Rita Hoff, a member of the Olivet United Methodist Church, carries out a to-go order at the church's annual Groundhog Day Pancake and Sausage Feed held Wednesday, Feb. 1 in the basement of the church. Those working at the fundraiser estimate they serve as many as 500 people throughout the day each year, with proceeds going to the missions taken on by the church, or for a need in the community. The event is typically staffed by men only, but for the first time this year, women helped work the event. Watch for a full recap and analysis in the Feb. 9 edition of The Courier.

Varsity girls basketball teams from Scotland and Freeman Public come together for a photo sporting their special warm-up shirts that proclaim, "Women in sports supporting women in sports." The shirts were given to the players by Scheels in commemoration of the 37th annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day," an initiative of the Women's Sports Foundation (WSF). According to the organization's website, "The confidence, strength and character gained through sports participation are the very tools girls and women need to become strong leaders in sports and life.

Basketball players from the Menno girls team stand at attention for the national anthem prior to their game at Freeman Public earlier this month. The Wolves and Flyers are back in action tonight; Menno is hosting Avon in a doubleheader in what is the school's annual Military Appreciation Night, where all service men and women are admitted for free. The JV games will begin at 4:30 p.m., with the varsity girls expected to tip off around 5:45, followed by the varsity boys.

The clock at CorTrust Bank reads minus-2 and city crews clean up more snow Monday morning, Jan. 30, as what has been a hard winter continues. While no snow is in the forecast, temperatures will be cold the first part of the week before gradually warming into the weekend.

This photo taken Sunday morning shows a snow-covered landscape that has been the reality in the greater Freeman area since the middle of December. Pictured here is Freeman Regional Health Services and the St. Paul Lutheran Church.

Craig Paulson clears snow from his driveway after winter delivered another round of snow overnight and into the daylight hours of Saturday, Jan. 28. The Freeman community received about 6 inches of new snow, adding to the accumulation that has been building since December. More than 30 inches of snow has fallen since the second week of December.

Freeman Academy senior Jada Koerner raises a commemorative basketball in the direction of her fans after reaching the 1,000-point mark in her prep career. Koerner reached the milestone at home against Irene-Wakonda Thursday night, Jan. 26; she needed fours points to get to 1,000 and got there on a layup late in the second quarter for points 1,000 and 1,001 — another sweet moment what has been an outstanding all-around prep career for the senior.

The cast and crew of Menno's one-act play, "Dark Road," is pictured following their dress rehearsal Monday afternoon. The troupe was one of six to take part in the Region 1B competition on Wednesday and earned a trip to the state festival at O'Gorman next week; the other representative from Region 1B is Sioux Falls Lutheran. Freeman Public also competed. State will be held over three days Feb. 2, 3 and 4. Menno will take the stage Thursday afternoon.

Dustin Randall removes snow from the roof of his Freeman home Monday afternoon, Jan. 25 — a reminder that cleanup from the recent snowfalls continues. And while new snow isn't a reality today, high winds have created difficult road conditions that have prompted Freeman schools to let out early. And — yes — more snow is in the forecast for Friday and Saturday.

This photo was taken in Dead Man's Alley — which connects the south end of Cherry Street with Poplar Street — over the weekend following an overnight fog that turned the landscape into a spectacular winter wonderland. It's been that kind of a winter thus far — a snowy inconvenience and beautiful all at the same time.