JEREMY WALTNER - EDITOR & PUBLISHER The Freeman Police Department is asking the public to be diligent about noticing suspicious vehicles out of safety for others in light of a number of concerning incidents. Last Thursday night, Oct. 20, during the home football playoff game in Freeman, a teenager out for a run in town noticed a black pickup truck following her. Worried, the runner called her mother who in turn contacted Freeman Police Officer Jay Slevin, who was on duty at the time.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Sixth place. Maybe fifth. That’s where head coach Suzanne Koerner thought the Freeman Academy/Marion boys might land at the 2022 State Cross-Country Meet. You can imagine her surprise when the Bearcats finished third.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER For two underclassmen girls from Freeman Public who compete in what can be a big and intimidating world of varsity cross-country, they’re just glad they have each other. “I’d be scared if I ran by myself,” says Peyton McCune, a sophomore. “We would probably cry,” added Rylee Peters, her eighth-grade counterpart. “There was a girl who was balling because she had to run by herself and I was like, ‘Yeah, we’d be balling too.”

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Her 46th place finish may have been further back in the pack than she was hoping for, but Ashton Massey accomplished something on Saturday that is certainly worth celebrating: Her fifth state cross-country meet in as many years.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Long before her children were even a glimmer in her eye, Suzanne Brockmueller became a state cross-country champion — not once, not twice but three times. After finishing second in her freshman season, the Freeman Academy standout won state titles in 1981, 1982 and 1983. It was a time when the girls were running 3,000-meter courses, and one in which female athletes — especially cross-country female athletes — weren’t getting the attention of their male counterparts.

JEREMY WALTNER - EDITOR & PUBLISHER When wrestlers and coaches from Marion/Freeman gather for their first practice of the 2022-23 season on Monday, Nov. 14, they will do so in a place to call their own. That’s because work on The Hangar, a wrestling room that will double as a multipurpose facility, is within weeks of completion on the Freeman Public campus. Freeman Public Superintendent Jake Tietje said it could be turn-key ready by the first week of November. The official completion date is Nov. 10.

JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER Anyone who is familiar with Heritage Hall Museum & Archives most likely knows about The Deckert House — that classic 1880s home that is part of the collection of outbuildings adjacent to the Freeman museum.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Even though the Jim River Trappers have concluded their regular season — they have a bye this week in the ninth and final week of play — they’re still practicing this week. That’s because there’s a chance the Menno/Scotland football cooperative will sneak into the postseason.

JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER The Menno Marching Band will lead the way and will be followed by 14 others as another Menno Band Day unfolds Friday morning, Oct. 7. The host band will march simply as an exhibition and will not be included in the competition. The parade of bands begins at 10 a.m. Those taking part in the battle will be Dakota Valley, Armour, Centerville (high school and middle school), Avon, Canistota (high school and middle school), Colman-Egan, Gayville-Volin, Irene-Wakonda, Parkston, Bridgewater-Emery and Yankton Middle School.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER The Freeman Academy soccer team may have dropped a home game to Vermillion 6-0 Tuesday evening, Sept. 27, but in the larger scheme of things that really doesn’t matter. Because it looks like the Bobcats are going to the playoffs. With the regular season set to end next week, Freeman Academy — which includes players from Freeman Public, Marion and Parker — will most likely finish sixth among 11 teams in the Class A division, which would give the Bobcats the final spot in the state tournament field.