The clean-up crew with the city of Freeman clears the windrow of snow lining the center of Main Street Thursday morning, Jan. 5, and will be turning their attention to the side streets Thursday afternoon. No traffic is being permitted in these areas until the work is done. Today is the first "nice day" since a major winter storm consumed the region starting Monday afternoon and continuing into Wednesday. Sixteen inches of new snow is being reported in both Freeman and Menno.

An already snowy landscape is going to get hit with another round of weather Monday afternoon into Tuesday as a significant winter storm is in the forecast. Totals are expected to exceed 6 inches and could be much higher locally. With the snow lasting into Tuesday and the high winds that are expected, Jan. 3 basketball games are in question and there's a chance of a late start for students returning to school on Wednesday. Heritage Hall Museum & Archives will be closed on Tuesday, with a Wednesday opening also in question. Check back for weather-related updates as they come in.

The 2023 Schmeckfest production team is pleased to announce the members of the chorus for this year’s Schmeckfest musical, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “State Fair.”

JEREMY WALTNER - EDITOR & PUBLISHER One short question. That’s all it takes for Alice Graber to jump into a pool of thought and reflection — a spoken remembrance that lasts an awe-inspiring, uninterrupted 8 minutes and 56 seconds.

It's fitting that on this, the first day of winter, the area is getting hit with another snow event, this one coming with extremely cold temperatures. This photo was taken late Wednesday morning as snow was falling on the Freeman community and temperatures were hovering around zero degrees. Winds are expected to increase later to day and create a ground blizzard and very dangerous wind chills through Friday. This photo was taken looking to the south; Freeman's Main Street runs through the center of it.

The Pioneer Hall auditorium was quiet Monday morning, but it will be alive with the sounds of Christmas tonight as Freeman Academy finally proceeds with Yuletide. The annual holiday meal and music program was originally scheduled for Thursday and Friday, Dec. 15 and 16 but postponed because of the winter storm and its aftereffects — primarily in rural areas. For ease of rescheduling, all ticket-holders for "A Tree-Mendous Yuletide" will be accommodated tonight.

Director Kris Carlson has announced the cast of “State Fair,” which will be presented as the 2023 Schmeckfest musical March 23-25. Tickets are on sale at schmeckfest.com The chorus and production team will be announced at a later date.

Jim Rigo moves snow Friday morning, Dec. 16 — the final day of what ended up being a nasty winter weather event across the Freeman community. What started with sleet and rain early in the week turned over to snow Wednesday, which continued well into Friday. Chad Soulek of Lawns Unlimited speculates Freeman received between 6 and 8 inches of snow and says he can't remember a multi-day weather event like this in years. "It was a doozy," said Soulek, who put in a 22-hour day Friday and was back at it Saturday morning; he hoped to be wrapped up by 3 p.m.

Because of the winter weather, the Missionary Church has canceled Friday night's showing of "Why the Nativity.”

This drift in front of Fensel's on Highway 81 is all you need to know about the weather situation, which continues to be extreme. Snow and blowing snow remained a reality Friday morning and the moisture accumulation from the past couple of days is impacting travel considerably. Plows were out cleaning the main roads in Freeman overnight and the cleanup has continued into the daytime hours — and will in the 24 hours to come.