MANCHESTER: Southern New Hampshire University announced it is extending its 10-year tuition freeze for its online programs through 2022. The tuition freeze, which will keep online tuition at its 2011 rate, applies to all online course-based programs. After a five-year tuition freeze on campus, SNHU also dramatically reduced campus tuition to offer a tiered tuition rate of $15,000 per year or $10,000 per year starting in the fall of 2021, which aligns more closely with its online tuition rates.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. Mint will produce an American Innovation dollar honoring “father of the video game,” Ralph Baer and his Brown Box, which paved the way for modern home video game consoles. The coin depicts a Brown Box game — handball — on one side and the words New Hampshire and Player 1 are engraved on a stamped background on the other side. In 2018, the mint began to showcase innovations from particular states or territories. The series is scheduled to run through 2032.

HANOVER: Michael Hakoun has joined Ledyard National Bank as the new executive vice president and managing director of Ledyard Financial Advisors. He follows Dennis Mitchell, who will be retiring in September after leading Ledyard’s Wealth Management division for the last 13 years. Hakoun has nearly two decades of experience in the investment management and banking industry, having supported 230 retail branches for TD Bank in the U.S. and Canada. Ledyard Financial Advisors manages over $1.8 billion of client assets.

ATKINSON: Intertech Corporation is being investigated by the FBI and federal prosecutors for allegedly providing lab and scientific equipment to Russia’s weapons of mass destruction program between 2002 and 2018. Allegedly the company and its Moscow-based subsidiary, Intertech Instruments, intentionally falsified shipping documents, avoided and circumvented export compliance regulations, and obfuscated end-users, after contact from the FBI to avoid losing lucrative contracts.

BEDFORD: Autism Bridges, a founder-led, New Hampshire-based multi-state autism treatment organization, has been acquired by New York-based Autism Care Partners. With the acquisition, Autism Care Partners will represent one of the most regionally dense providers of Applied Behavior Analysis and related behavioral therapies in the Northeast, with locations in Bedford and Portsmouth, NH, as well as throughout Vermont, Massachusetts and New York.

CONCORD: Jim Roche, CEO and president of the Business & Industry Association of New Hampshire since 2005, announced Tuesday that he is leaving the organization in mid to late August to become the next president of the Maine Bankers Association. During Roche’s tenure, BIA’s membership grew by nearly 50% through 2020, with the organization’s membership retention rate at 95% during Covid.

MANCHESTER: Digital marketing and web development agency SilverTech is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Starting in 1996 as a hosting provider and web development agency, SilverTech has grown to include an office in Indianapolis and offers new services including a digital SaaS solution to serve banks, credit unions and more. Through the end of the year, SilverTech will donate $2,500 each month to different local nonprofit organizations chosen by the SilverTech employees.

NASHUA: Nashua Police Athletic League has been named a 2021 Champion in Action in the category of Social Equity & Inclusion by Citizens and the NH Union Leader. Nashua PAL is being recognized for focusing on diversity within its Youth Safe Haven, organizing a Girls Night mentoring group, collaborating with female community leaders, and hosting constructive conversations with PAL members and police officers. The award includes $35,000 in unrestricted funding.

MANCHESTER: Girls at Work, a nonprofit that empowers girls ages 8 and 18 through building, has welcomed Susan Champagne as executive director. Champagne is the former prosecutor for the Hillsborough County Attorney’s office, former president of the Webster House Board of Directors and member of the Board of Directors at Mills Falls Charter School, St. Catherine of Siena School and Manchester North Soccer League.