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3 ideas picked for $1M challenge to boost Utahns' income: Renting out extra space, a transportation app and a ‘strike force’ for coal country

Three ambitious proposals — a peer-to-peer service for storage rentals, an app to coordinate modes of public transportation, and a drive to revitalize Utah’s coal country — are the Utah nominees in a national competition for ideas to boost America’s middle class.

The nominees, chosen from 152 proposals from around the state, were announced Wednesday at the University of Utah as part of the American Dream Ideas Challenge — which will give $1 million each to the best ideas that can raise the net incomes of 10,000 middle-class households by 10 percent by 2020.

The three nominees each will receive $30,000 and two months to refine their proposals, to pitch them at the national finals, Jan.