Latest news with #SouthDakotaStateUniversity
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
PersonalHour™ Pilates Reformers Now in Over 150 U.S. Studios, Trusted by South Dakota State University
Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PersonalHour Pilates US has reported that its Pilates reformers are now in use in more than 150 studios across the United States. The company also confirmed that South Dakota State University has added 13 of its Janet Elite 2.0 reformers to the university's fitness facility. Personal Hour Pilates Review The announcement marks two years since the company entered the U.S. market with its studio-grade Pilates equipment. According to company records, the reformers have been supplied to professional fitness environments in multiple states, with the latest installation at South Dakota State University representing the brand's first large-scale order from a state university. Adoption Across the Professional Pilates Sector Since its launch, PersonalHour™ has focused on producing equipment intended for professional studio use, as well as studio-grade home Pilates reformers and equipment. In the past 24 months, the company's reformers have been delivered to both independent studios and multi-location facilities. While the majority of the company's recent studio orders have come from private studios, its latest institutional installation signals a broader application of its equipment in structured training programs. South Dakota State University's acquisition of the Janet Elite 2.0 reformers places the brand's products in a setting where they will be used for high-frequency, instructor-led sessions. Statement from Company Leadership 'Reaching over 150 studios in such a short time reflects the interest we've seen from professionals who are looking for durable, adaptable equipment,' said Nadia Yacoub, Chief Executive Officer of PersonalHour Pilates US. 'The installation at South Dakota State University is significant in that it places our equipment in an educational environment with consistent and diverse use cases.' Product Range and Design Considerations PersonalHour™ designs and produces an extensive range of Pilates reformers, from space-saving foldable models to Cadillac-style reformers and tower-equipped units (half trapeze). Each model is built for professional-level performance, featuring adjustable components to suit diverse training styles, user preferences, and studio requirements. The Janet Elite 2.0, the model selected by South Dakota State University, is a studio-grade foldable reformer with structural reinforcement and customizable components, suitable for both home and studio use. While the company did not disclose specific purchase terms, it noted that the decision by the university followed a review process comparing equipment from multiple suppliers. Integration with Digital Training Resources Alongside its physical equipment, PersonalHour™ provides access to an online Pilates platform via a mobile application. The app includes instructor-led classes, training programs, and wellness content. Life-time access to the app is included with each reformer purchase at no additional cost, offering additional training support for both professional and personal users. Background on Market Presence The company's reported sales figures indicate over 10,000 pieces of Pilates equipment distributed in the past two years, with the majority going to U.S.-based clients. Its expansion into the institutional market is seen internally as an area of future growth, particularly in fitness centers operated by universities, community organizations, and rehabilitation facilities. Yacoub stated that product durability and adaptability have been primary drivers in the brand's adoption by professional instructors. 'Studios and institutions often require equipment that can handle multiple hours of daily use while maintaining consistent performance,' she said. Customer Profile and Usage PersonalHour™ reformers are currently used in a variety of settings, including boutique studios, larger multi-instructor facilities, and dedicated home studios. While the company designs its equipment for professional-level use, it has also seen uptake among home practitioners seeking a comparable training experience to that found in studios. The Janet Elite 2.0 reformers installed at South Dakota State University will be used in both group instruction and individual training sessions. According to university fitness program coordinators, the equipment will support existing Pilates offerings and allow for expanded programming in the future. Looking Forward Company representatives indicated that further product developments are in progress, with a focus on expanding customization options for studios and institutions. Plans include offering alternative finishes, additional accessory lines, and adjustments to frame design to accommodate emerging training methodologies. The company also intends to maintain its emphasis on balancing affordability with the requirements of professional performance. 'Our approach has always been to design equipment that serves professional needs while being financially accessible,' Yacoub said. In addition, PersonalHour™ plans to strengthen its digital and technological presence by further developing its app, expanding its content, and exploring innovations such as smart Pilates equipment and reformers. For more information, visit About PersonalHour Pilates US PersonalHour™ Pilates is a US-based Pilates equipment brand that designs and produces premium reformers and related apparatus. Founded in 2021 from a garage in Ohio, the company has grown to supply professional studios, institutions, and individual practitioners nationwide. Its diverse lineup includes foldable reformers, Cadillac-style units, and tower-equipped models, now used in over 150 Pilates studios across the country and by esteemed institutions such as South Dakota State Hour Pilates ReviewMedia Contact: Company Name: PersonalHour Pilates US Contact Person: Nadia Yacoub Email: nadia@ Phone: 380-250-8254 Country: United States Website: CONTACT: Media Contact: Company Name: PersonalHour Pilates US Contact Person: Nadia Yacoub Email: nadia@ Phone: 380-250-8254 Country: United States Website: in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Mitchell High grad Noah Larson, SDSU team impress NASA with moon rover prototype
