James Thomas Halloran, age 83 of St. Thomas, passed away on September 18, 2018 at his home surrounded by his family.  Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30a.m. on Monday, September 24 at St. Thomas Catholic Church in St. Thomas.  Fr. Roger Hessian will officiate.  Visitation will be on Sunday from 3-7p.m. at the Kolden Funeral Home in Belle Plaine and continue at the funeral home on Monday morning from 9-10a.m.  Interment will be in St. Thomas Catholic Cemetery.  Lunch will follow the burial at Our Lady of the Prairie Catholic Church in Belle Plaine.

The case against Le Sueur County Historical Society (LCHS) will get a green light or a red light in October after a Le Sueur County judge clarified matters on Monday, Sept. 17.
 
In court were Ray Konz, attorney for LCHS, and Kevin Wetherille, attorney for the 16 plaintiffs. The attorneys discussed the proceedings thus far and made several requests of Judge Mark Vandelist.
 

The New Prague Area Education Foundation held its annual Brain Power Walk-Run Saturday, Sept. 15, at Trojan Stadium. The event included a 5K run and a one-mile run. Above, New Prague Area Schools Superintendent Tim Dittberner was surrounded by a large group of elementary students at the beginning of the one-mile run. The event raised money for the foundation, which uses the money for classroom grants for teachers in New Prague schools.

Adele A. (Soukup) Goblirsch, age 94, of Sleepy Eye passed away on Thursday, September 13, 2018 at Sleepy Eye Medical Center after a brief illness.
Visitation will be on Thursday from 4 to 7 pm and will continue on Friday from 7:30 until 10 am at the Sturm Funeral Home, Sleepy Eye. There will be a parish prayer service Thursday at 4pm at the funeral home.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held at the St. Mary's Catholic Church, Sleepy Eye, on Friday, September 21, 2018 at 10:30 am. The clergy will be Msgr. Eugene Lozinski.

Winona scored less than 30 seconds into the start of the game, scored again on their next possession, then after recovering a fumble on the kick return, scored again on their way to building a 40-0 lead against New Prague Friday, Sept. 14. 
However, the Trojans rallied and nearly pulled off a comeback attempt. They scored four times, including one on the final play of the first half, falling to the Winhawks 40-30. 
Parker Johnson threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, Mitchell Callahan had the other score, on a 90-yard run from scrimmage. 

The Bisek family of New Prague found the 2018 First Bank & Trust Dozinky Medallion on Thursday, Sept. 13, after three out of four clues. The medallion was hidden in the small park north of Casey’s along Highway 21. From left Rachel, Mike, Jacob and Jamie Bisek receive the $300 prize from Market President Eric Kragman of the New Prague bank on Friday, Sept. 14. The medallion hunt is part of New Prague’s annual Czech Harvest Festival, Dozinky, that will take place on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 21 and 22.

Gregory August Stanke, loving husband, treasured father and Papa, son, brother and friend, passed away September 11, 2018 in West Fargo, North Dakota.
He was born September 10th, 1970 in New Prague, Minnesota to Duane and Betty (Novotny) Stanke.  He grew up in New Prague, Minnesota with his siblings Kari (Shabir) Awan, Robert (Elena) Stanke, Scott (Deb) Stanke.
 Greg played football throughout High School until graduating in 1989.  He went on to play in college and graduated in 1994 from Minnesota State University Moorhead, with his Bachelors degree in Exercise Science.

The New Prague Trojan football team fell to 1-1 with a 35-21 loss to Rochester Century Friday, Set. 7, at Trojan Stadium in New Prague.
The teams traded touchdowns early. Century scored in the first quarter on a 1 yard run, then Parker Johnson scored early in the second from 3 yards out to make it a 7-6 game after a failed twopoint conversion.
Century scored on a 16- yard pass later in the second, then added a score early in the third on a 6-yard run to make it 21-6.

New Prague Trojan volleyball defeated former Missota Conference and current Section 2AAA nemesis Shakopee, then went 2-3 to take 15th place in the Southwest Minnesota Challenge tournament in Marshall last week.
The Trojans, 6-4 on the young season, were scheduled to host Mankato East Tuesday, Sept. 11. They will travel to Mankato West Thursday, Sept. 13, and host Belle Plaine Monday, Sept. 17. The Trojans host Hutchinson Thursday, Sept. 20, to open their Wright County Conference schedule.

Construction has begun on the fitness center that will be operated by New Prague Area Schools and the City of New Prague. That was the message from Superintendent Tim Dittberner to the New Prague Area School Board at its Monday, Sept. 10, workshop.

The New Prague Trojan boys soccer team won one of three games last week. That included a pair of close losses to Mound Westonka and Rochester Mayo and a rainsoaked win over Mayer Lutheran.
New Prague (3-4, 0-1 WCC) was scheduled to host Jordan on Tuesday, Sept. 11, in a makeup game. They will play at Waconia on Thursday, Sept. 13, at 5 p.m. and at St. Louis Park on Saturday, Sept. 15, at 11 a.m. The Trojans are at Rockford on Thursday, Sept. 20, at 5 p.m.

Since the beginning of July, Chris Flores has been the lead pastor at Pillar of Grace Church in New Prague. He has been the associate pastor for three years of the church at 830 Fourth Ave. SW. Being a pastor is something he knew he wanted to do for years.

New Prague midfielder Henry Newton tries to get between a pair of Jordan defenders during the Trojans’ 3-0 win over the Hubmen Tuesday, Sept. 11. The team has seen its fortunes improve this season. Midway through the schedule, the team has a 4-4 record and has already matched the school record for wins in a season. The team plays again today (Thursday, Sept. 13) at Waconia. Their next home game is Monday, Sept. 24, against Delano at 7 p.m.

Superintendent Tim Dittberner updated the New Prague Area School Board about safety grants the district is pursuing. At the school board’s Monday, Sept. 10, workshop, Dittberner said that on August 29 they submitted grant applications to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) for buildings in the New Prague Area School District. The MDE has a total of $25 million available to all school buildings throughout the state. The applications for each building were submitted separately.

Just like this year, it was a beautiful, sunny September Tuesday morning on September 11, 2001. People were going about their business, schools were in session and life was peaceful.
Then everything changed.

Rosemary “Rosie” Pexa, age 84, of New Prague, died peacefully, surrounded by her family on Thursday, September 13, 2018, at Mala Strana Rehabilitation Center.  Rosie was born on July 16, 1934, in Northfield to Joseph & Helen (Floren) Winter.  She attended St. Dominic Catholic School and graduated from Northfield High School.  Following high school, she was employed by Northwest Airlines and proudly worked for about a year in Washington, D.C.  After returning to Minnesota, she met and married the love of her life, George F.