The Freeman High School girls volleyball team's first seven jumps onto the court after being introduced prior to last week's Region 5B match against Gayville-Volin. The Flyers are in action again tonight when they travel to Chester to face Chester Area in the SoDak 16. The match starts at 7 p.m., with the winner advancing to the state tournament in Huron next week. Pictured are, from left, Lily Wipf, Erin Uecker, Oddy Pankratz, Kate Miller, Cara Maske, Rijjy Peterson and Mesa Mehlhaf. 

The west side of the St. Paul Lutheran Church reflects in a puddle of water Monday morning, Nov. 9 following an overnight/early morning rain. Freeman reportedly received 1.70 of moisture, and cold temperatures and stiff breeze truly make it feel like fall. It also puts an end to what was a mild, albeit windy, weekend.

BY JEREMY WALTNER  |  COURIER EDITOR & PUBLISHER The Tigers delivered the first blow. But the Pride won the fight — and the night.

The Salem Mennonite Church is pictured at sundown last week. The steeple/bell tower at the church is a familiar symbol in the East Freeman community. It was built when the church was erected in 1966 has survived a fire that destroyed the rest of the structure in 1985. The South Church is located two miles south and four east of Freeman.

Players from Canistota/Freeman stand at attention for the singing of the national anthem prior to their semifinal showdown with Howard Friday night, Nov. 6. The Pride outlasted the Tigers 12-7 in what one coach called a "street fight." C/F will play for its third-straight state 9A championship against Warner next Friday night at the DakotaDome. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

BY JEREMY WALTNER  |  COURIER EDITOR & PUBLISHER You don’t have to remind the Freeman High School girls of the old cliché, “There is no ‘I’ in team.” They proved it Thursday night.

Craig Wollman and students from Freeman Academy unload rakes out of the bed of a pickup to tackle a leaf-raking job in Freeman — their fourth house of the morning. The private, Christian-based school serving students in grades K-12 is today canvassing the town for its annual Community Service Day in which students and staff rake and haul leaves for residents who have called in and scheduled the work. It's a full day and a big job that goes back to the 1970s; watch for a story in the Nov. 12 edition of The Courier.

The parking lot at Freeman Public School is largely empty after administration decided to end in-person instruction for students in grades 5-12 for the remainder of the week. Students in the fourth grade were already learning remotely because of a positive COVID-19 case. The development this week comes after a teacher tested positive for the virus; most students in grades 5-9 are considered close contacts and, per guidelines of the CDC, are quarantined through Tuesday, Nov. 17.

A positive case of COVID-19 inside the Freeman Middle School-High School building has prompted school administration to alter instruction for the remainder of the week, and possibly into the coming weeks. In-person instruction has been suspended for students in grades 4-12 Thursday and Friday, Nov. 5 and 6, with remote learning set to take place on Friday.

JEREMY WALTNER  -  PUBLISHER The Freeman City Council last week voted 6-0 to allow families and individuals who want to use the Freeman Community Center auditorium for recreation to do so free of charge, as long as another scheduled event is not taking place. School-sanctioned teams — like Marion/Freeman wrestling — who want to use it for practices will still be assessed a fee.