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Two community events are scheduled in anticipation of Freeman Academy/Marion’s trip to the State B Boys Basketball Tournament next week. A community pep rally will take place Tuesday, March 15 at 6:30 p.m. in Sterling Hall on the campus of Freeman Academy.

In his written preseason report distributed to area media outlets late last year, Austin Unruh suggested this year’s Freeman Academy/Marion team would be “must-see Class B basketball.” He was right. And now an entire state will be able to watch.

This was the scene on the basketball court at James Valley Christian Tuesday night, March 8 as fans assemble to grab a shot of the Freeman Academy/Marion boys following their historic win over Timber Lake in the SoDak 16. The Bearcats move on to state where they are the No. 6 seed. It will be the first time a Freeman Academy team has ever been to a state tournament and first time since 1999 for a team from Marion. 

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.

A Hutchinson County-operated excavator is about to take its first bite in the demolition of the historic building that served as the Hutchinson County Courthouse for almost 140 years. The process began shortly after 1 p.m. Monday, March 7 on the southeastern corner of the Olivet building and saw most of the east wing taken down by the end of the day. The demolition continued Tuesday as workers proceeded around the back side of the main building in the morning, with the entire process expected to continue in the days to come.

This was the jury box in the old courtroom located on the second floor of the former Hutchison County Courthouse in Olivet. Demolition of the building was expected to start early Monday afternoon, March 7. The building that had been the oldest working courthouse in South Dakota has been vacant since county offices moved into a new building in late 2019.

There was a lot of this going on Sunday morning as folks like Ted Pidde Jr. moved snow after an ugly late-winter storm passed through the area starting Saturday afternoon and lasting into the night. There wasn't a lot of snow — just a few inches — but rain that fell prior to turning over to snow, coupled with stiff winds, made for tough conditions as people woke on Sunday.

In the same way the Region 5B final of last year sticks with the Freeman Academy/Marion basketball community, so will the Region 5B final of Friday night, March 4, 2022 — this one for an entirely different reason.

A third stop sign is now in place at the intersection of Fifth & Main in Freeman, impacting westbound traffic. The Freeman City Council chose to convert the intersection to a three-way stop to enhance safety due to limited visibility. Motorists coming from the east on Fifth Street will notice the stop sign and flag located near Mr. G’s.