capitol Hill? Good grief!

Bravery means leading differently. Instead of voting along straight party lines (even if your family has been a one-party family for decades), what if we voted for the people we believe have the power to change the status quo?

PUBLISHER

Bryan Scott | bryan.s@thecityjournals.com

EDITOR

Travis Barton | travis.b@thecityjournals.com

ADVERTISING EXECUTIVES

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CLIENT SERVICES

Real leaders are courageous; they lead with compassion and understand that empathy isn’t a dirty word. They don’t represent one party; they represent their constituents.

The people who showed up to protest ICE detention facilities or resource-draining data centers weren’t just Democrats. They were Republicans and independent voters who don’t want what these politicians are selling. We have Topaz in our backyard. What bigger reminder do we need that history cannot repeat itself here?

Bravery means we believe in each other. We’re not Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Reformists or Constitutionalists. We are Utahns. Our brand is kindness and optimism. We build communities, we serve the disadvantaged, we teach the uneducated and we offer open hearts to the stranger.

That’s who we are. That’s who we’ve always been.

Common Ground: No matter our political affiliation, we

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need to become bridge builders. We need to reach out to neighbors and family members, even those who don’t agree with our political views.

Lawmakers need to build, not destroy. Create laws and messaging that resonate with people from every political background. This is a red state economically, but a blue state at heart. Just look at our programs built to help people, to assist someone’s journey as they get back on their feet. Utah has a worldwide reputation for service and volunteerism.

We should promote conversations that bring people together with respect and understanding. We should ensure people have the opportunity to express their views without censure or disdain. If our current leaders can’t do that, it’s time to make an abrupt change.

If the primary election taught us anything, it’s that Utahns want a voice. It takes courage to change course. It takes all of us to lead the way.

Back to School Tips Back-to-School Health Boost: A Parent’s Guide to a Thriving School Year

AS SUMMER ENDS, the return of backpacks, homework, and early mornings signals a critical time for parents. Prioritizing health now can lay a strong foundation for a child’s successful, healthy, and happy school year.

“The back-to-school transition can be a shock to a child’s system,” explains Dr. Jared Lambert, a CommonSpirit family medicine physician in West Jordan. “They face new schedules, germs, and academic pressures. Proactive health measures are crucial to ease this adjustment and prevent illness or burnout.”

Here are key areas parents should focus on:

1. Reclaim Sleep Schedules, One Bedtime at a Time

Summer often brings later bedtimes. However, adequate sleep is vital for a child’s health and academic performance. “Lack of sleep affects concentration, mood, and immunity,” warns Dr. Natividad Rodriguez, a CommonSpirit family physician in Layton. “Start gradually adjusting bedtimes now, even by 15 minutes each night.” Aim for 9-12 hours of sleep for elementary students, fostering a calming routine with baths or reading.

2. Power Up with Nutritious Fuel

A well-balanced diet fuels both body and mind. “Focus on lean proteins, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables,” advises Dr. Trystan Blake, a CommonSpirit family physician in Salt Lake City. “A protein- and fiber-rich breakfast sustains them through morning lessons.” Involve children in packing healthy lunches and encourage consistent hydration with a reusable water bottle.

3. Build a Strong Immune Shield

Schools are germ hotbeds. Beyond regular handwashing, ensure your child’s vaccinations are current. “A pre-school physical is ideal for reviewing vaccination schedules and addressing health concerns,” notes Dr. Lambert. “Also, remind them about covering coughs and sneezes, and not sharing water bottles or food.” Sleep and nutrition also boost immunity.

4. Tend to Their Emotional Well-being

The start of school can bring excitement and anxiety. New teachers, classmates, and routines can be overwhelming. “It’s vi-

tal to check in about how they’re feeling,” emphasizes Dr. Rodriguez. “Create a safe space to discuss worries about friends or schoolwork. Reassure them that these feelings are normal and you’re there to support them.” Encourage open communication, validate emotions, and teach coping strategies like deep breathing.

5. Move Their Bodies, Boost Their Minds

Ensure children get at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily. “Physical activity impacts cognitive function and stress reduction,” Dr. Blake observes. “Active children are often more focused and resilient.” The back-to-school season doesn’t have to be a scramble. By addressing these health aspects proactively, you can equip your child for a year of learning, growth, and vibrant health. A little planning now leads to great success.

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The road to Utah’s best tamales apparently leads to a parking lot

While saving for a full-sized food truck, Itzel Erandi has built a devoted fan base from a crimson van parked beside a gas station, one tamale at a time.

By Shaun Delliskave s.delliskave@mycityjournals.com

It’s not every day that a parking lot becomes a culinary destination. Yet on Sundays, while some Utahns are searching for brunch reservations, others are searching for a crimson van near a grocery store. Why? Because House Tamales is rumored to serve the best tamales in Utah. Whether that’s officially recognized by any governing body of tamale experts remains unclear, but the growing crowds around owner Itzel Erandi’s van suggest the public has already reached a verdict.

On most Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays, customers begin lining up near the Smith’s Marketplace at 845 E. 4500 South, drawn by the aroma of fresh tamales and the promise of a meal worth planning a weekend around. What started as a simple idea has grown into one of the valley’s most beloved mobile food businesses.

Behind House Tamales is Itzel Erandi, a native of Michoacán, Mexico, who has lived in the United States for the past seven years with her husband and three children.

The story behind the tamales begins long before the crimson van.

“I learned how to make tamales from my mother back in Michoacán,” Erandi said. “To this day, I believe that her seasoning is what makes these tamales so special. There is something magical about a mother’s cooking.”

That family tradition remains at the heart of every tamale she sells.

Unlike many food businesses that begin with elaborate business plans and spreadsheets, House Tamales was born from something much simpler.

“The idea of selling tamales from my

truck came naturally,” she said. “It wasn’t something I planned, it simply came to me one day. I just knew that I wanted people to experience and enjoy the tamales that mean so much to my family and me.”

Fortunately for Utah tamale lovers, she acted on that impulse.

What customers may not realize is the amount of work hidden inside every tamale. While many people are sleeping, Erandi is already hard at work preparing the next day’s batch.

“My work begins early and requires many hours of preparation,” she explained.

Her day starts at 6 a.m. by boiling meats before preparing both red and green sauces and shredding the meat. Around 7 p.m., she begins assembling tamales and works until approximately 9:30 p.m.

If that sounds like a long day, she’s not finished.

The next morning starts at 4 a.m., when she begins cooking the tamales. While they steam, she prepares what she describes as

her special “magical” green sauce before packing everything and heading out to serve customers.

That’s right. While many of us are debating whether we have enough energy to hit the snooze button one more time, Erandi has already started cooking hundreds of tamales.

The effort appears to be paying off.

“Knowing that so many people love my tamales brings me great satisfaction and happiness,” she said. “I am deeply grateful to every customer who supports my business.”

The business currently operates three days each week, with Sundays proving especially popular.

“Thanks to God, the three days each week that we sell are successful for us, and Sundays are especially busy,” she said.

Ask Erandi about her favorite item on the menu and she doesn’t hesitate.

“Personally, my favorite tamales are the chicken tamales with green sauce,” she

said, “and it seems that many of my customers agree.”

Given the growing crowds surrounding the crimson van, those customers appear to know exactly what they’re talking about.

For now, House Tamales continues serving customers from its mobile setup, but Erandi has bigger ambitions.

“Looking toward the future, my dream is to own and operate a larger food truck, one that will allow me to serve more customers while providing a safer and more comfortable experience for everyone,” she said.

Until then, customers can continue finding House Tamales in the parking lot, where a family recipe, a lot of hard work, and a little bit of “magical” green sauce have created one of Utah’s tastiest success stories.

And if you happen to see a line forming beside a crimson van on a Sunday morning, don’t worry—you haven’t stumbled upon a secret society.

You’ve just found the tamales.

For the most up-to-date schedule and locations, customers are encouraged to visit House Tamales’ Facebook page. l

F

or our special August food edition where we are emphasizing a buffet of culinary stories, we decided to share several of our writers’ favorite dishes. Enjoy!

Collette Hayes, Brigham City Peach Crumble

This is one of our family’s all-time favorite summertime desserts. One bite of a Brigham City peach delivers the pure taste of summer. These peaches are especially sweet because northern Utah has warm, sunny days and cool, crisp nights. Every year between late August to mid-September, my mom, who is now in her 90s, and I drive about an hour from Salt Lake City along Utah’s Fruit Way, on Highway 89, to visit local family farm stands. This has been our family tradition for 50 years. We load the 4Runner with fresh produce, especially Brigham City peaches, to make homemade ice cream, jams, jellies, spicy peach salsa, and our favorite desserts, including Brigham City Peach Crumble.

Pat in Pan Pie Crust

1 ½ cups flour

1 ½ teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup oil

2 tablespoons cold milk

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. This pie crust dough does not require rolling out. Pat the dough into the bottom and sides of a deep 9-inch pie dish.

Filling

2 1/2 pounds of fresh peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced (about 6 medium peaches)

¼ cup flour

½ cup granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Scoop the mixture into the crust-lined pie dish.

Crumble Topping

2/3 cups flour

2/3 cups rolled oats

½ cup cold, unsalted butter

Our writers share their favorite foods

½ cup dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle the topping over the peach filling.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until light brown and bubbling. Serve warm. Top with vanilla bean ice cream and fresh sliced strawberries.

Anna Nielsen, Gluten-free orange chicken

My favorite food is the gluten-free orange chicken my fiancé makes. I went gluten free when we first started dating due to my celiac diagnosis, and he has worked on perfecting this dish over the four years that we’ve been together to get an accurate replication of the gluten-free dish. This is the original recipe he based his version on: www.mamaknowsglutenfree.com/gluten-free-orange-chicken, but he omits vinegar and adds various vegetables and alterations. Being gluten free and having such extreme sensitivity to cross-contamination makes eating difficult and sometimes terrifying for me because I have the potential to get so sick, but he takes my stress away with the way he takes care of me in that realm so patiently, careful to get everything right.

Amanda Hemmert, Seth’s Elise’s “Award Winning Chili” made by Elise

This recipe is incredibly allergen friendly, as it was created by mom, who at the time of this recipe’s creation in 2011-ish, had several severe allergies. My mom submitted it to a church chili cookoff, where my dad got credit for it because he brought the dish in. I thought this was hilarious, and when my mom wrote the recipe card, I snuck into the kitchen, grabbed the card, and scratched out her name on the card and wrote my dad’s name in instead. Best prank I ever pulled. My mom laughed when she saw it and wrote her name at the end and decided to keep the prank her 8-year-old daughter had left her.

I love this recipe because it feeds a crowd easily, and you can freeze it, then thaw it and cook it on the stove until hot.

Ingredients

1 lb. hamburger

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cans pinto beans

2 cans kidney beans

½ jar salsa

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon dried basil

A dash of smoked paprika

Instructions

Sauté the hamburger and the onion in a pan until the onions are soft and the meat is fully cooked. Drain most of the fat before dumping the mixture into a crockpot.

Add all the other ingredients into the same crockpot.

Cook on high for 3-4 hours.

Optional substitutions

For Allergens/Vegan: This recipe contains vinegar (which contains corn) and meat. If you are sensitive to corn, switch out the jar of salsa for a 14.5 oz. can of tomatoes with green chilies. If you want to take out the meat I recommend substituting chickpeas and still sauteing them with the onions. Crush the chickpeas up a bit with the back of a fork.

