Laverne Graber, who has recently become a regular volunteer at Heritage Hall Museum & Archives, paints one of the faux trees that are part of the Natural World Exhibit being developed. The local museum is open to the public during the winter months Monday through Friday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The photo taken during the demolition and removal of Shanard's Elevator in Freeman is included with this week's look back at 2022 through photos. Some are included in this week's print edition and all can be found in the Courier's online photo gallery by clicking here.

This photo of Menno resident Dale Goehring driving his 1979 Corvette Stingray through the Fourth of July parade is part of the Photos of 2022 retrospective included in this week's issue of The Courier. The final edition of the year also includes a narrative looking back on what made the past year such an eventful one; it will be released online early this afternoon and in print on Thursday.

After a long, cold and snowy extended Christmas holiday weekend, it's back to normal at Freeman City Hall and across the community as the final week of 2022 is underway. 

The impact of the past week's weather can be seen in the snow piled up on the edge of the Casey's parking lot at Sixth Street and Highway 81. People are continuing to clean up from last week's snow and blowing snow that lasted over the course of three days.

The sun rises on Christmas morning.

The FedEx truck was making one final round before Christmas on Saturday, Dec. 24 and is pictured during a stop on Cherry Street. The weather the last few days has made a significant impact on mail delivery and travel in general, although the wind has finally subsided — for now, anyway.

The clock at CorTrust Bank in Freeman tells the story of the past few days — 11-below zero Friday morning with high winds continuing to hold the region in a deep and dangerous freeze. A blizzard warning remains in effect for almost all of South Dakota with a no travel advisory throughout the state. Winds are expected to be strong through Friday, with more winter weather expected this weekend. The forecast now shows snow for Christmas Day.

The weather is a bad today as they said it was going to be, with temperatures more than 10-below zero and wind chills in the neighborhood of 50-below. All of southeastern South Dakota is in a blizzard warning because of the blowing snow, which is expected to continue through Friday before leveling out. This photo was taken at the intersection of Dewald Street and the North County Road as sun dogs colored the eastern sky.

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.