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Mount Marty University Announces Fall 2025 Dean’s List, Flowers of WS Among Students

Mount Marty University Announces Fall 2025 Dean’s List, Flowers of WS Among Students

Mount Marty University Announces Fall 2025 Dean’s List, Flowers of WS Among Students

News Staff
Tuesday, December 23, 2025
Mount Marty University recently announced the Fall 2025 Dean’s List honorees, among those on the list are Branden Flowers of Wessington Springs.At the end of each semester, all full-time undergraduate students who complete a full-time load of graded coursework (pass/fail courses are excluded) with...
Community Choir Shares Christmas Story Through Song

Community Choir Shares Christmas Story Through Song

Community Choir Shares Christmas Story Through Song

News Staff
Tuesday, December 23, 2025
The Wessington Springs Community Choir filled the historic 1905 Opera House with music on Sunday, Dec. 14, as they presented the Christmas cantata, “A Child Is Born… All Is Well” during a Sunday afternoon performance.The cantata, created by Sue C. Smith and Russell Mauldin and arranged and...
Scan the QR code to purchase advance tickets for the donkey basketball tournament set for Jan. 9 in Wessington. Advance tickets are $10, with tickets available for $15 at the door.

Scan the QR code to purchase advance tickets for the donkey basketball tournament set for Jan. 9 in Wessington. Advance tickets are $10, with tickets available for $15 at the door.

Donkey Basketball Set for January 9 in Wessington

News Staff
Tuesday, December 23, 2025
Friendly competition and a little four-legged flair will take center court when a donkey basketball tournament trots into Wessington on Friday, Jan. 9, bringing together teams from four neighboring communities for a night of familyfriendly entertainment.The tournament will feature two opening...
Winter Service sits at its current location on Dakota Avenue shortly after the business relocated there in 1970. Pictured are Dayle Winter and his father, George Winter Jr., representing the third and second generations of the Winter family to carry on the long-standing Wessington Springs business. (PHOTO COURTESY WINTER FAMILY)

Winter Service sits at its current location on Dakota Avenue shortly after the business relocated there in 1970. Pictured are Dayle Winter and his father, George Winter Jr., representing the third and second generations of the Winter family to carry on the long-standing Wessington Springs business. (PHOTO COURTESY WINTER FAMILY)

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Winter Service opened its doors in 1946

Craig Wenzel For The True Dakotan
Tuesday, December 23, 2025
A young soldier forged his skills as a blacksmith in the German army during the early twentieth century.
The Grinch is led from the Wessington Springs Elementary School gymnasium by Jerauld County Sheriff Jason Weber and Deputy Mike Krueger on Friday, Dec. 19, as students erupt in cheers following his apprehension. (KRISTI HINE / TRUE DAKOTAN)

The Grinch is led from the Wessington Springs Elementary School gymnasium by Jerauld County Sheriff Jason Weber and Deputy Mike Krueger on Friday, Dec. 19, as students erupt in cheers following his apprehension. (KRISTI HINE / TRUE DAKOTAN)

Grinch apprehended at Wessington Springs Elementary, Christmas saved

Kristi Hine / True Dakotan
Tuesday, December 23, 2025
Christmas cheer was temporarily threatened, but ultimately saved, at Wessington Springs Elementary School on Friday, Dec. 19, when the Grinch himself was taken into custody just before students were dismissed for winter break.According to Jerauld County Sheriff Jason Weber, the green suspect was...
Riders participating in the Makatoh Reconciliation and Healing Horse Ride enter Wessington Springs from South Dakota Highway 34 on Friday, marking a long-standing stop in the community’s role as a host along the sacred winter journey. (KRISTI HINE / TRUE DAKOTAN)

Riders participating in the Makatoh Reconciliation and Healing Horse Ride enter Wessington Springs from South Dakota Highway 34 on Friday, marking a long-standing stop in the community’s role as a host along the sacred winter journey. (KRISTI HINE / TRUE DAKOTAN)

