The setting sun this past Thursday had an eerie feel to it due to wildfires in Canada. The smell of smoke and haze in the air was a reality starting that morning and prompted the US Environmental Agency to issue a warning through its Air Quality Index for the Great Plains and Midwest.  

Paul Wynia, Freeman Public’s public address announcer, gives instructions at the start of yesterday’s Region 4B Track and Field Meet. The competition was the last of its kind as the SDHSAA is doing away with region track meets after this year because of the new qualifying structure for state (a top-24 performance list) that has been in place since 2021. The Menno boys and the Centerville girls won Thursday’s Region 4B meet.    The state meet is next Thursday-Saturday in Sioux Falls. The field is expected to be released later today. 

Ashton Massey, a Menno junior and the top Class B hurdler in South Dakota, warms up at the Region 4B Track and Field Meet in Freeman Thursday morning, May 18. Field events began at 10 a.m. and running events are scheduled to start at 12 p.m. This marks the final year of region track meets in South Dakota — a decision that comes on the heels of a change in the way the field of state qualifiers is set.

Donna Ries, outgoing instrumental instructor at Freeman Academy pictured in the lower center, stands with both current and former students at the conclusion of a pep band concert that was part of a full evening of activities at the school on what was a beautiful Tuesday evening, May 16. The event, which included a tribute to Ries' years of service to the school, was marked by a surprise visit from Donna's three daughters, who are pictured standing next to her.

Katie Juhnke, principal at Freeman Junior-Senior High School, gestures in the direction of a new bench that has been placed in front of the school building in honor of Kahlen Salis, the 14-year-old student who passed away last August following complications from a liver transplant. Freeman Public held an assembly for students and staff on the last day of school Tuesday morning to dedicate the bench, which was made by Jim Christensen using red cedar and is inscribed with the words, "In Loving Memory, Kahlen Ranae Salis, 2008-2022," and bookended by two butterflies, which she loved.

The Courier is happy to share as its Photo of the Day the picture that is featured in Heritage Hall Museum & Archives' weekly feature, "Monday on Main." Here's the text that accompanies this classic click:

Freeman High School's Class of 2023 graduates toss their caps in the air after leaving the commencement stage Saturday afternoon, May 13 following a ceremony that lasted short of an hour. Graduation at Freeman Public featured a time to recognize honor students, a PowerPoint presentation featuring the seniors and their journey, a gift of carnations shared with loved ones, and the presentation of diplomas. There were other graduations on on Saturday, as well, including at Menno, where 26 seniors said goodbye in an afternoon ceremony at the school's high school gym.

The inch-plus of badly-needed rain that fell across the Freeman community is reason for celebration, as are the graduations scheduled for today; commencements at Freeman Public (pictured) and Menno are both scheduled for this afternoon.

This photo, taken by famous Freeman photographer Willard Waltner sometime in the later 1960s, features Freeman's baseball field and a government C.C.C. bin site the foreground, with the community further to the south behind it. The relatively new-at-the-time St. Paul Lutheran Church is pictured toward the upper center, and what was then Freeman Public School is pictured right of center in the upper third of the photo. 

Banners honoring the Freeman High School and Freeman Academy classes of 2023 went up on along Sixth Street Wednesday night, and banners honoring the Menno High School Class of 2023 are going up along Fifth Street in Menno Thursday morning. Hanging the banners in Freeman were Mitch Kleinsasser and Tabitha Schoenwald, and Ken's Electric is assisting in Menno this morning. The 26 banners recognizing the seniors in Menno and the 31 recognizing the seniors in Freeman are sponsored by various businesses, organizations and individuals.