It’s not every day you see something taller than the corn hanging out in area fields this time of year. But east of Flandreau, a quirky scene has passersby doing double-takes — even stopping for photos.
For the past decade, Jim and Susan Jepsen have been placing two towering wooden giraffes, Fred and Ethel, in fields around Moody County. This year, the beloved cutouts have found a new home along 230th Street, and the response has been bigger than ever.
“Have you seen the giraffes?” someone recently asked the Moody County Enterprise.

Fred and Ethel aren’t the only ones causing a stir. Three baby giraffes — two wooden cutouts and a stuffed one — have also mysteriously appeared nearby, adding to the spectacle and sparking plenty of local chatter.
The Jepsens have no clue who left the new additions, but they’re enjoying the surprise and the experience overall.
“We saw something like it down by Brandon in a field, so we pretty much copied it — that was the idea. We didn’t completely dream it up ourselves,” Jim Jepsen explained.
Jepsen, who grew up just across the section from where the giraffes currently stand, has been farming in the area since 1976. Asked what else folks should know, he chuckled, “Fred and Ethel would have liked a little more rain this summer.”
As harvest season approaches, Fred, Ethel, and their growing family will head back to the barn, leaving us all to guess where they might pop up next summer.