For what Amanda does: My version is a bit different than my parents, and I do two cans

of kidney, two cans of pinto, one can of black beans, and one can of corn and the whole jar of salsa.

Julie Slama, Knedliky (potato dumplings)

My family tradition of making knedliky is from Czechia and here it has been passed down generation to generation. It is usually served with pork roast and sauerkraut. It has gone through some recipe variations in order to be made in the U.S., and this is one of those but used as a guide. The recipe/tradition is from my father’s Bohemian side.

Ingredients/instructions

Large or medium pot (cut in half if peeled or cook whole). Boil in slightly salted water. Cook at least an hour, then cool.

Put two cups flour on board.

Add pot of potatoes peeled and cool.

Two eggs

¼ cup cream of wheat

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon. baking powder

Add flour (a lot)

Roll into oblong roll, cut into 1-inch slices, drop five or so in boiling water for 10 minutes or until floating on top. Should be fluffy inside if done. l

Local cheese expert wins trip to explore France’s Comté region

Cheesemonger and South Salt Lake resident, Michael Oliver, talks about travel, his love of cheese and eating with intention.

By Anna Nielsen a.nielsen@mycityjournals.com

In September, Michael Oliver will set off to Europe, meeting with the Comté Association, conducting a press tour, and perusing the Comté region of France. Oliver is head of cheese sales at Heber Valley Cheese and was named winner of the 13th annual Comté Scholarship for American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professionals, receiving as his prize this trip to explore Comté cheese and its culture firsthand.

In the 12th annual competition, Oliver had been runner-up. He was glad he applied again, and thrilled by winning with his essay titled “Cheese Glitter and Good Taste: The Sparkle Behind Comté’s Appeal.”

“I can’t wait to experience the culture of the Jura Mountains, seeing cheese makers, aging caves, cheese shops, farms, etc.,” said Oliver, who has worked in the food industry since childhood. “I started working at the restaurant my parents owned at like 9. At 21, starting to realize where food was coming from, I moved to San Francisco. I worked in lots of ‘smart dining’ restaurants—casual, but with fine dining aspects. Lots of farm to table restaurants,” Oliver said.

He recounts one opportunity that had a butterfly effect on his journey into the cheese world. Working at a wine salon in San Francisco, studying for the sommelier exam, “The manager brought in a glass of red and a piece of Comté cheese. Tasting it blew my mind. We talked about terroir, which I never knew what that was. I thought that he was just meaning terror, so this

flipped the switch for me,” Oliver said. Terroir (pronounced terwahr) is a French term for the influence of a region’s soil, climate and topography on the flavor and character of wine.

Years later, along his sobriety journey, Oliver discovered Harmons’ cheese island and realized his wine knowledge translated to cheese. He began working at Harmons, and was encouraged to become certified through the American Cheese Society. “I got a fantastic education there, able to taste constantly hundreds of different cheeses. I fell in love,” Oliver said. He joined study groups, but nervously backed out of the certification exam each year.

His seven-year career with Harmons introduced him to Heber Valley Artisan Cheese, where he has worked since 2023. In 2024, Oliver rejoined a study group, took the test, passed and cried out of relief afterward, having built up the fear of failure for nearly a decade.

Finally a Certified Cheese Professional, Oliver remarked how transformative this was and continues, “I love the industry I work in. I love the opportunity to be able to change people’s lives with food and beverage. I love the journey that I’m on, because food is part of your memory and memories are craveable. It’s all tied together, and I get to help facilitate stuff like that.”

Oliver also encourages everyone to go on their own food journey, discovering where their food comes from through research, or first hand through tours, like Heber Valley Artisan Cheese offers at their facilities.

“I wish everyone really knew how important small farms are and how we’re losing them,” Oliver concluded. “Heber used to have over 100 dairies there, as a dairy valley founded by the Swiss. Now, only two are left, the rest have been bought out. Small dairy farms hardly exist anymore. There’s huge importance to really knowing your food, and to do that I think you

should deeply taste everything, tasting and eating with more intention. When you do that, you’re thinking of the farms, you’re thinking of what you’re putting in your body.” l

continued from front page

I needed to walk away for a day. Like, I’m gonna go find a place to cry in the corner.”

His perseverance paid off as Hidden Oak was awarded the 2026 Best of State trophy for Best Artisan Ice Cream. Jeff and his three daughters have all contributed to the company’s success. He said good food should be the center of every celebration and believes ice cream should be unforgettable.

Jeff also creates individualized ice cream flavors for celebrations like weddings or birthdays. He wants Hidden Oak to be part of a family’s big events, creating memorable taste experiences and fun stories.

Never one to rest on his laurels, Jeff is experimenting with new flavors for summer, including a watermelon sorbet with cucumber-coconut cream and a wild berry shortcake with honey caramel. He also partnered with Heat Street to create a papaya pineapple habanero hot sauce caramel that he serves on vanilla ice cream.

“Making the ice cream, I have to be

focused, I have to be dialed in. So when things are going wrong, I head down to the kitchen and make some ice cream, and it just brings the joy,” Jeff said. “You just deal with the hard things, take the ones you love, go after your own mountains and the universe is your opportunity.” l

“Dream a little dream of me” oil on wood named after the song by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. (Courtesy Katrina Berg)

What do you want to know about the Great Salt Lake?

Newsrooms across Utah, including the City Journals, will use the survey results to bolster their reporting about water

in Utah

Utah leaders have set a goal to raise the Great Salt Lake by seven feet to 4,198 feet above sea level by the time Utah hosts the 2034 Winter Olympics.

It will be a monumental task to save and dedicate the additional 800,000 acre feet of water needed

each year — that’s twice the amount of water used in homes and on yards in the Great Salt Lake Basin — especially with this year’s record-low snowpack and extreme drought.

Utah newsrooms who have banded together to cover the lake as the Great Salt Lake Collaborative will

cover all of the developments by politicians, philanthropists, residents, businesses, farmers and industries.

Take this quick eight-question survey so we can report on what matters to you. We want to know what questions you have, your hopes and fears and how the lake affects you.

Questions? Contact me at info@ greatsaltlakenews.org.

This article is published through the Great Salt Lake Collaborative with funding from Love the Lake, an initiative of the nonprofit Great Salt Lake Alliance.

Editorial decisions are made independently by the Collaborative and partner newsrooms.

Taylorsville girls soccer looks for a repeat trip to state, football has new coach

Head coach BryLee Harvest heads into his second season in charge with about half the team back from last year.

By Brian Shaw b.shaw@mycityjournals.com

Lastyear, the Taylorsville girls soccer team did what few thought they could. Coaches around Class 5A Region 4 picked the Warriors seventh in the preseason poll; Tville finished fifth and qualified for the 5A state tournament.

This year, BryLee Harvest’s second in charge of the Warriors, he said he is optimistic about another successful season and a return trip to state, but warns there is plenty left to be answered about his team.

“It’s certainly been intriguing and exciting for our girls’ program. We return about half of our starting lineup,” Harvest said, who finished year one at Tville with a 6-13 record. “Interested to see how our returners will rise to the increased expectations and awareness from our opponents this season. Excited to see how our newcomers minimize the void left from a strong graduating class.”

That gap includes Jacqueline Herrera, who was the Warriors’ assist leader. Her 4 goals and 7 assists will sorely be missed according to Harvest. In the back, the Wold twins Nikita and

Jasmine who played goalkeeper and defender for Tville will also leave huge holes that the second-year coach must fill.

Part of that education, Harvest estimates, will come in summer trainings that the Warriors squad has already endured, both in club and in high school play, and a preseason that gets underway with a trip to Payson on Aug. 4 to take on the Lions, along with home games against Roy Aug. 6 and a rivalry showdown against Murray, Aug. 13.

“While there’s still much change and

learning of our identity, I also feel extremely optimistic, comfortable and familiar with the direction we are heading,” Harvest said. “A lot of these girls have been playing together for some time now and a large part of our offensive output is set to build off last season.”

Another reason for optimism according to Taylorsville’s second-year head coach? The boys are back in town, as it’s a coaching staff that now includes his own brother, who he’s worked the sidelines alongside when the two were at Cottonwood.

“Additionally, we return all our entire fantastic coaches from the previous season and have added two of my longtime Cottonwood assistants in Bryce Harvest and Kyle Delaney who have been through just about everything with me.

Across the players and coaches, we are honestly just having a lot of fun and greatly eager to kick off another season!”

Taylorsville football goes into the 2026-27 season with a new head coach

After several seasons in charge, Chris Rosales is no longer the head coach at Taylorsville. The guy everyone called “Rozy” led the Warriors to a 2-9 record last season and a 5A state playoff spot.

Jeff Tupea takes over at Tville for Rozy, leading a Warriors squad that lost more than 20

players to graduation. They open the season at home Aug. 14 against Roy and then will take a short drive down 5400 South to visit Murray in that rivalry matchup.

Tville closes out August with a home game against Uintah on Aug. 28 before it hits the road to open Region 4 action at Granger on Sept. 11. The Warriors will continue in region play through the rest of September into mid-October, culminating with a rivalry game against Kearns in “The War On 54,” Oct. 2. l

Readers share their family favorites.

By Peri Kinder peri.k@thecityjournals.com

Written on yellowed 3x5 cards, typed on a Smith Corona or posted into a shared doc, family recipes have a way of enduring. It could be a grandmother’s meatloaf, a dad’s barbecue sauce or a great-aunt’s potato salad, but these dishes are handed down through generations, creating a feeling of legacy and connection.

Murray resident Paula Sageser has a recipe for dinner rolls, passed down from her grandmother and mother, that is a frequent request for family holiday gatherings. Her sister taught her how to make the rolls and she’s passed the knowledge on to her niece.

“Some of the steps require making judgment calls, like using enough flour to make a cake batter consistency before letting it rise, or adding enough flour for a biscuit dough texture,” she said. “Over the years, I’ve experimented with making the rolls a little bit healthier by substituting applesauce or bananas for the Crisco. They are a big hit, and I always make a double batch so people have leftovers to take home.”

For Lynda Smart Brown, her family favorite is a hot-batter, chocolate fudge cake recipe made in a pan that’s more than 75 years old. The cake is a birthday tradition that is now shared with a fourth generation of Brown’s family.

Brown’s mom started making the cake decades ago, from a recipe she got from a woman in Louisiana. The aluminum pan she

Well-loved recipes last for generations

baked the cake in has also been handed down and Brown said the pan will be the only thing her kids will fight over when she dies.

“I have never used a boxed cake mix. I only make cakes from scratch and it is usually this one,” Brown said. “I just make it from memory at this point, as we’ve been doing this for almost 65 years.”

Jennafer Martin’s parents both worked out of the home when she was growing up. Her mother loved to cook and bake but didn’t always have time to make things from scratch.

For special occasions, Martin’s mom made what she called “Goo Bars.”

“They were brownies with chocolate chips, nuts, mini marshmallows and raisins mixed in them,” Martin said. “They were aptly named because they were gooey deliciousness. We liked them even more than cake because they were unique and made

Readers’ Favorite Recipes

Paula Sageser’s Dinner Rolls

1 qt. sweet milk

1 c. Crisco (or 1/2 c. Crisco and substitute 1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce)

1 c. sugar

Bring milk, Crisco and sugar to a boil, stirring frequently to keep from scorching. Cool to lukewarm (about 30 minutes). When using applesauce, add it while the mixture is cooling.

