The Aberdeen Downtown Association has a new executive director.
Alexa Sheldon, who took over on Monday, is from Gettysburg and recently moved to Aberdeen.
“Growing up, I spent many weekends here,” Sheldon said in a Downtown Association press release. “I have always championed and believed in the growth and potential of Aberdeen City Centre. I have felt great pride watching the efforts of local businesses and entrepreneurs flourish and reshape the heart of this community, even from afar while I lived and worked in Minneapolis.”
Sheldon has a background in business development, marketing and public relations.
Local youth are finalists in the BIG Idea competition
Area high school students were selected as finalists for this year’s BIG Idea competition on Wednesday at Northern State University. This year’s finalists include eight from South Dakota and eight out-of-state finalists who will be presenting virtually.
Six of the finalists are from the region. They understand:
- From Warner High School, Kamryn and Kendyl Anderson and Kiah Koch present their business idea, Countryside Living. This trio also won this year’s wellness category.
- From Groton High School, Cole Bisbee and his Punch Out business idea. Bisbee is also a winner in the Agricultural Innovation category.
- From Webster High School, Chayse Shoemaker and his Native Cleaners business idea.
- From Aberdeen Roncalli High School, Garrett Crawford and his business idea Sleek Steel Buildings, LLC.
- From Doland High School, Noah Felderman and his business idea Feldy’s Ice Cream.
- From Leola High School, Alyx Hoffman, pitching the business idea for 2 Doors.
The Hometown Business category winner is Blaize Larson of Webster High School with the business idea for success staging and design. The marketing design winner is Beau Price from Aberdeen Roncalli, with his business idea for Freeze Dried Fun.
this and that
- Allevity in Aberdeen added four new games, King Kong of Skull Island, a virtual reality game; Ax Master, an ax throwing arcade game, Crazy Tower and Hot Wheels King of the Road. A fifth new game, Break the Plate, an arcade game where the player tries to smash plates to win prizes, is also slated for mid-to-late December.
- A group of South Dakota lawyers have been appointed by the South Dakota Supreme Court to a committee to study the bar admissions process. Aberdeen’s lawyer, Jack Hieb, is part of this committee.
- For the second year in a row, Ryan Perrion competed in the World Ax Throwing Championship, which took place December 1-4 in Appleton, Wisconsin at the Fox Cities Exhibition Center.
- Avera Urgent Care Aberdeen has been renamed Avera After Hours Clinic and will be open Fridays from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.; 5-7 p.m. Monday to Thursday; and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Patients will be scheduled on a first come, first served basis. These visits should be for simple sick visits when primary care physicians are unavailable and for non-life threatening issues. Primary care providers at Avera Medical Group Aberdeen Family Physicians will continue to see patients throughout the week, but will close at noon Friday beginning January 6.
- Northern State University received a $100,000 grant from the South Dakota Community Foundation’s Knight Foundation Aberdeen Fund to help launch its Startup Center, which will support local entrepreneurship and innovation.
- Northern State University School of Business faculty members Kristi Bockorny and Theresa Giannavola won the Best Paper award at the Academy of Business Resesarch conference. Their article was entitled “Gratitude, psychological capital, intention to stay and satisfaction with life: towards a conceptual model”. The premise of the article is that gratitude will positively impact an employee’s intention to stay and life satisfaction.
- Keun Lee, professor of economics at Northern State University, will publish a scholarly book and an article in a peer-reviewed journal. The book, titled “Economics of Keynes: Common Sense in Theory”, will be published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing LTD. His article, “Inflation Targeting Monetary Policy and Stock Prices” will appear in the Journal of Business and Economics Policy. Flight. 9, no. 4.
- The fall/winter open gym season ended on Thursday. The winter/spring season starts on January 12. For more information, contact the Aberdeen Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department at 605-626-7015.