The old Hutchinson County Courthouse was reduced to rubble earlier this week, with the original part of the historic structure — the center of the building — the last to fall. Work on the demolition began Monday afternoon, March 7, and by the end of the day on Wednesday the structure was down. County workers are now separating and hauling the rubble for disposal in Mitchell. 

This photo is looking east toward a still-being-developed portion of the city of Freeman in the 1960s. Spanning the center of the picture is the Freeman Hospital when it was a 30-bed facility — prior to the construction of an extended care rehabilitation facility that would later make the facility the Freeman Community Hospital and Nursing Home. Also pictured toward the top of the photo is the St. Paul Lutheran Church. The easternmost roadway shown at the very top of the picture is Albert Street; Stadium Drive had yet to come.

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. 

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.

Fans on the Freeman Academy/Marion side of the gym offer a variety of reactions to a questionable call by the officials in Friday night's Region 5B game against Irene-Wakonda. But almost everything went the way of the Bearcats in a convincing 66-32 win, which puts them in the SoDak 16. The SDHSAA has yet to release the bracket. FAM goes into the game with a 20-2 record.

Ten-year-old Kenzy Penner, left, and her 6-year-old sister Keely settle in for pancakes at the Freeman Public FFA fundraiser Friday morning, March 4. Pancakes with fixings were served by members of the FFA from 7 to 10 a.m. from the middle school-high school kitchen and lunchroom. The Penner girls are the daughters of Jay and Malynda Penner, who is the FFA advisor. 

This photo of Rylee Peters swiping the ball away from a Centerville opponent is part of a photo gallery looking back on Freeman Public's Region 5B game against the Tornados.  To see the photos from that game, as well as Freeman Academy/Marion's region contest against Menno, click here.

Thaniel Schroeder (jumping) and Connor Epp defend the court against Alcester-Hudson in the second round of the Region 5B Tournament Tuesday night in Marion. The Freeman Academy/Marion boys didn't play their best basketball of the season but still won handily, defeating the Cubs 70-34 to move to 19-2 on the season and into the final round of the regional tournament Friday night, March 4 against Irene-Wakonda. Game time is set for 6 p.m. at Freeman Public. Also pictured here is Dylan Johansen.