Honored Midway Citizens

The Midway Boosters are proud to honor Steve and Launa Nielson as the 2025 Midway Citizens of the Year, recognizing their lifelong dedication to service and community. Their story began in an unlikely place—the back of an ambulance. Steve, who served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ecuador, and Launa, who served in South Korea, both returned home to attend BYU. While there, they volunteered with Wasatch County’s EMS/Rescue team. Between ambulance calls, they dated and soon married.

Raised in homes where giving back was simply the way of life—Steve, the son of Richard and Marilynn Nielson, and Launa, daughter of Barbara and Lee Murdock—assumed that’s what everyone did, and they followed the service-minded examples of their parents.

Over the past four decades, Steve and Launa have been active in Midway life. Both have served 40 years with the Scouts and Cub Scouts and Launa earned a Silver Beaver award.  Steve spent over 20 years as a scoutmaster, enduring many freezing nights at Klondike Derbies with his troop. Together, they have supported Swiss Days annually for decades and served on the Midway Boosters Committee three times, helping with events such as the Swiss Children’s Chorus, the William Tell play, Swiss Christmas, the Creche, and even decorating Midway’s Main Street for the holidays.

Steve has overseen the 4th of July fireworks on top of Memorial Hill for 40 years with a loyal volunteer crew. He is also in charge of the fireworks for the Midway tree lighting. The Nielsons also spent 30 years volunteering with Wasatch County’s EMS/Rescue, helping elevate the program from basic to one of the most highly trained in rural Utah. They taught EMT, CPR, and first aid in schools and to the community, and for 25 years they volunteered to run the first-aid booth at Swiss Days. Both were members of the Mt. Timpanogos Emergency Rescue Team. Launa served on the Utah State Pediatric Strike Team and with the EMS for Children program and helped establish and teach the Wasatch County Citizens Emergency Response Team.

During the 2002 Winter Olympics, Launa served as the EMS Venue Commander at Soldier Hollow while Steve worked as a Physician Assistant in the medical unit. Launa also founded and coached Wasatch County’s first swim team and has volunteered for years in educational and civic activities—from PTA safety fairs and county fair exhibits to sewing costumes for high school musicals and judging student debate tournaments.

Steve, a Physician Assistant at Utah Valley Hospital’s ER, grew up working at Nielson’s Midway Market, which his father owned. Launa runs Timpanogos Flower Farm in Midway. She is a member of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers and now serves as director of the Heber City DUP Museum. She and their children also volunteered with Utah’s Raptor Inventory Nest Survey, monitoring local bird of prey populations for conservation purposes.

The Nielsons have five children—Jaron, Cole, Parker, Savannah, and Ryan—and now delight in spoiling two granddaughters. They’ve also welcomed three loved in-laws: Raquel, Houston, and Minori.

Suffice it to say service has enriched their lives with mentors, friendships, and unforgettable experiences. These wonderful people taught them the reason Midway is such a wonderful place is because the citizens work and serve together.  The Midway Boosters applaud the dedication of the Nielsons who have worked to make their community a better place to live.