JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Randall Koehler, the pastor of the Hutterthal Mennonite Church who delivered the address at the Freeman Ministerial Association’s community baccalaureate service last Sunday afternoon, May 7, had a message for the Class of 2023 that may have been hard for some to hear. Graduates, he told those assembled in the auditorium inside the Freeman Community Center, you probably don’t have life all figured out.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Twenty seniors from Freeman Public and 26 from Menno will walk across the commencement stage and receive their high school diplomas at their respective graduation ceremonies this Saturday afternoon, May 13. Freeman Academy will hold its commencement exercises the following Saturday, May 20, as will Marion. Both of those ceremonies will begin at 2 p.m. at Pioneer Hall and at the Marion High School gym. Here’s a closer look at what’s ahead this weekend.

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.

The public is invited to come and worship with the Freeman Ministerial Association and graduates of Freeman Public High School and Freeman Academy this weekend. The annual community baccalaureate service will be held Sunday May 7 beginning at 4 p.m. at the Freeman Community Center. All are welcome to attend and show their support for this year’s  graduates and their families. Music will be led by Craig Wollman, a message will be shared by Pastor Randall Koehler, and the rest of the service will be officiated by members of the Freeman Ministerial Association.

The city of Freeman is once again looking for a chief of police. Meeting in regular session Tuesday night, May 2, the Freeman City Council accepted the resignation of Scott Brewer, who has been Freeman Police Chief since February of 2021, and voted to advertise for his replacement.

Rarely do I regret choosing journalism as my career, something I knew I would pursue even as a teenager growing up here in Freeman. But there are times I wonder what my world would look like if I had instead taken up my second love — cooking.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Two local teenagers are facing charges of vandalism through the office of the Hutchinson County State’s Attorney after spray painting bathroom walls inside the visitor’s center that is part of the Freeman Prairie Arboretum.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER The Third Street property in Freeman just west of Main Street that first opened as the VFW in 1964 and has, in the past 20-plus years, gone through multiple identities, is in a state of flux once again. The BrickHouse Lounge, a restaurant that has been in operation by Tobi Duffel since late 2021, is closing this week. The final day will be Saturday, April 29, according to a post made last week on the businesses Facebook page.

Story & Photos by Jeremy Waltner | Publisher It’s April 16, 2022 and Mark Johnson is standing under a tent on a concrete parking lot behind the Elks Lodge just off of Interstate 29 in Sioux City, Iowa, along with some of the other best cooks in the world. The ribeye he is preparing has been warmed to between 80 and 85 degrees and the B&B charcoal burning in the basket of his PK grill is heating to his liking — between 600- and 630-degrees Fahrenheit, although some like it hotter — as hot as 700 degrees.

So what does this photo of ribeyes ready to go on the grill have to do with The Courier? Find out in this week's issue available online later this morning/afternoon and in print on Thursday.