Newton City Commissioners recognized winners of the 2026 Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge hosted by the Newton Area Chamber of Commerce during Tuesday’s meeting.
The Newton High School students who participated in the challenge developed business plans and presented them to a panel of judges.
The First Place winner was Peyton Hennes’ ReWild Landscapes, a landscaping business using native plantings and pollinators. Peyton will advance to the YEC State Competition later this month in Manhattan.
Second place went to Jannik Datz’ ProSeed, a vegan protein bar, and third place went to Bella Hett’s Painted Bells which offers custom painted jeans.
There was a tie for the People’s Choice Award between Gianna Beard’s GigiNailedit, and S-O Spray, a business developed by Adam Oswald and Brennan Sutherland offering drone agricultural spraying.
