New Prague Area Schools will be closed Thursday, Feb. 7, due to predicted weather conditions.
Students will have a blended learning day.
There will be no WRAP or pre-school classes.
All evening activities are cancelled.

Shopko announced Wednesday, Feb. 6, that it was closing 174 additional stores following its recent bankruptcy filing, and that includes the Shopko Hometown store in New Prague.
When all is finished, the company will have just 109 stores, compared to the current total of 360.
A list published Wednesday includes stores closing in six phases, some as early as March 2. This includes stores that were announced to close last month. Fifteen stores in Minnesota are on the list. The New Prague store is in the sixth phase, and its estimated last day of operation is May 12.

Nordwall, Lonna R., age 73 of Prior Lake, passed away February 6, 2019.  Preceded in death by parents, Alfred and Shirley Beenken; brother, Lee Beenken; daughter-in-law, Joan Nordwall. Survived by her by husband, Jim; children, Michael (Robin) Nordwall and Michelle Nordwall; granddaughter, Brittney; sister, Paulette Vaughan; also by other loving family and friends.

Loretta (Stanton) Zweber, age 83, passed away peacefully on Monday, February 4, 2019, at her home in Prior Lake, MN.  
 Service will be at St. Michael Catholic Church 16311 Duluth Ave. SE, Prior Lake. A visitation will be on Friday, February 8, from 3-7 pm and on Saturday, February 9, from 9:30-10:45 am, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 am. Interment at St. Michael Cemetery.    

New Prague Area Schools will be delayed 2-hours on Monday, February 4, 2019 due to icy road conditions.

Harry Dietz, age 96, of New Prague, died peacefully on Sunday, February 3, 2019 at Mala Strana Rehabilitation Center. Harry was born on January 30, 1923 in Lanesburgh Township, Le Sueur County, Minnesota to Frank J. and Rose (Panek) Dietz. He graduated from New Prague High School. In his early years he worked at the mill in Montgomery and as a mechanic for Jimmy Rutt’s garage. He married Leota Busta on October 15, 1945. He spent his life as a farmer, who valued conservation of both the soil in his farming practices and wildlife.

Due to the impending bad weather forecasted for Thursday, Feb. 7, the New Prague Area Historical Society is cancelling its “Winter Meeting” on that date at the New Prague Library. Weather forecasted for that day is there is a 30 percent chance of snow showers in the evening, winds of 10 to 20 miles per hour, and temperatures of 16 degrees fahrenheit for a high and a low of 12 degrees below zero.

Timothy Joseph Mulvihill, age 53, of New Prague, died peacefully, surrounded by his family on Sunday, February 3, 2019 at his home.  Tim was born on December 10, 1965 in Rochester, MN to John Edward and Colleen (Loftus) Mulvihill.  He spent his early years in Fountain, MN until moving to Norfolk, Nebraska in junior high.  He graduated from Norfolk High School, where he played football and continued his football career with Rochester Community College after moving back to Minnesota.  Tim married the love of his life, Michelle  Bany at the chapel at Yellowstone National Park on July 10, 1998.

The New Prague Trojan girls hockey team received the No. 7 seed for Section 2AA playoffs and will travel to Minnetonka Friday, Feb. 8, to face the No. 2-seed Skippers at Pagel Arena.
The Trojans are 13-8-3 on the season, and have one more regular season game left, Monday, Feb. 4, at Waconia. The Skippers are 11-12-1 and have one more game left, Tuesday, Feb. 5, against Blaine.
Other first round games in the section:
8-Prior Lake at 1-Eden Prairie
5-Holy Family Catholic at 4-Shakopee
6-Bloomington Jefferson at 3-Chaska/Chanhassen

Dorothy M. Cervenka, age 77, of New Prague, died peacefully on Sunday, February 3, 2019 at Oak Terrace Assisted Living in Jordan. Dorothy was born on December 20, 1941 in New Prague to Joseph F. and Mary (Novotny) Preslicka. She attended St. Wenceslaus Catholic School and graduated from New Prague High School. Dorothy married Benjamin T. Cervenka on July 2, 1960 at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church. In the early years of her marriage, she worked at Munsingwear and cleaned homes. The majority of her life was spent as a paraprofessional for the South St. Paul and Chaska school districts.

Lawrence B. Bisek, age 71, of New Prague, died suddenly at his home on Friday, February 1, 2019. Larry was born on September 19, 1947 in New Prague to Blasé B. and Elsie J. (Machacek) Bisek. He graduated from New Prague High School and attended a technology college in Minneapolis. Larry worked as an electrician his entire life for MVE/Chart and most recently at the airport for MSP. Larry was a dedicated member of the New Prague Veteran’s Honor Guard, a past commander of American Legion Post 45, was on the Park Board for many years, and belonged to the Sportsman’s Club.

New Prague High School hold its coronation of Snoball Royalty during a pepfest Friday afternoon. Feb. 1. Brooklynn Isley and Noah Weichert were crowned Snoball queen and king. The royal court is pictured (front row, left to right) Danielle Burns, Baylee Rezac, Junior Princess Abigail Bisek, Junior Prince Bohumil Tisdel, Queen Brooklynn Isley, King Noah Weichert, Junior Princess Elle Virtnek, Luke Schoenbauer, Charlie Jirik; (back) Mary Daly, Caroline Geiger, Hailey Wight, Carlie Simon, Chloe Davis, Spencer Kajer, Murphy Warner, Joseph Beatrez, Joe Weiers and Cody Harder.

The New Prague Trojan wrestling team defeated Waconia 38-28 Thursday, Jan. 31, to complete an undefeated season in the Wright County Conference East Division and claim the conference title.
A key win in the match came at 138 pounds, where senior Bryce Lofton, trailing 14-0 and facing a possible technical fall loss, opened the third period with an escape, then a takedown and pinned his opponent. That 11-point swing in the team score proved the difference in the match.

Anthony Bruce Illies, Sr., age 69, of New Prague, died suddenly at his home on Thursday, January 31, 2019.  Bruce was born on October 29, 1949 in Granite City, Illinois.  He graduated from Granite City High School and attended Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.  Bruce served in the US Army during the Vietnam War years and married the love of his life, Diana, while on leave December 23, 1969 in Granite City, IL.  This year would have marked 50 years of marriage.  He worked as a retail consultant all of his life.  Bruce’s passions were reflected in his lifestyle.  He was inducted i

New Prague and Waconia are scheduled to face each other Thursday, Jan. 31, with the Wright County Conference East wrestling championship on the line. The match will take place in the Trojan gym with a scheduled start time of 7 p.m.
That match is subject to postponement due to weather conditions.
The Trojans improved to 3- 0 in the conference with a convincing win over Orono Thursday, Jan. 24. Two days later they claimed first place in the Orono Invitational, with all but two of the Trojan entries placing in the tournament.

The New Prague Trojan gymnastics team battled injuries and still had a good score in a win over Annandale Thursday, Jan. 24. The score was 137.6-124.525.
In addition to two Trojans out for the season (Tina Shimota and Ellie Morris), two other varsity athletes were out with minor injuries for the meet.
The Trojans had solid bars and good vault and floor routines. "Beam had a few slip-ups, but was OK," Coach Doug Amundsen said. "The girls are showing their depth and working hard to stay consistent."