Sioux Falls Business Journal

Sioux Falls has been selected to host a regional competition for firefighters Aug. 24 and 25.
The Firefighter Combat Challenge/Hy-Vee Midwest Regional Championships will be downtown.
Competitors wear full gear and compete in events such as stair climbing and victim rescuing.
A miniature version of the competition designed for children also is scheduled.
Local firefighters and other groups partnered with the Sioux Falls Convention & Visitors Bureau to bring the competition to the city for the first time.
Six hundred firefighters are expected to attend the regional competition, which is one of 25 for U.S. and Canadian firefighters, according to the bureau.
The bureau estimates that the event will bring $169,000 in spending to the city.

"We don't know how many people will come with them," said Teri Ellis Schmidt, executive director of the bureau.

Sioux Falls has the option of continuing to host the event as long as the firefighters want to, she said. "We just know it certainly has potential for growth."