Four Tri-City United girls cross country runners placed in the top 20 at the Minnesota River Conference Meet held Tuesday, Oct. 17 at the Montgomery Golf Club.
Led by junior Yasmin Ruiz, the Titans placed third among the six teams in the conference race, with 80 points. Ruiz finished 5th overall in a time of 20:33 on the 5,000-meter course.
Belle Plaine won the meet with 33 points. Sibley East placed second with 56 points. TCU (80), Lester Prairie (104), Le Sueur-Henderson (120), and Norwood-Young America (138) rounded out the field.

“Since the legalization of marijuana passed the legislature there has been a scramble to enact laws and ordinances pertaining to its use, growing, transportation and possession. Most municipalities in the area have chosen to enact a conservative approach to the aforementioned. State laws will be maintained, but the state legislation has given each municipality options into how they want to govern themselves. Through the multiple meetings leading up to August 1, 2023, everyone is expecting changes to the original language in the bills.

Lillian Cecelia Malecha-Novotny, age 94 of Montgomery, passed away on Friday, October 20, 2023, at Mala Strana Health Care in New Prague. Visitation will be held on Friday, October 27, 2023 from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. with Mass of Christian Burial to follow at 11:30 a.m. all at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery. Interment will be held in Calvary Cemetery in Montgomery.

It was a week of firsts for the Tri-City United boys soccer team.
The Section 2A 3rd-seeded Titans earned their first-ever playoff victory with a 6-0 drubbing of 6th-seeded Albert Lea in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs Thursday, Oct. 12.
They then avenged a loss and a tie to 2nd-seeded Southwest Minnesota Christian (SWMC) Saturday, Oct. 14, downing the Eagles 5-4 on a shootout of a 3-3 regular tied game.

Youth musicians filled the Tri-City United Performing Arts Center (PAC) Monday for the annual Fall Band & Choir Concert.
The Choir, under John Sosa's direction, started the show by performing three pieces with Robyn Menk on piano accompaniment. They included “Spark of Light,” “Pulse” and “Another Day of Sun.”
Sosa commented on the group’s growth in the two years he has been at TCU, saying their dedication has made the program stronger.

Channeling your inner creativity
The Montgomery Area Community Club (MACC) is excited to announce that they are seeking designs for the 90th Annual Kolacky Days button.

George Emil Duban, age 86, of Lonsdale, passed away October 16, 2023. Visitation will be held Friday, October 27, from 3 p.m.-7:30 p.m. at the Schoenbauer Funeral Home in Montgomery. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, October 28 at 10:30 a.m. with visitation one hour prior at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery with Fr. Tom Niehaus officiating. Interment will be held in Calvary Cemetery in Lonsdale. Military Honors will be provided by the Montgomery and Lonsdale Veteran Honor Guard.

Lyle George Nagel, 80, of New Prague passed away on Thursday, October 12, 2023, of cancer at his home in New Prague.
Lyle was born on December 14, 1942, to Henry and Lorraine Nagel. He was born on the family farm in Belle Plaine, MN. After graduation from Belle Plaine Senior High, Lyle served in the Army Reserves. In 1966, he married Mary Alice Bruzek, and moved to New Prague. They had two children, Amy and Chad. Lyle was employed at the flour mill in New Prague and remained with them throughout several ownership changes. He retired from Conagra in 2007.

Connie Lou Pfeil, age 71, of Sioux City, Iowa, formerly of New Prague, died peacefully on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.  Her husband, John Stewart Pfeil, age 81, died just 2 months previously in Iowa on August 15, 2023. 
 Connie was born on February 11, 1952, in Sioux City, IA to Joe Pilcher and Frances Olson. John was born on May 12, 1942, in Burbank, CA to George & Ruth (McKay) Pfeil.  

Molter's Fresh Market, taking over the former home of Mackenthun’s Fine Foods at 105 Boulevard NW in Montgomery, is set to open on October 16.
The hours for the new grocery store will be Monday-Saturday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Contractors were already on site early this week preparing the location for opening.

You’ve probably heard similar phrases to the following, “Pictures don’t do it justice. You have to see it in person.” People who say these things have likely been to a one of the many spectacular things nature has to offer that people before my time were smart enough to protect at some point or that earlier generations built on massive scale. There is the option that they also could just take really poor photos too.

Olga Elaine Heffern, age 90, of Heidelberg, passed away on Thursday, October 5, 2023, at Ridgeview Hospital in Le Sueur. Visitation will be held on Thursday, October 12, 2023 from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., service at 10:30 a.m. with Pastor Jason Pollington officiating, all at Schoenbauer Funeral Home in Montgomery.
Olga was born on March 4, 1933 to Ole and Helen (Rassmusen) Skogstad. She was baptized and confirmed at Bear Creek Lutheran Church in Grand Meadow, MN. She was united in marriage to John Robert Heffern on July 3, 1953 in Osage, IA.

According to a press release from the Montgomery Police Department, a worker at Seneca Foods plant in Montgomery died early Thursday morning.
The release said that a call came in at approximately 3:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 5 for “a report of an employee that had been trapped by falling items located in a warehouse.” The release said the employee died from the injuries sustained in the incident.
Montgomery Police, Le Sueur County Sheriff, Montgomery Area EMS, and Montgomery Fire Department were all dispatched to the scene.

Tri-City United scheduled homecoming parades today in Lonsdale, Montgomery and Le Center to celebrate the high school’s homecoming week. Homecoming queen Alice Schroeder and king Luke Skluzacek were headliners of the parade in Montgomery Friday morning.
The day’s festivities included a marching band at the morning parade, an afternoon pep fest where the juniors won the four-way tug-of-war competition and fun events.

A number of Tri-City United swimmers and divers had top finishes during a pair of events held last week.
The Titans competed in a dual meet with New Prague Tuesday, Sept. 19 and the Trojans defeated TCU, 99-69.
TCU won six events against New Prague, four individual titles and two relays.
The Titans competed Saturday, Sept. 23 at the St. Peter Invitational. They finished fifth overall with 92 team points. Waconia won the event with 556 points, more than twice the amount of runner-up Owatonna with 277 points.

Three teams from the Tri-City United youth football got a special invitation from the coaches in Byron, Minnesota, just west of Rochester — an invitation to play at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Byron teams were participating in an experience from Pride Montgomery Messanger Sports Leagues (PSL). PSL is a Minnesota-based company that offers youth experiences they typically may not get. It was started by J.D. Pride, a former University of Minnesota football player from the 1970’s who was drafted for a short career by the Miami Dolphins in 1976.