Seven years ago Martin Brett of Kilkenny, Ireland, made a trip to Kilkenny, MN.
At the time, Brett was the mayor of the community and was extended an invitation to come to Minnesota.
Mayor Brett was present for the first Halfway to St. Paddy’s Day celebration, but he also attended for another reason.
The two cities signed a formal twinning, which is an official document which declared them sister cities.

The New Prague Ice Arena Association Board of Directors recently received a completed feasibility study regarding adding a second sheet of ice to the 23-year-old facility located on 12th Street NE.
The study, according to Kevin Cassidy, manager of the Ice Arena, was done to determine where the association stands, how much revenue could be produced and how much revenue is leaving the community to purchase ice outside the community.

Mother Nature showed off its awesome power last week, as Hurricane Dorian made its way along the eastern seaboard. Thankfully, much of the U.S. was spared from its fury, though there was some major flooding and damage when the hurricane made landfall in North Carolina.

Farmhouse Market owners Paul and Kendra Rasmusson, have opened a two-bedroom inn above their store at 120 West Main Street.
Featuring top-notch finishes designed to encourage out-of-towners to visit New Prague for longer than just a day trip, the inn houses two rooms, each with their own bathroom, and a shared common space. The inn can be rented by the individual room or as a 2-bedroom suite.

The New Prague Trojans played one of their best matches of the season Thursday, Sept. 5, but came up short in a 1-0 loss to state power Orono. They rebounded with a 3-1 win over Section 1AA rival Rochester Mayo.

The New Prague Trojan girls tennis team split a pair of dual meets last week, losing to Chanhassen and defeating Holy Family Catholic. The team placed fourth at the Brainerd Invitational Saturday, Sept. 7.
New Prague’s meet with Mankato East on Monday, Sept. 9, was postponed due to rain. The Trojans were scheduled to compete at Orono Tuesday, Sept. 10, then host Delano Tuesday, Sept. 17. New Prague faces Hutchinson at home on Thursday, Sept. 19.

The New Prague Trojan girls swim and dive team defeated Litchfield 60-40 Thursday, Sept. 5, to go to 2- 1 on the season (1-1 Wright County Conference). They also placed third at the Blomington Kennedy Invitational Saturday, Sept. 7. New Prague will host Dassel Cokato Thursday, Sept. 12, and Waconia on Thursday, Sept. 19.
Trojans 60, Dragons 40 New Prague placed 1-2 in two individual events, Ella Lund won the 200 freestyle and Julia Basset was second in a personal best time of 2:24.52, while in the 200 individual medley, Payten Schieffer and Riley Siegle took the top two spots.

Memorial services for Arthur Erickson, of Glenwood, MN, formerly of Starbuck, MN, will be held on Monday, September 16, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. at Indherred Lutheran Church, rural Starbuck, MN, with Reverend Dr. Joel Rolf officiating.  Visitation will be on Sunday, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Starbuck Funeral Home in Starbuck and for one hour prior to the service at the church on Monday.  Burial will be in the church cemetery. 

Randy D. Barrington, age 51, of Belle Plaine, died peacefully surrounded by his loving family at his home on Sunday, September 8, 2019.  Randy was born on March 29, 1968 in New Prague to Wayne A.

The rainy weather ended just in time for Heidelberg's annual Community Day and Car Show on Sunday. While the event didn't have as much attendance as previous years, a good amount of people still came. There were vendor booths selling baked goods, clothing, plants and food. Inside of the pavilion were brats, burgers and more food for sale. Kids had the park and a couple of giant inflatables to keep them entertained. See more in the print edition.

The New Prague Trojans played three quarters of outstanding football, leading 21-7 over Rochester Mayo late in the third quarter.
But the Spartans scored on the final play of the third, then added three more touchdowns in the fourth, including two in the final three minutes, to claim a 36-21 win Friday, Sept. 6, in New Prague.
New Prague scored on its first drive of the game and again midway through the second quarter to take a 14-0 lead. But Mayo answered with a kickoff return to cut the Trojans’ lead to 14-7 at halftime.

First Bank & Trust serves up a delicious meal during their Customer Appreciation Day on Thursday, September 5.

The New Market Muskies of the Dakota-Rice-Scott League fell short in their quest for a state title.
The team won two games during the final weekend ofthe State Class C tournament.They won handily over New London-Spicer 16-0 on Friday and claimed a 1-0 win over Red Wing Sunday morning, but then lost 7-5 to Hutchinson in the tournament semifinals.
The loss put an end to an exciting weekend for the Muskies, as they fell one game short of their quest for the championship game.
New Market’s Brett Herber was named to the all-tournament team.

Scott County Sheriff’s deputies have recovered a body from the Minnesota River near Belle Plaine, not far from where an unoccupied boat was found Monday, Sept. 2.
This was the fourth day of search efforts to find a missing boater. A 2002 Lund 17-foot open boat with a 60 hp Evinrude motor was found running and unoccupied near the shoreline of the river at 10:50 a.m. Monday. The boat, as well as a truck and boat trailer at a nearby landing, belonged to Bruce Copenhaver, 62, of Watertown.

DalekoArts, New Prague’s local non-profit professional theater, opened its eighth season on Wednesday, Aug. 28, with “Ghost Tour,” a 70-minute interactive comedy that takes audiences out of the theater and through downtown New Prague. “Ghost Tour” lasts through Saturday, Oct. 12.

With an instrumental version of “Amazing Grace” Timothy (Tim) Price began Duct Tape and Grace at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in New Prague on Wednesday, Aug. 14.
Pastor Ben Hilding told the nearly 90 people gathered, “Tonight we are privileged to hear a story that is full of ups and downs, but resonates with each of us.”
Price detailed how he came through his time dealing with alcohol and drugs to where this year he is celebrating 25 years of being clean and sober.