Once again our young explorer Steven has taken to the roadways of South Dakota. Be the first to guess where this photograph was taken and you can win your choice of our book, South Dakota Photographed, or a one-year subscription to the magazine (if you don't already subscribe).

Click on the photo to enlarge. To enter your guess, click on comments. Don't worry if your guess doesn't show up immediately. Every comment is timed (but not by Steven ... he's taking a nap).

Steven might give you a few clues when he wakes up later today.


Clue #1 -- The stones are wrapped in fabric so kids can throw them.

The Yankton City Commission voted 6-3 on Monday night to accept ownership of the old double-decker Meridian Bridge once it is converted by stimulus dollars into a unique pedestrian/biking "path" across the Missouri River.

The question of whether as much as $5.5 million of federal transportation enhancement dollars should be spent on the vintage structure has been a source of controversy, amusement and debate in Yankton for several months.

But with last night's decision, the project should move forward. It's likely that work will be done next spring and summer. The bridge is just one link to a big vision of pathways and parks that will link Yankton's historic downtown to the river, to a nature area on the Nebraska side and to trails on both the south and north sides of the river leading to Lewis & Clark Lake.

A account will be established so that funds are available for demolition when the bridge reaches the end of its useful life as a pedestrian trail. Of course, the big question is whether that fund will tapped in 10 years or 100 years.

While googling about for some information on the ghost town called Go To Hell Gulch, we discovered the full text of an amazing history book written more than a century ago by Rev. Peter Rosen. He titled it The Black Hills of South Dakota.

Rev. Rosen served as a missionary in the mountains, traveled extensively for seven years and obviously did much research and exploration. He published the book in about 1895, noting that he did so not for literary achievement but simply to make it easier for others to learn about the wonderful area.

He was obviously a kind-hearted fellow who saw good in everyone and everything.

The copy scanned by Google Books belongs to the Harvard Library.

Here's the link to his fine book, pictures and all.

Summer activities are on the wane, but that doesn't mean you need to put away the canoes and kayaks. This is a splendid time of year to enjoy South Dakota's many rivers and lakes.

A few days ago, our circulation director Jana Jonas Lane took the office kayak from Yankton to the St. Helena boat ramp, a distance of seven or eight miles downstream on the Missouri. With a quick current, it was an easy ride of about 90 minutes.

"Turtles were sunbathing on trees floating in the river. The weather couldn’t have been any nicer. It was a great way to relax and feel closer to nature," she said.

By John Andrews

Sometime between 1885 and 1912 Ole Olson carved his name into the wall of a granary on his family's homestead southeast of Langford. It remained there for nearly 100 years and not a soul knew about it. Family members found it in 2003 when Ole's nephew Harlan and his wife Karen converted the granary into a craft house.

Uncovering a hidden piece of family history like that would be special for anyone, but it's even more so for the Olsons because Ole was one of the 1,500 people who died aboard the Titanic in April 1912.

Ole's parents homesteaded in Day County in 1883. Ole grew up there and later moved to Canada to farm. He spent winters visiting family in Norway and was on his way back to Canada for spring planting when the Titanic smacked an iceberg and sunk in the North Atlantic.

Karen Olson called our offices a few weeks ago with the story. She said the family was thrilled to find Ole's name, but it resurrected a lot of sad memories. She said Ole's mother refused to talk about the accident for many months, believing her son had somehow survived and would show up at the farm any day.

The Olsons created a small exhibit in Ole's honor. They preserved that portion of the granary wall with Ole's signature and added some photos and information about the Titanic disaster. The granary now houses Krafts by Karen, which will host a Christmas open house Nov. 13 and 14.

Progressive on the Prairie, a South Dakota blog, has a report and a link to a very interesting article in the Chronicle of Higher Education about why too many rural communities are struggling.

It's a very long report but the condensed version is that rural states invest a lot of time and energy in the "top" 20% of our youth, and we subtly encourage them to go somewhere so they can be a big "success." We do much less for the average boys and girls who don't really care for school and can't wait to get a paycheck, and who stay home. And then their kids are in school a generation later: we invest in the top 20% and ......

By John Andrews

South Dakotans have many ways to greet each other, and as a lifelong resident of the state I've probably experienced them all. On the road it's a friendly wave, sometimes with the entire hand although a quick raise of the pointer finger is acceptable. In person I've gotten a light pat on the arm, a firmer pat on the back or a handshake (usually with one hand but on rare occasions the second hand takes part).

I must admit that outside of family gatherings hugs are rare, and that's the point of this opinion piece headlined "Never Hug a South Dakotan," written by columnist Kerry Peresta earlier this month in the Pierre Capital Journal. As a native of the South Peresta lamented the fact that South Dakotans just aren't huggers. They don't often offer hugs, nor do they take them well, she says. This, Peresta reports, is in stark contrast to Southern culture, of which she was accustomed before moving here years ago.

Peresta's column touched a nerve with her fellow South Dakotans. Since it was posted to the newspapers Web site on Sept. 4, it has garnered 75 comments.

So what do you think? Would a hug be kosher, or is a stiff handshake good enough for you?

By Bernie Hunhoff

South Dakota Magazine was just in the planning stages 24-plus years ago. As soon as we had a few hundred subscribers and a little cash in the bank, we looked for someone to do the work so I could roam around South Dakota and have all the fun.

So we advertised for a worker. Alma Korslund showed up and she's been here ever since. I'm not sure the magazine can be published without her -- because we've never had to try.

Alma has kept the books, set type (in the days when we "set" type), argued with the Revenue Department (and won) and, mostly, worked to be sure that if you sent your money you got a magazine in the mail.

She works part-time these days so she and her husband, Dale, have time to camp with friends and enjoy their big family. We're introducing you to her today because she and Dale celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at the community center in Irene on Sunday night. Here's a picture of the fun-loving and hard-working couple.