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.

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 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.

This story is being made available to all members and non-members of The Courier. If you appreciate this kind of community journalism, please consider signing up for the award-winning newspaper.    by Jeremy Waltner | Editor & Publisher

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 - EDITOR & PUBLISHER “I couldn’t ask for much better.” That comment from Marnette Hofer summarizes a celebration weekend at Heritage Hall Museum & Archives centered around the reopening of the Ludwig and Susanna Deckert House that has been part of the Freeman museum’s campus since 1979. “It was fun to have a focus like that for the weekend,” said Hofer, who is the executive director and archivist and HHM&A. “It’s also fun to have it done.”

Playing in the first year of a football cooperative, not only has Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy qualified for the postseason, the Phoenix are hosting a game. F/M/FA will entertain Florence-Henry next Thursday night, Oct. 20 in the first round of the 9AA playoffs, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. The Phoenix are the No. 7 seed and take a 6-2 record into the postseason while the No. 10 Falcons are 4-4.

Freeman Academy/Marion junior Tavin Schroeder and sophomore Finley McConniel finished second and third at Wednesday afternoon’s Region 3B Cross-Country Meet in Burke to lead the Bearcats to a narrow win in the team standings. Sophomore Hayden Schmidt and junior Jayson Allison also turned in top-20 finishes for FA/Marion, which edged Mitchell Christian 20 to 21. Gregory was third with 22 points.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER “It’s time to sing again.” That comment from Dan Graber is at the heart of the decision to bring back the Swiss Choral Society, a musical tradition in the Freeman community that dates back nearly 100 years and historically features a sacred oratorio presented the evening after Thanksgiving. Swiss Choral rehearsals for Handel’s famous work, “Messiah,” are set to begin this Sunday evening, Oct. 16 at the Salem-Zion (North) Mennonite Church starting at 7 p.m.