Nineteen of the 60 graduates of the Montgomery High School Class of 1961 gathered at the American Bar & Grill in Montgomery for a 65th reunion luncheon. Class member Evelyn (Prchal) Duban says it’s something they do every year.
The 1961 class was the 58th annual commencement for the school, which was held in what is now the elementary and middle school auditorium on Friday, May 26 at 8 p.m.
Montgomery’s Eva Tikalsky was crowned 2026-2027 Miss Czech-Slovak Minnesota Queen during the pageant Saturday evening at the Park Ballroom in New Prague.
The daughter of Naima du Chatellier and Christopher Tikalsky, Eva Tikalsky was joined on stage by first princess Wren Zwaschka of Mankato and second princess Evelyn Winget of Nerstrand. The junior ambassadors chosen are Annika Budin of Montgomery, Lillian Skluzacek of Nerstrand, Cailyn Meadows of Montgomery, Abigail Mader of Kilkenny and Clara Winget of Nerstrand.
In addition to those in the photograph with names, this list of classmates and their information was provided.
After conducting interviews last Wednesday, Aug. 12, Montgomery City Council chose Jesse Johnson of Cannon Falls, Minn., as their new city administrator at Monday’s council meeting.
Retired Lieutenant Colonel Johnson is a 20-year veteran of the United States Army and Bronze Star Medal recipient. The 49-year-old lives in Cannon Falls with his wife of 24 years, Teresa, and has four kids — two boys and two girls, with three of them being in college.
Area residents took full advantage of the event-filled day on Saturday at Lonsdale Community Days.
Thousands took to the streets and businesses in downtown Lonsdale, starting with the annual Lonsdale Skywarn Breakfast. There were nearly 50 vendors along Main Street, where patrons could eat, drink, buy goods, ask questions, inquire about services, or learn some history.
Lonsdale Community Days brings a day-plus of events for the family to enjoy, including a new laser light show at 10 p.m. on Saturday evening on North Main Street.
This year’s grand marshal, Joe Peroutka, is most excited for the kid’s pedal tractor pull at 10 a.m. and Grand Parade at 1 p.m, which he and his family will be a part of. The full schedule of events can be seen on the ad on the back page of this issue of the Messenger.
Library Assistant Karen Gustafson spent her last day at the Montgomery Public Library on Thursday, July 30, like it was any other day attending to the usual customers through closing time.
Gustafson, now age 61, started working at the library in February 2006. “The first week was tough because the librarian was still getting her feet wet and so the two of us kind of had to figure things out on our own. It was kind of like a rollercoaster,” said Gustafson.
Two local 4-H youth are stepping into one of Minnesota 4-H’s most prestigious leadership roles. Le Sueur County is one of only five counties in the state to have more than one State Ambassador selected.
Elizabeth Holicky of Le Center and Audrey Keltgen of Le Sueur have been selected as members of the 2026–2027 Minnesota 4-H State Ambassador Team, joining 30 other outstanding young leaders from across the state.
Montgomery’s 2024 Kolacky Days Queen Neysa Anderson was crowned as a 2027 Minneapolis Aquatennial Princess this past week. She is the second only from Kolacky Days royalty to enter into the candidacy for potential honor and first to be crowned. Anna Franek in 2019 was the only other Kolacky Royalty to try.
Anderson joins 2025 Anoka Ambassador Sydney DeRung, who is the other princess, and the prize title 2027 Minneapolis Aquatennial Queen of the Lakes, which was won by 2024-2025 Miss Sibley County Maryn Halverson.
Le Center’s downtown bustled with jubilation in honor of the United States of America’s 250th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday.
Families and growers from across Minnesota will be represented as the University of Minnesota honors them in the 2026 Farm Family of the Year ceremony at 1:15 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, at the annual Minnesota Farmfest near Redwood Falls. The event will be held on the Gilfillan Estate in the Wick Buildings Farmfest Center.
Tri-City United High School will be losing a few excellent clay target shooters going into next season after competing at the USA Clay Target League’s 2026 National Championship in Mason, Mich., July 8-12. A total of 1,800 shooters between individual and teams participated at the event.
The TCU squad — consisting of Levi Hohrman, Martin Bongers, Jacob Jones, Dylan Carston, and Branko Schoenbauer — ended up placing 26th out of the 234 teams at nationals.
Only a select individuals can say they competed for their state team representing Minnesota in the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games held in Minneapolis from June 19-26, and Montgomery’s Phillip Weber is one of them.
Weber, 2009 Tri-City United High School graduate, was made aware that he was chosen to be a part of Minnesota’s 16-person swimming team during an announcement on YouTube by Special Olympics Minnesota about a year ago. He is one of 245 athletes chosen across the state to represent Minnesota.
Jean Keogh of Montgomery’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary Post 5340 was elected the VFW Auxiliary Department of Minnesota president at the department’s 102nd annual convention.
Keogh was installed by her husband and 2025-2026 VFW Department of Minnesota Commander Ed Keogh during the convention in Plymouth, running from June 18-21.
“Anchoring to serve, honor and respect” is newly elected President Jean Keogh’s theme for the 2026-2027 year.
Montgomery Historical Society teamed up with St. John Lutheran Church for a unique night of history on Wednesday, June 24. A little over 50 people showed up for the occasion.
Breaking from the typical beer garden and a couple of bands annual routine, the Montgomery Fire Department did what they could to commemorate this very special sesquicentennial.