Bonita J. Nelson, age 70. Died unexpectedly on September 5, 2020
Bonnie was born November 29, 1949 in Minneapolis, MN, to Lyle and Lila (Waller) Melcher. She was raised in Minneapolis and graduated from West High School in 1967. Shortly after graduation Bonnie married the love of her life Leon Nelson. They lived in Minneapolis for 8 years, moved to Lonsdale in 1977, where they raised their two children, and finally moving to New Prague in 2011. Bonnie loved going to the casino and had a love for Elvis Presley. Her greatest love of all was time with her family.

Diane M. Schmidt, age 67 of New Prague, died on Saturday, September 5, 2020 at Mayo Health Systems in New Prague after a battle with cancer.  Funeral service will be on Tuesday, September 15, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. at St. John Lutheran Church, Belle Plaine, MN.  Visitation will be on Monday, September 14, 2020, 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. at the Kolden Funeral Home in Belle Plaine, MN. Burial will follow the funeral service at Oakwood Cemetery, Belle Plaine, MN.  Pastor Mark Johnson will officiate the services.

Harvey James Edel, of Kilkenny, MN, 89, died peacefully on September 6, 2020, at Saint Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, MN.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020. Visitation will be from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. with Mass to follow at 11:30 a.m. at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery. Father Tom Niehaus will officiate.
Burial will be held at Trebon Cemetery in Shieldsville Township, Kilkenny, MN.
  The family will be honoring his legacy as a farmer by having a drive-by around his farmstead before the burial.

Viskocil, Bettylou, Age 78, of Bloomington, passed away September 4, 2020. Preceded in death by parents. Survived by sons, Todd and Jay; sister, Marilyn Green. Mass of Christian Burial Friday September 11th 11am at Nativity of Mary Catholic Church, 9900 Lyndale Ave S, Bloomington. Visitation at the church beginning at 9:30 am. 
www.GILLBROTHERS.com, Bloomington       952-888-7771

Donald “Donny” Frank Moravec, 78, of New Prague, formally of Montgomery, passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by family. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020, at 11 a.m. at Schoenbauer Funeral Home in Montgomery with visitation held two hours prior.

Dorothy M. Barten, age 84, of New Prague, died peacefully with her husband at her side on Friday, September 4, 2020 at Mala Strana Rehabilitation Center and Assisted Living.  Dorothy was born on May 1, 1936 in Green Isle, Minnesota to Fred and Lydia (Dreier) Hebeisen.  She attended parochial school in Green Isle and graduated from Arlington-Green Isle High School.  Dorothy worked for Pillsbury for a few years before marrying the love of her life, John J.

Trojans Jacob Malecha, number 5, right, and Adam Brandt, number 1, center, lead the boys cross country meet at Cedar Lake Farm Regional Park. Malecha won with a time of 17 minutes and 24.4 seconds. Brandt came in fourth in 19:02.5.
New Prague’s Nora Rosemeier, number 29, far right, keeps up with the pack of Waconia runners at the Thursday, Aug. 27, girls cross country meet at Cedar Lake Farm Regional Park. Rosemeier finished fourth with a time of 21 minutes and 45.9 seconds. To the left of Rosemeier is Adorisa Kaeding who finished first in 21:09.2.

There have been many changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many activities that several creative spirits have decided to put their own spin on. There have been parades for birthdays, anniversaries, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Recently people have been holding their own versions of the State Fair. There have been games and food patterned after the ones their families would find at the annual “Great Minnesota Get Together.” For those who miss their annual snacks from the State Fair there was the recent parade at the fairgrounds where orders of snacks were brought out to their vehicles.

Students at Raven Stream Elementary School in New Prague were back to school on Thursday, Sept. 3, although there were changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students and teachers were wearing masks or face shields, plus students were in smaller classes. New Prague Area Schools is also doing a hybrid program where students are in two groups. On Thursday students in group A were starting classes. On Friday, Sept. 4, students in group B would be starting classes. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

The DRS amateur baseball teams are doing quite well in the Class C State Tournament after the second weekend of play.
Three of the four teams from the local league are in the round of 16 after wins.
Union Hill pulled off a 2-1, 10 inning win over Region 2 Champion Lamberton Friday, Aug. 28.
St. Patrick defeated Region 5 Champion, 10-1, Saturday, Aug. 29.
Prior Lake knocked off Region 15 Champion, 2-1, Saturday, Aug. 29.
New Prague dropped its first game in the tourney Sunday, Aug. 30, being shut out by Foley, 4-0.

Work continues on the new Hy-Vee Dollar Fresh grocery store, which will be in the former Shopko Hometown Store at 200 10th Ave. SE. New Prague city staff and Hy-Vee officials are working on a revised plan for the building.

A group of about 20 people offer prayers at New Prague High School on Sunday, Aug. 30, for the upcoming school year. The New Prague School District reached out to area churches to come and offer prayers at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
New Prague area churches that participated included Hillspring, Highpoint and NewDay. Other schools where there were prayer circles included New Prague Middle School and Falcon Ridge Elementary School.

New Le Sueur County Veterans Service Officer Mark Roemhildt was asked to provide some helpful information for county veterans. Veterans Service Office Le Sueur County
The Le Sueur County Veterans Service Office (CVSO) is a county government department of Le Sueur County, located in Le Center, Minnesota.
The CVSO consists of the director who is appointed by the County Board of Commissioners as the County Veteran Service Officer, one professionally accredited Veteran Benefits Counselor, and an administrative assistant.

Elko New Market expects to have a new building for its police department later this year as construction on the new structure is progressing on schedule. Greystone Construction of Shakopee is the main contractor on the project, which will add approximately 6,360-square feet to Elko New Market’s City Hall.

Three games and three big wins for the DRS amateur baseball teams playing in the Class C State Tournament last weekend.
St. Patrick, Prior Lake, and Union Hill all advanced to the next round with victories.
The Irish defeated Regal, 5-1. Prior Lake scored 11 runs in the top of the seventh inning to defeat New Ulm, 13-10. Union Hill picked up a 12-7 win over Avon.
St. Patrick will play Rochester Saturday, Aug. 29 at 2 p.m. in Springfield.
Union Hill will play Lamberton Friday, August 28 at 7:30 p.m. in Springfield.

In an about a week students at New Prague Area Schools will be going back to school, although it will be different from past years. Instead of one big day where school faculty, from teachers to principals, are out greeting young students or where middle school and high school students are trying to find their lockers, it will be two days. While those scenes may play out still there will be changes in the way of masks and social distancing. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the 2020- 2021 school year will be one that is going to be vastly different.