MANKATO, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Transportation is preparing motorists for forecasted heavy snowfall rates overnight through Wednesday. Weather conditions will limit visibility and make travel difficult in south central Minnesota.
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for much of southern Minnesota, and advises motorists to plan for extra travel time, especially for the Wednesday morning and evening commutes.
MnDOT snowplow operators will do their part to make highways safe and motorists should remember to:

Gene Vavra, left, begins a demonstration on cleaning a fish on Saturday, Feb. 16, at the New Prague Sportsman’s Club Youth Fishing Seminar. Held at the Central Education Campus in New Prague, there were 130 children that attended the annual event. Youngsters could also participate in a casting contest, minnow races and learn about fishing regulations. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

Rosemary “Rosie” (Tikalsky) Busch, of Jordan, passed away February 17, 2019 at the age of 82.  A Visitation will be held on Wednesday, February 20, 2019 from 4:00 – 7:00 PM at Ballard-Sunder Funeral & Cremation (104 First Street West) in Jordan.  Mass of Christian Burial is Thursday, February 21, 2019 at 11:00 AM with visitation one-hour prior at St.

Allie Eischens of the New Prague High School gymnastics team will be competing at the state Class AA meet at the University of Minnesota Maturi New Prague Times Sports Pavilion this weekend. Eischens qualified on the uneven bars and the balance beam on Friday, Feb. 15, as New Prague hosted the Section 2AA Gymnastics Tournament. New Prague finished third at the tourney with a score of 138.075. Lakeville North won the tourney and Lakeville South was second. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

Ella R. Jahn, age 90, of New Prague, died peacefully on Friday, February 15, 2019, at Abbott-Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. Ella was born on November 21, 1928, in Lanesburgh Township, Le Sueur County, MN to Frank J. and Rose (Panek) Dietz. She attended country district school and graduated from New Prague High School. She married Harold C. Jahn on September 7, 1945, at Friedens Evangelical Lutheran Church and was a lifelong resident of the Lanesburgh area, where she and her husband raised their four children and she whole-heartedly entered into farm life.

Emil R. Moran, age 87, of New Prague, died peacefully at his home on Wednesday, February 13, 2019. Emil was born on July 14, 1931 in Lanesburgh Township, Le Sueur County, MN to Amab F. and Emma (Blaha) Moran, Jr. He attended New Prague High School and entered the US Navy following graduation. Emil married Sharon R. Pecholt on March 15, 1986 in Shakopee and the couple made their home in rural New Prague. Emil worked as a mechanic for many years with the City of New Prague at the New Prague Golf Club. He was a member of the VFW.

James “Chester” Retka, 85, of Montgomery, passed away on Friday, Feb. 15, 2019, at his home in Montgomery. Visitation will be Sunday, Feb. 17, from 3 to 7 p.m. at Schoenbauer Funeral Home in Montgomery. Mass of Christian Burial will be on Monday, Feb. 18 at 10 a.m. at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery, visitation one hour prior at the funeral Home. Interment will be in St. Joseph Cemetery in Lexington. Military Honors will be provided by the Montgomery area Honor Guard.

The New Prague Trojan boys hockey team received the 8th seed for the Section 2AA playoffs. Seedings were announced Sunday, Feb. 17.
The Trojans will face No. 1 seed Minnetonka, which is ranked No. 2 in Class AA. The game will be played at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21. The Trojans enter the game with a 10-14-1 record, while the Skippers are 20-2-2.
Other first round games have No. 4 Prior Lake hosting No. 5 Holy Family Catholic, No. 3 Eden Prairie hosting No. 6 Chanhassen and No. 2 Chaska hosting No. 7 Shakopee.

Margaret M. Sticha, age 71, of New Prague, died peacefully with her family at her side on Saturday, February 16, 2019 at Mala Strana Rehabilitation Center. Margaret was born on September 4, 1947, in Shakopee to Jerome A. and Bernice A. (Wolf) Sand. She attended St. Mary’s Purification Grade School in Marystown and was a 1965 graduate of Guardian Angels High School. Prior to her marriage to William R. Sticha on October 12, 1968 at St. Mary’s Purification Church in Marystown, Margaret worked for Scott County Welfare.

It was a double date night for, clockwise from upper right, Jake Schoenecker and his wife Sam and Jodi Schoenecker and her date Jeff Kehrer, during the Valentine’s Day Chamber Bar Bingo at Giesenbrau Bier Co. in New Prague on Thursday, Feb. 14. The weekly night of bingo is held by the New Prague Chamber of Commerce and will be at Giesenbau Bier Co. for the coming weeks. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

The New Prague Trojan girls hockey team saw their season end Friday, Feb. 8, with a 7-2 loss at the hands of the Minnetonka Skippers in the Section 2AA quarterfinals.
New Prague, which finished the season with a 14-9- 3 record, came into the game as the No. 7 seed in the section. Minnetonka (12-13-1) was the No. 2 seed.

It’s times like these when you have to salute city employees.
Especially this week, the city plow drivers.
New Prague’s streets have been kept relatively passable over the past few weeks, despite the numerous snowfall events. Last week, five inches of snow fell during the day on Tuesday. By the next morning, the snow was pretty much gone from city streets, including Main Street, making room for cars to park when going into downtown businesses.

The New Prague Trojans dropped into a tie for first place with Holy Family Catholic after losing to the Fire 61-47 in Victoria Friday. Earlier in the week, New Prague defeated Orono 60- 43.

The New Prague Trojan boys basketball team won two games over the past week, defeating Orono and Hastings. The team also lost to St. Michael-Albertville. All three games were played at home.
The Trojans (11-10, 5-0 Wright County Conference) return to action Friday, Feb. 15, at Waconia. They host Holy Family Catholic on Tuesday, Feb. 19.
Trojans 64 Spartans 39 New Prague jumped to an early lead and were never threatened in a WCC game against Orono Tuesday, Feb. 5.

Suel Printing Company graphic artist Jennifer Leff won second place in the Minnesota Newspaper Association’s 2019 Ad Design Contest.
Studies show that people believe their local newspapers provide the truest information and trust them far more than information found online or on TV. Newspapers continue to have a solid impact on the communities they serve and statistics show that people of all ages consume more news now than ever before. The contest asked designers to tell that important story through a quarter-page full color print ad.

Andrew Onimus told a crowd of about 200 people that in college when he was struggling with major depression he reached out, which was the first step in his dealing with major depression and anxiety. He encouraged people to reach out through his speech on Sunday, Feb. 10, at the New Prague High School auditorium.
Onimus of Minding Your Mind, an organization that provides mental health education for students and their parents, appeared through the sponsorship of the Duck Cup Memorial. The group’s committee is made up of New Prague High School....