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A South Dakota-based donut chain, Mr. Donuts, will open Friday, July 31 in Watertown, marking the business’s fourth location.
The space, currently undergoing renovations, is in the former Sandy’s Bar & Grill location at 519 Ninth Ave. SE.
The owner, Stev Meas, hails from California and has brought all the donut recipes from the West Coast. He brings with him 20 years of donut making experience.
Those recipes include cinnamon rolls, chocolate donuts, glazed donuts, bear claws, and cronuts, which are a cross between a croissant and a donut. Meas will also make breakfast sandwiches. He said the menu will also feature a selection of cakes, coffee and cappuccinos.
Meas said the kitchen is also prepared to fill custom orders, though no delivery option is available.
So far, the community response is positive.
“People are very excited,” Meas said.
The shop’s hours are 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday and 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday to Sunday.
Raise the Bar Boutique welcomes new owner
Alyssa Winter, 21, is the new owner of Raise the Bar Boutique at 806 Jenson Ave. SE.
Alyssa Winter
She’s originally from Pipestone, Minn., but came to Watertown for a business, marketing and management degree from Lake Area Technical College and said she loved Watertown so much she decided to stay.
“Since I was little, I’ve always wanted a boutique,” she said. “I actually wanted a boutique, a hair salon and a coffee shop in one. So, I went to cosmetology school and three days in switched to business.”
Winter is a former employee of the boutique back when she attended Lake Area.
“I’ve always had a thing for fashion,” she said. “I just love to dress up.”
Previously she owned and operated Hazel’s Attic in Brookings. In the early days of Hazel’s Attic, the previous owner and Winter’s former boss, Haley Zemlicka, reached out to her saying she may be selling Raise the Bar in a year or two.
“A year later came around and she ends up reaching out to me, asking if I wanted to take it over,” she said. “I thought about it more and more and (realized) I can’t pass up the offer. … I moved here in June.”
She spoke about her time with Zemlicka.
“Haley inspired me to be exactly like her as a boss,” she said. “She’s probably one of the top bosses I’ve ever had. … She made it fun.”
For now, things will stay the same at the boutique though September, Winter intends to have a men’s section.
“My biggest goal for Raise the Bar is to keep it the same but to bring my spark to it,” she said. “I want to make it a welcoming space for everyone.”
Winter also has a mobile boutique trailer which she intends to get branded and ready for events like the State Fair in Huron.
Professional Hearing Services celebrates 40 years
Professional Hearing Services, a business that provides hearing support from “pediatric to geriatric” patients across northeastern South Dakota, is celebrating 40 years of business.
While the main clinic is located at 405 18th Ave. NE, outreach locations are in Milbank and Brookings.
Dr. Todd Decker poses in a sound booth inside his clinic. Photo by Brandon Heim, The Watertown Current.
The business was founded by audiologist Eve Hensler at Bartron Clinic in Watertown. It later moved to the former Memorial Hospital and the Medical Arts Building. Dr. Todd Decker bought the practice in 2000, and in 2006, the clinic north of town opened.
Decker is joined in the practice by audiologists Dr. Brett King and Dr. LeAnne Bunnell. Kari Fieber serves as the clinic’s licensed hearing instrument specialist.
While most associated with hearing aids for the elderly, the practice also works with children, as young as newborns through school age.
Decker said over the course of his 33-year career, technology has changed dramatically. In the beginning, hearing aids were manually adjusted with screwdrivers. Nowadays, they connect to cell phones and use artificial intelligence. Conversely, Decker said technology has led to increased hearing loss.
“Those devices are too close to the eardrum and playing too loud,” Decker said.
In addition to serving patients in northeastern South Dakota, Decker also travels internationally with Hearing the Call, a non-profit that provides audiology services to local patients and training local providers.
“It’s been a privilege to be here for 40 years,” Decker said. “When we help one person with better hearing, that’s going to help their family and help the community.”
Local financial advisor named Forbes 2026 Best-in-State
Taylor Zemlicka, a Watertown financial advisor was recently named one of South Dakota’s 10 best-in-state advisors by Forbes.
Taylor Zemlicka
Zemlicka, 32, the only Watertown advisor on the list, was born and raised near Watertown and attended Northern State University.
His business with Northwestern Mutual helps clients plan for and obtain financial security, he said.
The award, he said, is based on tenure, quantitative reports, an acceptable compliance record, the completion of a survey, and serving 50 percent or more individual clients rather than businesses, said Zemlicka.
Technically, the award is a national one, according to Forbes, and it marks his first on the national level, though he was only competing against other South Dakota advisors.
While the award is his in name, he credits his team.
“To Forbes, it’s probably not a team award, but I wouldn’t have gotten it without them,” he said.
Each day, before work, Zemlicka helps on his family’s dairy farm milking cows.
“I think that’s positioned me very well to (succeed) in a very ag-focused community,” he said. “I can look like a white-collar guy for most of the day, but I can speak the (blue collar) language.”
East-Central CASA hosts school supply drive
A nonprofit organization that recruits and trains volunteers to advocate for children in the court system, East-Central CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) is hosting a back-to-school donation drive in partnership with Watertown Area Foster Closet.
The nonprofit has an Amazon wish list with items such as backpacks, glue sticks, crayons, markers, Kleenex and pencil bags that can be purchased. The link can be found on the nonprofit’s Facebook page.
If dropping things off at a physical location is preferred by donors, four drop-off locations can be used at:
- KXLG Radio (835 Jenson Ave. SE)
- Revive Studio (909 10th Ave. SE)
- Spruce Salon (208 Ninth Ave. SE, Suite 1)
- First Interstate Bank (35 First Ave. NE)
- First Interstate Bank (624 Fifth St. SE)
“Every donation helps East-Central CASA and the Watertown Area Foster Closet provide local children in foster care with the supplies they need to start the school year prepared and confident,” said a social media post from the nonprofit. “Thank you for helping us make a difference in the lives of local children!”
South Forty acquires Roy’s Sport Shop
South Forty Specialties announced the acquisition of Roy’s Sport Shop, a Watertown institution on Tuesday, July 21.
“Roy’s Sport Shop will now join the South Forty family, combining its trusted local presence with South Forty’s design expertise, customization capabilities, and growing lineup of sports and lifestyle products,” said a media release from South Forty. “The move strengthens South Forty’s sports division while ensuring customers continue to receive the personalized service Roy’s has long delivered.”
The CEO of South Forty, Jim Engels, spoke on the acquisition.
“Roy’s has been a staple in Watertown sports for as long as most of us can remember,” he said. “It’s earned the loyalty of athletes, coaches, parents, and schools for decades. We’re honored to carry that legacy forward and excited to combine Roy’s experience with everything we’re building at South Forty.”
For Gene and Kathy Bierscheid, the former owners of the business, keeping the store connected to Watertown and placing the business in the hands of a local company were paramount.
“Since 1970, Roy’s Sport Shop has supplied sporting goods and apparel to the Watertown region, and our family has had the opportunity to carry on that legacy for 40 years,” they said. “We are incredibly proud to pass the torch to South Forty Specialties. Joining another Watertown company keeps Roy’s local roots intact while bringing a skilled team, an expanded sales network and top-tier in-house apparel decoration to area coaches and athletes. We are grateful to the past owners and loyal community members who have supported Roy’s, and we are confident South Forty has the resources to carry the Roy’s name into the future.”
