Last week was cold, blustery and full of snow with Winter Storm Olive putting things to a halt all over South Dakota on Wednesday and Thursday. The snow started Tuesday and continued through Wednesday. The wind picked up and made for difficult driving conditions all day Wednesday and part of Thursday. Schools were closed or practicing E-learning to keep from making up so many days. Thursday afternoon was spent cleaning out driveways, roads, walkways and parking lots, so life could get back to normal on Friday. To give townships and families extra time to clear roads and driveways, Sanborn Central continued with E-learning on Friday, but the last basketball game of the regular season was able to take place that night, so normalcy was found quickly.

…See pictures in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!

Sanborn County, and most of South Dakota, was hit by Winter Storm Diaz last week that started slowly as rain on Monday and then dumped over a foot of snow on the area on Wednesday and Thursday. As could be expected, schools were closed from Tuesday to Friday along with all activities being either cancelled or postponed. Sections of I-90 were closed to traffic for over 24 hours because of the lack of visibility and the many trucks that had already found themselves in the ditch or stranded. Highway 34 going west from the 281 junction was closed for a couple days, as well, as the road conditions were treacherous for anyone to try to take the hills on that route.

As usual, everyone eventually found a way to get their roads and yards cleaned out so they could go back to as normal lives as can happen after a harsh winter storm. Temperatures are still extremely frigid this week, so the snow isn’t going anywhere, but pathways have been cleared to get to places. Although the area hasn’t had a storm that has unloaded this much snow in a while, it really isn’t anything new for the upper Midwest, so people just take it in stride. The fortunate thing during this round of rough winter weather is that there were no reports of anyone being without power, which makes being held up at home a little easier when one can still do laundry, cook and watch TV.

It sounds like another storm is brewing to happen this week as the paper goes to press. Hopefully it won’t be as bad as forecasted, and there won’t be as much to report in next week’s issue. Stay safe and warm, and if you must travel, make sure to take a winter travel kit with you.

…See pictures in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!

Black Friday shoppers were out and about on Friday, Nov. 25. Shoppers were lined up outside the door of Dumont Boutique and CreativeWEB waiting for the doors to open at 8 a.m. and hoping to take advantage of great sales. 

While many people started their holiday shopping on Friday, 6B Seed and Supplies helped people either continue a family tradition, or possibly start a new one, with their sale of fresh Christmas trees, greenery and other goodies, which started on Wednesday, Nov. 23 and continued on Friday and Saturday. It was an event for the whole family with an exotic animal petting zoo, a hot cocoa and smores station, Christmas cookies, lots of trees and décor for sale and the farm decorated with lights galore. Their Santa and Sweet Shop is still open with many great Christmas items available for decorating or gift giving. They have another wonderful event planned for Saturday, Dec. 17 with a kids’ book reading by local author, Amanda Radke at their Santa and Sweet Shop at 10:30 a.m. along with the shop open from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. for any last minute shoppers.

Many people took advantage of the nice weather the area experienced over the Thanksgiving weekend to get their outdoor decorations up, too, so the whole county is looking festive and ready for the Christmas season.

…See plenty of pictures in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!