Jones County teacher has passion for impacting kids
'I didn't know anything about it,' Martinez said. 'I just knew our superintendent just sent out an email saying that there was going to be some sort of an award.'
When Martinez stepped into the elementary school gym, she had no idea that she was the reason. Martinez is one of KELOLAND's Remarkable Women winners. She teaches third grade at Jones County Elementary School in Murdo, South Dakota.
'I've always had a passion for kids and working with kids, and so there's never been a point in my life where I haven't worked with kids,' Martinez said. 'I've worked in school districts outside of teaching as well, but every job that I've ever had pretty well revolves around kids.'
When she's not in the classroom, Martinez is an advocate for foster care and adoption. She also runs gymnastics and wrestling classes and has co-founded a rural youth leadership program.
'Abby's commitment to her students, family, and community has made her an exceptional role model, proving that small town living doesn't limit one's aspirations,' Ashley Geigle, who nominated Martinez for the award, said.
Martinez received a $1,000 donation to the charity of her choice. She's decided to give that money to Jones County Turner Youth.
'They fundraise and they fund projects in our community that are driven by kids. You know, how do we think that we can best impact the youth of our community?' Martinez said.
She said she's passionate about empowering children to use their voices to impact their community.
'My son, four years ago, dreamed of having a wrestling team in our community. He stood up in front of a community meeting of about 70 adults and got to the microphone and told them that he wanted a wrestling team,' Martinez said. 'And four years later, we've got a wrestling team.'
Her determination is helping kids unlock their potential through a limitless potential of her own.
Martinez is headed to Los Angeles to represent South Dakota in the National Remarkable Women Conference later this month. She will travel along with KELOLAND's second Remarkable Women winner — Jill Janecke.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
23-07-2025
- Miami Herald
A mango pie? This baker takes Miami's favorite fruit and makes it even better
When she was a small child growing up in Cuba, Natalia Martinez-Kalinina remembers what her grandmother did with the bounty of wild mangoes that flourished in her yard. She would gather as much fruit as she could carry in pails. Then she would give them to the neighbors, family and friends who came to the front door. Sometimes, even random strangers got lucky. 'She had one of those problematically large mango trees that was a structural threat,' Martinez-Kalinina recalls. 'Anywhere in the U.S., it'd be taken down, but not in Cuba. So she gave them away. Sometimes I would help her.' Martinez-Kalinina's grandmother, Beatriz Adelaida Brunet Quintaro, passed away in 2016, four years after Martinez-Kalinina moved to Miami. But the memory of the mangoes stuck with Martinez-Kalinina, who eventually decided to replicate her grandmother's generosity as a sort of tribute. Only instead of giving away the fruit, she baked it into pies, sharing slices with people she came across in the course of her job, with friends and neighbors, even handing strangers a slice that they were always happy to take. Eight years later, with so many requests for pies pouring in, Martinez-Kalinina has taken her random acts of kindness a step further, starting an online business selling the pies. She bakes them in the commissary kitchen at her home in a live/work building. 'It wasn't meant to be a thing,' says Martinez-Kalinina, laughing. 'I just wanted to do something nice connected to my grandmother. But it grew to such a point people were texting me every year to get on the list to get pies. The list got longer and longer. I had not imagined it as a business until this year.' Creating a baking business was a new venture for Martinez-Kalinina, who works in the tech world and is cofounder of the Miami venture-backed startup Base, a modern twist on a social club that links people from different backgrounds to shared experiences. But her contacts there helped her. A creative director offered to design a logo for her. Martinez-Kalinina also hosts dinners, concerts and other gatherings at her home for eclectic groups of people and urged them to try the pies, too. And they rave. Ashley Schmidt, who knows Martinez-Kalinina through their shared health tech work and runs a scuba club with her, remembers being skeptical of mango pies before she took her first bite. 'I was questioning how good it would be,' she says. 'Blueberry and blackberry pie, yes. A mango margarita, yes. Manoges and yogurt, a mango smoothie, no doubt. But mango pie?' The flavors changed her mind. 'It was the best pie I've ever had,' she says. 'There's something about this flavor that's like Christmas. So warm and delicious. Sometimes you can eat a mango, and it can be on the sour side, or they're overly sweet. This is right in the middle.' Miranda Brna of Miami Beach calls the pies 'truly amazing.' 'I honestly didn't know pie could taste that good,' she says. 'I am not a pie person. But this pie is so good, that I AM a pie person but just for this pie.' What makes this mango pie so addictive? In addition to Miami's general rabid appetite for the fruit, Martinez-Kalinina believes it's the chili powder she adds. When her family left Cuba and moved to Mexico, they adopted an appetite for a bit of spice, which inspired her recipe. 'It's not spicy,' she says. 