In January, Ashlyn Koupal hit her 1,000-career point in basketball as a sophomore. Also celebrating her 1,000-career point in basketball was senior Macy Koupal. Tanner and Talia Wince shared an update on their son, Hudson, after making it home after his first of three surgeries. New postmaster, Callie Strand, was welcomed to Wagner. Recovery Warriors Facebook podcast was created and co-hosts Leon Flying Hawk and Rosezena Zephier began giving background on each of their own history as well as inviting guest speakers to share on their weekly episodes. Senior volleyball players Aubrey Medricky, Shona Kocer, Kya Kjeldgaard, Madi Knebel, Macy Koupal, and Abriana Leines received Academic All-State Honors.

February brought state meets for both gymnastics and wrestling, with Alexys Rueb and Jasmine Ruelas competing at the State Gymnastics Meet, and the Raider wrestlers placing 5th as a team, and Jhett Breen winning the State Championship Wrestling title at 165 pounds. Knotheads Bar & Grill reopened after some renovations and announced Kristan Soukup as the owner/operator. Donna Stastny was the Grand Prize Winner of $5,000 from the Wagner American Legion Greer Post Annual Sweepstakes. Shona and Travis Hill became the new owners of Williams Septic.

Highlights of March included Charles-Mix County 4H introducing new administrative assistant, Jo Cee Johnston. Shona Kocer was named the 2024 South Dakota Boys and Girls Club Youth of the Year. Darrell Miller was named the new Chief Executive Officer of the Indian Health Services Yankton Service Unit, Great Plains Area in Wagner. The Lady Raiders claimed both the LMVC and SESD conference titles in basketball. Wagner’s own Klay Kokesh won the AAU state wrestling title for tots, 57. Wagner Community School’s National Honor Society held their annual induction ceremony. Those inducted were April Hollingsworth, Carter Smejkal, Charles Kocer, Hunter Lhotak, Jackson Rolston, Lydia Yost, and Presley Slaba.

It was announced in April that Presley Slaba was selected as the 2024 Girls State Delegate by the Wagner American Legion Auxiliary Greer Unit #11. Katie Swatek Hjelm was featured on the cover of Senior Inspire Magazine. John Chrisman from the Wagner Greer Post #11 was selected as the District Legionnaire of the Year. Ashlyn Koupal was selected as the SESD All-Conference MVP. Emma Yost had an outstanding freshman season playing basketball for DWU and was named the Great Plains Conference First Team Conference as well as GPAC Freshman of the Year. Gus Stop in Pickstown opened, celebrating with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Wagner welcomed a new business, Aced Concrete & Landscaping, owned and operated by Ryan Strand. Emma Kreeger won the district American Legion Auxiliary essay contest. Tera Koupal was named the girls’ basketball lower-level Region 5-8 Coach of the Year. Missy Slaba was awarded Outstanding SDCASE Administrator. Lavern Andersh received his certificate of 70 years of continuous membership for the Wagner American Legion.

In May, the Lake Andes National Wildlife Refuge began the building of a new visitor’s center. Wagner Community School celebrated their graduating class of 2024. The Fort Randall Casino hosted its first Indigenous Fashion Show with show organizers being Taira Little and Cecily Rose Engelhart. For the Raider softball season awards, Hannah Holzbauer – Hustler; Lydia Yost – MVP; Bella Kotab – Most Improved; Ravyn Medricky – Hustler; Braxton Nedved – Defense and Libby Kotab.

June was a busy month with Wagner’s St. John Lutheran Church celebrating 125 years, and the county being drenched with a near-constant rain of 8-12 inches, causing unprecedented flooding and damage. Out of the Wagner Community School’s state track tournament qualifiers, two came home with champion titles. Jhett Breen was the 2024 State Champion in the 300m hurdles. Ashlyn Koupal became a four-time state track champion in the high jump. Kevin Andersh retired from driving the school bus for WCS after 41 years. June also marked Wagner Cancer Rummage Sale's best year ever, raising $15,000 that will all go back into the Wagner community to help those battling or who have battled cancer. The Wagner Pool Fundraising Committee received a matching fund of $200,000 from the Arlene Kirby family. Paula Vilhauer retired from WCS after teaching for 42 years.

