It was a celebratory day in the East Hills on Friday morning. Complaints about water damage and collapsing roofs are starting to turn into renovated homes.

Rising Tide Partners has turned some of the abandoned properties into rentals, but on Friday, it cut the ribbon on the first for-sale home with the community.

Dr. Patricia Saunders-Madison, the vice president of the HOA involved, heard the complaints from people in this neighborhood over the years.

“It was a good house in the middle – and two abandoned on each end – so a lot of the water coming through the roof was coming into their homes,” Saunders-Madison said.

In came Rising Tide Partners, and Kendall Pelling, its executive director.

“They needed that real estate capacity. They needed somebody who would come and take risks with them,” he said.

The first of those for-sale homes was revealed Friday. The house includes a renovated kitchen, a bathroom and even a deck. 

“I’m happy that we’re here today,” Dr. Saunders-Madison said.

Pelling says 84 of the 167 properties in this HOA are abandoned.

“Now we control them and the community controls their destiny instead of an absentee investor controlling their destiny,” he said.

Rising Tide has turned some of these into rentals. He says they want to get them all to good owners and keep them at a low cost.

“A homebuyer can have a monthly mortgage payment of $650 to $700 a month,” Pelling said.

Part of the next steps include making lot improvements, like to sidewalks and the parking area. Pelling said those projects will be up for bidding this summer.

The hope is for the home that was renovated for sale to be available by the end of the summer as well.

Pelling also said that Rising Tide applied for a low-income housing tax credit from the state for funding to allow for continued renovations and help.

Dr. Saunders-Madison remembers how this place used to be. She also knows that the work is not over, but she and others are pleased with what’s become of it.

“We’re not there yet. We’re not there yet – but it’s coming, it’s coming along,” she said.

CHICAGO — Utah Valley men’s soccer signee Lewis Knecht was named the Utah Boys Soccer Gatorade Player of the Year, the organization announced in a press release on Thursday.

The award, which honors the top high school athletes for their successes on the field, in the classroom, and in the community, adds to the long list of honors Knecht has received in his high school career. Earlier this week, Knecht was also named the UHSAA Male Athlete of the Year — the top athlete in the state regardless of sport — and Utah’s Mr. Soccer for the second year in a row.

Knecht becomes the sixth Wolverine to be named Utah Gatorade Player of the Year, joining Lucas Cawley, Thomas Loomis, Aidan Dayton, Carter Johnson, and Trevor Walk.

Knecht, a member of the 2025 signing class that will be joining the Wolverines this fall, led American Fork HS to its second straight state championship last month, the team’s fourth in school history.

Knecht built upon a stellar junior campaign — during which he also won the Mr. Soccer award by scoring 20 goals and assisting on 17 more — by scoring 24 goals and adding 12 assists as a senior in 2025. 

Knecht and the Wolverines will play the inaugural season at UCCU Stadium this fall.

Coach Mike Deegan was thrilled so many alums attended the NCAA regional and super regional wins that sent the Big Red to their first Division III College World Series.

“This was a program victory,” said Deegan, who has guided the Big Red to seven consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. “This is part of being really good for a long time, and a lot of guys got to share in the moment.”

The Big Red, who won one game in the double-elimination World Series, finished the season with a 41-7 record. They broke a school record with 20 consecutive victories.

Deegan lauded the work of a deep pitching staff led by senior Nick Falter, a who went 12-0 with a 2.52 earned run average. Falter was named second-team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association and D3baseball.com.

Junior Erik Sundgren, an ABCA first-team All-American, paced the offense with a team-high 17 home runs and 81 runs batted in. Senior Eric Colaco was an ABCA third teamer and sophomore Sam Larson was a D3baseball.com third-team selection.