Photo courtesy of EY

Eighteen Minnesotans are regional finalists in EY’s annual Entrepreneur Of The Year competition.

On Wednesday, professional services firm EY announced the 34 finalists in the program’s Heartland division, which is open to entrepreneurs from Minnesota, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and the Dakotas.

This year, there are 34 finalists across a total of 30 businesses.

An independent panel of judges picked the finalists, according to a news release issued by EY on Wednesday.

Erin Donovan, program director for Entrepreneur Of The Year’s Heartland division, said the finalists all “show unwavering dedication to their businesses, customers, and communities.”

This year’s Minnesota-based finalists are:

• Jeremy Carroll and Brett Spark of Minneapolis-based health care payments company Aroris Health
• Tom Barrett and Sarah Barrett-Reiner of Brainerd-based pet food manufacturer Barrett Petfood
• Charles Eide of Brooklyn Park-based event production company EideCom
• Craig O’Halloran of Eden Prairie-based swimming instruction company Foss Swim School
• Mark Watkins of Alexandria-based equipment financing company Geneva Capital LLC
• Mike Blue of Plymouth-based medical device startup HistoSonics, which is developing technology designed to destroy tumors
• Joel Peterson of Minneapolis-based office furniture seller iSpace Environments
• Pat Chinander from St. Paul-based apparel maker Love From USA Group Inc.
• Kristen Knox of St. Cloud-based biological products maker Microbiologics
• Marcia Page of Minneapolis-based alternative investment firm MPowered Capital
• Aaron Shilts of Minneapolis-based cybersecurity firm NetSPI
• Wendi Breuer of Minneapolis-based printing company SeaChange Printing & Marketing Services LLC
• Shashi Yadiki of Eagan-based health care technology company Smart Data Solutions
• Teresa Fudenberg and Doug Jackson of Eagan-based sustainability-oriented clothing seller Storm Creek
• Micheal E. Jordan of St. Paul-based athletic clothing company UNRL
• Brett Weiss of Golden Valley-based engineering consulting firm WSB

EY will announce Heartland winners at a ceremony on June 19. Those winners will go on to compete in the national iteration of the program.

TCB, which is a regional sponsor of the Entrepreneur Of The Year program, will profile Heartland winners in an upcoming print issue.

Last year, 17 of the 28 Heartland finalist companies were Minnesotan.

EY founded the Entrepreneur Of The Year program in 1986.