Albert Lea High School’s Brendon Moise has advanced to the second round of Cold Stone Creamery’s interactive iMix America contest.  Local support and social networking skills will be deciding factor in each contestant’s success.

The contest kicked off in February of this year with 9,000 applicants vying for the chance to win $30,000 in prizes.  Moise’s application was chosen and he created his ice cream Creation at the 820 Happy Trails Lane Cold Stone location in early August.  After weeks of online voting, Cold Stone reduced the number of contestants to the top 125 Creations based on rank, and Moise‘s ice cream Creation, Minty Miracle, made the cut. Below is the recipe to Moise’s ice cream Creation.

Brendon’s Minty Miracle – Mint ice cream mixed with brownies, chocolate shavings, and fudge.

“iMix America gives this savvy group of Gen Y’s the opportunity to promote their own Creations on social networking sites to friends all across the country,” said Dan Beem, president of Cold Stone Creamery.  “And Brendon has done a great job of doing just that; it’s exciting to see our imaginative brand become more interactive.”

At the time of elimination, Minty Miracle is ranked 11, but there is still time for that ranking to change.  The contest continues until the end of the year, with two more elimination brackets to go through.  The top three Creations at the end of the first bracket were Tiramisu Temptation from Florida, Chocolate Covered Cherry from Pennsylvania, and Breakfast in Bed from Massachusetts.  The next bracket ends on Nov. 15, when the Creations will be narrowed down to the top 20. 

Cold Stone was able to have students all across the country participate in iMix America.  States with contestants still active in the contest are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The iMix America winner will be awarded in January 2009 at the Cold Stone Creamery headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz.  The prize package, worth $30,000, includes automotive, travel, electronics, and cellular phone products and services.