Add two packets of dry active yeast

Add enough all-purpose flour to create a dough with cake-batter consistency. Cover with a cloth and let sit for two hours to rise.

Add 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 TBSP. salt

Add flour until it has the consistency of biscuit dough. Generously flour a flat surface and knead in more flour until the dough is not too sticky to roll out and handle. Roll out what you want to bake at a time and refrigerate the rest until needed. Cut with a 3-inch biscuit cutter and place on a greased baking sheet or no-stick baking mat.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown on top. Watch the first batch and adjust time and temperature as needed. When doing a double batch, lower the temperature of later batches to 385 degrees.

with love.”

Elif Ekin, owner of Salt Lake’s Khave Cafe, never had junk food in the house while she was growing up, but she could trade two of her mom’s chocolate chip cookies for pretzel sticks or Doritos.

The recipe originated from Ekin’s great-grandmother and was originally sugar cookies. Ekin’s grandmother added chocolate chips to the recipe, using big chunks of chocolate. Ekin’s mom, Janice Ekin, added her own variations as the favorite cookie continued to evolve.

The dough was so good, Ekin would often sneak bites when her mom wasn’t looking. Eventually, her mom started scooping a dollop of dough into a coffee cup for Ekin, to keep enough dough for cookies.

“I have kept up that tradition with all the

Jennafer’s Goo Bars

1 box brownie mix

½ c. each: chocolate chips, raisins and mini marshmallows ½ c. nuts, optional

Prepare brownie mix as directed. Stir in additional ingredients and bake as directed. Enjoy!

Ekin’s

1 c. butter or margarine

2 c. sugar (all white or a mixture of white and brown)

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda stirred into 1 c. plain yogurt and set aside

4 c. flour

1 12-oz. bag of chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar; add eggs and vanilla. Add chocolate chips to the flour. Add flour and chips alternately with the yogurt mixture. Mix well. Drop on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes. Variations: Use raisins instead of chocolate chips. Use lemon yogurt instead of plain.

For Chocolate Chip Cookie cake: add 1/4 cup more yogurt and spread dough in a 9x12 inch pan, instead of dropping for cookies. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 25 minutes.

kids and give them a big spoonful of batter in a coffee mug every time I make chocolate chip cookies,” she said. “Over the years, I’ve viewed the recipe as being flexible. [I’ll] use different yogurt flavors, such as lemon coconut yogurt, and add some dry coconut; use apple yogurt with added cinnamon and raisins instead of chocolate chips…I still have friends from elementary school who tell me they remember Mom’s chocolate chip cookies.” l

Lynda Brown’s Chocolate Cake

½ c. buttermilk

1/2 tsp. baking soda (will be added to buttermilk)

Blend 2 c. flour and 2 c. sugar

2 eggs, whipped

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cubes of butter

4 TBSP. cocoa

1 c. hot water

Mix the soda into the buttermilk. In a saucepan, melt butter and stir in cocoa. Add hot water and blend until smooth. Lower the heat and slowly mix in the flour and sugar mixture, using a beater to get it smooth. Add two eggs, mix well. Add the buttermilk and soda mixture. Blend in smoothly. Beat with a beater for a short time, only until folded in.

Pour into a cake pan that has been buttered and floured. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until done.

Chocolate Frosting

4 TBSP. cocoa

1 stick butter

1 tsp. vanilla

3 c. powdered sugar

¼ cup milk or buttermilk

Melt butter and cocoa together in the saucepan. Add the milk and vanilla. Slowly add the powdered sugar until well blended and beat with a beater until the batter is glossy.

Quickly frost the cake, which can still be warm. The fudge-like frosting will set up fast.

Sprinkle with walnuts, if desired.

MAYOR'S MESSAGE

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

This summer, the Taylorsville City Police Department reached an important milestone, celebrating ve years of proudly serving our community. Since o cially launching on July 1, 2021, TVPD has grown into a department our residents know and trust.

Re ecting on that journey, I am incredibly proud of what the department has accomplished and grateful for the dedicated men and women who have made it all possible.

The decision to bring police services in-house was not made lightly. It required careful consideration, but we believed creating our own department would provide the accountability, responsiveness and community-focused policing our residents deserved. Looking back today, I am more convinced than ever that it was the right decision.

Bringing that vision to life, however, required extraordinary effort. During the yearlong transition, a project management team of city sta met weekly to oversee every detail, from hiring personnel to establishing policies and procedures. Their hard work culminated in the swearing-in of our o cers in June 2021 and the o cial launch of TVPD just days later.

Today, TVPD is made up of more than 65 outstanding o cers led by Chief Brady Cottam and Deputy Chiefs Miller and Lloyd. Chief Cottam describes the department as the “best of the best,” and I couldn’t agree more. From the beginning, he focused on building a department rooted in transparency, connection, collaboration, respect and innovation. Those core values guide the department and support a culture dedicated to outstanding public service.

Over the past five years, our officers have done much more than respond to calls. They have built relationships with residents, visited schools and neighborhoods, participated in community events, supported local businesses and found ways to connect with the people they serve. They are visible throughout our community, and that presence has strengthened the trust that is so important to e ective policing.

I also want to recognize the department’s civilian employees and support sta , whose work behind the scenes is essential to TVPD’s success. Every member of the department plays an important role in serving our community, and I couldn’t be more grateful for their good work.

Together, these officers and staff members have made TVPD the strong, trusted department it is today. Please join me in congratulating our TVPD on this ve-year milestone. Thank you for your professionalism, compassion and unwavering commitment to keeping Taylorsville safe. We are proud of all you have accomplished and grateful for your service every single day.

—Mayor Kristie S. Overson

WHAT’S INSIDE – AUGUST 2026

Frequently Called Numbers, Page 2 Council Corner, Page 3 TVPD News, Page 4 Heritage Remembrances, Page 7

Page 8

After decades of vision, planning and persistence, the Midvalley Express Bus Rapid Transit line is now rolling through Taylorsville, ful lling a long-anticipated transportation goal and creating a new east-west connection through the center of the Salt Lake Valley.

The new MVX line, also known as Route 50X, connects West Valley Central Station and Murray Central Station, traveling through West Valley City, Taylorsville and into Murray along the 4700 South corridor.

The route creates a direct east-west transit connection through the heart of the valley, giving riders another way to reach schools, employment centers, shopping, parks, healthcare and other regional destinations.

For Taylorsville, the service adds another transportation option along one of the city’s most important corridors while supporting continued investment in mobility, economic development and quality of life.

“After decades of vision, planning and persistence, we are nally watching MVX roll through Taylorsville,” Mayor Kristie Overson said. “This project represents what can happen when we stay committed to a long-term vision for the future.”

The route serves several major destinations, including Salt Lake Community College’s Taylorsville Redwood Campus, Intermountain Medical Center and the Calvin Rampton State Office Complex. Connections at Murray Central and West Valley Central also give riders access to the broader UTA system and destinations throughout the Wasatch Front.

Mayor Overson and members of the Taylorsville City

Emergency ...................................................................................................911

Police Department ...............................................................

801-840-4000

Utah 211 resource network 211

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 988

Poison Control Center

1-800-222-1222

Animal Control Shelter ....................................................... 801-965-5800

Animal Control After Hours Dispatch............................ 801-840-4000

Building Inspection

Chamber West (Chamber of Commerce)

Fire Department

Gang Tip Line

801-955-2030

801-977-8755

801-743-7200

385-468-9768

Garbage/Recycle/GreenWaste Pick-up ........................ 385-468-6325

(Wasatch Front Waste & Recycling)

Granite School District

Health Department

385-646-5000

385-468-4100

Highway Conditions (from cell phone) 511

Park Reservations .................................................................

385-468-7275

Public Works (Salt Lake County) ....................................... 385-468-6101

Dominion Energy 800-323-5517

Rocky Mountain Power 888-221-7070

Salt Lake County Recycling/Land ll 801-974-6920

Taylorsville Bennion Improvement District................. 801-968-9081

Taylorsville Food Pantry ..................................................... 801-815-0003

Taylorsville Senior Center 385-468-3370

Taylorsville Code Enforcement

801-955-2013

Taylorsville Justice Court 801-963-0268

Taylorsville Library ............................................................... 801-943-4636

Taylorsville Recreation Center ......................................... 385-468-1732

Swimming Pool (Memorial Day to Labor Day) 801-967-5006

Taylorsville-Bennion Heritage Center 801-281-0631

UDOT Region 2 801-975-4900

Utah Transit Authority (UTA) 801-743-3882

EVENTS

AUGUST 2026

Every Friday night through Sept. 25

Starry Nights @the Plaza. The food trucks arrive at 5:30 p.m. and most music starts at 6:30. See www.taylorsvilleut.gov for the full schedule and details about what’s happening each night.

Every Tuesday through Sept. 29

Taylorsville Farmers Market @ Centennial Plaza. Shop for fresh nds and artisan products. The market opens at 5 p.m.

August 5 & 19 – 6:30 p.m.

City Council Meeting @ City Hall. Address the Council during Citizens' Comments. Agendas are always available online.

Aug. 7 – 6 p.m.

Night Out Against Crime @ Centennial Plaza. Come learn about ways to keep your neighborhood safe and have some fun, too.

Aug. 11 & 25 – 6:30 p.m.

Planning Commission Meeting @ City Hall. The Planning Commission meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month.

Every Thursday – 2 p.m.

The Mayor Is In. This is an excellent opportunity to connect, listen, ask questions and share ideas about our city with the Mayor.

UPCOMING: Sept. 7

Labor Day. City o ces will be closed to observe the holiday.

Find our calendar of events every month on the city’s website, where you can also submit your own events for possible publication. Go to www.taylorsvilleut.gov

Night Out Against Crime

COUNCIL CORNER

By Council Member Anna Barbieri

Beyond the Desk: Building High-Paying Careers Through SLCC’s Trades

Look out any window in Salt Lake County and you will see an economy ring on all cylinders. Towering cranes punctuate the skyline, new neighborhoods are popping up overnight and industrial complexes are expanding rapidly. Utah is growing fast, and that means one thing: We have a lot of things that need to be built, wired, plumbed and welded.

This boom reminds me of a lesson I learned early in life. Growing up, my father owned an auto repair shop and parts store in Midvale. He taught me that if you build or x things, you will always have a job. Today, that wisdom is more relevant than ever. While desk jobs get the spotlight, the real action right now is happening in the skilled trades. Local contractors have plenty of open positions, rolling out the red carpet for anyone ready to pick up a tool. There is a massive, growing demand for hands-on professionals like plumbers, HVAC technicians, electricians, welders, diesel mechanics and pipe tters.

For years, the standard advice was to head straight for a traditional four-year desk job. But times have changed: The trades are booming, pay incredibly well and o er job security that a computer screen simply can’t match. In Utah, an experienced journeyman can easily command anywhere from $70,000 to more than $100,000 a year. You can hit those milestones quickly,

entirely free of the student debt that comes with a university diploma — resulting in zero debt for most students who choose this path.

Fortunately, Salt Lake Community College in Taylorsville makes it easier than ever to enter these lucrative careers. Recently, I toured SLCC’s awardwinning Westpointe Workforce Training & Education Center. Their programs, like Diesel Service Technician, Electronics Engineering Technology, Composites Technology, Welding Fabrication, Injection Molding and Aviation Maintenance feel less like a school and more like a high-end innovation lab.

