It’s for Every Body: Local business owner goes from the barn to the big time

utahvalley360.com Like any good mother, Becky Lunceford wanted her daughters to work. Since they lived on a large farm in Utah County, there was no shortage of work to be done. “One day I saw my 12-year-old daughter out driving a tractor and I almost had a heart attack,” Becky says with a laugh. Rather […]

I-15 Warriors: More than 10,000 Utah County residents hit the freeway each morning heading to their Salt Lake employment. With high gas prices and crowded freeways, what drives these Utahns to face the 40-mile commute?

Jeanette Bennett, utahvalley360.com Don Mills gets up at 5:30 every morning to take a carpool to Salt Lake City, where he works in the curriculum department for the LDS Church. Sometimes the commute is as short as 40 minutes, and sometimes traffic stretches the 40 miles out to more than an hour and a half. […]

Santaquin has a Homegrown Fruitful Family

It’s almost like the Thanksgiving Point of southern Utah County. While it may not have fine dining or a zoo, Santaquin’s South Ridge Farms owned by the Rowley family does have hayrides, farm markets and beautiful scenery — not to mention a golf course … of sorts. The eight Rowley sons created a tee box, […]

Four Keys to Success: Utilize Skill and Passion to Start a Small Business in Utah County

Utah County has a well-deserved reputation for the incubation of small businesses. Despite tax rates that are marginally higher than most states west of the Mississippi, Utah — and especially Utah County — enjoys a very high level of education, a healthy lifestyle and a heritage of resourcefulness and independence, all things that make fertile […]

Fourth Fastest

The Provo-Orem area is the fourth fastest-growing economy among U.S. metropolitan areas, with a 144.1 percent increase in “gross metropolitan product,” or the value of goods and services produced there, from 1990 to 2000. The Salt Lake-Ogden area is the 19th fastest-growing U.S. metro area. The new study, presented at the U.S. Conference of Mayors, […]

Tucanos Top Ten

Dylan Todd, a senior at Utah Valley State College, was appointed president of the American Student Association of Community Colleges, a national organization focusing on college student governments and political issues facing higher education. Easing into the position has been smooth sailing for Todd so far, as he feverishly puts into action his initial goals […]

A Good Read: Anita Stansfield Illustrates ‘Real Life’ in Her Books

staff, utahvalley360.com Alpine’s Anita Stansfield has pictures of Kevin Costner cut out in her office. She also has magazine clippings of sexy models, ordinary-looking people and troubled actors. “One risk prolific authors have is letting their characters all be the same, book after book,” Anita says. “But because I use photographs that represent each character while […]

Largest Employers

staff, utahvalley360.com BYU:  15,500 Alpine School District: 6,213 UVSC: 3,165 IHC Health Care Services: 2,500 Nebo School District: 2,371 Novell: 2,000 Convergys: 2,000 Geneva Steel: 1,800 Nu Skin Enterprises: 1,740 Nestle USA – Food Group: 1,600 Source: Utah Valley Economic Development Association

Hare Krishnas Host Llama Fest

By Kristina Whitley Each July for the past six years, the small community of Hare Krishnas who have made Utah Valley their home host a festival in Spanish Fork in celebration of a rather unexpected animal: the llama. “Llama Fest is meant to be interesting for everybody,” says Chris Warden, a Hare Krishna who co-founded […]

Disturbing the ‘Sleeping Maiden’

“Child of the earthquake, featured by time,
King of the Wasatch, majestic, sublime,
Chieftain of Nature calling to art,
Boundless the raptures thy glories impart.”
Former BYU President George H. Brimhall on Mt. Timpanogos

Sacred Stained Glass

Jeanette Bennett, utahvalley360.com Photos by Willie Holdman Highland artist Tom Holdman took his number out of the phone book. “I was just getting too much business,” he says. Not a bad problem to have for a business that’s only about a decade old. But Glass Elegance has some big clients:  The Church of Jesus Christ […]

Tucanos Top Ten

staff, utahvalley360.com Julee C. Kowallis, of Provo, has been selected as a member of the Kindermusik International Maestro Program for the second year in a row. The Maestro Program recognizes the top 125 Kindermusik programs in the United States. Julee teaches music to 175 students aging from birth to 7 years old each week. (www.km-ajoyfulnoise.com). […]

View from WWII

staff, utahvalley360.com With the United States facing a new war, Covenant Communication’s  release of “Saints at War” couldn’t have better timing. Two BYU professors have compiled experiences of hundreds of World War II veterans, and the stories offer faith, hope and insight into community members and leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day […]

In memory of Brett Crandall

staff, utahvalley360.com Brett Crandall, friend and photographer for Utah Valley Magazine, was killed in a car accident Jan. 20, 2001. He died returning from Park City after photographing pre-Olympic events and the Sundance Film Festival. Up to his death Brett continued to refine his techniques to produce some of the finest art in his field. […]

Earning Our Daily Bread

Matt Bennett, utahvalley360.com Utah — and Utah County in particular — often ranks as one of the best places to live in the country. But it might not be the best place to work, lucratively speaking. Utah’s wages are about 85 percent of the national average wage, according to the Utah Department of Workforce Services. […]

Donny Osmond: Provo’s Famous Family Man

  A few years ago, Donny Osmond was mowing the lawn at his Provo Riverbottoms home when one of the neighbor kids yelled over to him. “Uncle Donny!” Much to his delight, Donny says many neighbor kids call him that. “I saw ‘Mulan’ last night, and I really liked your song in it,” the neighbor […]

Scaling Provo’s Skyline

Ed Carter, utahvalley360.com They may not compare in actual height to skyscrapers in larger metropolitan areas, but Utah County’s tall buildings hold a singular quality that propels them above much taller buildings elsewhere. What makes Utah County’s tall buildings so attractive is not their height but their reflection of the area’s people, culture and future. […]

The REAL Santa: You Better Watch Out, Santa Claus is Coming to Provo TOWNE Center

Jeanette Bennett, utahvalley360.com After undergoing chemotherapy treatments last holiday season, a woman spent two hours watching from the second floor of the Provo Towne Centre as Santa hugged children, smiled for pictures and answered questions in only the way this Santa can. As Christmas Day neared, she came back and waited in line for an […]

Warren Miller Mom

Matt Bennett, utahvalley360.com Orem’s Suzanne Sawyer Montgomery has been featured in the past seven Warren Miller Ski Films. Now she’s trading ski bibs for baby bibs, as she makes time for motherhood. Ever since she was a10-year-old in pig-tails, Orem’s Suzanne Sawyer Montgomery has enjoyed the rush that comes from winding her way down extreme […]