The Menno boys remain atop the leaderboard in the men’s team standings at the SDHSAA State Track & Field Championships after the second day of competition, but with that total, coupled with what they have left, be enough to get them a team plaque.

Freeman High School senior Kate Miller runs to the finish line to greet her teammates immediately following the 4x100 preliminary during the opening day of the three-day state track meet Thursday. Miller and the three other runners — Makenzie Scharberg, Rylee Peters and Zenovia Butler — won their heat with another personal best (15.66) and will compete in the 400-meter final Saturday with the third-best time in the field. The Flyers will also be looking to qualify the 4x200 for Saturday's final, with that prelim set for 10:30 a.m. today.

The final region championship belongs to the Menno High School boys.

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.

Running a newspaper has never been without challenge. Ever since journalism through the printed word became part of the human existence there have been issues to deal with and hurdles to overcome, be it accuracy and fairness, timely delivery, content that is appealing to readership or financial viability.

The Canistota/Freeman/Marion Sticks and Scotland/Menno Trappers have both finished in the top eight in the 12-team Region 1B standings and have therefore qualified for the region tournament this Sunday. The Sticks (5-6) are No. 7 and will face No. 2 Dakota Valley (10-1) at 2 p.m. at Dakota Valley (North Sioux City). The Trappers (7-4) are No. 4 and will play No. 5 Ethan/Parkston/Tripp (7-4) at 3 p.m. in Tyndall. 

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.

A 2021 Ford Expedition driven by a male juvenile with a learner’s permit on his way to school plowed into a storage unit at the corner of Cherry and Sixth streets around 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, May 17, sending the vehicle all the way into the steel structure and damaging at least five of its units.

  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.