Instead of sitting through hours of dry lectures, students dive straight into expansive, real-world simulation spaces. You can learn precision sparks in advanced Welding Technology, master smart-home climate control, or gure out how to power a commercial building. It is fast-paced and highly collaborative.

A big part of SLCC’s success is how closely they team up with local businesses to get students paid while they learn. Through apprenticeship programs, students split time between the classroom and a paid position on a manufacturing oor, immediately putting skills to work. These opportunities mean you are earning a paycheck and building a network from day one.

Utah’s thriving economy needs a solid foundation, and we are fortunate to live in a state where

businesses, educators and lawmakers collaborate to create career opportunities. The people building our infrastructure are securing steady, in-demand jobs with excellent pay. These rewarding careers are being built by the hands-on professionals graduating from Salt Lake Community College.

Spend Tuesday Evenings at the Taylorsville Farmers Market

Looking for an easy way to enjoy a summer evening? Stop by the Taylorsville Farmers Market on Tuesdays to shop from local vendors, support small businesses and spend time at Centennial Plaza.

Open each Tuesday through Sept. 29, the market features fresh nds from local vendors, including specialty foods and beverages, baked treats, jams and jellies, herbs, essential oils, soaps and other handcrafted products. Vendors may vary throughout the season, giving visitors something di erent to browse from week to week.

The market is held at Centennial Plaza, 2600 W. Taylorsville Blvd., providing a welcoming setting to meet vendors and catch up with neighbors and friends in the heart of the city.

Depending on the evening, visitors may also nd a few food trucks and occasional live music to enjoy while exploring the market.

Hours are 5 to 9 p.m. during July and August and 5 to 8 p.m. in September. The market is operated by Good4Life Markets and accepts SNAP payments.

Whether staying for a while or making a quick stop, visitors will nd plenty to browse and enjoy each Tuesday.

TVPD K-9 Teams Visit Taylorsville Elementary Schools

Check this space each month for news about the Taylorsville Police Department (TVPD) and their valuable service to our community.

TVPD’s K-9 teams made the rounds at all eight Taylorsville elementary schools, giving fth-grade students an up-close look at Koda and Turbo and the important work they do.

K-9 Officers Wakefield and Cameron, along with Sgt. Bennett, explained how police dogs assist o cers in keeping the community safe. Students also had the chance to watch Koda and Turbo demonstrate some of their skills.

The presentations offered an exciting look at police work while giving TVPD o cers an opportunity to connect with students and build positive relationships in Taylorsville schools. Judging by the smiles, Koda and Turbo stole the show at every stop.

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

Congratulations to Sgt. Carver, TVPD's latest Employee of the Month. Sgt. Carver joined the Taylorsville Police Department in August 2021 and currently serves as a patrol sergeant. In addition to supervising patrol, he oversees the Tra c Unit, Crisis Negotiations Team and police eet while serving in several collateral assignments, including the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT), Peer Support, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), the Awards Committee and as president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge. Before joining TVPD, Sgt. Carver served with the U.S. Navy Police and the West Val-

NEW UTAH E-RIDES LAW TAKES EFFECT

TALK TO YOUR KIDS • KNOW YOUR VEHICLE • RIDE SAFE

Helmet rules. Required for riders under age 21 on roadways. Recommended for all riders.

Age restrictions. Under age 8: No motor use on public roads. Ages 8–15: Must have adult supervision. Ages 16+: No supervision required.

Know your ride. ≤ 750 watts, pedals required Modified e-bikes may be classified as e-motorcycles or high-powered e-rides

Where you can ride. Roads & bike lanes; Follow bicycle laws. Sidewalk use depends on city.

DUI enforcement. DUI laws apply. Officers may impound (under age-18 violations).

Coming in 2027. Ages 8 to 15 must: Ride with an adult, OR Complete a safety course

ley City Police Department. He has more than 21 years of combined military and law enforcement service and holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. His career has included assignments as a patrol o cer, eld training o cer, detective, CIT coordinator, department instructor and K-9 handler.

During his military service, he deployed to Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Afghanistan, earning numerous honors, including the Bronze Star, four Navy Commendation Medals and multiple campaign and NATO service medals. He has also received several distinguished awards during his law enforcement career.

Sgt. Carver was nominated by Lt. Cheshire, who stated he "could not overlook the outstanding work that Sgt. Carver does daily for the city, the department and his personnel."

Lt. Cheshire described Sgt. Carver as one of the most sel ess supervisors he has had the opportunity to supervise. He praised Sgt. Carver's commitment to mentoring o cers, improving department operations and creating an environment where employees feel heard and supported. Whether helping o cers work through challenges or ensuring the department's many specialty assignments run smoothly, Sgt. Carver consistently leads with professionalism and dedication.

Outside of work, Sgt. Carver enjoys studying history and military history, riding motorcycles and spending time with family and friends. Thank you, Sgt. Carver, for your outstanding leadership, dedication and continued service to the Taylorsville Police Department and the Taylorsville community!

STAY SAFE & RIDE SMART

Taylorsville Dayzz Races Draw Nearly 400 Runners

Runners of all ages took to the course for the 2026 Taylorsville Dayzz 5K and Kids Run, held as part of the city’s 30th Birthday Bash celebration.

The June 27 event drew 398 registered runners and featured several special touches commemorating Taylorsville’s anniversary. Stephen Powell designed the race’s 30th anniversary shirt and medal and also joined the eld as a participant. Brigham Booth sang the National Anthem before Mayor Kristie Overson red the starting gun to send runners onto the course.

“It was exciting to see so many runners, families and supporters come together for this year’s race,” Mayor Overson said. “We are grateful to the sponsors, volunteers and everyone who helped make the event such a memorable part of Taylorsville’s 30th birthday celebration.”

Jack Winward claimed the overall men’s 5K title with a time of 16:01, followed by Anthony Biesinger and Teren Jameson. Gloria Booth led the women’s division, with Lily Jameson and Erin Andrews nishing second and third.

Kids Run rst-place winners were Avery Curtis, Cali Jameson and Sophie May in the girls divisions, and Ethan McKinnon, Ezra Gingery and Reid Matern in the boys divisions.

The event also included a rucking race. Ashley Plant and Michelle Poteki were the top women nishers, while Cesar Ahumada and Porter Plant led the men’s eld.

Full race results and photos are available on the city’s website, www.taylorsvilleut.gov. The Taylorsville Dayzz 5K and Kids Run will return in June 2027.

THANK YOU SPONSORS!

Thank You Taylorsville Dayzz 5K & Kids Fun Run Sponsors!!!

We wish to extend our sincere gratitude to Biomat USA Grifols of Taylorsville and Chick-fil-A of Taylorsville for their generous contributions of delicious refreshments for our runners and their families after the race. Your support added a delightful touch to our event, helping to nourish and energize all participants. Thank you for your presence!

We also wish to acknowledge the sponsors listed below for providing coupons and engaging items for our runners' swag bags and door prizes. It is community partners like you who contribute to the success and memorability of our events. Thank you for your kindness and for being an integral part of our celebration!

And last but certainly not least, thank you to our exceptional staff; we couldn’t do it without you!

MVX CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Council experienced the new service rsthand during a short eld trip on May 26. Riding together along the route, they had an opportunity to visit the stations, travel the corridor and see how MVX serves residents, students, employees and visitors.

MVX also brings a distinctive visual element to the city. Public art has been incorporated into seven Taylorsville stations and the SLCC roundabout. In all, 15 separate pieces add color, character and a stronger sense of community to the rider experience.

The custom glass-panel artwork was developed through a Utah Transit Authority public art project in collaboration with Taylorsville City and Salt Lake Community College. Inspired by the people, culture and natural landscapes of the area, the designs connect the transportation investment with Taylorsville’s identity and character.

The works include colorful interpretations of the Jordan River, native birds, mountain views, local landmarks and themes of movement, memory and connection. Together, they turn the stations into more than places to board a bus. They give riders and passersby an opportunity to experience art created speci cally for the corridor while highlighting the varied perspectives and creative talents of the participating artists.

Read descriptions about each piece and learn more about the artists and their inspiration on the city’s website at taylorsvilleut.gov under the Services and MVX Bus Rapid Transit tabs.

The artwork provides a welcoming addition to the corridor while making each station more recognizable and re ective of its surroundings, Mayor Overson added.

“We feel so lucky to have this impressive collection of artwork now here in Taylorsville,” she said. “The artists have created pieces that add beauty and character to the stations while celebrating the people, places and natural surroundings that make our community special.”

The MVX project was made possible through a grant from the Federal Transit Administration, with additional nancial support from the State of Utah and local partners. The partnership allowed UTA and participating communities to advance a signi cant regional transportation project intended to improve access and support future growth.

MVX will remain zero fare through April 2029. Route maps, schedules and additional information are available on UTA’s website, rideuta.com

Taylorsville Bennion Heritage REMEMBRANCES

Forging a Community: Taylorsville’s Early Blacksmiths

By Susan Yadeskie

Blacksmiths were crucial to the work of Taylorsville farmers. Wagons needed repairs, horses needed shoeing and plows needed to be made. Nearly anything fashioned from iron for farmwork was made or repaired by a blacksmith. Taylorsville was fortunate to have several blacksmiths, as noted in the recently compiled book “What of Bennion” by Margaret Player.

Samuel Bringhurst and his son, Robert Pierce Bringhurst, were both blacksmiths and farmers who lived and died in the area. Samuel was the rst blacksmith in Utah.

Alphonso Morris Palmer Sr. learned blacksmithing from his father. He moved to South Taylorsville, later known as Bennion, and settled along Redwood Road. After his death, his sons Alphonso Jr. and Rufus carried on the trade. Orval Matthews also operated a blacksmith shop in Bennion during the 1940s and ’50s.

John Webster learned the blacksmithing trade from his father in Scotland. During the family’s rst year in the Salt Lake Valley, John’s father worked at the Overland Blacksmith Shop. In the spring of 1868, John built a house on the brow of the hill just west of the Jordan River along historic 4800 South. He purchased the property from Joseph Harker, who lived east of the Jordan River. At the time, only ve families lived in the area: John and Samuel Bennion, Joseph Harker, Robert Pixton and Llewellyn Mantle.

“The countryside didn’t look favorable for a blacksmith business. However, a smelter was built in Cottonwood, now Murray. Ore was hauled from Bingham Canyon. This made lots of work repairing wagons and shoeing horses,” Webster wrote in his autobiography.

He also recalled a tragic event connected to the shop:

“The saddest event that had its origin at our shop was this: On the morning of August 30, 1877, Brother John Bennion called at the shop on his way to his brother Samuel’s. He was riding his horse bareback, as usual. He stood on a white-top buggy tongue to spring onto the horse. In doing so, he injured himself internally but managed to ride only a short distance. … He passed away the next morning.”

Finally, William Deverall, who was born in Wales, moved to Taylorsville and opened a blacksmith shop at about 4650 South Redwood Road. He operated the shop from around 1900 until 1930, when it burned down. Many of the iron tools survived, including a large anvil.

William’s descendants donated the tools to the Taylorsville-Bennion Heritage Center. A blacksmith shop furnished with these historic tools has been built at the museum, giving visitors a glimpse of what an authentic working shop once looked like.

