Patricia A. Mahowald, age 88, of New Prague, died peacefully on Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at The Villages of Lonsdale. 

Ev Nelson, of Montgomery, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, October 15, 2019 at the age of 84. Mass of Christian Burial is Monday, October 21, 2019 at 11:00 AM with visitation from 9:30 – 11:00 AM at St. Patrick Catholic Church, Father Miller & Father Sebastian will co-celebrate. Ev will be laid to rest at St. Patrick Cemetery, and his grandson, Brian Mack, will act as urn bearer.

The New Prague Trojan girls swim and dive team hosted Mound Westonka and traveled to Orono over the past two weeks, losing both Wright County Conference duals. The Trojans were scheduled to host St. Peter in their final dual of the season on Tuesday, Oct. 15, after this edition of The New Prague Times went to press.
New Prague will host the WCC JV meet on Monday, Oct. 21, and will travel to Hutchinson Saturday, Oct. 26, for the WCC Championships.

The New Prague Trojan boys and girls cross country teams each had strong showings at the Jordan Invitational Tuesday, Oct. 8, at Ridges at Sand Creek Golf Course. The boys placed first and girls second.
Boys meet The Trojan boys scored 69 points, with second place Jordan at 75. The rest of the field included Math and Science Academy (129), Delano (131), Kasson-Mantorville/ Triton (136), Hutchinson (141), Sibley East (148), Norwood Young America (171), Holy Angels (176), Le Sueur-Henderson (259) and Cannon Falls (297).

Last week’s snow brought attention to the fact that summer is definitely over. 
Still, it doesn’t mean that winter is here. Fall weather is here in full force, and the crisp morning and evening air, along with the crackling of leaves underfoot and colorful canvases on the trees makes it a time of year to celebrate.
There are plenty of activities to enjoy during the fall. This weekend, the Gopher State Railway Museum hosts its annual Pumpkin Train; Barten Pumpkins will be open the next two weekends, and many county, regional and state parks have fall programs.

The restoration of a little historic church’s steeple will be Le Sueur County Historical Society’s first big project, since the group’s leadership changed in June.
The project, which carries an estimated price tag of $174,000, includes the building of a new, historically accurate steeple, the erection of that steeple, and the installation of a new roof on the 160-year-old Ottawa Stone Church, one of four historic properties owned by LCHS.

Sunday, Oct. 13, was a big day for Calvary Church of New Prague.
The congregation, which started six years ago with six families and now averages around 200 people for its Sunday services, held a dedication service for its newly acquired property south of Raven Stream Elementary School, near the intersection of Highway 19 and 11th Ave NW.
The church, which moved its weekly services to Raven Stream beginning this week, will soon begin a feasibility study on the 13-acre parcel to determine the type of church facilities it can build and when to build them.

The New Prague Trojans received the No. 3 seed for the Section 2AAA volleyball playoffs, which were are scheduled to begin Wednesday, Oct. 23.
Shakopee, Minnetonka, New Prague and Eden Prairie earned the top four seeds in the 12-team section and all receive first-round byes. They will host second-round matches on Friday, Oct. 25.
Wednesday’s first round matches include:
No. 9 Willmar at No. 8 Chaska
No. 12 Mankato East at No. 5 Hutchinson
No. 10 Chanhassen at No. 7 Prior Lake
No. 11 Mankato West at No. 5 Waconia
Friday’s matches:

The Le Sueur County Board received the 2018 audit report during their Tuesday, Oct. 15 meeting.
Amanda Mboga of BakerTilly provided the report.
Mboga said there were only two minor findings related to EFT policies and collateralization of deposits.
She added the county has exceeded the benchmarks her firm has set for them.
The 2018 financial statement highlights included the outstanding general obligation debt of $31,430,859, which is 28.8 percent of the county’s debt capacity.

The New Prague Trojans defeated Orono in a Wright County Conference volleyball match Monday, Oct. 7, then won four of five matches to place second at the Eastview Invitational Tournament, held Friday and Saturday, Oct. 11 and 12.

A purrrfect fundraiser on Sunday in Lonsdale raised more than $15,000 for the care of stray and feral felines.
The non-profit 501(c)(3) Wee3beasties: Saving the Strays was the recipient of the funds raised from the sixth annual Pancakes for Paws event at the Lonsdale American Legion.
Proceeds of the event cover medical treatments and care for the cats and kittens at the shelter. The New Prague nonprofit is entirely run by volunteers, and founder Dr. Jean Craig.

Jake Deutsch grabbed a 7-yard touchdown pass from Parker Johnson early in the fourth quarter to put New Prague up 15-8, then Mitch Callahan sealed things, returning an interception for a touchdown with under three minutes left to give New Prague a 21-8 win over Northfield Wednesday, Oct. 16, in the regular season finale.
Will Busch scored the Trojans’ other touchdown, on a 9-yard run late in the first half. The birthday boy also kicked an extra point and ran in a two-point conversion.

Ronald S. Bergstrom (‘Bubs’) of Northfield formerly of Elko, MN, age 93, passed away peacefully on October 10, 2019 at Three Links Care Center, Northfield, MN. Preceded in death by parents Joseph and Florence Bergstrom of Elko, MN; sister Doris (Raymond) Cousins of Worthington, MN; brothers Loren (Vi) Bergstrom of Chaska; Duane Bergstrom of New Market/Morristown, MN. Survived by sister Marcella ‘Marcy’ (Gordon) Tripp of Santa Clarita, CA; Sister-in-law Bernice ‘Sis’ (the late Duane) of New Market/Morristown, MN. Loved by 13 nieces, nephews, other family and friends.

The New Prague Trojan girls soccer team saw its Cinderella run fall one game short of the big dance as they lost to Lakeville South 4-0 Tuesday, Oct. 15, in the Section 1AA championship game.
South led 1-0 at the half, but the Trojan defense denied them a number of times. South made it 2-0 midway through the second half and the Trojans allowed two more goals in the final 10 minutes.

Herbert “Frank” Thomas, 90, of Montgomery, died on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019, at Central Health Care in Le Center. Visitation will be held on Thursday, Oct. 17, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. with a rosary at 10 a.m. and Mass of Christian Burial at 11:30 a.m. at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery.
Interment will be in St. Scholastica Catholic Cemetery in Heidelberg.

Robert J. Hanek, 79, of Faribault, passed away on October 12, 2019 at Three Links Care Center in Northfield after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Bob was born on June 5, 1940 to Augusta S. and John A. Hanek in rural Le Sueur County. He graduated from high school in Montgomery, MN and then spent six years serving in the U.S. Army. He married Carol A. Sensibaugh on October 26, 1963 and they made their home and raised their family in Faribault. Bob was employed for over 40 years at McQuay’s in Faribault until his retirement.