Riders welcomed in Wessington Springs as Makatoh Reconciliation and Healing Horse Ride continues sacred journey

News Staff
Wednesday, December 17, 2025
Riders participating in the Makatoh Reconciliation and Healing Horse Ride arrived in Wessington Springs on Friday, where they were welcomed by community volunteers who provided supper, breakfast and an overnight stay at the Jerauld County 4-H Building.The stop is a longstanding tradition for...
Ten Wessington Springs High School FFA members earned state recognition at the South Dakota State FFA Leadership Development Events (LDEs), held Dec. 7–8 in Box Elder. Alexis Roesler, Mercedes Jones, Wyatt Arhart, Taryn Bartel, Tenley Olinger, Madilyn Gaikowski, Lily Roesler, Jalene Reiner, JR Hine, Sutten Jensen.

Ten Wessington Springs High School FFA members earned state recognition at the South Dakota State FFA Leadership Development Events (LDEs), held Dec. 7–8 in Box Elder. Alexis Roesler, Mercedes Jones, Wyatt Arhart, Taryn Bartel, Tenley Olinger, Madilyn Gaikowski, Lily Roesler, Jalene Reiner, JR Hine, Sutten Jensen.

Wessington Springs FFA members earn state honors at Leadership Development Events

News Staff
Wednesday, December 17, 2025
Ten Wessington Springs High School FFA members earned state recognition at theSouthDakotaStateFFA Leadership Development Events (LDEs), held Dec. 7–8 in Box Elder.More than 600 FFA members from across South Dakota competed after qualifying through districtlevel events.
A moment of kindness shown nearly a decade ago has come full circle through a meaningful gift from the Gildemaster family, honoring the bond formed between Carol Gildemaster and the Wolsey-Wessington Warbirds basketball team during the 2016–2017 season. Shown left to right with Carol Gildemaster at center are Warbird seniors from the 2016-2017 basketball team Austin Kemnitz, Darian Ogunjemilusi, Riley Gohn, Bennett White, Darin Tschetter. Tanner Zemlicka was also a senior that year, he is not pictured.

A moment of kindness shown nearly a decade ago has come full circle through a meaningful gift from the Gildemaster family, honoring the bond formed between Carol Gildemaster and the Wolsey-Wessington Warbirds basketball team during the 2016–2017 season. Shown left to right with Carol Gildemaster at center are Warbird seniors from the 2016-2017 basketball team Austin Kemnitz, Darian Ogunjemilusi, Riley Gohn, Bennett White, Darin Tschetter. Tanner Zemlicka was also a senior that year, he is not pictured.

Kindness remembered, legacy planted

Kristi Hine / True Dakotan
Wednesday, December 17, 2025
An act of compassion shown by the Warbirds basketball team planted a seed that continues to grow, now bearing fruit for the Wolsey community through a $50,000 gift On Nov. 13, 2025, Larry Gildemaster honored the memory of his wife, Carol, with a $50,000 donation to the Wolsey Community Foundation,...
Volunteers install new fencing at Hope Cemetery as part of ongoing preservation and improvement efforts aimed at honoring the cemetery’s history while ensuring its care for future generations. The original entrance to Hope Cemetery has been carefully preserved, maintaining a visible connection to the site’s history and the generations it serves.

Volunteers install new fencing at Hope Cemetery as part of ongoing preservation and improvement efforts aimed at honoring the cemetery’s history while ensuring its care for future generations. The original entrance to Hope Cemetery has been carefully preserved, maintaining a visible connection to the site’s history and the generations it serves.

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A fence, a future, and a name that still fits: Why Hope Cemetery endures

Kristi Hine / True Dakotan
Wednesday, December 17, 2025
On a quiet rise west of Wessington Springs, volunteers recently installed a new fence around Hope Cemetery, an improvement meant to address safety concerns, wind damage, and the ceaseless wear of time.But for those doing the work, the fence represents far more than posts and rails.“It’s such a...
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