Taylorsville Library Events

The Taylorsville Library has planned several programs during the month of August. You’ll want to mark your calendar for these events:

EXPRESS SCAVENGER HUNT — Monday, Aug. 3 to Saturday, Sept. 5. Look for the dogs hiding in the library. When you nd them, return to the Info Desk for a small prize. They move to a di erent spot each week.

WALKING BOOK CLUB — Thursdays in August, 10 a.m. Walking Book Club is for readers interested in a weekly walk session and book discussion. The group reads one book over the course of three weeks, discussing the book in segments. The club meets Thursdays from 10 to 11:15 a.m. Take a 30-minute walk* along the paths behind the library and then participate in a 30-minute book discussion. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes and bring a water bottle. “Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party" by Edward Dolnick reading schedule:

Aug. 6: Introduction – chapter 13

Aug. 13: Chapters 14 – 27 Aug. 20: Chapter 28 – end *Dependent on weather.

I SPY FOOD — Monday, Aug. 10 to Saturday, Aug. 15. Celebrate the last days of summer with an I Spy challenge. Return to the Info Desk for a small prize.

RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE — Monday, Aug. 31, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Give blood to help others. Schedule your appointment: redcrossblood.org or 1.800.RED.CROSS.

ADULT VIRTUAL LECTURE | The Truth About Lying: Homer's Odyssey and the Power of Stories — Monday, Aug. 31, 7 p.m. For nearly three millennia, Homer’s Odyssey has captivated audiences with its tales of adventure, deception and survival. Discover what Odysseus’ story reveals about timeless human nature and the enduring power of storytelling. Register at: thecountylibrary.org/LectureSeries.

Storytimes Return in September.

MUSIC & MOVEMENT — Tuesdays in September, starting Sept. 8, 10:30 a.m. Can you "head, shoulders, knees and toes" with the best? Music, movement and fun for little ones and their grown-ups. Preschool Storytime Wednesdays in September — starting Sept. 9, 10:30 a.m. Interactive early learning storytime for preschoolers and their caring adult(s) with talking, singing, reading, writing and play. Toddler Playtime Fridays in September — starting Sept. 11, 10:30 a.m. Open playtime and social interaction for toddlers and their caring adult(s). Toys, tunnels and more!

TAYLORSVILLE SENIOR CENTER

4743 S. Plymouth View Drive

August Activities

The Taylorsville Senior Center has planned a variety of classes every month. Classes are free for those over age 60. Among the activities scheduled this month:

Aging Mastery Program — Mondays from Aug. 24 to Nov. 2, 12:30 – 2 p.m. Ready to make the most of the years ahead? Join in the Aging Mastery Program, a fun and engaging journey designed to help you feel healthier, more con dent and connected! Each week, the group will explore a new topic with practical tips you can actually use in everyday life. You'll meet new people, share ideas, encourage one another and discover simple ways to build a happier, healthier future.

Topics include exercise, better sleep, healthy eating and hydration, nancial tness, medication management, advance planning, healthy relationships, fall prevention, community involvement and more. Meet new friends and build connections. Learn practical tips for everyday life. Invest in you and your future. Sign up at the front desk or call 385-468-3370.

Find the center’s full calendar and Senior Scoop Newsletter online at saltlakecounty.gov.

AUGUST UPDATES

WFDRD Now Has a New Payment System

WFWRD’s new payment processing vendor, Point & Pay, went live during the month of May.

They were selected through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process. Several vendors were evaluated based on functionality, implementation, customer service, security and overall cost. Point & Pay was selected because it o ered the best overall value and is expected to reduce payment processing costs by nearly $140,000 per year.

Due to banking security and privacy requirements, the previous payment provider could not transfer customers' stored banking information or autopay authorizations, requiring customers to re-enroll.

While WFWRD routes customers through its customer portal for convenience, you can access the Point & Pay landing page directly where you can sign in. Go to paydici.com/wasatch-fwr-district/search/landing. Be sure to have your WFWRD account number ready.

Please consider signing up for electronic, paperless billing. You can also sign up for convenient automatic payments. You must have an existing account before you can sign in with Google or Facebook.

Water Conservation Starts at Home

Every drop counts. By making a few simple changes at home, you can help protect Utah's water supply while saving time and money.

One of the best resources available is Utah Water Savers. By creating a free account at UtahWaterSavers.com, you can access valuable conservation programs and incentives, including:

• Smart irrigation controller rebates

• High e ciency toilet rebates

• Localscapes University rewards

• Landscape consultations

• Additional water conservation resources and educational opportunities You can also improve your watering habits by visiting learn.jvwcd.gov, where you'll nd practical tips, irrigation information and water-wise landscaping ideas to help you maintain a healthy yard while using less water.

If you have any questions, please contact Taylorsville-Bennion Improvement District by calling 801-968-9081 or visiting www.tbid.org. Follow TBID on Facebook and X.

A food tour of Utah’s dedicated gluten-free establishments

In the Salt Lake Valley alone, over a dozen gf businesses can be found.

By Anna Nielsen a.nielsen@mycityjournals.com

There’s no need to make a pilgrimage to Denver, Portland or Europe to find gluten-free (gf) eateries these days. Utah’s gf scene is growing. Whether you have celiac disease, gluten sensitivity or are just interested in trying some good food that happens to be gf, options abound.

Omar’s, formerly Rawtopia, sits near the mouth of Millcreek Canyon at 3961 Wasatch Blvd. The establishment boasts a unique drink selection, including spicy hemp-milk chai, and incredibly creamy dishes (despite being dairyfree), like a sunflower and almond hummus. The made-from-scratch menu caught the attention of Martha Stewart a few years back.

Everything offered is fully gf, dairy-free (df), seed-oil-free, organic and locally sourced where possible, with plenty of raw and vegan options, but the variety goes far beyond the typical salads and bowls. An extensive menu features flavor-packed chili cheese fries; coconut curry rice; berry cheesecake (coconut cashew cheese, that is); mango key lime pie and more. Portions of the high-fiber foods are filling and you’ll leave satiated, but not overstuffed.

If you seek out the sugary stuff, though, the bakeries on the list are your best bet.

Mrs. Hewitt’s Bakery often sells out of their more popular items (especially eclairs). Go early to get your hands on some! Founded by husband-and-wife duo Kimberly and Doug Hewitt in 2016 after his celiac diagnosis, the gf baking company has products (of which many are also vegan) in over 500 stores in Utah and ships to the East Coast, too.

Inside the Paris-inspired café, musettedriven melodies play, transporting you out of industrial surroundings in West Valley (3703 Parkway Blvd.). A fantastically French menu ranges from various crepes to tarts, eclairs and artisan breads. American indulgences aplenty appear on the menu, as well: giant cookies; hoagies, French dip, and grilled cheese sandwiches; cupcakes; brownies; and dinner rolls.

Good Food Gluten Free Bakery also sells out early and is tucked away in an

Berry coconut cashew cheesecake and key lime mango pie at Omar’s in Millcreek. (Anna Nielsen/City Journals)

industrial area, the Granary District, at 423 W. 800 South, Suite A113. Entering, you are faced with impossible decisions filling the displays. A revolving selection always includes yummy loaves of sweet bread in flavors like lemon, zucchini, poppyseed and pumpkin; and various scones; sometimes featuring doughnuts, frosted animal cookies or cinnamon rolls. There is no seating, so perhaps plan to enjoy your purchases on a walk around town or a picnic.

Across Salt Lake, Avenue Bakery on Fourth (376 E. 4th Ave.) has a range of gf breads, muffin tops, gourmet cupcakes and cinnamon rolls, along with rotating daily fresh pastries, hoagies, grab and go meals and local kombucha. There’s a satellite location of the original Avenue Bakery in American Fork (which is not a dedicated gf facility, but offers some gf items), and their goods are all prepared at the original American Fork bakery, “in a separate kitchen using separate tools and equipment to prevent cross-contamination,” says staff. The SLC shop opened in 2024, combining the gf versions of sweets that the first Avenue Bakery became known for with an existing gift shop called Avenues on Fourth.

At 432 S. 900 East, Raw Eddy’s headquarters, a.k.a. the Dopamine Space, has a vibrantly pink and orange interior and smells like fresh cookies. In addition to being vegan, gf, plant-based and soy-free (and supposedly made by the light of a disco ball), these snack cookies are distinguished by their atypical shape, like big gumdrops, and by being stuffed with superfood ingredients like ashwagandha. Raw Eddy’s high-protein snacks are available at their storefront, markets, online, and in 40-plus stores around Utah.

Contento Café on 2280 S. West Temple has been hard to get a seat at this year, so make a reservation before you build any weekend brunch plans around it. A modern gf, seed-oil free Mexican restaurant with authentic classics like chilaquiles, tacos, nachos, tostadas, mole, churros, flan and large gf breakfast burritos served all day,

Peanut butter cookie, brownie and cupcake from Mrs. Hewitt’s in WVC. (Anna Nielsen/ City Journals)

this trendy spot is usually bustling.

Ten minutes down the street on 47 W. Fireclay Ave. in Murray, Fueled Coffee is an unexpected, newly-opened find. The specialty coffee roasters started as a coffee cart and grew over the last decade until finding its brick-andmortar home this year. Now with a second location coming to Syracuse, husband-and-wife co-owners Moriah and Austin Best share their journey online, including Moriah’s diagnoses of celiac and lupus, which inspired her to “create a space dedicated to those with allergies.” The rotating variety of baked goods might include lemon cake, banana chip muffins, mini-doughnuts, ultra-chocolatey brownies and sweet and savory toasts on any given day.

Zest Kitchen & Bar, both vegan and gf, is a true downtown option at 275 S. 200 West. Breakfast choices like fluffy French toast and pancakes stand out here. The organic menu spans global cultural cuisines with smash burgers, grilled “cheeses,” Philly “cheese” tofu, breakfast pizza, shakshuka, Reuben sandwiches and pastas.

Also downtown, coffee shop and café Hallowed Grounds, 370 S. 300 East, has a more limited menu for dining. Still, their sandwiches shine. Stop in for a “brekky sandy,” which is toast topped with avocado, feta, fried egg, balsamic drizzle and red onion; or one covered in Norwegian smoked salmon, capers and cream cheese. Enjoy a dog-friendly third space with light streaming through the revamped interior of Church and State, stained glass windows towering above while you wait. Other toasts, desserts like alfajores (South American sandwich cookies), and sometimes a gooey cosmic brownie are available, too.

Topping off the list are shops like Good Grains Gluten Free Bakery, which may be located in Heber, but graces the Downtown Farmers Market as a booth sometimes. Fellow vendor, Sauced Up Salsa, is also fully gf. At different markets/events around the state, Sweet Crumbs and other cottage bakeries can be found, many fulfilling weekly orders and finding customers through the Gluten Free Utah Facebook group.

Outside of the Salt Lake Valley, dedicated gf places appear everywhere: Sweet Cake in Ogden; The Breakfast Truck in Logan; cottage bakery The Vanilla Bird in Brigham City; Mountain Wellness Kitchen in Heber; Luna’s Kitchen in Park City; The Happy Chick (food truck) in Northern Utah: Hearty Beet café, HB Beverage Co., Go Go GF Farm Stand, and Find Your Fit Bakery in St. George; Locals, Chicken Boy, Ambrosial Bakery and Konala in Provo; and Bismarck Donut in Orem. Events like Gluten Free Food Truck Nights and gf markets also serve the gf community. You can order online directly from further fully gf local bakeries like Good Hope in Springville, or pick up their cookies and df brownies at Quench It! locations throughout Utah. Mom’s Place, based in Spanish Fork, carries gluten-free mixes for breads, desserts, and meals online, and distributes to stores in-state and across the country. There are plenty more local gf companies to uncover each year at the Gluten Free World Expo in Sandy, like Grandpa’s Kitchen, Hugz Snacks, Lakanto, Clean Monday Meals, Nasty Snax, Keto Chow, Gusto Brazil and others.

