JEREMY WALTNER  -  PUBLISHER Voters across the country will head to the polls next Tuesday, Nov. 3 for a general election headlined by a contentious race for president between Republican incumbent Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden. But there’s more on the ballot than that, including in South Dakota, where voters will weigh in on three ballot issues — two of which would legalize marijuana in the state and a third that would legalize sports betting in Deadwood.

JEREMY WALTNER  -  PUBLISHER As COVID-19 cases surge across South Dakota — active cases went from an average of 2,594 the third week of September to 8,983 the third week of October while average daily hospitalizations went from 58 the third week of August to 332 the third week of October — the coronavirus pandemic continues to have a major impact locally.

JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER The 2020 State Cross-Country Meet will be remembered for the wintery weather conditions that moved across the Black Hills Saturday morning, Oct. 24. Freeman Academy runners and fans will remember it for something else, too: One of the best all-around finishes in recent memory, if not program history.

Tyce Ortman scored a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter, Isiah Robertson scampered for a 66-yard touchdown run and Collin Helma caught a 63-yard touchdown pass from Ortman as Canistota/Freeman built a 32-0 lead over Chester Area in the first round of the Class 9A playoffs in Freeman Thursday night, Oct. 22. The Pride ended up winning 48-14 behind 128 rushing yards from Ortman and 83 from Robertson; Blake Anderson also ran for a touchdown and a two-yard conversion to keep Canistota/Freeman well in front.

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.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Titus Roesler runs to win. To that end, this has been a good cross-country season for the Freeman Academy senior, who has owned the Class B field throughout the year and ran away with the Region 5B championship last week in Platte. Roesler finished the 5,000-meter course in 17 minutes, 33 seconds and nearly 45 seconds in front of the Bon Homme’s Nate Hall, who finished second.

JEREMY WALTNER  -  PUBLISHER Safety concerns raised by Freeman city officials about a preschool located on the second floor of a downtown business have generated a response from the building’s owners, Amy Beck and Josue Torres (Sway), as well as the preschool director Autumn Huntimer.

JEREMY WALTNER  -  PUBLISHER A question raised by school officials from Marion this past summer about a possible sports cooperative with Freeman Public turned into a larger discussion about possible consolidation at the Freeman School Board meeting Wednesday night, Oct. 14.

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 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.