Monday, Aug. 1, 2022 was the final day in the life of what was a key part of the agricultural community for much of the 20th century. Shanard's Elevator, which was last used as part of the Freeman Farmer's Elevator operation in the 1980s, was being taken down by Knodel Contractors starting around 11 a.m. Monday. Located at the corner of Main Street and Railway, its removal comes in conjunction with the city of Freeman's Main Street project.

Lindy Graber manages friers full of chislic at the South Dakota Chislic Festival's booth Saturday, July 30 during what was another busy festival celebrating the mean-on-the-stick snack made popular by the greater Freeman area over the course of more than a century. This year's festival once again drew thousands, with the grounds of the Freeman Prairie Arboretum busiest between the hours of 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. While it warm and breezy, that didn't keep people away as a steady stream of people filtered in and out of festival grounds even outside of the peak hours, and into the evening.

All was quiet at the Freeman Prairie Arboretum at sunrise the morning of Saturday, July 30, but that was expected to change mid-morning with the start of the fourth South Dakota Chislic Festival. More than two dozen food and non-food venders are on hand and live music and a wide range of activities will unfold between the hours of 10 a.m. and 9 p.m., and organizers say they are planning for as many as 12,000 people. For much more on the festival, click here.

Andrea Baer, chair of the South Dakota Chislic Festival Board of Directors, is interviewed by Ernest Cottier for a morning spot on Dakota News Now shortly after 5 a.m. Friday morning, July 29 — one day before the fourth festival celebrating the popular cubed meat on stick unfolds. Baer was one of several people interviewed between 5 and 6 a.m. on the grounds of the Freeman Prairie Arboretum, where the festival will take place. Also accompanying Cottier from Sioux Falls to Freeman was cameraman Shane Trail.

Charles Harberts works with other volunteers to set up the tent that will be used for bingo at the South Dakota Chislic Festival, which returns to the Freeman Prairie Arboretum Saturday, July 30. Setup is underway today and will continue Friday, when some vendors begin rolling in. Organizers are preparing for as many as 8,000 to 10,000 guests who will begin rolling in Saturday morning; the fourth chislic festival runs from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

This was the sky southeast of Freeman Tuesday evening and rain and stormy weather moved across the region. But while many areas received much-needed moisture, the Freeman community was teased with only a light, brief shower, exacerbating concerns about dry conditions and what that means for farmers.

In yet another construction project taking place in Freeman this summer, the foundation work has been completed on The Hangar, Freeman Public's new wrestling/mutli-use facility being built east of the elementary gym and west of the bus lane. While work has been idle as of late, it is expected to resume Aug. 8 with the arrival of precast walls that will lead to the rise of the addition. The project is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Progress continued on the Main Street project Monday morning as workers with Reede Construction continued to lay sections of concrete; with the southbound roadway poured, attention is shifting to the northbound side of the street between Third and Railway streets. Sidewalks and the extended curbs still need to be installed, as well.

This photo shows the main home of one of the first settlements in the area that came with the Germans-from-Russia migration that started in 1874. The settlement was built by one of the earliest pioneers, Daniel Unruh, who in 1874 established his homestead on 445 Ave. southeast of what would become the city of Freeman. The home pictured included 15 rooms; the photo was taken in 1904. Pictured are, from left, Susie Richert, John Richert, John D. Unruh, Regina Unruh, Daniel Unruh, Jacob Vogt, John J. Unruh, Adeline Dalke and Marie Dalke.

Owen Feser is greeted by teammates after crossing home base following his solo home run in the bottom of the first inning, which knotted Freeman's amateur baseball showdown with Menno at 1-1. Menno's run in the top of the first also came on a home run — an inside-the-parker by Dylan Lehr. The No. 3 Blacksox ultimately came out on top in a 3-1 game against the No. 6 Mad Frogs to advance to the semifinals of the Region 6 Amateur Baseball Tournament being hosted by Freeman. The Sox will face No. 2 Tabor Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at Merchants State Bank Field.