Two people have been charged in connection with a house explosion on July 17, 2018.
According to Le Sueur County Sheriff Brett Mason, Christopher Hale is charged with three counts of Insurance Fraud and one count of Conspire to Commit Arson in Le Sueur County District Court for the explosion and fire that occurred at property located at 104 3rd Street SW in Montgomery.
His wife, Isabella Hale, is also charged with two counts of Insurance Fraud and one count of Conspire to Commit Arson for the same incident.

The Le Sueur County Board held a very short meeting Tuesday, May 25.
Among the items on the agenda was the recognition of three long-time employees, who are retiring at the end of the month.
Public Health Director Cindy Shaughnessy (40 + years), Chief Deputy Auditor-Treasurer Connie Kopet (39 years), and County Auditor-Treasurer Pam Simonette (36 years) received retirement plaques.
In other business:

My kids are ready, but this momma is still marking up the color-coded calendar and trying to figure out the logistics of getting everyone everywhere they need to be.
I’m excited for my girls to participate in swimming, soccer, tennis, and volleyball, plus a babysitting clinic and a few other activities—all good things.
But, what working parent can get their kids to a 10 a.m. event every day for an entire week and then be back two hours later to shuttle them home?
I get it.
It’s summer. Kids don’t have a schedule per se.

A couple of eight-run innings helped the TCU Softball Team create a winning streak last week against Cleveland on May 18 and Waseca on May 20. The two wins put the
Titans’ record at 9-8.
Titan Coach Kelly Jo Closser said the wins are a result of the girls’ hard work.

New Prague was ready to come back and get a victory over South Suburban. They lost by one in a very close game the first time they played. Thursday, May 20 the Trojans rebounded and picked up a 20-9 win.
New Prague started out very strong. The first inning the Trojans held South Suburban to no runs with bases loaded and then got up and quickly scored five runs to take the lead 5-0. The second inning, they were able to score 1 run off of a couple errors in our defense.

And then there was one.
One month into the three month DRS Amateur Baseball League schedule, only one team remains undefeated…Faribault.
The Lakers defeated Shakopee, 4-0 Friday, May 21 and downed Montgomery, 6-2, Sunday, May 23 to improve to 5-0.
Right behind the Lakers in the standings are Prior Lake (4-1), New Prague (3-1), and Union Hill (2-1).

Father George Grafsky will celebrate his golden jubilee, marking 50 years in the priesthood, this weekend at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery.
Grafsky retired from active ministry in 2015, but continues to help with Masses at area churches when needed. He also serves as chaplain for many of the fire departments and emergency medical services in the area.
Grafsky will celebrate Most Holy Redeemer’s 5 p.m. Mass on Saturday evening, May 29 and the 8:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday morning, May 30.

The annual Memorial Day parade returns to this year’s event on Monday, May 31.
The program that honors deceased veterans begins with Mass at Most Holy Redeemer Church. The Parade starts at 8:45 a.m. at Most Holy Redeemer, goes east on Vine, south on First Street, and west on Elm Avenue.
The program at the Montgomery American Legion Post 79 begins at 9:15 a.m. Steve Flicek will be the Master of Ceremonies. It will also include songs by John Grimm, prayers by Pastor Jason Pollington and Father George Grafsky.

The City of Montgomery and the Park and Recreation Advisory Board announced this year’s lineup for the Montgomery Music in the Park series.
Two performances will be held in June and August, and one will be held in July. Music starts at 7 p.m. Food and treats will be available!
Thursday, June 10 Mary Guentzel Quintet This group performs the great standards from the 30s and 40s, along with select favorites from more recent decades.

A special piece of artwork from the Tri-City United High School’s Class of 2021 will soon be added to the school’s legacy collection.
A team of senior class artists including Anna Deutsch, Reagan Gaul, Brooke Blaschko, Jack Erickson, Isabelle Factor, Isabella Hennen, Sharia Steece, and Rachel Way, recently finished their class’s Senior Mural.

Marcella Margaret Thorsen, 99 years young, entered her heavenly home on May 22, 2021. She lived her life on her terms including staying in her home for her entire adult life.

New Prague High School has named Julie Schlup as its new Activities Office Assistant, pending approval by the New Prague School Board. Schlup is taking over for Lynn Swaggert, who is retiring. Schlup is coming from Tri-City United High School where she was the 7-12 grade Activities Administrative Assistant from 2016-2021. She and her husband, Brian, reside in New Prague. She enjoys vacationing with family in California and Tennessee. She also enjoys relaxing at the lake fishing with her husband Brian. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times.

Lukas Janicek was a dinner guest of the New Prague Czech Heritage Club on Tuesday, May 11, 2021. Lukas is an exchange student from his hometown of Rokycany, Czech Republic, and is a student at New Prague High School. His host parents are Jessica and Jeremy Dohm.
The dinner took place at the Fishtale Grill in New Prague, where all feasted on pork, dumplings, and kraut with vomacka. Lukas said the food was very good and very similar to the foods he enjoys in his Czech home. He commented that the word “vomacka” doesn’t mean “soup” but rather means “gravy” or “sauce”.

Prior Lake, Faribault, and New Market are each undefeated after the third weekend of the DRS Amateur Baseball Schedule.
Prior Lake picked up a pair of wins, downing Montgomery, 8-3, Friday, May 14 and edging Lonsdale, 3-2, Sunday, May 16.
The Faribault squad is 3-0 after defeating Elko, 13- 2, handing the Express their first loss.
New Prague, Lonsdale, St. Benedict, Union Hill, and Elko each have 2-1 records.
Here is a look at some of the contests from last weekend:

NAMI Minnesota (National Alliance on Mental Illness) has set up a wide variety of free online mental health classes for May and June. They include such classes as Hope for Recovery, Transitions, Ending the Silence, Understanding Early Episode Psychosis for Families, In Our Own Voice, Family to Family, Positive Psychology, Creating Caring Communities, a suicide prevention class called QPR – Question, Persuade and Refer, a special QPR class for Agricultural Communities and many more.

The Lonsdale Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a Street Fair and Business Expo on Thursday evening, May 20 from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m.
The family friendly event will be located on Ash Street NE near Mackenthun’s Fine Foods.
Lonsdale area businesses will be showcased. There will also be food vendors, a beer garden, inflatables, music, and more.