July events included JaCee Dvorak being awarded Grand Championship Senior Showmanship at the South Dakota Junior Hereford Association. The Wagner LMVC Midgets took home first place. The Charles-Mix Historical Society was awarded a $20,000 grant from the Wagner Community Foundation which allowed them to replace roofs on three of the outdoor buildings. The National Guard 153rd Engineering Battalion held its 20-year reunion from when it was deployed as a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Apparel WorkX officially relocated to their new building.

In August, seven-year-old, Ellie Leines, organized (with the help of her mother and grandmother) a food drive after learning that the shelves of the Needy Nook in Marty were becoming bare. The Wagner Cancer Memorial Walk held its 17th annual event at the Wagner Lake. Selected as 2024 Labor Day Parade Marshals were Don and Joan Hubbard. A ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony was held to present the new pink concrete ribbon constructed on the hillside surrounding Wagner Lake. The WCS Class of 2028 presented a memorial bench to the family of their late classmate, Braxton Kreber.

With September came Wagner's annual Labor Day celebration, this year's theme being 'Out of this World,' but for the first time in the history of Labor Day, there were two 2024 Labor Day Queens crowned, Lydia Yost and Madison Robertson. Leon FlyingHawk received the Wagner Community Recognition Award. Hunter Lhotak and Presley Slaba were crowned king and queen at Wagner Community School's Homecoming coronation. Sharon Haar received a VA Service Certificate Award. Work began on the Good Samaritan Society with expected re-opening in the fall of 2025. Lisa M. Durham was honored and memorialized when the US Army Corp of Engineers held a dedication for the naming of the trail that runs on the outskirts of Pickstown, the Lisa M. Durham Memorial Trail. Connie Kaufman was named the Hometown Hero by Modern Woodmen Chapter 17406.

October saw Tycara Tuttle attend the Minnesota Twins Team Championship where she won the competition in her division and ended up 9th place nationally in the Pitch, Hit & Run championships. The South-Central Coalition Against Human Trafficking hosted a human trafficking awareness event. The Wagner Community Foundation awarded grants to the Boys and Girls Club, the Charles-Mix County Historical Society, and Wagner Pool Fundraising Committee. Stacy Fousek was presented with the Dig Pink Traveling trophy at the annual Dig Pink volleyball night. The Wagner Cheer team traveled to Rapid City and brought home 5th place in small division from the State Cheer competition. Barb Wiechmann was appointed a Catholic Daughter National Director for North Dakota, Colorado, and a territory of Ohio. Tom Abdouch received an award from the United States Postal Service in honor of his exemplary driving skills. Tom has driven 1,000,000 miles with no accidents.

Events of note in November included Adventure Academy moving to Main Street and Dennis Clemens attending a Midwest Honor Flight with his son as his guardian. The Greenwood Presbyterian Church began renovations to the 153-year-old church. Charles-Mix County reported 67.51% turnout for the election. Chantal Zephier was welcomed as a new stylist at Town and Country Beauty Salon. Wagner Area Growth held a community stakeholders’ event. Hollmann Apiaries celebrated 40 years in business. Shea Kjelgaard, Hunter Lhotak, Parker Petry, and Gannon Knebel were all named to the 2024 SESD Conference football team. Rayvn Medricky and Braxton Nedved were named to the SESD All Conference volleyball team. LMVC honors went to Rayvn Medricky, Hannah Holzbauer, Libby Kotab, and Branston Nedved.

The Wagner Oral Interp team advanced to State in December. Team members included Presley Slaba, Macee Stimpson, Portlyn Jones, Sam Kafka, Jackson Rolston, and Taya Stone. Madi Robertson competed at the Regional FFA LDE competition coming out with 9th place in Employment Skills. Doyle Reinschmidt and Ronald Dilts were presented with 50-year membership plaques from the Wagner American Legion. Wagner's Parade of Lights was held. The National Guard celebrated 388 years since its inception. Mark Wiechmann built and donated a replica machine gun to be mounted to the Wagner American Legion’s M38 Jeep that they use in parades. Charles-Mix County Commissioner Keith Mushitz retired after over two decades of serving the residents of the county.