As of Thursday, April 15, the City of New Prague announced it is allowing the one story “rear” portion of Downtown Sound at 104 Main St. E to reopen. This is the portion that is marked internally in the building – essentially all the rear portion except the north 12-feet closest to the two story portion of the building. This will allow Downtown Sound to continue to hold music lessons in that portion of the building. This determination was made in consultation with the building owner’s structural engineer and the City’s structural engineer and Building Official.

The restoration of the Settler’s Log Cabin in Memorial Park, Montgomery, continued over the weekend. Roland Ceplecha spent a few hours Saturday powder blasting the cabin. Ceplecha owns Kaderlik Well Drilling and Service, and he volunteered his equipment and labor for the job. Prior to the powder blasting, one of the logs near the bottom was also replaced. Rick Krenik replaced it with the help from Public Works Supervisor Chris Roemhildt, who used a pay-loader to lift the log cabin. After the blasting, the log cabin will still have a few things to be completed.

The Rice County Master Gardener volunteers are hosting their annual Arbor Day tree and shrub giveaway on Friday, April 30, at the Rice County Fairgrounds in Faribault. The giveaway will take place from 3:30-5:30 p.m., while supplies last.
The giveaway will take place as a drive-through, minimal contact event. Everyone is welcome to drive through the fairgrounds and select a free tree or shrub seedling. Participants should enter the fairgrounds from Second Avenue NW and there will be signs indicating the flow of traffic.

The City of New Prague will have the building located at 102 E. Main Street (containing The Consignment Lodge at 102 E. Main Street and Downtown Sound at 104 E. Main Street) posted as an unsafe structure and to be vacated (per MN Rules1300.0180) until further notice.

Most Holy Redeemer Catholic School recognized a model student and eighth grader for emulating the virtues of the school’s saint of the month.
For April, the saint is...
To read more on this article, pick up the April 8, 2021 print edition of the Montgomery Messenger.

The Le Sueur County Commissioners cast their votes Tuesday, April 6 for their top candidates for the county administrator position.
The board was presented a list of nine candidates by DDA Human Resources Management Consultant Liza M. Donabauer, who has been working on the hiring process for the county.
The position was posted February 17 and four weeks later 30 individuals had applied. 14 of those applicants were selected as semifinalists. Of those, five withdrew their applications.

Montgomery’s City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission gave a thumbs up to the new seasonal employee housing plan presented by Seneca Foods, Inc.
After hearing a presentation of facts by City Administrator Brian Heck, with additional information by Zach Woytcke, planning and zoning members unanimously approved the conditional use and building permits for the project on Tuesday, March 8.
The plan, which will replace the...
To read more on this story, pick up the April 8, 2021 print edition of the Montgomery Messenger.

High School students are returning to full, in-person learning - again.
The TCU School Board approved change in a special meeting Monday.
The option to full in-person learning was not the board’s first option.
Board member Michelle Borchardt made a motion to return to the hybrid model the district started at the beginning of the year. Unlike the current hybrid model where at-home students view live-streamed classes, the model Borchardt suggested was to have work days when kids are at home.

More than 100 pieces of artwork created by the youngest Titans are now on display at the Arts and Heritage Center of Montgomery. The exhibit, which is open to the public, is available for view during regular center hours, through April 17.
Each piece of artwork is labeled with the student artist’s name and grade.
Most of the items exhibited are two-dimensional, but some impressive three-dimensional art is featured on a table in the center of the display.

The community Easter Egg Hunt will happen again this year.
Due to ramifications of COVID- 19, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has again approved an alternative community event for Montgomery. The Easter Goodie Bag Drive-Thru will be held on Saturday, April 10 from 12 to 3 p.m. in the drive-thru of CornerStone State Bank, one of the organizers of the event.
To get approval during the coronavirus pandemic, branch president Connie White Tupy had conversations with Le Sueur County Public Health and MDH.

The City of Montgomery is taking a property owner to court to force the demolition of an abandoned building on First Street.
The case involves the property at 100 First Street South (corner of Vine Avenue and First Street) owned by Bob and Bonnie Taraba. According to the complaint filed in Le Sueur County on December 29, the city has asked Le Sueur County courts to force the Tarabas to tear down the building that it states is dilapidated, hazardous and beyond repair.

Tri-City United High School students will take to the stage this weekend, seven months after the show was first cast, to present Disney’s “High School Musical.”
The show is directed by English Teacher, Sarah Mejia. The difficulty of bringing this year’s musical to the stage, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been an endeavor unlike any other.

On Thursday, March 18, during a virtual public hearing about the second stage of the reconstruction of New Prague’s Main Street between the City of New Prague, property and business owners and residents of the area, it was noted work would begin on Monday, April 26. The next day that start date had changed to Monday, April 5.
The contractor, SM Hentges & Sons, Inc. of Jordan, reviewed the long range forecast on Friday, March 19, and determined that...
To read more on this article, pick up the March 25, 2021 print edition of The New Prague Times.

Classroom STEM concepts were put to the test when students from several Minnesota schools participated in the first-ever TCU Robotics Tournament on Saturday.
Teamwork, leadership, communication, and more were put to the test as teams competed in the VEX Robotics Competition at TCU High School. After spending months designing and building their robots, students...
To read more on this story, pick up the March 25, 2021 print edition of the Montgomery Messenger.

Throughout this school year the “learning model” has become a topic that’s discussed at every school board meeting and work session held by the Tri-City United School Board.
At Monday’s work session, the learning model discussion centered around when and if students in the high school will...
To read more on this article, pick up the March 25, 2021 print edition of the Montgomery Messenger.

Providing more than just food
When a person or family makes an appointment with the Montgomery Food Shelf, they receive dry and canned goods, bread, produce, milk, and cereal.
During the year-long COVID-19 pandemic, so much more has passed through the doors of the organization at 151 Elm Avenue SE.
Renee Southworth, the Montgomery Salvation Army Food Shelf Coordinator, usually has an average of...
To see more on this story, pick up the March 25, 2021 print edition of the Montgomery Messenger.