The story of the Swiss-Volhynian Mennonites and their journey from Russia to the community that would become Freeman cannot and should not be told in simple terms. Rather, it’s a complicated history with roots going all the way back to an Anabaptist religious movement that began in 16th-century Swit...

Ten years ago, Kim Krull discovered a new hobby: breeding and training Labrador Retrievers with his son, Josh. Who would have thought that, a decade later, he would be organizing and hosting a competition that draws Pointing Labrador enthusiasts from across the country? Well, he is. Guess you can’t ...

Dakota Resources facilitates Monday night meeting designed to launch local development corporation into three-year strategic plan  What does a thriving community look like? What steps should be taken to strengthen areas that are deficient? And who should be tasked with taking a leadership role towar...

Ribbon-cutting at state-of-the-art facility set for next Tuesday  An agricultural-based facility unique to South Dakota — that is, a non-proprietary rendering operation located just outside of Freeman — will celebrate its forthcoming opening next week. Dakota Protein Solutions is inviting the public...

31 departments, hundreds of guests and a final cook-off for retiring organizer Chad Soulek makes Saturday’s fundraiser one for the books Given the size of the event, the high level of competition and the strong reputation it has built the past 11 years, winning at the Freeman Volunteer Fire Departme...

The Salem-Zion (North) Mennonite Church, located four miles east of Freeman, will play host to a special 150th anniversary observance of the Swiss-Volhynian settlement of the community next month. On Saturday evening, Sept. 7 and all day Sunday, Sept. 8, a series of programs and services will focus ...

As part of its series of programs on the 1874 Germans-from-Russia migration, Heritage Hall Museum & Archives focuses on arrival in Dakota Territory The men, women and children of German and Swiss ancestry who immigrated to America from Russia beginning in the 1870s may have come from varying faith t...

Chislic festival once again brings hundreds to the Freeman Prairie Arboretum, but this year’s attendance numbers fell below projections Attending the South Dakota Chislic Festival is something Roger and Wanda Larson have wanted to do since it debuted in 2018, but their schedule hadn’t allowed for it...

Financial contributions include $30,000 anonymous gift, nearly $20,000 in blessing bids and almost $12,000 for the ‘pie guys’ By way of greeting, Edie Tschetter stood before several hundred guests assembled at tables inside the spacious dining room on the lowest level of Pioneer Hall on Saturday. It...

JEREMY WALTNER  - EDITOR & PUBLISHER Guests from across the state and beyond are expected to converge on the Freeman Prairie Arboretum this weekend as chislic once again takes center stage at one of South Dakota’s fastest-growing annual gatherings. The South Dakota Chislic Festival will take place f...