Distinguished Finalist

Austin Ehlers, 18, of Storm Lake, Iowa, a senior at Sioux Central Community High School in Sioux Rapids, helped locate and map all 73 fire hydrants in the rural town of Sioux Rapids. Austin, who used Global Positioning System maps and Global Information System software to identify and track the fire hydrants, was motivated by the fire department's critical need to locate all fire hydrants following a record-breaking snowfall in 2009 that covered many of the hydrants.