Honorable mentions (restaurants that are not entirely dedicated, but have a majority gf menu): Arempas, SpudToddos and Dairy Keen. To find even more gf spots worldwide, apps like Find Me GF, Atly and Gluten Advisor come in handy. l

From one breakfast cafe to a Utah restaurant empire

What started as an East Coast-style cafe has become a 10-restaurant operation serving thousands.

By Peri Kinder peri.k@thecityjournals.com

Paul

Willey has become something of a restaurant magnate in Utah. He and his siblings are celebrating the 15th anniversary of Penny Ann’s Cafe, but he owns 10 restaurants across three brands in Salt Lake and Davis County, employing more than 300 people.

The original Penny Ann’s opened its downtown Salt Lake City cafe in 2011 and the family has added four additional locations since then. Willey is CEO; his brother Warren Willey serves as head chef; his sister Cindy Pulley is the service manager and Penny Ann (the restaurant’s namesake) is in charge of customer relations, which includes greeting guests and chatting with regulars.

Penny Ann’s started after the family migrated from Upstate New York. They wanted to bring an East Coast diner to Utah, complete with burrito-style omelets, a breakfast counter and a welcoming atmosphere.

“You just come in, have a seat whether it’s at the counter, in a booth, or at a table, and enjoy some homemade comfort food,” Willey said. “People in Utah appreciate the value.”

At WE PLAY OUTSIDE, Lauren Kirkland brings years of experience as a preschool teacher, therapeutic recreation specialist and health coach to her outdoor, in-home daycare that opened at the beginning of June.

Lauren is the owner, director and lead teacher of the program where she encourages kids to be kids a little longer, learning loudly, messily and naturally outdoors without the pressure of assessments and rigorous academic work.

Tell us about your business.

Our philosophy is in our name: We Play Outside. We focus on hands-on learning through play and nature experiences. Our daycare is screen-free, providing kids with more opportunities to connect with others and their own imagination.

Best Breakfast in Utah for 11 years in a row.

“We’re a Utah chain. We’re proud to be this Utah story, coming in as transplants and being embraced by the Utah community,” he said. “It’s kind of amazing.”

In the summer of 2019, Willey participated in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program. As part of the curriculum, he developed a growth plan for Penny Ann’s, but it got him thinking about other opportunities to branch out.

He soon became a partner in Mr. Charlie’s Chicken restaurants and in October 2022, he learned the owners of Moochie’s Cheesesteaks, Don MacDonald and Joanna Rendi, were looking to retire. They wanted to sell their business to another East Coast family. Willey was all in, calling it “a natural fit.”

“The regional manager with Moochie’s stayed on with us. He’s been with the company now for almost 15 years. That’s a testament to the culture that Joanna and Don built at Moochie’s. We wanted to keep that same culture,” Willey said.

restaurant locations: Five Penny Anne Cafes, three Moochie’s Cheesesteaks and two Mr. Charlie’s Chicken restaurants. Willey will add to those numbers when Moochie’s and Mr. Charlie’s open at the Salt Lake International Airport this fall.

“We’re always a work in progress. We’re always striving to improve. I always take reviews personally,” he said. “I always scour our Google reviews, but I always appreciate it when guests reach out directly to give us feedback.”

Willey said although the business has grown to include new restaurants, the company’s values are the same across all brands. Service, teamwork, respect, integrity and passion are what keep him and his family serving thousands of customers each year, working to create the best service and food options for people in Utah.

Along with their flagship hot cakes, Penny Ann’s menu includes items like banana bread French toast and strawberry chocolate Dubai hot cakes. The diner has earned Best of Utah and Best of State awards, including

He’s kept most things the same, but updated some menu items, including the addition of fresh mozzarella to the roast beef or Italian deli sandwiches. He also added the Utah Philly, a local take on a classic burger that stays true to the Moochie’s brand.

The family created a management company called PAC Foods to oversee the 10

We Play Outside

Does your business solve a problem for your clients?

Yes. At some daycares, parents have to pay for their “spot” regardless of attendance. I offer a generous excused absence policy to save parents as much as possible. I also offer sibling discounts and ways to volunteer for further discounts.

Who is your ideal client?

My ideal clients are parents in the Taylorsville area who are looking for an affordable daycare option in their neighborhood. Parents of kids who learn better in fresh air, running around on the grass.

How do potential clients choose between you and a competitor?

Besides my philosophy, my location is prime. I’m located off of 6200 South and Bangerter, very near where a commercial daycare shut down about a year ago. I’m close to several elementary schools in the Granite and Jordan School Districts to make it easy to pick up/ drop off if children have older siblings.

What is your favorite service?

I love that, as a licensed family in-home center, I can have a wide range of kids. I think that younger kids learn a lot from older kids and try things they may not have thought of

if put only with kids their own age. Older kids learn empathy and compassion, and tailor their play to include younger children. Siblings are not separated into age-designated classes; they get to play together all day long.

What is your advice for someone considering doing business with you?

I am a silly goose who created a program for all the kids who learn wiggly, sillily, handson, and energetically. I sing more than I talk and mix in academic concepts rather than hounding kids with flashcards and worksheets.

What else would you like readers to know about your business?

Along with the proximity and affordable cost, we have a 1:8 child-to-caregiver ratio at my school. Snacks and meals are included, and the experience is personalized for each child.

I’m CPR certified, state-licensed and have a brain that is always focused on how to make things better. I love Taylorsville, and I am very community-focused. I want my center to serve the community, so I serve all snacks and meals, and I accept DWS payments.

Are you currently running any specials?

Yes! I am offering a back-to-school special, with $25 off the initial registration fee.

“My philosophy with managing restaurants is that it’s about the people,” Willey said. “If you take care of your core management team, they will take care of your guests. We want to make sure that we’re listening to our team and getting feedback from them on how we can improve and how we can be better. We are never resting on our laurels.”

For location and menu information, visit pennyannscafe.com, mrcharlies.com and moochiescheesesteak.com. l

WasteLess Solutions works to reduce food waste and expand access

Nonprofit rescues surplus food and reduces waste through community partnerships.

By Shaun Delliskave s.delliskave@mycityjournals.com

Asconcerns about food waste and food insecurity continue to grow nationwide, this nonprofit is working to address both issues at once. WasteLess Solutions, led by CEO Alexx Goeller, operates at the intersection of surplus recovery, community partnerships and public education, with a mission focused on reducing waste while improving access to usable food.

“At our core, WasteLess Solutions is tackling a culture of overproduction and overconsumption which leads to an enormous amount of food waste,” Goeller said. “Roughly 30-40% of the U.S. food supply is thrown away each year.”

The organization works directly with food donors—such as restaurants, grocers and event providers—to recover surplus food that would otherwise be discarded. That food is then redistributed, often within hours, to nonprofit partners and community organizations serving populations experiencing food insecurity.

“We are focusing on both ends of the issue, preventing food waste at the source through education, and redirecting surplus edible food to communities experiencing food insecurity,” Goeller said.

While the concept of food rescue may appear simple, Goeller emphasized that the day-to-day operations are complex and time-sensitive. “The biggest challenge that we face with food rescue is logistically moving large quantities of highly perishable food quickly and safely,” she said. “Timing is crucial and it requires consistent and frequent coordination between donors, volunteers and receiving agencies.”

WasteLess Solutions relies on a network of volunteers—many based in and around Murray—to carry out these rescues. Volunteers pick up food donations and transport them directly to partner organizations, often

mobile markets in the area. These markets allow individuals to select food items directly, rather than receiving pre-packaged distributions.

“When they arrive, there is a large selection of food which allows people to select exactly what they need,” Goeller said. “That program is new for us and has been extremely successful.”

WasteLess Solutions measures its impact through a combination of data and community feedback. While pounds of food rescued and people served remain important benchmarks, Goeller said the organization also evaluates partnership strength, volunteer engagement and program quality.

“Quality of programming is just as important as quantity,” she said, noting that ensuring the food is both usable and valuable to recipients is a central focus.

The organization also works to address misconceptions about rescued food. “A common misconception is that rescued food comes from the garbage or is unsafe in some way,” Goeller said. “In reality, the food is high-quality and perfectly edible.”

Beyond redistribution, WasteLess Solutions incorporates education into its mission, working with businesses and community members to reduce waste before it occurs. This includes guidance on event planning, waste reduction strategies and reporting tools that help organizations track their impact.

during narrow time windows to ensure freshness and safety.

“Reliance on volunteers does come with some unpredictability,” Goeller said. “To manage that, we maintain a large volunteer base and are working on building stronger backup systems for last-minute changes.”

Despite those challenges, she said engagement has remained strong. “Many volunteers feel a passionate connection to our mission and stick with specific routes longterm,” she said.

A key part of the organization’s approach is its partnership model. Rather than distributing food independently in all cases, WasteLess Solutions works with established

nonprofits that already serve specific populations, allowing for more targeted and appropriate distribution.

“A lot of that balance comes down to effective partnerships and relationship management,” Goeller said. “We work closely with other nonprofit organizations that already serve specific communities and understand their needs.”

She pointed to one example where a juice donation was directed to a partner serving individuals without teeth, illustrating how coordination can align food supply with specific needs.

In addition to these partnerships, the organization has begun operating its own

“We don’t just redistribute food, we are actively helping businesses and consumers reduce surplus in the first place,” Goeller said.

Looking ahead, Goeller said broader systemic changes could further support efforts like those underway in Murray. “Standardizing date labeling and strengthening food donation policies would make a significant difference,” she said, pointing to confusion around “best by” and “use by” labels as a major contributor to unnecessary waste.

While systemic change may take time, WasteLess Solutions continues to operate at the intersection of environmental sustainability and community need—working to ensure that food that might otherwise be discarded finds its way to those who can use it. l

2026 SPJ winners for the City Journals/Business Journal

(Society of Professional Journalists)

The City Journals and the Salt Lake Business Journal, sister publications under Loyal Perch Media, captured multiple awards at the prestigious state and regional excellence in journalism competitions for the Society of Professional Journalists. Below is a list of those winners.

Utah Society of Professional Journalists Awards

Travis Barton, Stacey LaMont, Cassie Goff

2026’s Public Service Award (Voters Guide)

Tom Haraldsen

2026’s Roy B. Gibson Freedom of Information Award

Peri Kinder

Writing and Reporting - Division B: Humor / lifestyle column (1st Place)

“Time to face the music”

Judges comments: “Time to face the music” is a well crafted and enjoyable read that made this judge laugh out loud while sympathizing with the writer’s music teacher, dog and husband, who have to endure her music lessons. This entry, along with others presented by her in this competition, clearly show that Peri Kinder is a talented writer.

