Mild weather gave the Le Sueur Free County Fair time to shine last week. The 169th annual fair was held Thursday through Sunday. 
    The fair had a 1950s car theme, which was apparent in the style and the many competitions held throughout the week — from kids pedal pull to the truck and tractor pull. Young and old had a contest they could participate in, and many spectators came out to cheer them on.
    Of course, there was a car show, where actual 1950s cars could display their beauty. In all, 120 cars participated in the show.

    The City of Montgomery recently updated its website and, in the process of doing so, people subscribed to its notifications system were not transferred. This left people who normally were signed up to receive alerts via text and/or email for things like snow emergencies and other important city notices, in the dark.

Update: Fifteen-year-old Levi Schelhaas of rural New Prague passed away Friday, Aug. 21,  from injuries suffered during a crash while riding his dirt bike Tuesday, Aug. 18.

His obituary appears on The New Prague Times' website and will be in the Aug. 27 print edition of The New Prague Times.

-------

    After conducting interviews last Wednesday, Aug. 12, Montgomery City Council chose Jesse Johnson of Cannon Falls, Minn., as their new city administrator at Monday’s council meeting.
    Retired Lieutenant Colonel Johnson is a 20-year veteran of the United States Army and Bronze Star Medal recipient. The 49-year-old lives in Cannon Falls with his wife of 24 years, Teresa, and has four kids — two boys and two girls, with three of them being in college.

    A new school year always brings change for students and staff, but this year proves to be a big one for a few locations.
    
TCU High School
    TCU’s school board chose Dr. Melissa Cournia as the replacement for Alan Fitterer as the high school principal, a role that Fitterer fulfilled for 20 years in the district.

    Beginning Sept. 1, Mayo Clinic Health System patients in New Prague who have urgent health concerns that are not life-threatening will continue to have access to care through primary care on demand 24/7 virtual visits as well as in-person primary care appointments.

    As more local patients use primary care on demand virtual visits and increasingly fewer patients seek walk-in services through urgent care located next to the emergency department, Mayo Clinic Health System made the determination to transition urgent care.

    The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is planning a larger-scale improvement project along Highway 13 north of Waterville and Montgomery in 2029. The project includes a 3- to 4-inch pavement reclamation, plus culvert repair and water drainage pipework along the highway between the two cities. It is currently estimated to cost about $15 million, said Forrest Hasty, MnDOT’s District 7 assistant engineer for highway delivery projects.

Online only exclusive.

While we try to get everywhere and capture all the fun that is happening at Kolacky Days, it's just not possible! These are some final scenes of some of the events and offerings of the 2026 Kolacky Days festival in its 92nd year. 

    A rural New Prague woman is facing multiple charges stemming from a domestic dispute at the home of her former boyfriend in Derrynane Township.

    This is the report for the Montgomery Fire Department (MFD) from the month of July 2026. A total of five calls were responded to in the month and a total of 56 calls through the end of July. Training in July was Kolacky Days clean-up, and pump operations and hose testing.
    Below are the list of the calls MFD responded to in July 2026.

Summer Reading Program Results

Ages 3-9

• 105 registered, 64 finished, and 72,600 minutes read. 
• Grand prize winner: Tess Peterson.

Ages 10-12

    The Montgomery Parks and Recreation Advisory Board toured Memorial Park on Aug. 5 to see progress on the new playground and consider future improvements.
    Public Works Superintendent Nick Filipek gave the board the tour, highlighting projects completed, projects still in progress, and a wishlist of things to consider for future projects.
    The playground project is going smoothly. Filipek says that the city will be working on the site preparation through September, and the new set will likely be installed before the end of October.