E The Empire
A short weekly email · Tuesdays, 7 AM

The Empire: Utah County

What opened, what closed, who's hiring, what's being built, and who's growing, from Lehi to Santaquin. Read from the county's own public record. Three minutes, every Tuesday.

Free. No ads in the first issues. One click to leave, any week.

Seven things a business owner wants to know, and nothing else.

Each week the Clerk reads every city's council and planning agendas, the permits, the new business registrations, and the local papers. What matters to someone who runs a business here makes the cut. Ten to fifteen items, two sentences each, a source on every one.

Opened
Who's newShops, restaurants, clinics, services, from the businesses' own announcements and the permits.
Closing
Who's leaving or movingBefore the sign comes down.
Hiring
Who's adding peopleA company adding several roles or a new location. Not every shift posting.
Land
Building and landRezonings, site plans, big permits, land sales, from the cities' own agendas, weeks before the news.
Growing
Who's on the way upFunding, expansions, new locations, milestones.
15,914
One numberA single figure each week with where it came from. This one: residents Utah County added last year, more than any county in the state.
Events
Worth an eveningThe chamber, ribbon cuttings, markets, the workshops that are actually useful.
7:00Tue Sep 15
Issue 1 · September 15, 2026The Empire: Utah CountyWhat changed in Utah County business this week. Three minutes.
This week in ten seconds
Utah County added 15,914 residents last year, more than any county in the state
Spanish Fork is writing rules for data centers that make their own power
BYU wants to rebuild Wymount bigger, and 157 apartments are proposed near campus
In this issue: Opened 3Building and land 7One number 1Events 1
Opened
Pleasant GroveUnder Wraps opens sushi in Pleasant GroveHandrolls, sashimi and izakaya dishes. One more reason evening spending stays in the city.
Building and land
Spanish ForkSpanish Fork weighs self-powered data centersThe council reviewed rules for data centers that make their own power. It could shape industrial land demand and utility planning.
One number
One number · Utah County15,914Utah County added 15,914 residentsAbout 36% of the state's growth landed here. That keeps pressure on housing, hiring and retail demand.

This is what lands in your inbox.

Issue 1, exactly as it went out. Every item says what happened and why it matters to someone who runs a business here, and links to the page it came from.

  • Three minutes to read, on a phone, over the first coffee.
  • Nothing copied from anyone. Facts in our words, with the source.
  • Reply to any issue with a tip. A person reads it.

Read every issue →

From the record, not the rumor mill.

Agendas, permits, registrations and the businesses' own words. If it isn't on a page we can link to, it isn't in the letter.

Eighteen cities, north to south.

Lehi, Saratoga Springs, Eagle Mountain, American Fork, Highland, Alpine, Cedar Hills, Pleasant Grove, Lindon, Vineyard, Orem, Provo, Springville, Mapleton, Spanish Fork, Salem, Payson, Santaquin.

Nothing in it is paid for.

No sponsored items, no placements. If that ever changes, it will say so on the item itself.

E

Published by The Empire in American Fork. We build websites and apps for local businesses, so we already read the county's agendas and openings every week. This is the part worth sharing. Noah Jacobs writes the last word on every issue.

Next Tuesday, 7 AM.

Be the person at the table who already knew.