Cassie Goff

Writing and Reporting - Division B: Best newspaper reporter (1st Place)

Cassie Goff writes to celebrate, inform and build community

“Recapping 20 years of Cottonwood Heights history”

“No more bribing the pet to go the the vet: Mobile Veterinary Options brings the vet to the pet”

“Plans for future growth within Cottonwood Heights are in the works”

“Updates from the 2025 Legislative Session”

Judges comments: “When Cassie Goff is having fun writing, her community is having fun reading. She’s a journalistic gift to her community, infusing her coverage with a bit of her own pizazz and personality without outshining or dimming her town’s sparkle. She finds the meaningful tales/details amid the seemingly mundane minutiae of daily life, whether she’s handling breadand-butter news coverage or feature stories.”

Jet Burnham

Writing and Reporting - Division B:

Continuing coverage (2nd Place)

“The issue of cellphones in schools”

“Parents call on community to create phone-free schools”

“High school students call for cellphone education”

“Read all about it! Books are making a comeback”

Giovanni Radtke

Writing and Reporting - Division B: Health and Science (2nd Place)

“University of Utah Student Media

“How the U’s Long COVID Clinic ‘Streamlines’ Patient Care”

Mimi Darley Dutton

Writing and Reporting - Division B:

Homelessness and Housing (3rd Place)

“Pros and cons of Draper’s $1 million median home price”

Shaun Delliskave

Shaun Delliskave Headlines

Design and Graphics: Headline writing (3rd Place)

“A lot to lose: Murray trades City Hall parking for development”

“Murray benches tax hike, sends in the reserves”

“From $300 dreams to $1,000 realities—barbecue ain’t for the faint of heartburn”

Salt Lake Business Journal

Design and Graphics: Best newspaper - Division B (3rd Place)

Shaun Delliskave

Writing and Reporting - Division B: Criminal justice (Honorable Mention)

“Investigators still seek clues in 1978 disappearance of pregnant Murray nurse”

Julie Slama

Writing and Reporting - Division B: Health and Science (Honorable Mention)

“Out of this world: Hillcrest High’s eco-friendly pesticide experiment reaches ISS”

Tom Haraldsen

Writing and Reporting - Division B: Sports deadline reporting (Honorable Mention)

“Major leaguers score cash for homers at South Jordan event”

Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism Awards

Becky Ginos

Education News – (3rd place)

“75 years of history — Bountiful Elementary to be replaced by new building”

Rebecca Olds

Sports News – (3rd place)

“Building a stronger future for female high school athletes in Utah”

Rebecca Olds

Feature: Short form – (3rd place)

“A fighter, a writer, an avid skier and an optimist — nothing stops Harriet”

Cassie Goff

Special Topic/Section – (3rd place) “SLC’s Tattoo Convention draws worldwide talent”

Julie Slama

Sports Feature – (1st place)

“Utah Sports Hall of Fame coach hits home run for equality”

Judge’s comment: “Excellent feature reporting that dives into the coach’s background and motivation for coaching as well as challenges she faced in her life and career. Helped round out her story and makes for a great feature.”

Peri Kinder

Personal/Humor Column – (1st place) “Life and Laughter”

Judge’s comment: “An engaging voice, humor and small things we all have encountered. As a respite from a too heavy world, Life and Laughter is the kind of break we all deserve.”

Local grad is Utah’s largest Papa Murphy’s owner

The new location is the McPhee family’s 17th in Utah and Wyoming.

By Peri Kinder

peri.k@thecityjournals.com

From an 18-year-old prep worker to the largest owner of Papa Murphy’s locations in Utah, Herriman resident Kyle McPhee’s entire life has been shaped by the popular pizza chain. It’s where he met his wife, and where all five of their children have worked at one time or another.

In July, McPhee opened his 15th Papa Murphy’s Utah location in Eagle Mountain, but this time with a business partner, his 20-year-old son, Aydon. “He’s a mini-me, so we get along really well,” McPhee said.

Along with the 15 Utah locations, the West Jordan High grad also owns two Papa Murphy’s shops in Wyoming. His 25-year journey with the company has made him the eighth-largest brand owner in the country. He manages 140 employees, mostly teens working their first jobs, with a low turnover rate.

“I just manage the way I would want to be treated,” he said. “I’ve had jobs in the past and hated my bosses. I decided to manage the way I would want my boss to be. Most of my employees stay with me for three or four years until they go away to college.”

McPhee has faced many challenges over the years, including the COVID months when his high school employees at the Heber location were quarantined for two weeks. But employees’ families stepped up to cover shifts and eventually things went back to normal.

He said that’s an example of what happens when a business integrates into a community: there’s an ownership and dedication to helping the business succeed. It’s important to McPhee to have Papa Murphy’s involved with community organizations.

“We do a lot of fundraisers with elementary schools, doing spirit nights, and a couple of our stores provide pizzas for charter schools in the area. We do the Oakley Rodeo every year,” he said. “We’re trying to support our actual employees, so if they’re involved in sports or cheerleading, we generally contribute to their fundraisers as well.”

McPhee feels a responsibility to his employees. For many of them, it’s their first job, and while he knows a starting position with Papa Murphy’s might not be a career path, he wants to set an example of a boss they should look for and be in the future.

Now, a second generation of employees is walking through his doors as the kids of former workers are asking to be hired. McPhee enjoys engaging with teenagers, often working alongside them during the day.

“I always joke that they keep me young, because I try to keep up with them,” he said. “I have teenagers myself, so it’s easy for me to get along with them. It’s a lot of fun to work with them.”

Aydon McPhee is excited for the Eagle Mountain location opening, ready to bring his experience into a new chapter while building something special and shaping a future he can be proud of.

His dad told him to never limit his goals, to aim much higher than the original target. Aydon McPhee said even if he falls short of that higher goal, the results will still surpass original expectations.

“It’s such a motivating mindset, and it’s really stuck with me,” he said. “Over the next five years, my goal is to become the best at ownership and really master that side of things…I want to be a familiar face, helping out around town, contributing at City Hall and really supporting growth. That way, as I help the community, the community can thrive and grow stronger together.” l

Larkin Mortuary’s dedication to the Utah community is deeply rooted in its history and family values. For over 140 years, spanning seven generations, the Larkin family has proudly served Utah families in their time of need. This commitment extends beyond providing funeral services; Larkin Mortuary actively engages with the community by hosting events and giving back through various service initiatives such as the annual Memorial Day Program, golf tournament, Trunk or Treat and Live Nativity.

LOCAL FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED

Taking Care of your Family’s Needs every step of the way

The Granite School District Board of Education has Adopted a Proposed 2026/2027 Budget

Granite did NOT raise taxes last fiscal year. The proposed rate increase was not approved by the State. If you saw an increase in your taxes related to Granite, it was likely due to changes in your property’s value.

The proposed budget for next fiscal year includes a tax increase intended to address decreases in state revenue and new unfunded mandates.

In the last two years, Granite has cut over $7 million in operational costs and shifted more funding towards the classroom and school level.

Special Education Impact Aid - HB2 (2025)

Prevention Funding

The intent of this tax increase is to reduce class sizes and maintain comparable levels of service due to funding cuts at the legislative level Total Legislative Cuts: $12,100,903

Granite’s 2026–27 budget priorities include:

Reduced K-2 class sizes.

Funding to address new state requirements for special education, preschool, and English language learners

Instructional support for teachers. graniteschools.org/budgetdevelopment/ customerservice@graniteschools.org

Granite Board of Education:

Companies Championing Women artist discovers strength in expression

Katrina Berg uses bright, happy colors to bring light when life gets hard.

By Becky Ginos becky.g@thecityjournals.com

F or Katrina Berg, her art means much more than what is on the canvas. It’s the meaning behind it that truly feeds her soul.

“I started painting just on my own and found so much healing from childhood sexual abuse,” said Berg. “It really started to help me be my best self.”

Berg never went to art school — in fact, her path was in architecture. “I grew up in Southern California and I always liked drawing, but my house was a very clean house and art is messy,” she said. “I’m just assuming that’s why I ended up spending more time building with Legos.”

Because she liked building, Berg said, she was drawn to architecture. “Everyone just assumed I’d be an architect, so in high school I took a lot of architecture and drafting classes and I loved those.”

Berg graduated from BYU and in 2004 graduated from UNLV in architecture. “I felt like things were really going in the right direction,” she said. “I did study abroad in Italy and that just solidified my love of creating and art and design.”

After getting married and having her first child, Berg found she needed to paint just to start processing some of the things that had happened to her. “I was also assaulted in college,” she said. “I think when you finally become a partner with somebody in life, all these problems that you’ve been carrying around like a suitcase your whole life, they become really apparent.”

Berg said it was really important that she start working through them. “Painting and drawing was definitely that for me. It helped me heal while I was painting and creating.”

As her art collection grew, Berg said she started going to art shows along the Wasatch Front. “That’s really where my artwork started to take off because people would collect my art and they would tell me what the art did for them. That’s when I realized that the art wasn’t just for me — it was for other people.”

Berg said she still tried to express what she felt like God was telling her to share with others. “My work is really focused on bringing the outside in and helping people heal from nature and realize the beauty that has been created around them.”

Her art is made up of happy colors. “That helps sustain us when life gets hard,” she said. “For me, I needed to focus on the light. I had this book of stained glass pieces

little different for artists because it tends to be more heavy,” she said. “I paint on really smooth surfaces and the paint does shine just like a stained glass piece, and so you’ve got little pieces of candy color reflecting right back at you. It just came right from my soul.”

Berg’s work will be featured at the Companies Championing Women event Aug. 27. “What I love about their mission is supporting and creating better environments for women,” she said. “That’s something I find near and dear to my heart. I felt like women needed more support just because a lot of us, just like me, we have other things going on in our lives. Whether it’s children that are a priority or a spouse, I feel like women tend to wear so many more hats.”

They select one of her paintings and create an image of it that will be broken up into a mosaic and it becomes each of the awards for the event, said Berg. “So each of the companies that receive an award, they’ll have a little piece of that artwork and then when it’s displayed together on the wall, it’s just one big picture (image).”

and I started painting what I saw in the book and realized that I really loved the reflection of light. It kind of helps us see ourselves and the world around us.”

Berg only paints on wood. “It can be a

Berg hasn’t asked to be paid for the artwork. “It’s an honor just to participate and support them.”

For more information about Katrina Berg and her candy-colored studio art visit katrinaberg.com. l

The Pause Project helps women learn about menopause

Two Utah event planners are turning their own perimenopause struggles into The Pause Project, a oneday conference Oct. 10 to replace “suffering in silence” with expert advice and community.

By Rebecca Olds rebecca.o@thecityjournals.com

Sarah Kyle and Brooke Tolman have been friends and business partners in the events industry for a long time, so it was natural for them to talk about anything and everything — even the topics the larger community still regards as “taboo.”

“I hate to say it, but especially in Utah … we are supposed to have the perfect home … our children are perfect … there’s just this sense of like you can’t show any of your flaws,” Kyle said.

Tolman started noticing strange symptoms: brain fog that made it impossible to remember details that once came easily, restless nights where her eyes snapped open around 3 a.m. and refused to shut again — what she and Kyle now jokingly call the “3 a.m. club.” Then came the hot flashes. Worst of all was a growing sense that she simply didn’t feel like herself anymore, and her confidence began to crack.

Talking it through with Kyle, Tolman was stunned to learn she wasn’t crazy — and she wasn’t alone. Perimenopause and menopause affect most women, often starting in their 30s and lasting up to 10-12 years. Yet many say they were never told what to expect. Very little information is passed down within families, and most OB-GYN and primary care training includes only minimal menopause education — lining up with what Tolman and Kyle heard about doctors getting “15-20 minutes of training” on hormones.

