He recorded his best jump of the season last spring at the section meet, a personal-best when he needed it most. Then, Jonny Grams watched two jumpers from other schools beat his mark and qualify for state. Disappointed but not devastated, the NPHS senior has his sites set on making sure he’s one of the athletes qualifying for state this spring.
Grams entered the section meet with a personal-best long jump of 20-feet-10, a distance he reached in the conference meet. It was good enough to win the conference championship.

A recent Wall Street Journal poll indicates more than half of Americans don’t believe a college education is worth the investment.
The Wall Street JournalNORC poll findings, as reported by Fox New Prague Times News, shows 56 percent of Americans surveyed don’t see a college education as a good investment while 42 percent of those folks surveyed feel completing a degree is a worthwhile undertaking. That’s a flip from 2013, when 53 percent of Americans surveyed viewed a college degree as a good investment while 40 percent didn’t see it that way.

She works professionally investigating fraud cases and was a victim of it herself. While Cassie Kieffer hopes she and her husband might one day see some of the money they invested in the construction of a pool they never received returned to them, she hopes changes in state law will protect others from similar heartache.

Mark Novak was at New Prague’s Annual Firemen’s Dance & Drill Saturday, April 1, at the Park Ballroom. He was among the 16 members of the fire department’s drill squad and it was his 20th year participating.
The dance and drill are long time traditions, as this was the 135th year of the dance and the 115th year of the drill.

Debra A. Kohout Gillard, age 59, of New Prague, died unexpectedly after a brief illness on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, at Mayo Clinic Health System Hospital, Mankato. Deb was born on July 23, 1963 in New Prague to Martin J. and Shirley M.

John George Stasney, age 96, of Montgomery, passed away on Sunday, February 19, 2023 at Central Health Care in Le Center. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, April 12 from 4pm-8pm at Schoenbauer Funeral Home. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, April 13 at 10:30 a.m. at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery with Fr. Tom Niehaus officiating. Visitation will also be one hour prior at the church. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery in Montgomery. Military Honors will be provided by the Montgomery area Veterans Honor Guard. 

Michael Dean Bakken, 66, of Mound, MN, passed away unexpectedly at home on March 28, 2023.
Mike (known as “sto” to many) had a great passion for cooking and was excellent at it! He was fun loving with a contagious personality that drew people to him and a true kid at heart.  He enjoyed fishing, spending time at the cabin near Crosslake, fireworks and he especially loved spending time with his family. Mike was very proud of his three granddaughters.

Galen G. “Gater” George, age 71, of New Prague, Minnesota, died unexpectedly at Mayo Clinic Health System Hospital New Prague on Monday, March 27, 2023. Gater was born on April 2, 1951 in Winfield, Kansas to Harold Gene and Molly (Larsson) George. He grew up in the the Wichita area, served in the US Army and returned to Wichita before finally settling in New Prague about 10 years ago. He was a favorite and beloved employee of Mystic Lake Casino. Gater loved everything that had to do with motorcycles and motorized vehicles.

Clarence F. Skluzacek, age 93, of Lonsdale, MN passed away peacefully on March 29, 2023, at The Villages of Lonsdale. Clarence was born on May 10, 1929 to Albert and Hattie (Smisek) Skluzacek on the family farm in Lonsdale. He went to the Immaculate Conception School for 10 years and then worked on his family farm. He was united in marriage to Dorothy Hertaus on June 29, 1954.

Sage August McGehee, age 22, of New Prague, died unexpectedly at his home on Monday, March 27, 2023.  Sage was born on October 25, 2000 in Virginia, Minnesota to Aaron Mellgren and Bobbi Jo McGehee.  He spent from age 2-12 in Texas and then moved to New Prague, attending New Prague Public Schools.  He lived in northern Minnesota for a few years before finally settling in New Prague.  He was an employee of Casey’s, loved by both the staff and the customers he served.  Sage had an infectious smile, drawing people to him naturally.  He enjoyed music of all kinds, was an avid Star Wars enthusia

Robert “Bob” Louis Heilman, age 71, of Le Center, passed away on Thursday, March 23, 2023 at his home. Visitation will be held on Friday, March 31 from 4 pm-8 pm at Le Center Funeral Home. Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, April 1 at 11 am at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Le Center with visitation one hour prior. Interment will be held in Woodlawn Cemetery in Le Center at a later date.

Alice M. Busacker, age 73 of Jordan, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Saturday, March 25, 2023. A visitation will be held Thursday, March 30, 2023 from 4:00-7:00 PM at Ballard-Sunder Funeral & Cremation (4565 Pleasant St. SE) in Prior Lake. A Christian Funeral will be held on Friday, March 31, 2023, at 11:00 AM, with visitation from 10-11:00 AM, both at Immanuel Lutheran Church on Fish Lake (20200 Fairlawn Avenue) in Prior Lake, MN. Reverend Dr. Brent L. Parrish will preside. Interment immediately after service at Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery and lunch to follow.

Arnita B.

Richard Francis Korbel, age 88, of New Prague, passed away on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at home surrounded by his family. Visitation will be held on Saturday, April 1 from 9:30 am-1:30 pm at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery. Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 1:30 pm with Fr. Tom Niehaus officiating. Interment will be held in the Calvary Cemetery in Montgomery.

After selling fashion online, out of her basement and garage, BAM Fashion Boutique owner Amy Gray opened her first-ever retail store in Lonsdale on Saturday, March 18.
Gray explains that her home business and family’s move to Lonsdale made them look for a brick-and-mortar location.
“I ran out of my basement in Elko in the beginning, then out of our detached garage,” she explained after the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday at 126 Main Street North. “I would have open shopping hours, but never set hours.”

Michael John Patterson, age 50, of Waseca, died at his home on the morning of Monday, March 20, 2023.