Leonard M. Mader, age 68, of New Prague, died unexpectedly on Monday, March 14, 2022, after a very brief time at Mayo Service Health System Hospital Rochester, St. Mary Campus.  Leonard was born on November 30, 1953 in St. Peter, MN to Leonard J. and Rosemary (Speikers) Mader.  He graduated from Le Center High School and then worked as a welder for 36 years.  He was gifted and unique in his trade in that he could weld anything whether metal or plastic. 

An independent investigation into allegations of racial taunts at a February 15 New Prague High School girls basketball game has been completed. The firm Rupp, Anderson, Squires, Waldspurger, Mace P.A. did the investigation of whether adult and student fans made loud monkey noises at a home game against Robbinsdale Cooper.
New Prague Superintendent Tim Dittberner released an email stating the investigation concluded the following:
• The allegation that New Prague adult and student fans were making loud monkey noises directed at the opposing team could not be substantiated.

Nathan Kartak, age 30, of Montgomery, died unexpectedly on Saturday, March 12, 2022 at his home.  Nathan was born on June 10, 1991 to Christopher Kartak and Katherine Sloan at Queen of Peace Hospital in New Prague, MN.  He grew up and attended school in Moose Lake, MN and entered the US Army at age 18 and served a tour in Iraq.  Most recently Nathan worked at Seneca in Montgomery but intended to get back into carpentry, which was his chosen occupation.

Leonard Kalal, age 85 of Northfield, passed away Thursday afternoon, March 10, 2022, at the Care Center of the Northfield Retirement Community.

Friday, March 11, was a busy night at the St. Wenceslaus Catholic School’s All-You-Can-Eat Fish Fry. Crowds were lined up down the hall to get into the Parish Activity Center for a meal of fried fish, cheesy potatoes, cole slaw, dinner roll, cookie and a beverage. The dinner was dine-in or curbside to go with cars lined up along Columbus Avenue to get meals. People were saying the meals were delicious. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

The New Prague City Council dealt with technology at its Monday, March 7, meeting. The council unanimously approved TrueNorth Consulting Group to do an IT Risk Assessment, plus the council discussed the possibility of council members having city issued phones or laptops to deal with city business.

New Prague High School senior Hunter Pomije bowled his best score so far as he hit an 838, including two 300 games in a row. He came up with the high score during a high school league match the last regular match for the season, on Thursday, Feb. 24, at Strike Force Bowl in New Prague.
“My best high series before that was an 825,” said Pomije, son of Darin and Julie Pomije of New Prague, who also own the local bowling alley. He noted his average is 234. During the match, Pomije had a 238 in his first game and then scored a 300 in his second game.

In their first Class A State Swimming Meet appearance, freshmen Brendan Panka and Jacob Bisek both showed they belonged with the state’s best.
Both swimmers advanced from Friday’s preliminary round into Saturday, March 5 consolation/championship round.
Panka advanced to the consolation final in the 200- yard freestyle, placing 10th overall in a lifetime best time of 1:46.88. His time was less than a second behind the fifth place finisher.
Bisek also competed in the 200-yard freestyle and he finished in 17th place in a time of 1:50.61.

As journalists, we rely on open government and freedom of information principles to keep the public informed about its government. Sometimes, we are met with roadblocks.
Sunshine Week, which is spearheaded by the New Prague Times News Leaders Association, champions open and transparent government at all levels. That means from the local school board or city council meetings, to the emails a state representative sent that supports a bill, all the way up to the President at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, D.C.

The 45th annual Norm Sladek Memorial Euchre Tourney on Saturday, Feb. 26, at the Knights of Columbus Hall in New Prague had 47 teams turnout. Organizers of the popular tournament said that was nine more teams than the last time the tourney was held and included 15 new teams, plus six of those teams were walk ups the day of the tourney. Sign up was held between 11 a.m. to noon with the tourney starting at 12 p.m.

During New Prague High School’s game at the State Hockey Tournament on Wednesday, March 9, two students were filmed on camera flashing an upside down “okay” hand gesture, which in recent years has been seen as a white power symbol. When New Prague Area Schools administration questioned them, the students didn’t know the double meaning of the gesture.

The students at Raven Stream Elementary School had an amazing two weeks from Thursday, Feb, 10, to Thursday, Feb. 24, of raising money for the American Heart Association. Through the school’s participation in the Kids Heart Challenge program (formerly known as Jump Rope For Heart), the students raised $18,198.97.
This is the second consecutive year Raven Stream has set a school record for fundraising. Over the last five years, Raven Stream has raised nearly $70,000.

The New Prague High School cheerleaders energize the crowd at the Tuesday, March 8, pep fest for the boys hockey team before heading out to the Class A State Hockey Tournament. The Trojans claimed the Section 1A Championship on Wednesday, March 2. This is New Prague’s first state appearance since 2015. The Trojans are unseeded and their first game in the Class A State Hockey Tournament is against No. 1 seed Hermantown at the Xcel Energy Center at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 9. For more on New Prague’s Section 1A victory see the Thursday, March 10, issue of The New Prague Times.

Thomas Binczik, 81, of Le Center, died on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, of complications of dysphasia at Rochester Methodist Hospital.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, March 9, 2022 from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. at Schoenbauer Funeral Home in Montgomery with Mass of Christian Burial following at 11 a.m. at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery with Father Tom Niehaus officiating. Burial will follow at a later date at St. John Lutheran Cemetery west of Montgomery.

Visitation for Kailey Lynn Mach will be Sunday March 6, 2022 from 4 to 8 pm at the Le Center Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held on Monday, March 7, 2022, at 11 am at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Le Center.
A full obituary will follow in the days ahead.
In honor of Kailey and her passion for children, teaching and learning, we are asking in lieu of flowers, that you a bring a children’s book that will be donated and/or monetary donations that will be used in such a way to honor her life and her love for kids for many generations to come.

The New Prague Fire Department was called in for mutual aid at a building fire along Highway 13 north of New Prague the morning of Friday, March 4.
According to a preliminary report Prior Lake called in New Prague around 4:30 a.m. to aid in a fire at a garage/shed on a property about 10 miles north of New Prague. When vehicles from New Prague Fire Department arrived there were flames coming out of the structure. By 7 a.m. it appeared the flames were under control, although smoke was still rising from the building.