• Arizmendis/Springer vs. Peck/ VanDerWerff • Bakke/VanDerWerff vs.

Every year in early June, we observe the anniversary of the Normandy invasion of World War II commonly called D-day. By the way, the “D” simply stands for whatever day a military assault is planned. For example; D-3 meant three days before a D-Day, while D+7 meant seven days after a D-Day. On June 6th, 1944, America and its allies engaged in one of the most significant military operations of the 20th century. I have personally suffered loss from war and have a deep appreciation for the service and sacrifice that men and women give to protect our country. My mother’s youngest brother, Kenny Maye was killed in Korea and I have his dog tag, casket flag, and a rare picture of him. He was only 20 years old in 1950. Sadly, his existence is nearly unknown and I often wonder about the life he could have had. For everyone that has sacrificed for this great nation, thank you for your service.

Local farmer Richard Rubel, recently directed a $2,500 Bayer Fund America’s, Farmers Grow Communities donation to the newly formed Gregory County FFA Chapter. Gregory County FFA will use the funds to help purchase jackets and student handbooks for all new members.

Gregory County 4-H hosted a workshop called “Brain and Body Connection” on Thursday, June 10, 2021. The children learned how exercise enhances the brain’s ability to learn and store memory along with the core character qualities. Character qualities consisted of kindness, gratitude, patience, teamwork, honesty, respect and more. With each exercise, the youth learned a correlating character trait. They wrapped up the workshop with some fun team building which provided participants the opportunity to acknowledge each other’s individual talents and work together as a team. (Submitted photo)

What do you do for fun? How long has it been since you’ve been asked this question and what was your response? Are you hard pressed to find what belongs on your list of hobbies? If we consider the benefits of hobbies, the value is obvious. Some of the benefits may include:

South Dakota has the strongest economy in America. In fact, a recent study by Moody’s Analytics says that South Dakota is one of only two states to be in a stronger economic position than we were before the pandemic. That’s no small deal. At a time when other states are still struggling to recover from the devastating shutdowns imposed on them by shortsighted politicians, South Dakota is thriving.