Because of a significant winter weather event moving through the Black Hills on Saturday, the South Dakota High School Activities Association has moved the races to earlier in the day. The Class B girls will now run at 9:30 a.m. MST (not 10 a.m.) with the Class B boys to follow at 10 a.m. The final race of the day, the Class A boys, is now scheduled to being at 2:30 p.m.

Robert Leal Juhnke (Bob) of Cape Coral, Fla., passed away peacefully at his home Sept. 11, 2020 at the age of 84 years and 9 months, with his wife and children at his bedside after a long bout with cancer. He was born on a farm near Milltown to Arnold and Freda (Huber) Juhnke. He was baptized on December 29, 1935 and confirmed at St Peter’s Lutheran Church in Clayton, S.D.

Freeman Public remains undefeated in October and now stands at 13-6 after a 3-1 win over Hanson at Alexandria Tuesday night, Oct. 20. The Flyers beat the Beavers (5-13) 25-19, 25-18, 16-25, 25-9 behind 16 kills, 23 digs and five aces from senior Rijjy Peterson. Kate Miller added seven kills, 12 digs and a pair of aces, Mesa Mehlhaf had six kills, and Cara Maske and Ava Ammann shared the set assists with 18 and 15, respectively.

Pumpkins, gourds and other October/Halloween decorations can be seen on doorsteps, porches and in front yards as the fall season wears on. 

The area received its first visible reminder that winter is just around the corner thanks to a light dusting of snow Monday, Oct. 19. While it was enough to "decorate" the fall colors, it didn't stick around long. The cold has, though, with highs today in the 40s and overnight lows expected to be around the freezing mark.

Allen Schmidt, 84, of Freeman, S.D., passed away on Oct. 19 at Sanford Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D. A memorial service is pending for the morning of Saturday, Oct. 31 at the Salem-Zion Mennonite Church.    Allen Schmidt, 84, of Freeman, S.D., passed away on Oct. 19, 2020 at Sanford Hospital. A private family burial will take place at Schartner Cemetery of rural Marion, S.D. A memorial service will be held in 2021.

Canistota Superintendent Larry Nebelsick confirmed Monday morning, Oct. 19, that there are several cases of COVID-19 in the junior high, but the Canistota/Freeman football team is not impacted. One Canistota volleyball player will miss tonight’s home match against Irene-Wakonda, but there is no reason for alarm, he said.

The sunny days of the weekend have been replaced by something else entirely — cloudy skies and moisture. Light precipitation was falling in Freeman Monday morning with a 50% chance of more throughout the day and also on Tuesday. It's cold, too; highs aren't expected to exceed the low 50s all week long and on Saturday, when the State Cross Country Meet commences in Rapid City, highs are forecast to be in the 30s — with a chance of precipitation. 

The St. Paul Lutheran Church Bazaar has been cancelled for 2020 due to COVID-19. The ladies do have cutlery and dish cloths on hand for those who would like to make a purchase. Please call Corrine Handel at 925-7433.  

The temperatures have dropped but the sunshine lights up the leaves on this row of trees along College Street.