SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A group of 20 high school students from Potsdam, Germany has been all over the upper Midwest, including a tour of the KELOLAND studios Wednesday in downtown Sioux Falls. For 15-year-old Jakob Kretschmer, one experience has stood out as his favorite.
“I would say Crazy Horse,” Kretschmer said. “We went to the Crazy Horse in the Black Hills, and it was like a big, big deal because I think it’s just amazing to see the progress so far, and I hope I [am] alive when it’s finished.”
“We traveled to the Mall of America, we were in Badlands National Park, Custer State Park, Rapid City, we saw a AA basketball, high school game with them, so we gave them a lot of American opportunities, I guess,” said teacher Christine Schulz, who is accompanying the group. “And their host families have been great in providing additional trips and local favorites to them.”
And for 16-year-old Gwendolyn Peter, that aspect is her favorite.
“I think just staying with our host families because they’ve been so nice and amazing,” Peter said.
Potsdam and Sioux Falls are sister cities. For years now, German students have visited South Dakota and South Dakota students have visited Germany. But, as Schulz explains, a sister city partnership can go well beyond student visits.
“Connections in economy; businesses can connect with each other,” Schulz said. “We have a university exchange as well, so Augustana College has an exchange with our Potsdam University. There have been visits from mayors from both sides.”
And come 2026, students from Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls will visit Potsdam. Per Lincoln German teacher Saskia Edwards via email, students from her school visit “every other summer.”
“They have a very good teacher back at Lincoln who organizes all of that, and we work together to, yeah, give them a good time when they are there as well,” Schulz said.
After all, international relations aren’t just about presidents or heads of state meeting in front of cameras; they’re about future leaders learning, too.
“I really love seeing those new cultures I’m not used to because, like, the different ways that people live, it’s just really interesting to me,” Peter said.
“It’s really a true idea of international cooperation and democracy,” Schulz said.
The group will fly home on Friday.
