JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER As has been the case at each of the past five years, Kerry Kepplinger and his gang at Kepp’s Chislic served up mutton per tradition at Saturday’s annual South Dakota Chislic Festival. But the Scotland-based business also had a secondary option — chicken chislic, which featured a lower per-dozen price point than sheep. The reason for the chicken, Kepplinger said, is because he wanted to offer something that was more affordable to accommodate those concerned about spending. In other words, he wanted to accommodate everybody.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER In one of his first big moves as the new chief of police in Freeman, Jay Slevin is helping spearhead an effort that he hopes will lead to the establishment of a Freeman Neighborhood Watch program. Slevin, who was named chief of police last month and replaces Scott Brewer — who took a job with county law enforcement — met with the Freeman City Council about the idea at its July 18 meeting. He also recorded a short video explaining the idea that was shared on the city’s Facebook page on July 26 and drew favorable response.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER When considering other popular festivals across the state, the South Dakota Chislic Festival is still relatively young. It debuted just five years ago, and Saturday’s big to-do will be just the third time it will be held on the sprawling grounds of the Freeman Prairie Arboretum. Yet it feels familiar.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Constituents of the Marion School District are getting their first chance to meet face to face — sort of — with the district’s new superintendent, Brian Brosnahan, who started his tenure in Marion this month. Brosnahan introduced himself and provided a look at some of what is happening in the district through the first edition of what is being called “The Marion Minute” on the school’s YouTube channel posted on July 13.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Constituents of the Marion School District are getting their first chance to meet face to face — sort of — with the district’s new superintendent, Brian Brosnahan, who started his tenure in Marion this month. Brosnahan introduced himself and provided a look at some of what is happening in the district through the first edition of what is being called “The Marion Minute” on the school’s YouTube channel posted on July 13.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Valley View Golf Course was closed to the public on Tuesday for a traveling senior tournament that brought 30 two-person teams from around the region to the 9-hole playing ground set on 80 acres located just outside of Freeman city limits. That’s 60 people who wouldn’t have otherwise decided to make the Freeman community — albeit one mile to the south — their destination on July 11, 2023.

JEREMY WALTNER - EDITOR & PUBLISHER The Freeman City Council has taken action to enable those who hold a valid driver’s license to operate an insured golf cart on the streets of Freeman. Meeting in regular session Wednesday, July 5, the council unanimously approved the second reading and adoption of ordinance 2023-03, which opens the door for residents to obtain a golf cart permit for operation of the vehicle on municipal roadways.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER For those who have moved to Freeman in the past 30 years, or for those born in the 1990s or later, Valley View Golf Course has always just been part of the larger community — an 80-acre recreational vista located one mile south of town that is a regular destination for novice and serious golfers alike. Of course, it hasn’t always just been.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Joshua Hauck, who will be a seventh grader at Freeman Academy this fall, stepped to the front of the stage for his big moment. His character, Bruce Bogtrotter, was breaking the fourth wall (the imaginary boundary that separates the actors from the audience) with the following confession: It was he, not Matilda as Miss Trunchbull suspected, who had stolen the headmistresses’ private piece of cake from her tea tray that morning.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER For generations in both Freeman and Menno, baseball has been one of the hottest summertime tickets in town, so why should 2023 be any different? It’s not. From youth ball clubs to teener teams to amateur squads that go by the names Blacksox and Mad Frogs, the season on the diamond has been underway since last month and, for some, will continue well into July. Here’s a closer look. Blacksox