“For a long time… women were supposed to hold it all together, right?” Tolman said. “The ‘suffering in silence’ is, I think, passed down from generations … you’re a woman, you just have to deal with it.” But Kyle and Tolman decided they weren’t going to “just deal with it.”

“You’re just trying to feel normal,” Tolman said. “I think that is the one sign most doctors agree with: you don’t really know what is happening to you, you just know you don’t feel like yourself, and you may not know that any of this other stuff is all related.”

On Oct. 10 at The Grand America Hotel, Tolman and Kyle are hosting The Pause Project, a one-day conference designed to give women both information and community around perimenopause and

menopause. The event will feature local women physicians and specialists from major health systems, along with Utahbased companies focused on women’s health, supplements and wellness. “We’re not the experts, so we are leaning on experts,” Kyle said. “We do events, we’re suffering from this and we know a lot of women are. So we want to bring this to the public space.”

They hope women will come with friends, adult daughters or sisters, take

advantage of group pricing and, most importantly, bring their questions. Instead of 15 rushed minutes in an exam room, attendees will have a full day to hear from specialists, compare experiences with other women and leave knowing they’re not the only ones awake at 3 a.m. wondering what’s happening to their bodies. l

SLCC’s food community cooks, serves and educates

Culinary Arts education has been specifically curated by prestigious chefs, not only for future bakers, but for community members looking to heat up their skills.

By Cassie Goff c.goff@mycityjournals.com

“The Culinary Arts Program is truly a hidden gem,” said Basil Chelemes, Professor and Interim Dean of SLCC’s program.

This is where people from around Salt Lake Valley come to learn about all-things food. Typically designed as a two-year program, students learn food industry essentials; everything from food preparation, cost-control, and hospitality service principles to cooking meat and the chemistry behind making a great bread loaf.

“Our greatest focus is to train students to be prepared to enter the workforce as competent employees while learning how to serve their guests with exemplary levels of hospitality,” said chef Jeffrey Coker, who is the Associate Dean.

SLCC’s Culinary Arts Program offers two dedicated programs which culminate in the Associate of Applied Science degree: Culinary (savory) and Baking (patisserie).

“And the best part, they never go hungry,” Coker said. “There is plenty of prepared food for them to take home and share with their families.”

Chelemes and Coker have watched a number of alumni continue on to open bakeries, food trucks and restaurants. For example, Evan Shannon has recently stepped into his new role as sous chef at the Twisted Fern in Park City.

“The most relevant lesson I’ve learned through the program…is solutions,” Shannon said. “If something goes wrong, or if a recipe isn’t working, find a solution and make it work.”

On the flip side, many students audit courses in the program to begin making a change in their career, advance their certifications, broaden their horizons, or to simply brush up on their skills.

“We have an 81-year-old student in the program,” Chelemes said. “She likes coming to keep active and loves taking the different classes. She loves to be with people and cook.”

Seeing so many students come to the Culinary Arts Program to brush up on and further develop their home cooking skills, Coker, Chelemes, and their fellow faculty decided to develop a course specifically designed for nondegree-seeking students.

“When I say they party with food each week, I mean it. They have a great time with the chef and take away some incredible recipes and techniques to incorporate at home,” Coker said.

Students of the program learn from and work alongside highly trained faculty who have worked as professional and executive chefs. Chelemes has been teaching and working

“Our program not only serves degree-seeking students intending to make a career in the hospitality and food service industries, but also consumers who may be interested in taking one or two classes,” chef Jeffrey Coker said. (Photo courtesy Tori Hunter, SLCC Administrative Assistant)

within the food industry for 36 years. Coker himself used to work as the chef of a prestigious county club in Southern California before moving to Utah nearly 10 years ago.

“I learned so much from chef Keri Karabats,” said alumni Jessie Smith, now Pastry Chef Tournant at St. Regis Resort (Deer

Valley). “I have a lot of recipes from her... Every once in a while, when I get a craving for sourdough bread, I get to pull out my sourdough starter… while remembering the amazing memories I have from that class.”

Coker has been emphasizing getting their program on the radar of local high

school students.

“We invite the high schools, as well as the family and friends of the students in the course, to the capstone Catering Management course,” he said. “Every week brings a custom theme and menu concept crafted by each student.”

Coker encourages anyone interested in the program to schedule a time to meet to discuss goals, meet some of the faculty and current students, and take a tour of the building.

“It simply begins with a phone call, text message, or email to learn about the program,” he said.

SLCC’s Culinary Arts Program is taught at the Miller Campus in Sandy (9750 S. 300 West). Their social media can be found on Instagram @SLCC Culinary Institute and Facebook @Jeffrey Coker (slcc culinary institute).

To learn more about the program, visit their SLCC’s Culinary Arts websites at either: www.slcc.edu/culinaryarts or www.slcc.edu/ hospitality-management.

Shannon’s favorite dish “would have to be gochujang pork buns. Gochujang marinated pork with a sweet and savory gochujang garlic aioli.”

Chelemes’ restaurant recommendations include Oquirrh, Manoli’s Greek Small Plates and Per Noi Trattoria. Coker’s recommendations include The Blind Rabbit, Takahashi, Brabo Pizza, the Hearth & Hill restaurants and Itto Sushi. l

Not long ago, I sat near a family at a local restaurant and noticed something that has stuck with me. Four people shared one table, but nobody shared a word. Every face was lit by a phone. I don’t share this to judge them — I suspect every one of us has been that family at some point. Between work, school, practices, and the constant hum of notifications, it’s entirely possible to spend a whole evening in the same room with the people we love and never actually connect with them.

As a member of the Salt Lake County Council, I spend a lot of time thinking about what makes our communities strong — safe neighborhoods, good parks, responsible

budgets. But the truth is that the strength of Salt Lake County doesn’t begin in a council chamber. It begins in living rooms, around dinner tables, and in the front seats of cars

driving home from school.

And right now, our kids need that strength more than ever. Young people across our county and state are reporting rising levels of anxiety, loneliness, and depression. Parents feel the weight of it, too. Many are working hard just to keep up, quietly wondering whether they’re doing enough for their children.

Here’s the encouraging part: what children need most isn’t complicated, and it isn’t expensive. It doesn’t require a perfect home or a perfect parent. It requires presence.

Strong families aren’t built in grand gestures. They’re built in small, ordinary moments — a real conversation on the drive home, a teenager flopping onto the couch to unload about their day, a dinner where the phones stay in another room long enough for everyone to laugh or vent or tell a story. Individually, these moments seem almost too small to matter. Stacked together over years, they become the foundation a child stands on.

The research backs this up in striking ways. Utah youth who share at least one meal a week with their family are 45% less likely to feel depressed, 70% less likely to vape, and 54% less likely to consider suicide. Read those numbers again. No county program, however well designed, can compete with the protective power of a family that regularly sits down and eats together. And the effect compounds — the more meals shared

each week, the more protection our kids carry with them. Data shows kids do better in school and they engage in less risky behaviors. Family dinners, with phones put away, have so much power.

If there’s one practical step I’d encourage every household in Salt Lake County to try, it’s carving out screen-free time together. Technology brings real benefits, but it also competes for our attention in ways we don’t always notice. When every meal, car ride, and quiet evening is interrupted by a device, the openings for conversation slowly close.

Connection rarely arrives on schedule. When my own kids were teenagers, their moment to open up was almost always late at night, just as I was ready to collapse into bed. They’d knock on the door and settle at the foot of the bed to talk. I was exhausted — but I learned that those unplanned moments were the ones that mattered most. Our job as parents and grandparents is simply to be available when they come.

Families looking for practical ideas can find free resources at strongfamilies.utah. gov. But honestly, you don’t need a website to start. Tonight, put the phones in a drawer, sit down together, and ask a real question. Then listen. Kids don’t need us to be perfect. They need us to be present. In Salt Lake County, that may be the best investment any of us can make.

The Magic Starts When the Kids Stay Home

Every couple should take a child-free Disneyland vacation. Without kids, you can focus on what really matters: blaming each other for choosing the wrong line. You can also notice how many adults willingly wear matching T-shirts and mouse ears.

When my husband and I celebrated his birthday at the Happiest Place on Earth, it was chaotic, exhilarating and crowded, but at least it was expensive.

Our plan was to hit both Disney parks in one day. We had a detailed itinerary, a portable phone charger and high expectations that lasted until we got to the parking lot. It was our first hour-long wait, but not the last. Luckily, we didn’t have kids whining in the backseat. That was my department.

Once we got into Disneyland, we used the park’s app to jump into the first line with a less-than-45-minute wait. It was the Jungle Cruise, where the jokes are as old as Disney itself.

Tom talks to anyone, so as we snaked through the line, he’d connect with people based on their ballcaps.

“Hey, you’re a Dodgers fan!” he’d say.

“Yep.”

“That’s great. We’re Giants fans, but we love Ohtani.”

The Dodgers fan would nod and we’d wind through the maze until we met up with

Peri Kinder Life and Laughter

him again for another short, baseball-themed conversation. By the fifth pass, Tom had exhausted every baseball topic he knew and the stranger pretended he didn’t see us.

Avoiding eye contact is my starting point, so it didn’t affect me, but my extroverted husband spent an inordinate amount of time trying to understand why his new best friend was ghosting him.

“We met him 40 minutes ago,” I reminded him.

“Was it something I said?” he asked.

“Probably.”

Being without kids, we didn’t have to set foot in Fantasyland, which is basically a 10-acre stroller park filled with exhausted parents and overstimulated toddlers begging for $45 Cinderella bubble wands.

Instead, we got drenched on Tiana’s Bayou (which will always be Splash Mountain) and endured a 75-minute wait at Guardians of the Galaxy, along with 15,000 high school graduates. Apparently,

teenagers like to celebrate graduation by standing in long lines.

After paying an extra $30 for the Star Wars Experience, we headed to the Incredicoaster at California Adventure. Looking around, we realized we were the oldest people in line, right before we were shot into the sky and bounced around like a tennis shoe in the washing machine.

We couldn’t ride Space Mountain, which closed every 20 minutes (I’m assuming to hose down the seats), but we survived other high-speed rides without severe whiplash or needing EMS assistance.

We agreed there were too many kids roaming the area. Maybe Disneyland could create an adults-only park featuring Mickey’s Pub Crawl where you can pay $20 to get into a bar fight with Pluto.

Donald Duck’s Anger Management Arena or Minnie’s Marriage Counseling could hit the spot after spending the day with your significant other arguing about whether the Disneyland Railroad is worth the time. It’s not.

Disneyland is built on storytelling, which I love, but after hours in line, no one cares why the mansion is haunted, no one cares who stole the treasure. No one is paying attention to the elaborate backstory. We just want to ride, scream for 90 seconds and move on.

I suggest you never take your kids to Disneyland. For one thing, it’s cheaper. For another, you don’t have to negotiate with the child who wants a smoked turkey leg while everyone else wants pizza.

Child-free Disneyland allows you to hold hands with your partner as you zip, tumble and catapult through the air. That’s the real magic.

Peri Kinder is an award-winning columnist and journalist who has written for The City Journals since 2004. She also hosts the Life & Laughter podcast. Peri can be reached at peri.k@thecityjournals.com.

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