Jul. 18—MITCHELL — Who knew that freshman year at college could be a chance to dazzle a group of NASA engineers? Noah Larson, a 2024 graduate of Mitchell High School and a freshman at South Dakota State University, was part of a team of fellow students from Brookings who secured the Best Prototype Award at the Revolutionary Aerospace Systems — Academic Linkage (RASC-AL), an annual contest sponsored by NASA and administered by the National Institute of Aerospace for undergraduate and graduate students. The competition took place in Cocoa Beach, Florida, in June. "It's a competition that NASA puts on yearly. Basically, they will give a theme for the year, or multiple themes," Larson told the Mitchell Republic in a recent interview. "And then schools across the country are welcome to submit proposals for how they'd solve that issue." The theme Larson's team chose was a small lunar rover. Dubbed NOVA for Next-gen Operations Virtual Assistant, the team had to come up with a design for a rover that would be able to do minor repairs, maintenance, and make connections to help set up lunar infrastructure for a lunar base that would be put on the moon by 2038. NASA earlier this year had announced 14 finalist teams in multiple categories. Among those teams were engineering university mainstays like Virginia Tech and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. NOVA was among two teams from SDSU at the competition, where teams had 25 minutes to explain their projects to judges and then took another 20 minutes of questions. The NOVA team, made up of seven freshmen and two juniors, set out on creating their rover late last year. "It had to be under 500 kilograms and be able to lift certain capacities for payloads on the moon," said Larson, who is studying mechanical engineering with a specialization in aerospace engineering. "There is a lot of cutting as much weight as possible while making sure it will still hold under weight." They submitted their proposal and began working on their prototype design right away. The rover prototype is one-sixth scale and equipped to perform a selected number of tasks chosen by the team, so the team chose tasks that could be readily shown off during the competition. All told the rover measured about two-feet by two-feet by two-feet. Larson said the team had focused on making functional the forklift system on the back, which was designed to handle heavier payloads, and the arm on the front to manipulate smaller objects with precision. One challenge that came with the project was implementing designs to help the rover survive working in moon regolith, essentially moon dust that gets anywhere and everywhere and can cause damage to manmade equipment. "It's basically just moon dust, but there is no atmosphere on the moon, so it doesn't degrade. So lunar regolith is basically just little saw blades," Larson said. "So anything on the moon has to be able to take care of dust before it shreds itself apart. The judges really hammered home on how you are going to protect your systems from being destroyed on the moon." Arguably the ace in the hole for the NOVA team was the fact that their prototype actually functioned, at least on a limited scale. While other teams presented models that would represent their designs, the team from SDSU brought an actual, functioning prototype for review. The novelty of seeing the rover moving around and showing off its functions appeared to be enough for the judges to give the award to the NOVA team. "It felt really good to be getting an award like that, especially because a lot of people show up with kind of a model of how their prototype is supposed to look. Some people do show up with a semi-working prototype. So it feels good to actually have something that we designed that can function and we can see work," Larson said. Traditionally, not every team even brings a prototype to the competition, but this year 13 of the 14 finalists did. Having the lone functioning prototype helped the NOVA team stand out, Larson said. With the competition over and the team now returned home, the prototype rover is set to be used as part of a master's thesis project of another SDSU mechanical engineering student. Larson, in the meantime, has returned to Mitchell to take a break from academics and to work at his summer job. Larson has aspirations of working in the aerospace industry, perhaps with military jets or in the realm of space. He has also considered working with Aerofly, a Brooking startup founded by SDSU graduate advisers. A summer job there would be a great way to get experience in the industry, he said. But for now he'll concentrate on his studies and next year's event. There was some concern that recent funding issues would mean the end of the RASC-AL competition, but Larson said he learned recently that the contest is indeed on again for next year. It won't be long before the organizers release the theme for next year's contest. When they do, Larson and his fellow budding engineers will be ready. "The theme should be released in about a month," Larson said. "So once we get that, we'll get to work again." Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Don't let fruits, veggies go bad. How to make them last
