The Most Important Meal
By Fran Hill Breakfast foods are my heart's desire. Pancakes, waffles and French toast. Eggs: poached, scrambled, fried, rolled into an omelet, or baked into a quiche. Bacon. Sausage. Ham. Oatmeal....
View ArticleBlessed Sacramints
By Laura Johnson Andrews When I was growing up, no special occasion was complete without platters full of cream cheese mints, arranged in dainty pastel patterns and placed right next to a bowl of mixed...
View ArticleGoodnight, Mrs. Pierre
By Lance Nixon ((img|goodnight-mrs-pierre-2-28-22-1.jpg|width=759)) Pioneer radio broadcaster Ida McNeil used her microphone to creatively assist rural South Dakotans who had limited opportunities for...
View ArticleMarch/April 2022
((img|MarApr22.jpg|width=250)) Our writers searched every courthouse in South Dakota for our cover story, including Butte County's stately seat of government in Belle Fourche. Treasures in the...
View ArticleFor the Birds
By John Andrews ((img|sand-lake-3-7-22-1.jpg|width=759)) The Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Brown County is among the world's most important waterfowl habitats. On a calm summer’s morning at...
View ArticleTournament Time
By Christian Begeman This column has been almost exclusively dedicated to outdoor and nature related photography. This month that changes. I have good reason to do this. First, I haven’t been able to...
View ArticleLuck of the Irish Soda Bread
By Fran Hill Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Are you celebrating the wearing of the green today? While Hubs and I aren’t really the green beer type, this day for the luck of the Irish is probably one of our...
View ArticleThe Cowboy’s Artist
By John Andrews ((img|tony-chytka-4-11-22-1.jpg|width=475)) Tony Chytka fired his sculpture of saddle bronc champion Clint Johnson in his Belle Fourche foundry. A BLACK CAT PURRS beside a homemade kiln...
View ArticleFirst Flowers
By Christian Begeman The wind is whistling as I sit down to type. It is April 12 and there are tornado warnings south and east of Sioux Falls. Friends in northwest South Dakota are battling blizzard...
View ArticleAsparagus Dreams
By Fran Hill Spring 2022 has blown into South Dakota. Literally. We’ve battled more days of high wind warnings than sweet, warm sunshine, but I am confident that true spring will show its face soon....
View ArticleMay/June 2022
((img|MayJune22.jpg|width=250)) Michele Seaman of Piedmont enjoys a moment with her horse and dog on the West River prairie. The photo was taken by Jim Caldwell at last year's Black Hills Photo...
View ArticleKeeping Track of Light and Life
By Christian Begeman This year’s spring journal marks a decade of keeping track of light and life returning to South Dakota as winter transitions out. Ironically, that first journal entry talked about...
View ArticleThe Other Red Meat
By Fran Hill When people learn that my husband and I raise sheep, they almost immediately follow up with a comment that they haven’t ever eaten lamb. Many South Dakotans, in my experience, haven’t...
View ArticleLarger Than Life
By Bernie Hunhoff ((img|august-klindt-6-6-22-1.jpg|width=759)) Buffalo County farmer August Klindt was photographed on a Colorado main street while performing with the circus. “How tall are you?” was...
View ArticleShortgrass Spring
By Christian Begeman When was the last time you had lunch with a view? I was never much of a picnic person. Growing up, I was too easily annoyed by gnats, mosquitos, black flies and ants trying to get...
View ArticleThe Nemo Life
By Bernie Hunhoff ((img|the-nemo-life-6-13-22-open.jpg|width=759)) The view from atop Nemo Mountain, also called The Big Hill by old-timers, illustrates how the old logging town is buried in the Black...
View ArticleScars from the Sky
By Paul Higbee ((img|black-hills-lightning-6-20-22-1.jpg|width=759)) A lightning strike beyond the Badlands. Photo by Greg Latza. As a little girl, my great-grandmother found lightning terrifying....
View ArticleJuly/Aug 2022
((img|JulyAug22.jpg|width=250)) Robin Condon maneuvers the skateboard park at Manderson, one of four parks built on the Pine Ridge Reservation. South Dakota in 20 Artifacts: Pieces that helped shape...
View ArticleIn Full Bloom
By Christian Begeman It’s wildflower season again across the Northern Plains. Lately my photography has taken me down the path of botany. Well, not fully, I guess. I’m mostly interested in flowers and...
View ArticlePizza at Kate’s Cottage
By Laura Johnson Andrews ((img|kates-cottage-8-1-22-2.jpg|width=400)) Guests at Kate's Cottage of rural Beresford enjoy good conversation and homemade pizza, courtesy of hosts Gaylan and Gale Gors and...
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