Scott Peterson attaches an American flag to a pole at the Freeman Area Veterans Memorial over the weekend. The flags are being displayed in observance of Memorial Day and will remain up for much of the summer.

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.

This was the scene at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls Thursday morning in the opening moments of the 117th South Dakota High School Activities Association State Track Meet, which will continue of the course of the next three days and feature athletes from 2,771 athletes from Class B, A and AA schools. Freeman Academy/Marion, Freeman Public and Menno are well-represented and featured in nearly every Class B event, with the Menno boys holding the best chance at a strong team finish. Watch for updates later tonight and throughout the course of the following days.

This was the scene at the Freeman softball field Tuesday evening, May 23 as the Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy Phoenix hosted Viborg-Hurley in the high school softball SoDak 16. As the higher seed, the No. 8 Phoenix hosted the No. 9 Cougars but ended up on the losing side of a 13-6 score. F/M/FA finishes the SDHSAA's inaugural season of sanctioned softball with a 5-11 record.

Erin Uecker, who is co-managing the Freeman Swimming Pool with Kate Miller this summer, cleans shelving inside the bathhouse Tuesday morning. An open house at the local summer hotspot will be held Tuesday, May 30 starting at 4:30 p.m. to allow families to purchase season passes, and the first day of the season is scheduled for Thursday, June 1.

Easton Tschetter looks home after getting the runner out at second base during Canistota/Freeman/Marion's Region 1B game against Dakota Valley in North Sioux City Sunday afternoon, May 21. Also pictured is shortstop Tayden Kerrigan. The No. 7 Sticks fell to the No. 2 Panthers 8-3 to finish their first-ever varsity season with a 5-7 record. Also in Region 1B action on Sunday, the No. 4 Scotland/Menno Trappers lost to No. 5 Parkston 8-1 to see their season come to an end with a 9-5 record.

Angelyn Allison and the Freeman Academy Class of 2023 are pictured on the Pioneer Hall stage during graduation Saturday afternoon, May 20. This has been a commencement weekend for a number of schools and communities, including FA — where 11 seniors said goodbye — and at Marion — where nine seniors closed out their high school careers.

The setting sun this past Thursday had an eerie feel to it due to wildfires in Canada. The smell of smoke and haze in the air was a reality starting that morning and prompted the US Environmental Agency to issue a warning through its Air Quality Index for the Great Plains and Midwest.  

Paul Wynia, Freeman Public’s public address announcer, gives instructions at the start of yesterday’s Region 4B Track and Field Meet. The competition was the last of its kind as the SDHSAA is doing away with region track meets after this year because of the new qualifying structure for state (a top-24 performance list) that has been in place since 2021. The Menno boys and the Centerville girls won Thursday’s Region 4B meet.    The state meet is next Thursday-Saturday in Sioux Falls. The field is expected to be released later today. 

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.