With the price of groceries a consumer concern and farmer's market season approaching, learning how to keep your produce fresher longer is ideal. South Dakota State University says that temperature, humidity and ventilation are all important factors to consider when storing produce. Not all produce is the same and requires different care. Fresh produce: Grow Erie facility produces lettuce and herbs in Savocchio Park. It also makes a statement The following produce requires different steps for proper storage environment, temperatures (all Fahrenheit) and expected storage life: Apples: Keep in a cool and humid storage environment at 30-40 degrees with a 90-95% humidity rate. This will give apples a month to a year of storage life. Asparagus: Keep in a cool and humid storage environment at 32-36 degrees with a 95-98% humidity rate. This will give asparagus two to three weeks of storage life. Bananas: Keep in a warm and humid storage environment at 56-60 degrees with 90-95% humidity rate. This will give bananas two or three weeks of storage life. Basil: Keep in a warm and humid storage environment at 56-60 degrees with a 90-95% humidity rate. This will give your basil one to two weeks of storage life. Blackberries: Keep in a cool and humid storage environment at 31-32 degrees with a 90-95% humidity rate. This will give the blackberries two to three days of storage life. Blueberries: keep in a cool and humid storage environment at 32-35 degrees with a 90-95% humidity rate. This will give the blueberries three to seven days of storage life. Cherries: Keep in a cool and humid storage environment at 30-32 degrees with a 90-95% humidity rate. This will give the cherries two to three weeks of storage life. Grapes: Keep in a cool and humid storage environment at 31-32 degrees with a 90-95% humidity rate. This will give the grapes two to four weeks of storage life. Green beans: Keep in a humid storage environment at 40-45 degrees at 95% humidity. This will give green beans eight to twelve days of storage life. Broccoli: Keep in a cool and humid storage environment at 32-36 degrees at 95-98% humidity. This will give broccoli two to three weeks of storage life. Cabbage: Keep in a cool and humid storage environment at 32-36 degrees at 95-98% humidity. This will give cabbage a month to six months of storage life. Carrots: Keep in a cool and humid storage environment at 32-36 degrees at 95-98% humidity. This will give carrots five to six months of storage life. Cauliflower: Keep in a cool and humid storage environment at 32-36 degrees at 95-98% humidity. This will give cauliflower two to three weeks of storage life. Cucumbers: Keep in a warm and humid storage environment at 50-54 degrees at 90-95% humidity. This will give cucumbers one to two weeks storage life. Eggplants: Keep in a warm and humid storage environment at 50-54 degrees with 90-95% humidity. This will give eggplants one to two weeks of storage life. Honeydew melons: Keep in a humid storage environment at 45 degrees with 95% humidity. This will give honeydew one week of storage life. Kiwi: Keep in a cool and humid storage environment at 32-35 degrees with 90-95% humidity. This will give the kiwis one to two weeks of storage life. Lettuce and other greens: Keep in a cool and humid storage environment at 32-36 degrees with 95-98% humidity. This will give the produce one to two weeks of storage life. Muskmelon/cantaloupe: Keep in a cool and humid storage environment at 32-36 degrees with 95-98% humidity. This will give melons 5 to 14 days of storage life. Onions: Keep in a cool and dry storage environment at 32-40 degrees Fahrenheit at 65% humidity. This will give onions six to nine months of storage life. Green onions: Keep in a cool and humid storage environment at 32-36 degrees with 95-98% humidity. This will give green onions three to four weeks of storage life. Oranges: Keep in a humid storage environment at 40-45 degrees with 90-95% humidity rate. This will give the oranges two to four weeks of storage life. Peas: Keep in a cool and humid storage environment at 32-36 degrees with 95-98% humidity. This will give peas one to two weeks of storage life. Peaches: Keep in a cool and humid storage environment at 31-32 degrees at a 90-95% humidity rate. This will give the peaches two to five weeks of storage life. Pears: Keep in a cool and humid storage environment at 29-31 degrees with 90-95% humidity rate. This will give the pears two to seven months of storage life. Peppers: Keep in a humid storage environment at 45 degrees with 95% humidity. This will give peppers two to three weeks of storage life. Plums: Keep in a cool and humid storage environment at 31-32 degrees with 90-95% humidity rate. This will give the plums one to two weeks of storage life. Potatoes: Keep in a humid storage environment at 45 degrees with 95% humidity. This will give potatoes two to nine months of storage life. Raspberries: Keep at a cool storage environment at 31-32 degrees with 90-95% humidity. This will give the raspberries two to three days of storage life. Strawberries: Keep at a cool storage environment at 32 degrees with 90-95% humidity. This will give the strawberries three to seven days of storage life. Summer squash: Keep in a humid storage environment at 55-60 degrees with 95% humidity. This will give squash one to two weeks of storage life. Winter squash: Keep in a warm and dry storage environment at 55-60 degrees with 65% humidity. This will give squash two to three months of storage life. Sweet corn: Keep in a cool and humid storage environment at 32-36 degrees at 95-98% humidity. This will give corn four to seven days of storage life. Sweet potatoes: Keep in a warm and humid storage environment at 50-60 degrees at 90-95% humidity. This will give the potatoes six to nine months of storage life. Tomatoes: Keep in a warm and humid storage environment at 50-60 degrees at 90-95% humidity. This will give tomatoes two to 14 days of storage life. Watermelon: Keep in a warm and humid storage environment at 50-60 degrees at 90-95% humidity. This will give watermelon two to three weeks of storage life. More: Single-use plastic bags, banned from Erie Giant Eagle stores 3 years ago, have returned Contact Nicholas Sorensen at Nsorensen@ This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Best storage and care tips for in-season fruits, vegetables
