Santa here. Santa there. Jolly ol’ Santas everywhere!
Waterville resident Ron Marsh has one collection, and at this time of year, it’s displayed in full glory.
Marsh has amassed a collection of close to 100 Santas.
All of the jolly old elf decorations adorn the Marsh home on Lake Tetonka.
“I’m really not sure how many there are... I’d say between...
To see more on this story, pick up the December 17, 2020 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.

Free help available for teens struggling with drugs, alcohol
Jeremy Gerres gets right to the point.
He’s a recovering addict.
Drugs and alcohol governed his life for many years. He knows the struggle, the pain, and the consequences.
Gerres opened Spirits at Rest, a drug and alcohol treatment center in Montgomery, earlier this year, but quickly identified a need for a program for adolescents.

A total of six WEM volleyball players have been honored by Gopher Conference coaches after their championship season.
WEM seniors Allison Rients, Toryn Richards, Kylie Pittmann, Ellie Ready, and Autumn Taylor and junior Alex Heuss each received recognition this fall.
Richards was named the Conference Player of the Year and was named to the First Team for the fourth straight season.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is seeking applications from Minnesota residents interested in serving on the statewide Aquatic Invasive Species Advisory Committee. Applications are due by 4:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22.
Aquatic invasive species are one of the state's most pressing natural resource issues. Preventing the spread of zebra mussels, Eurasian watermilfoil, invasive carp, starry stonewort and other invasive plants and animals is of critical environmental, recreational and economic importance.

Per Governor Walz, thanks to the hard work of Minnesotans over the last few weeks to keep each other safe, we are starting to turn a corner on COVID-19. But we’re not out of the woods yet. Today we announced a way forward that will bridge the gap to vaccination.
This plan will protect hospital capacity while prioritizing getting our kids back in the classroom and supporting Minnesotans’ quality of life.
Starting January 18, every elementary school in Minnesota may choose to operate in person with additional safety measures.

In alignment with Executive Order 20-103 announced December 16 by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Minnesota State High School League will begin in-person practice for winter sports and activities on Mon., Jan. 4, 2021.

New Prague KC Hall - 411 4th Ave. SW, New Prague
Mon. December 14. 2020
12:30 - 5:30 pm
New Market Town Hall - 8950 230th St. E, Lakeville
9 am - 2 pm
Wed. December 16, 2020
Jordan Fire Station - 501 N. Varner St, Jordan
Thurs. December 17, 2020
10 am - 2 pm
To sign up for an appointment for either locations go to:
https://www.primarybio.com/r/scottcounty

Santa's Workshop adapts to pandemic, continues to spread cheer
Santa's Workshop was busy.
Families with young children picked up more than 2,260 wrapped gifts from the free, fifth annual gift-giving event that was held at The Village in Waterville last weekend.
Due to the on-going pandemic, the event, which usually provides an in-person...
 
To see more on this story, pick up the December 10, 2020 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.

Helping others becomes local man's lifeline
Instead of focusing on his own hardships, a Morristown man is choosing joy by helping others this holiday season.
2020 has not been kind to Manny Lara. The 2006 Waterville-Elysian-Morristown graduate suffered a work-related injury at the end of February. He spent the spring and summer focusing on his recovery and being a dad to his three kids, 12-year-old sons, Jacob and Gunner, and his little princess, three-year-old Estella Rose.
Then, he lost his job. “They decided to let...
 

Sheriff’s department donates decorated tree to family in need
The Le Sueur County Sheriff’s Department is making magic.
On Friday, Dec. 4, Sheriff Brett Mason and his staff delivered a fully decorated Christmas tree to a Le Sueur County family in need. “Project: Believe in the Magic of Christmas” was organized by Mason, The Mounted Posse, and The Sheriff’s Youth Project.

A total of three WEM football players have been named to the 2020 All-Mid Southeast Red Sub-District Football Team.
The Bucs placed eighth in the Red Sub-District, which included mostly Class A teams.
First Team selections included seniors Griffin Atherton, Kurtis Crosby, and junior Domanik Paulson.
Atherton had his season...
To see more on this story, pick up the December 10, 2020 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.

The Minnesota State High School League’s (MSHSL) Board of Directors on Thursday, Dec. 3, approved a flexible plan for the restart of winter activities when clearance is provided by state governmental leaders. Executive Order 20-99 is currently in place, a directive that mandates a four-week pause in activities designed to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. That is scheduled to expire on...
To see more on this story, pick up the December 10, 2020 print edition of The New Prague Times, Montgomery Messenger or the LifeEnterprise papers.

"Mom, I really like our Christmas tree. It's not like other people's trees... Ours doesn't match." ~ Ellen, age 8
 
Oh, the joys of Christmas!
My little redhead is correct. Our tree does not "match."
It will never be featured in a magazine. It's not much to look at, until you look closely.
Every ornament is different, the star is made of cardboard and aluminum foil, and we still wrap our tree in multi-color lights (it's not a "fancy" pre-lit one).

Audrey Marie Kopischke, age 82, of rural Mankato, died peacefully surrounded by her family on Saturday, December 5, 2020.

Due to the ongoing surge of patients hospitalized with COVID-19, Mayo Clinic Health System has temporarily suspended operations at the Belle Plaine clinic and will be temporarily suspending operations at the Mankato-Northridge, Le Sueur, Janesville and Waterville clinics as of Monday, Dec. 7.
The suspensions are necessary to reallocate staffing resources to other critical care needs in response to the COVID-19 surge. The closures are expected to last six weeks. COVID-19 testing is still taking place at the Belle Plaine Clinic.

Having an athletic and an intelligent team are two things which coaches dream of.
In the case of the highly successful 2020 WEM vol- leyball team, they are elite in both categories.
When it comes to being athletic, the Bucs finished the 2020 season with a per- fect 11-0 record, winning their third straight Gopher Conference Championship and finishing as the top rated Class A team for the first time in school history.
When it comes to intelligence, six of the seven seniors on the team were...