Mild weather gave the Le Sueur Free County Fair time to shine last week. The 169th annual fair was held Thursday through Sunday. 
    The fair had a 1950s car theme, which was apparent in the style and the many competitions held throughout the week — from kids pedal pull to the truck and tractor pull. Young and old had a contest they could participate in, and many spectators came out to cheer them on.
    Of course, there was a car show, where actual 1950s cars could display their beauty. In all, 120 cars participated in the show.

Mary Sue “Sue” Ambroz, age 65, of New Prague, passed away on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, at her home in New Prague.

Sue was born on August 22, 1960, to Lawrence and Mary Jo (Chromy) Sirek in New Prague, MN. Sue graduated from New Prague High School with the class of 1978. She went on to earn a teaching degree from Mankato State University.

Levi Perry Schelhaas, age 15, of New Prague, Minnesota, passed away surrounded by family and friends on Friday, August 21, 2026, at North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale. Levi was born on May 3, 2011, in New Prague, to Zachary and Brittany (Mude) Schelhaas.

Kevin William Zwirner, age 38, of New Richmond, Wisconsin, passed away peacefully on August 11, 2026. Born on September 16, 1987, in Maplewood, MN, Kevin was the son of Sheila Sarafin and Bill Zwirner.

Kevin loved fishing, nature, playing with the dogs, and spending time with his nieces and nephews. He was a kind and gentle person with a big heart. Kevin saw the good in every single person he encountered and often had a smile on his face. He was an avid Timberwolves and Vikings fan and loved watching college sports.

New Prague starting pitcher Gavin Bergman blasted a three-run home run and held New Your Mills to one run through 7-plus innings as the New Prague Orioles topped the Millers, 4-1, Saturday at Memorial Park in New Prague.

NP's win in the opening round of the Minnesota Baseball Association's Class C state tournament advances the Orioles to face the winner of Glencoe-Howard Lake game Friday, Aug. 28, 7:30 p.m., at Memorial Park.

Joseph “Joe” Mathias Sand, Jr. age 71, passed away peacefully on August 11, 2026, in his home surrounded by his family after a month-long battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He was a resident of New Prague, MN. 

While the other members of the Scott County Board might not have agreed, Commissioner Barb Weckman Brekke did what she believed was the right thing to do when she publicly backed Rep. Angie Craig’s unsuccessful bid for a U.S. Senate post representing Minnesota.

Seeding games set the brackets for state tournament

After a summer of amateur baseball, five area teams have advanced to the Minnesota Baseball Association’s state tournaments beginning this weekend in New Prague, Shakopee, Jordan and Chaska.

In Class A, Elko and St. Patrick qualified for the state tournament. Union Hill and Webster made the Class B state field while New Prague is the lone area team in the Class C state tournament. See the special congratulations page for scheduling information in this week’s edition of The New Prague Times.

Union Hill pounded out 14 hits and used a pair of big innings to defeat Princeton, 10-2, in the opening round of the Minnesota Baseball Association's Class B state tournament Friday night, Aug. 21, at Memorial Park in New Prague.

The Bulldogs never trailed in the contest. They opened with three runs in the second inning, added solo runs in the third and fifth innings before taking a 9-0 lead with four runs in in the seventh. UH finished off its scoring with one run in the eighth frame.

Friday, Aug. 7, was a busy day for Trygg Holliday as he managed the building of a prayer garden at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Elko New Market.

Part of his inspiration for the prayer garden is his dad, Timothy Holliday, who passed away four years ago. The small garden will have a bench where people can sit. A memorial plaque for Holliday’s dad will be placed on the bench. It was Timothy Holliday, plus Trygg’s grandmother, Darlene Thomas, who got Trygg involved in Boy Scout Troop 9111 out of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Lakeville.

Without the funding needed to complete the full array of improvements planned for Highway 19 between New Prague and Highway 169, the Minnesota Department of Transportation is planning a comparatively short-term pavement improvement along the dilapidated roadway next year.

Dennis Joseph Novak, 72, of Veseli, passed away on Sunday, August 16, 2026, at home surrounded by loved ones.

Update: Fifteen-year-old Levi Schelhaas of rural New Prague passed away Friday, Aug. 21,  from injuries suffered during a crash while riding his dirt bike Tuesday, Aug. 18.

His obituary appears on The New Prague Times' website and will be in the Aug. 27 print edition of The New Prague Times.

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Scott Malecha, age 62, of Lonsdale, passed away on August 15, 2026.

Scott was preceded in death by his father, Ray Malecha; and brother-in-law, Marty Berg.

Daniel "Dan" Young LaBelle of New Prague, MN, passed away unexpectedly on August 9, 2026. Dan was one of five children born to Joseph and Ann (Kelly) LaBelle. He was a graduate of Mounds View High School and Winona State University. After college, he began his career with ADC Telecommunications, where he met the love of his life and future wife, Stephanie (Sinclair). Together they built a life filled with adventure, love, laughter, and family.