Aberdeen mayor reflects on bridge dedication for late son Emerson

ABERDEEN, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - A couple of months after a tragic paragliding accident took the life of eight-year-old Emerson Schaunaman, Edmunds County officials made it possible for his legacy to live on.

For a few years now, a cleanup has removed the debris left around Mina Lake after July 4th festivities. Emerson Schaunaman used to lend a hand and is now memorialized at the bridge that crosses that lake.

“It will be a great memory when I do pass by the bridge to know I had part in that and obviously to keep his memory alive as well,” Michelle Molitor, the organizer of the bridge dedication, said.

After the paragliding accident took Emerson’s life, Michelle Molitor reached out to Edmunds County officials to see if a dedication in his name was possible.

“I couldn’t think of a better way to honor a little boy where it seemed like that bridge meant so much to him,” Edmunds County Auditor Dionne Olson said.

Now travelers will see Emerson’s name for years to come.

“I’m hoping, now that the story is out and people know why we did it, that they take the initiative of picking up trash in his honor, like he enjoyed doing,” Olson said.

This act is one that the Schaunaman family will never forget.

“What an honor to have something named after you, to help your name live on, and Emerson was such a special kid, and I’m just so grateful,” Aberdeen mayor Travis Schaunaman said.

Schaunaman said Emerson found so much joy in helping the cause, and especially in what he would find, from a bracelet to unopened bags of chips.

“He was the easiest kid to know and the easiest kid to like, and everybody that met him became his friend instantly, and after he passed, story after story of the impact that he made on so many people that I didn’t even realize; it’s just been incredible,” Schaunaman said.