After a bout with Mother Nature, the 2025 BIG Idea Competition was completed and winners determined. The eight out of state finalists presented their ideas on December 9 and the eight in state finalist presentations were held on December 18. Each group was judged by a separate judging panel and separate prizes awarded. The 2025 event wrapped up Thursday, December 18, at Northern State University (NSU) with the Awards Ceremony. Winners from both competitions were announced along with special category awards. Nearly $55,000 was awarded in cash and scholarships. The livestream link for the event can be found on the BIG Idea facebook page (@BIGIdeaSD).
| FINALISTS (In-State/In Person) | |||
| 1st: Dakota Detailing | Dean Castellano, Bennett Woolverton | Warner High School | Pam Lane |
| 2nd: Bloom | Brynn Kindelspire | Tri-Valley High School | Tracy Vogt |
| 3rd: Sizzle Shakk | Max Lauseng, Chris McCormick, Kolbe Mohling | Watertown High School | Tom Lenox |
| Pretty Paws Staycation | Macee McGregor, Bentley Miotke | Webster High School | Jessica McGregor |
| Shearing Excellence | Elyana Roach | Aberdeen Roncalli High School | Michelle O’Keefe |
| Set + Play | Rylan Huggett | Webster High School | Jessica McGregor |
| The Hair Lair | Ashley Bubacz | Watertown High School | Tom Lenox |
| B’s Bouquets | Bella Unser | Ipswich High School | Chad Richardt |
| FINALISTS (Out-of-State/Virtual) | |||
| 1st: Naturista – Planet and Health Friendly Coffee Pods | Aditya Herekar, Karan Verma | John P. Stevens High School (NJ) & Liberty High School (TX) | Independent Study |
| 2nd: WheyMaker | Ayush Dadgale, Hasini Manne | Brookfield East High School (WI) | Independent Study |
| 3rd: EcoGrid | Taylen Li, Mason Hu, Hugo Ho | Winston Churchill High School (MD) | Independent Study |
| Psyche | Aadi Raut, Zihaan Wang | Green Hope High School (NC) | Independent Study |
| Nourishly | Karthik Pasupuleti, Nitish Nattudurai | American High School (CA) | Independent Study |
| SignaLink | Arnav Rajeev | McNeil High School (TX) | Independent Study |
| Pulse+ | Rithu Kannan | Independence High School (TX) | Independent Study |
| PrepHeart | Shalmi Sen, Shresta Dadani | Coppell High School (TX) | Independent Study |