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SDSU prepares for federal education cutbacks
BROOKINGS, SD (KELO) — The president of South Dakota State University has concerns over the so-called 'Big Beautiful Bill' passed early Thursday morning in the U.S. House. The bill's provisions include an overhaul of student aid, which critics say will drive up costs for students. Governor Rhoden and Attorney General Marty Jackley tour the southern border The bill's passage comes just one day after university presidents met with the South Dakota Board of Regents to discuss how proposed cutbacks within the U.S. Department of Education will impact their schools. Administrators at South Dakota State University have already been tightening their belts in anticipation of fewer federal dollars flowing into the school. 'We hadn't put things in a freezer, but that we had them in a cooler. So we're trying to slow spending for travel and for purchasing equipment,' SDSU President Barry Dunn said. SDSU President Barry Dunn says the Reconciliation Bill passed in the House will mean fewer research grants for the school, a trend that's already being felt on campus. 'Research activities here at SDSU have slowed down, research activities all across the nation, in human health and agriculture for example, have slowed dramatically and that's concerning,' Dunn said. Dunn says the bill will also make it harder for students to access tuition grants and loans. 'The proposed cuts are very dramatic, cutting programs like work-study, the TRiO program, cutting completely out some loans, some federal loans,' Dunn said. A federal judge has dealt the Trump Administration a blow by pausing efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and ordering laid-off workers back on the job. 'I think the orders that the president has made through executive orders have certainly been provocative and opened up the discussion, but I think the judges have stepped in have probably helped us all by slowing things down,' Dunn said. Dunn says fall enrollment at SDSU is looking good. But he anticipates federal cutbacks in education could lead to uncertainty for students and programs starting next year. Dunn says the school is asking the SDSU Foundation to provide more scholarship money for students due to the potential of fewer grants and loans coming from the federal government. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Yahoo
Eye on KELOLAND: Drones in agriculture
DEUEL COUNTY, S.D. (KELO) — No matter the field, technology is always evolving and advancing. 'I can do fertilizers,' Derek Ver Helst, owner of Dakota Unmanned Aerial, said about what he can deliver with his drone. 'I can do pesticides, and I can do also cover crops where I do seeding within, interseeding within crops, or I can do seeding within pastures or different kinds of things, just to get more kinds of species out there, diversify pastures, get more productivity out of those pastures and better feed quality for our cattle.' Ver Helst, who lives in the Brandt, S.D. area, has been spraying Gary Bandemer's land with a drone for a couple years, and Bandemer appreciates the precision. 'What I really like about it is he gets the spots that an airplane or a helicopter can't get,' Bandemer said. 'You get in the corners of the pasture, real steep slopes and stuff, and it just does a better job.' Documents shed light on pair of shootings & wounded Police officer Bandemer farms corn and soybeans east of Toronto in eastern South Dakota. Ver Helst's spraying, he explains, is considerably more efficient than if he would spray. 'I'd take my four-wheeler out to spray … it takes you two, three days, where he can come just do it in a day or less,' Bandemer said. Ver Helst does his work in Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota in addition to South Dakota. 'I've done some pasture spraying for Gary in the past couple years,' Ver Helst said. 'We were targeting bull and Canadian thistles, so taking care of invasive species. So, a lot of my spraying is in pastures looking at thistles and leafy spurge are some of the big ones that I'm after.' 'Optimization means use your resources, and the question is how can I do it better,' South Dakota State University researcher and professor Ali Nafchi said. 'Just little better and better and better, and the compound effect of this little by little by little would be huge.' Nearby at SDSU, Nafchi says drones allow for just that. 'I know I'm going to spray, but when,' Nafchi said. 'But where. Drones have answers for those questions for me.' While in the area, a visitor might also meet Brady Hauswedell, who lives south of Toronto. His work with a drone highlights the technology's value in providing a unique view. 'The drone has been a very valuable tool for us in order to measure these differences because sometimes to the naked eye it might not look like a big difference until you're able to put it through a computer program,' Hauswedell said. It all allows him to evaluate the impact of, for example, a fertilizer. 'With measuring the differences, it's usually the color of, like, how green a plant is or how much leaf surface is in an image,' Hauswedell said. 'That's how it's specifically seeing those differences.' A drone might at first look a bit out of place in rural America. But, after all, there was a time when even a combine would have looked futuristic. Now, drones are another way farmers can do their essential work. 'One of those tools that they have in their back pocket to continue to provide fiber and food for everyone in the world,' Ver Helst said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
