JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER A local event that was exceedingly and overwhelmingly popular out of the gate received statewide recognition last week when the South Dakota Chislic Festival (SDCF) was honored with the Peter Norbeck Excellence in Tourism Innovation Award at the Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Pierre.

JEREMY WALTNER  - EDITOR & PUBLISHER The Freeman Public School Board learned early this week that an advisory committee tasked with looking at an athletic partnership is continuing to meet and is exploring whether to expand the Phoenix cooperative with Marion and Freeman Academy into other sports.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Those seeking election or re-election to a local governing body may take out a nominating petition beginning Friday, Jan. 27. The deadline to collect signatures and file those petitions is 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24. The 2023 city/school election is Tuesday, April 11. The following vacancies in the tri-city area are as follows:

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER The coldest of the four seasons officially began just three weeks ago, but already it feels like the area has received an entire winter’s worth of weather.

JEREMY WALTNER  - EDITOR & PUBLISHER When Maria (Tschetter) Paff moved back to Freeman with her husband, Brian and their two young sons in July of 2021, they did so primarily to be closer to family. But the opportunity to enjoy the fine arts that runs so deeply through Maria’s home community was certainly part of the appeal, which is why the 40-year-old couldn’t contain her excitement following the first rehearsal of the Swiss Choral Society the third Sunday night of October.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER It was the summer of 1976 — Ron Baker’s first year playing amateur baseball in Freeman. The Scotland native had spent the previous seven seasons playing for his hometown team and helped lead the Highlanders to a Class B state championship the summer before.

JEREMY WALTNER - EDITOR & PUBLISHER In an effort to provide a continuity of care and strengthen its commitment to the larger Freeman community, Freeman Regional Health Services (FRHS) and the Salem Mennonite Home have announced plans to merge. A date has not been finalized, but FRHS CEO Courtney Unruh said the Salem Home will become an extension of FRHS after the final agreement has been signed — a formality — and that she is hopeful that all resources can be combined by the first of the year.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER When Alivea Weber thinks back on her time playing  volleyball for Freeman Academy/Marion, she knows what she’ll remember best. “This game,” she said.

JEREMY WALTNER - EDITOR & PUBLISHER For those who enjoy this type of thing, last week’s Oktoberfest in Menno was a good-news, bad-news situation. The good news was that the longstanding celebration of German-Russian heritage was back after a Covid-related two-year hiatus. The bad news? A city/school auditorium that had been set up to accommodate a full house was half empty at best.

JEREMY WALTNER - EDITOR & PUBLISHER This week, for the first time since early May, those passing through Freeman’s downtown business will be able to drive the entire stretch of Main Street. That’s because concrete work on the roadway from Railway Street to the North County Road, as well as curbs and sidewalks, was completed on Monday, Oct. 24.