'But in Mexico, you add tahine to mango slices. With that contrast, the flavor is enhanced and elevated. I love the spice with the sweet.' Martinez-Kalinina won't be quitting her day job, though. Mango pie is a seasonal treat, and she hasn't had luck making pies with frozen fruit. 'I'm sure more skilled chefs could do this, but for me it doesn't come across the same,' she says. Thus, Sunny Slice's season ends when the mangoes are no longer available, usually sometime in August. This year, unlike 2024, has been a good season for mangoes, and neighbors are still supplying her with fruit, which proves to Martinez-Kalinina that an act that started as a gift is a positive force in the world. 'It brings out the best community version of us,' she says. 'People are so generous with their mangoes. They become givers and engage in neighborliness. We don't always do that here.' How to order a mango pie DM @sunnysliceco on Instagram; no phone calls accepted $8 a slice, $40 for a pie
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Yahoo
New Mitchell High School nearing completion
MITCHELL, S.D. (KELO) — A few years ago, a large project began on the land across from the then-Mitchell High School. 'School officials at the time saw that the need for the building, fixes and things like that, size and space was all, reason enough to explore the option. I think the administration that was in place previously had been planning for a new building for a period of time. So, it got to a point where, okay, now it's time to to pull the trigger,' said Justin Siemsen, principal of Mitchell High School. Local artists set up shop at Washington Pavilion The new building is nearing completion, with some exterior projects being finished up. Siemsen says the school will be ready next month. 'Most of our classrooms are moved over with all the teachers' materials and desks and things like that. So, we will be continuing that moving process throughout the next few weeks. And so, we're hoping that, middle of July, we'll have things situated where they need to be and ready to hit the ground running this fall,' said Siemsen. Although the new Mitchell High School is only across the street from the old school, it will allow students easier access to the football field and Career and Technical Academy. 'We had kids that were across the street of our main school, and then they would come over here for all of our Career Technical stuff. And so that eliminates the need for for movement and during the wintertime and things like that, that'll take that problem off the table,' said Siemsen. Once the building is finished, the school plans to welcome the community in for a tour. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
13-06-2025
- USA Today
Watch this Florida officer from New York respond to his first alligator call
Watch this Florida officer from New York respond to his first alligator call Show Caption Hide Caption See this officer's hilarious first encounter with a (small) gator This former New Yorker squealed and shook as he was handed a wiggling animal during his first gator call as a Florida cop. A Florida police officer from New York found himself squealing and bolting away as he responded to his first alligator call this month. Police in Largo shared a video of the encounter, as Officer Christopher Martinez, from Long Island, tried to work up the courage to hold the alligator. 'While most of our team handled it like … seasoned pros, one of our newer officers from New York experienced his very first run-in with a gator and it showed,' the Largo Police Department wrote. 'Let's just say there was some jumping and maybe some squealing.' After colleagues snapped a photo of Martinez with the gator, he handed the animal back over, sending the gator's tail flapping. 'Ahhh, oh God!' Martinez yelled as he ran away and colleagues burst into laughter. Watch the encounter in the video at the top of the story. Watch: Elusive deep-sea squid caught on camera for the first time Florida officer's first alligator call Martinez is a police officer in Largo, Florida, about 4½ miles southeast of Clearwater. He first joined the Largo Police Department in November 2024, a department spokesperson confirmed to USA TODAY. Around 5 p.m. on June 5, a homeowner called police for help removing the gator from their property, the spokesperson said. It was Martinez's first alligator call, the department said. In the video the department captured, Martinez couldn't help but notice how intimidating the animal looked. 'You have big teeth. I have tiny fingers,' he said before pretending to throw up or dry-heave. 'Do not drop the gator' Martinez then mentally prepared himself to hold the gator, checking to make sure the gator's handler would take the reptile back once he overcame his fear and held the animal. As Martinez tried to hype himself up, the officer holding the alligator made sure he knew the rules. 'Do not drop the gator,' the officer said. 'I will drop you if you drop the gator.' His colleague noted that the gator was 'hissing a little bit,' to which Martinez replied 'Oh, that's great.' Welcome to Florida As his colleague stepped forward to hand him the gator, Martinez had to set a boundary. 'Let me do it on my own,' he said, smiling timidly and noting that the alligator whose mouth was taped shut had 'so much bite force.' As a fellow officer handed him the gator, Martinez tried to balance the panic that washed over him with the bravery he needed for the photo op. 'Take a picture. Take a picture of me, for the love of God.' Police joked that no officers were harmed during the ordeal and the gator has since been safely relocated to Taylor Lake. 'Officer Martinez, our NY transplant, received his official welcome to Florida,' they wrote. Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@
