JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER Cody Roth was with other members of his family preparing for the Angus Roth Ranch 25th Anniversary Bull Sale scheduled for this Friday, March 24 and then moved on to chores when he received a call from his wife, Haley, who had just returned to their rural home north of Wolf Creek Colony. It was just after 6 p.m. Saturday, and their house was on fire.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Ordinarily, this would be nothing more than a story about a community of friends, old and new alike, coming together to prepare a full-scale musical for Freeman’s traditional Schmeckfest. But because things have been far from ordinary the past three years, this is something else. This is a comeback story.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Lance Friesen, head boys basketball coach at Freeman Public, needed just one word to describe the Flyers’ showdown with Freeman Academy/Marion last week. “Ugly.”

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Just a few Sundays ago, as the church service at the Freeman Missionary Church was drawing to a close, a couple from Illinois showed. They were having car trouble and wondered if there was anybody in town that could offer some assistance. So the church’s longtime pastor, Stephen Roussos, made a call to Blaine Saarie, owner of Saarie Auto Body, on behalf of the Freeman Ministerial Association.

JEREMY WALTNER - EDITOR & PUBLISHER Students from Menno received high marks for their presentation of “Dark Road” at the 67th annual South Dakota High School Activities Association State One-Act Play Festival in Sioux Falls last week.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER The tiny town of Olivet nestled in the James River Valley 5 miles west of Menno doesn’t experience much hustle and bustle. Sure, it’s home to the offices, chambers and courtroom for Hutchinson County — has been since 1871 — but other than those coming and going with county business, Olivet doesn’t have a lot to say for itself. And the population of 64 (2020 census) and outlying area probably prefer it that way.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Ever since her freshman season, when the points really started pouring in, Jada Koerner has wondered if she would reach a milestone that doesn’t happen to most basketball players — the 1,000-point mark. Fast-forward through her sophomore and junior seasons and into her senior year and, sure enough, the scoring she had done in those high school years had her on the brink of 1,000 points by the second week of January.

JEREMY WALTNER - EDITOR & PUBLISHER For those who have been waiting for the tide to turn for the Freeman Public boys basketball program, it appears that time has finally arrived.

JEREMY WALTNER - EDITOR & PUBLISHER The lights inside the Freeman Community Center were lowered, a large illuminated sign saying “Care” sat on the stage, attendees in formal wear enjoyed food and drinks, auctioneer Ken Wintersteen brought his trademark blend of humor and wit to the live auction and acclaimed inspirational speaker V.J. Smith had the full attention of the room as he shared stories about generosity and gratitude.

JEREMY WALTNER - EDITOR & PUBLISHER Theater students from Freeman Public and Menno were scheduled to travel to Sioux Falls Lutheran Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 25 for the Region 1B one-act competition, with a trip to the state festival the following week on the line. Five students from Freeman Public were to take the stage in “The Tale That Wagged the Dog,” a 30-minute comedy by Tim Kelly; and 13 students from Menno were set to perform “Dark Road,” a short drama by Laura Lundgren Smith.