Ryan Sorensen and sons Nash (left) and Hayes head for a fishing spot at the Freeman Prairie Arboretum Saturday morning, June 17 in the minutes leading up to the 9:30 a.m. start of the 17th Freeman Fishing Derby. Temperatures were comfortable for the family-friendly, catch-and-release event — which was scheduled to conclude at 11 a.m. — but turnout was light.

The Photo of the Day on Wednesday showed the new stop sign that faces west at the corner of Cherry and Fifth Street. This is the other new stop sign that has gone up in Freeman and faces east at the corner of Cherry and Sixth Street.

Freeman was a busy place Wednesday night with the farmer's market (pictured) at the Swimming Pool Park, baseball and softball games across the road and a bike rodeo/light meal downtown that included participation from the Freeman Community Development Corporation, Freeman Regional Health Services and Pink Ladies. The evening also included a bike donation to community "bike doctor" Dennis Ries, who fixed up the rides for those who might be in need.

Drivers navigating the familiar Cherry Street jog that connects Sixth Street with Fifth Street will notice two new stop signs that have been placed at two intersections — this one facing west at Fifth and Cherry and another facing east at Sixth and Cherry. The signs are there to help control traffic at what is a busy connecting point for areas around town. 

This week's Courier is being produced by Publisher Jeremy Waltner from a charter bus on the way home from the Freeman Music Department's trip to Florida. This photo was taken from the front seat of the bus taken in the overnight hours of Monday into Tuesday as the group passed from Tennessee into Kentucky. The students and adult chaperones and music teachers are due to arrive back in Freeman Tuesday afternoon between 4 and 5 p.m. Waltner accompanied the group as a parent, chaperone and community journalist to report on the trip.

Freeman Junior-Senior High School band director Sheila Wipf leads the instrumentalists through a recording from the film Despicable Me inside Studio 33 in the backlot of Universal Studios Sunday morning - the third full day in Florida on the group’s seven-day excursion. The band’s visit to Studio 33 was part of a workshop that included voiceovers and sound effects by the students and a production of a clip from the movie featuring that morning’s recordings. The group is set to depart for home Monday afternoon and return early Tuesday evening.  

Michelle Milne and Ted Swartz of Ted & Company take part in a talkback with the audience following their Saturday night performance of “We Own This Now” presented in Pioneer Hall. The performance is rooted in the Doctrine of Discovery and offers an engaging look at land occupation and the impact European settlers had on Indigenous Peoples. The performance was sponsored by Freeman Network for Justice and Peace with support from Heritage Hall Museum & Archives.

A gift from above came on Friday as nearly 1 1/2 inches of rain fell across the region, with more expected on Saturday. For a moisture-started region where great concern as been building, calling it a relief is an understatement.

Most of the group of students and chaperones gather for a photo at a welcome center after crossing into Florida early Thursday afternoon. Freeman music students checked into their their hotel accommodates later that afternoon and spent the rest of their day swimming in the outdoor hotel pool, making a run to Target across the road and finding food (via either DoorDash, making it themselves in their rooms or visiting one of the nearby restaurants like Five Guys) prior to settling in for the night.

This is map that shows all the listings of those who are participating in The Courier's publicized citywide rummages sales in Freeman. A more detailed listing of names, locations and, in some cases, specific items, is included in the classified section published in this week's Area Wide Connection and Courier. A map and that listing will be available from The Courier office and both Freeman grocery stores starting Thursday. Sales will take place Friday and Saturday of this week.