JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER A new era of Hutchinson County government dawned in late November of 2019, when all business moved from the courthouse that had been used for nearly 140 years into a brand-new building located on the top of a hill on the northwestern edge of town, overlooking the tiny county seat of Olivet.

JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER Terry Waterman is challenging Steve “Charly” Waltner for his seat in Ward 2 on the Freeman City Council. Both have filed petitions for election, according to the city finance office. Theirs will be the only local election on the April 12 ballot. Waterman lost his bid for mayor in an election with Michael Walter two years ago.

JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER Riley Tschetter went to state to win, and win he did — not once, not twice, but three teams. The result? Seventh place for an eighth grader who was among the youngest medal-winners there. Competing in his second State Wrestling Tournament at the Denny Sanford Premeir Center in Sioux Falls last Thursday and Friday, Feb. 24 and 25, Tschetter finished 3-2 in the 132 lb. weight class and won key matches en route to his spot on the podium.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER A Marion freshman will write a new chapter in the Marion/Freeman wrestling book this week.

JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER The city of Freeman is advertising for bids for its long-awaited Main Street project.

JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER As a seventh grader a year ago, Riley Tschetter was probably thrilled just to make it to the State Wrestling Tournament in his rookie season wrestling at the varsity level, never mind that he lost both of his matches in the 106 lb. weight division. This year? “I’m just going out there planning on winning,” he said.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Meeting in regular session Monday night, Feb. 14, the Freeman School Board honored a request from Growing Dreams Learning Center to allow the non-profit day care/preschool facility to continue to operate from its location in the east wing of Freeman Elementary through the 2022-23 school year.

JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER Between teams, team personnel and fans, as many as 1,500 people are expected to pack the Freeman High School gym this coming Saturday, Feb. 19 as the local school district hosts the Region 2B Wrestling Tournament for the third time since 2014. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. sharp with action beginning at 9:30 a.m. The finals are expected to be underway by 5 p.m.

JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER School boards from Freeman Public, Marion and Freeman Academy have all voted unanimously in favor of forming a new football cooperative starting this fall. The Freeman board OK’d the four-year agreement at a special meeting Tuesday morning, Feb. 8; Freeman Academy approved the proposal Tuesday evening; and the Marion board signed off on the deal at its own special meeting Monday night, Feb. 7.

JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER Conversations between school leadership at Freeman Public, Freeman Academy and Marion regarding the possibility of a sports cooperative are continuing. Freeman School Board President Emily Andersen and Superintendent Jake Tietje both confirmed with The Courier on Tuesday that representatives from all three school districts were scheduled to meet at Freeman Academy Wednesday night, Feb. 2.