Originally published in Utah Business.   Every summer brings a boatload of economic news and events—oil prices, the summer job outlook, hurricane season, national park visits and so the list goes. This summer Utahns will also notice an abundance of media attention on the Beehive State as two prominent presidential candidates with Utah ties begin…

Originally published in Utah Business. Some time ago I was taught the golden rule about rural Utah. It went something like this: “Once you’ve seen one rural community, you’ve seen one rural community.” The statement speaks to the uniqueness of Utah’s cities and towns and their separate challenges—large and small, rich and poor, accessible and…