Marvin Emil Smisek, 84, surrounded by his loving family, passed away on February 10, 2024 at Mala Strana nursing home in New Prague, MN. Celebration of Life on Saturday,  June 8 at the Lonsdale American Legion, 115 Second Ave NW, Lonsdale, MN, from 10:30 a.m. -  2:30 p.m. Burial will be at 3 p.m. at Calvary Cemetery in Lonsdale. Lunch will be at 11 a.m. and music will be provided by his grandson, Coltan and his band the Rockin’ Hep Cats. Come celebrate and share stories of Marvin with his family and friends.

Lloyd Carl Svoboda, age 85, of rural New Prague left the loving arms of his family to join God in eternal life on Thursday, April 25, 2024, at Central Healthcare of Le Center. 

Those driving through Elko New Market Monday morning, May 20, likely saw crews from the public works department setting up 41 banners along Main Street. The banners honor local veterans and service members as part of the Hometown Heroes program.
The Elko New Market Fire Department’s fire relief association is overseeing the program.
“We’re really excited, this is a great thing for the community,” said Jodi Muelken, president of the fire relief association. She said the banners will be up through Labor Day.

New Prague and area residents will have the opportunity to honor those who served their country in the military or were taken from us or have passed away since their service during the annual Memorial Day services.
Monday, May 27, begins with visits to area cemeteries to honor war dead and those who have left us after their service ended. The schedule of cemetery services includes:
• 9 a.m., St. Patrick;
• 9:25 a.m., St. Benedict (change from last year)
• 9:55 a.m., Lanesburgh;
• 10:15 a.m., Union Hill;
• 10:30 a.m., Czech National;

Duane G. “Dewey” Tinderholm, age 66, of New Prague, died  Monday, May 20, 2024, at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale after a catastrophic stroke and was a proud organ donor.  Dewey was born on May 25, 1957, in Duluth to Gene P.

Elko New Market Police Chief Brady Juell will be honored 4:30-5:45 p.m. before the Elko New Market City Council’s Thursday, May 23, meeting at city hall. Juell announced recently he is stepping down from the position he has held for more than five years.
Juell informed the council at its Thursday, May 9, meeting his last day will be Friday, June 7, and beginning Monday, June 10, he will be Savage’s police chief taking over for Rodney Seurer, who is retiring.

Amateur baseball in the Dakota, Rice, Scott League began a few weeks back. Teams are hoping for a good summer of town baseball. Here is a brief look at the DRS teams that responded to a request for information on their teams.

Please join us for a memorial reception to celebrate the life of Edward LaPierre, who passed away September 26, 2023, at his home. We will gather together on June 8, 2024 at the Montgomery American Legion, 102 Elm Ave SW, Montgomery MN,  from 1 p.m. - 4 p.m., to remember our brother.

Marilyn A. Sindelar, age 92, of New Prague, died unexpectedly at her home on Monday, May 20, 2024.  Marilyn was born on February 7, 1932, in the new home of Frank J. and Blanche (Kubesh) Rehor of New Prague.  She graduated from St. Wenceslaus Catholic School in 1945 and New Prague High School in 1949.  Marilyn was employed at the Federal Reserve Bank in Minneapolis until her marriage to Russell J.

Colonel Jacob C. Helgestad passed away on May 17, 2024, in Mankato, Minnesota, after a strong fight against cancer.  While his friends and family are shocked at the abrupt passing, they are grateful for every moment of his life. 

Richard F. Tikalsky, age 80, of New Prague, died peacefully at home with his family at his side on Friday, May 17, 2024.  Richard was born on March 3, 1944, in New Prague, to James and Bessie (Pikal) Tikalsky and attended New Prague Public Schools.  He married Jeanne A. Pumper on July 31, 1968, in Cleveland, Minnesota. He spent his career working as a roofer.  His favorite job, however, was probably driving bus for the Montgomery School District for the many special education students who graced his life.

Even here in New Prague, we’ve started to see a few of the new state flags flying, some of them so new you can still see the crease marks from where they were folded for packaging.

Shirlee Ann Muetzel, age 91, of Lonsdale, passed away peacefully May 14, 2024.
Shirlee was born August 12, 1932, to Harry Harvey Jahnke and Luella Adeline Lueck Jahnke, south of Olivia, MN. She attended school in Renville and Danube and graduated in 1950. Shirlee and her husband Maurice Milo Muetzel were married 61 years, Ruby and Lori were born to this union. Maurice passed November 3, 2014.

Friday night into Saturday morning was a spectacle of the skies, even those within the city limits and outside of direct light, as the aurora borealis or northern lights put on a show for all to see.
People as far south as the Bahamas and southern California were able to see them outside of light polluted areas. Even within the Twin Cities metropolitan area the aurora was visible to the naked eye.

“This is our first year doing a garage sale,” said Eric Novotny, Saturday morning, May 11. He was among several people participating in New Prague’s Citywide Garage Sales. In his yard and driveway along NE First Street, he had many articles for sale.
“We’ve got clothes, electronics, cookware, you name it,” he said.
He and his wife had seen other garage sales and they decided to take part this year. Novotny noted another reason is they’re expecting a child. “We’re making room in the house,” Novotny said.
The sale also had furniture and several knickknacks.

Seneca Foods Corporation in Montgomery has been issued a citation by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (MNDLI) and issued a penalty of $156,259 in regards to the incident which happened in the early morning hours of October 5, 2023, where 58-year-old worker Jose Luis Alvarado had items in a warehouse fall on top of him and he died from his injuries.