The Le Sueur County Sheriff’s Office reports a team of searchers looking for signs of Shawn Michael Mooring found a body presumed to be Mooring this morning, Friday, April, 14, in the cattails and trees along the southeastern shoreline of the Silver Lake in Cleveland Township.
 

With profound sadness we announce the passing of Joseph Ambrose Tupy, the devoted Tupy family patriarch and friend to all whose lives he touched.
He passed away on April 12, 2023 at the Owatonna Hospital after suffering a brief illness. He was 92.  Mass of Christian Burial will be Monday, April 17, 2023, at 11:00 AM at St. Joseph Catholic Church.   Friends may greet the family starting at 9:30 AM at the church.  A Knights of Columbus Rosary will be recited at 9:15 AM at the church.  

Robert Ambrose Becker, age 58, of Burnsville, MN died unexpectedly April 10th, 2023.  Robert or Rob, as most knew him by, was born on December 7th, 1964, in New Prague, MN.  He was the son of Jeanette (Witt) and Ambrose Becker and the son-in-law of Betty and Leonard Cavanaugh.  Since 1992, Robert worked at Eden Prairie High School as a school security monitor, where he connected with countless staff and students, building lifelong friendships throughout his time. Robert started his career working at The Northwest Passage in his summers from 1986 to 1991.

Chad M. Solheid, age 51, of Minneapolis, died unexpectedly after a brief illness, on Friday, April 7, 2023, at Hennepin County Medical Center.  Chad was born on June 28,  1971, in New Prague to David J. and Judith A.

Craig Lee Ziesmer, age 51, of Glencoe, formerly of New Prague, Minnesota, passed away Thursday, March 30, 2023, at his home in Glencoe, Minnesota. Memorial Service will be held Friday, April 14, 2023, 1:00 P.M. at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Bismarck Township, Winthrop, Minnesota, with interment at a later date in the church cemetery. Gathering of Family & Friends will be held Friday, April 14, 2023, 12:00 to 1:00 P.M., one hour prior the service at the church.

Mary (Ford, Brallier) Himrod, age 87, of Eagan passed away March 22, 2023.  She is survived by her daughters, Mary Brallier (Don Koetz), Julie Slonine, Sarah Hill (Jay); step-daughters, Joan Gage, Susan Strigel (Tom), and Julie Hesse (Joe); grandchildren,  Dean Hill, Sam Gage, Lauren Strigel, Paige Strigel, Meredith Strigel, Olivia Hesse, Aaron Hesse, Alex Hesse, and Molly Slonine; sisters, Char Beekmann (Gary) and Helen Nelson; brothers, John Ford (Carolyn), Richard Ford (Shirley), Robert Ford (Linda), and Dennis Ford (Amy); as well as many nieces, nephews, and friends she considered famil

Leon Charles Zweber, age 87 of Elko New Market, MN passed away peacefully on April 7, 2023 at Abbott Northwestern Hospital. He was a dairy and crop farmer his entire life. Leon was born on December 7, 1935 to Wilfred and Loretta Zweber. 

He recorded his best jump of the season last spring at the section meet, a personal-best when he needed it most. Then, Jonny Grams watched two jumpers from other schools beat his mark and qualify for state. Disappointed but not devastated, the NPHS senior has his sites set on making sure he’s one of the athletes qualifying for state this spring.
Grams entered the section meet with a personal-best long jump of 20-feet-10, a distance he reached in the conference meet. It was good enough to win the conference championship.

A recent Wall Street Journal poll indicates more than half of Americans don’t believe a college education is worth the investment.
The Wall Street JournalNORC poll findings, as reported by Fox New Prague Times News, shows 56 percent of Americans surveyed don’t see a college education as a good investment while 42 percent of those folks surveyed feel completing a degree is a worthwhile undertaking. That’s a flip from 2013, when 53 percent of Americans surveyed viewed a college degree as a good investment while 40 percent didn’t see it that way.

She works professionally investigating fraud cases and was a victim of it herself. While Cassie Kieffer hopes she and her husband might one day see some of the money they invested in the construction of a pool they never received returned to them, she hopes changes in state law will protect others from similar heartache.

Mark Novak was at New Prague’s Annual Firemen’s Dance & Drill Saturday, April 1, at the Park Ballroom. He was among the 16 members of the fire department’s drill squad and it was his 20th year participating.
The dance and drill are long time traditions, as this was the 135th year of the dance and the 115th year of the drill.

Michael Dean Bakken, 66, of Mound, MN, passed away unexpectedly at home on March 28, 2023.
Mike (known as “sto” to many) had a great passion for cooking and was excellent at it! He was fun loving with a contagious personality that drew people to him and a true kid at heart.  He enjoyed fishing, spending time at the cabin near Crosslake, fireworks and he especially loved spending time with his family. Mike was very proud of his three granddaughters.

Debra A. Kohout Gillard, age 59, of New Prague, died unexpectedly after a brief illness on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, at Mayo Clinic Health System Hospital, Mankato. Deb was born on July 23, 1963 in New Prague to Martin J. and Shirley M.

John George Stasney, age 96, of Montgomery, passed away on Sunday, February 19, 2023 at Central Health Care in Le Center. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, April 12 from 4pm-8pm at Schoenbauer Funeral Home. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, April 13 at 10:30 a.m. at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery with Fr. Tom Niehaus officiating. Visitation will also be one hour prior at the church. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery in Montgomery. Military Honors will be provided by the Montgomery area Veterans Honor Guard. 

Galen G. “Gater” George, age 71, of New Prague, Minnesota, died unexpectedly at Mayo Clinic Health System Hospital New Prague on Monday, March 27, 2023. Gater was born on April 2, 1951 in Winfield, Kansas to Harold Gene and Molly (Larsson) George. He grew up in the the Wichita area, served in the US Army and returned to Wichita before finally settling in New Prague about 10 years ago. He was a favorite and beloved employee of Mystic Lake Casino. Gater loved everything that had to do with motorcycles and motorized vehicles.

Clarence F. Skluzacek, age 93, of Lonsdale, MN passed away peacefully on March 29, 2023, at The Villages of Lonsdale. Clarence was born on May 10, 1929 to Albert and Hattie (Smisek) Skluzacek on the family farm in Lonsdale. He went to the Immaculate Conception School for 10 years and then worked on his family farm. He was united in marriage to Dorothy Hertaus on June 29, 1954.