MANKATO, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Transportation is preparing motorists for forecasted heavy snowfall rates Friday morning through Saturday morning. The heavy snowfall rates of 1-2 inches per hour are expected to reduce visibility, cause compaction on the roadways, and make travel difficult in south central and southwest Minnesota. 

Suzanne Theresa Gores, 71, of Montgomery, died Tuesday, December 7 at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester. Visitation will be held on Monday, December 13, 2021, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery. 
Funeral service will follow the visitation at the church at 11:30 a.m.  Burial will be held at Calvary Cemetery in Montgomery. 
Suzanne was born July 6, 1950, to James L. and JoAnn E. (Busch) Burns in Tracy, MN. She graduated from Lamberton High School, and married Joseph Michael Gores in Wabasso, MN on October 10, 1968. 

Ruth Marie Barta, 89, of Montgomery passed away at The Villages of Lonsdale on Friday, December 3, 2021 surrounded by her family. Funeral Services will be held on Saturday, December 11, at 11 a.m. with visitation two hours prior at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery.
Ruth was born at home on the farm in Wheatland Township on July 14, 1932 to Joseph L. and Julia (Machacek) Tupy. She attended grade school in Veseli and graduated from New Prague High School.

Richard “Dick” Grosklags, age 82, of Savage, MN, passed November 24, 2021, at Savage Senior Living at Fen Pointe. A celebration of life will be on Sunday, December 12, at 2 pm, with a visitation starting at 12:30 pm, at Ballard-Sunder Funeral & Cremation in Prior Lake. Family is requiring masks to be worn. A private family burial will be at Dawn Valley Cemetery, in Bloomington, MN.

A family of cousins found this year’s Christmas medallion on Wednesday, Dec. 1. Cousins (front, from left) Mikayla Segna, Ruby Vosejpka, Max Segna, and Zoey Finkenbiner (back) share the prize of $50 Monty Bucks and a $50 Mackenthun’s gift card. The cousins found the coin hidden in a coffee can that was on the tree line near the cemetery behind Mackenthuns’s Fine Foods.
Read more in the December 9 issue. (Wade Young Photo)

A garden hoe, rake, wheel barrow, lawnmower, love of family, land, animals, and music describe Sidney. 
He married Betty Ann Prchal on May 21, 1957, at St. Scholastica Church in Heidelberg. While renting a house in Lonsdale, they purchased a farm south of Lonsdale, spending their first night there on November 6, 1958. Quickly, it became home, and neither of them ever thought of living anywhere else. 
Sidney was born on February 15, 1931, his parents were Mathias and Josephine Vikla (Andrysek). His mother, born in Moravia, came to America at the age of sixteen. 

Cynthia Kay Wacker, 59, of Montgomery died on Friday, Nov. 26, 2021. Visitation will be held on Thursday, Dec. 9 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Schoenbauer Funeral Home in Montgomery. Funeral Services will be held on Friday, December 10 at Noon with visitation one hour prior at St. John Lutheran Church in Montgomery.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and the City of Montgomery are hosting an open house to share updates on the Highway 13 project, as well as gather input from the community regarding proposed improvements between Fir Avenue NW and Vine Avenue NW.
For the three parking and lane options, click on the pdf.
The open house will take place on Monday, November 29 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Montgomery City Hall (201 Ash Avenue, Montgomery).

It is with deep sorrow and much love that we mourn the passing of Eddie Navejas of Montgomery, on November 17, 2021, at the age of 35 years. Visitation will be held on Friday, Nov. 26, from 2 to 6 p.m. at Schoenbauer Funeral Home in Montgomery, with funeral service to follow on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 10 a.m.

Alex Matthew Pettman, 49, of Montgomery, died unexpectedly on October 27, 2021. He is survived by parents Mark and Nancy Pettman of Red Wing, and brother Nathan, sister Holly and sister-in-law Becky. He was also a loving uncle to Riley, Violet, and Cooper.
 
Alex grew up in Owatonna, and graduated with honors from Owatonna High School. Those who knew Alex have described him as quiet, gentle, intelligent, and stoic. He was so well read; we even joked that Alex was the family encyclopedia.
 

Jerry Odine Severson was born February 13, 1970 to Gerald Severson and Patsy Hartje. He entered into rest on Sunday, November 21, 2021 at Sanford Hospital, surrounded by his loved ones.

Members of the TCU Swim and Dive team made big history on Friday.
Ella Schmiesing, daughter of John and Jennifer Schmiesing, became the first-ever TCU Section Swimming Champion. Ella won the 50 freestyle race with her time of 24.18 at the Section Meet in Rochester on Friday.
The win earned her a trip to State.
Titan Coach Kristen Munden said her finish also set a new team record for TCU and a personal record for Schmiesing.
The eighth grader was also crowned the Champion in the 100 freestyle race with her first-place time of 53.02.

When they climb aboard their specially-designed float for the Torchlight Parade on December 2, Chloe Hart and Wyatt Harms are going to make sure people see them.
“We’re going to wave … a lot!” said Chloe.
“The Queen waves like this (palm down, as if wiping a table). I don’t know how the boys wave. I’m going to wave regular,” Wyatt said.
The Tri-City United second graders have been named as the Junior Grand Marshals of Montgomery’s 28th Annual Torchlight Parade that will roll down First Street, Montgomery, on Thursday, Dec. 2, starting at 6:30 p.m.

Eight members of the TCU FFA chapter visited the 2021 FFA National Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana from October 26 to 29. They were Jacey Saemrow, Maddy Ruger, Grace Halloran, TCU FFA Treasurer Sami Tiede, TCU FFA Reporter Marty Malecha, Cole Walters, Brendan Germscheid, and Nathan Goettl. Randy Krahl, ag teacher at TCU accompanied the students.
According to Tiede, during the trip, the members had a lot of new learning experiences. Some happened before they arrived at the convention.

A 446-acre park in Le Sueur County will benefit from a fundraiser held in Montgomery on Sunday.
The Ney Nature Center (NNC) was the focus of the 13th annual Fall Fling, the nature preserve’s largest fundraiser of the year. It attracted people from around the county who are dedicated to the NNC’s mission of preservation of the natural state of its surroundings, restoring and preserving the buildings of historical significance, and engaging the greater community in connecting with the natural world.

Hundreds of people gathered in Montgomery on Friday for a fundraiser to help two people who were struck by a wrong-way driver last month.
TCU graduates Kylie Maxa and Leonardo “Leo” Herrera-Lara felt the love and support on November 12 when family, friends and members of the TCU Dance Team held a fundraiser for them following a car accident on October 6.