Children at Calvary Church’s Vacation Bible School play a game of dodge ball the morning of Tuesday, July 23, in New Prague’s Memorial Park. There are 60 children participating in the Energize Camp that started on Monday, July 22, and ends on Thursday, July 25, the same day the church holds its annual Community Block Party. This year’s theme at Energize Camp is how Jesus is the Ultimate Game Changer as he paid the price for people’s sins and his forgiveness can change people’s lives. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

Mother and daughter, Darlene Thomas and Tammy Holliday enjoy a dance during the St. Patrick Parish Festival on Sunday, July 21. The church north of New Prague had music, games, a silent auction, a petting zoo, bingo and a chicken dinner. It also benefited from a beautiful day of temperatures in the 80's with little to no humidity. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

When the new board of the Le Sueur County Historical Society took control on June 3, it inherited remarkable problems, among them old buildings with no heating/ cooling/ventilation and some with mold growing in the basement.

The New Prague City Council recognized Suzanne Roushar at its Monday, July 15, meeting. She will be retiring from her position as a police records/clerk and typist on Wednesday, July 31. Roushar has served as a city employee for more than 25 years, the majority of that with the New Prague Police Department.
There were 14 people at the meeting, most from the police department or family members of Roushar.

The Union Hill Bulldogs hosted their third annual Austism Awareness game Sunday, July 14. The opponent was the Montgomery Mallards.
Katie Dietz has organized the event each year for the Bulldogs. She is a graduate student in child psychology and works with autistic children at the Fraser School in Minneapolis. Her brother had been a player for the Bulldogs until this year.
“We do this to raise awareness about autism - to help get more inclusion and more acceptance into the game,” she said.

A tank from Chart Industries made its way through the second roundabout on New Prague’s Main Street the evening of Thursday, July 18. The tank was heading from Chart Industries on the west side of town and going east. It was the second one to go through the city this week as the first one went through on Tuesday, July 16. While not as tall as the first one, the second tank was longer and had to make turns slowly. For more on both tanks see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

A tank from Chart Industries in New Prague made its way down Main Street at 10:19 p.m. the night of Tuesday, July 16. The tank was so tall that crews were out between 9-10 p.m. to move a stop light arm out of the way on the south east side of the intersection of Main Street and First Avenue SE. After the tank moved through at 10:23 p.m. crews put the stop light back in place. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

Severe weather struck the area Monday evening, July 15. Heavy rain started in several waves around 6 p.m., and a tornado warning was issued for southern Scott County shortly after 7 p.m., when radar indicated a funnel cloud south of Belle Plaine. A farm near Belle Plaine lost several of its outbuildings due to the storm. Despite some ominous looking clouds, there was no tornado in the New Prague area, however heavy rain continued to fall for nearly an hour, and a flash flood warning was issued as some observers reported more than two inches of rain in a short time period.

Cancer survivors made the first lap at the 26th Annual Le Sueur County Relay for Life on Friday night, July 12, at the Le Sueur County Fairgrounds in Le Center. The event, which celebrates the fight against cancer, remembers those who lost their battle with cancer, and raises money for the American Cancer Society, will be held until midnight. The closing ceremony will be at 12:45 a.m.
Pick up a copy of this week's paper to read more about local teams and their fight against cancer.

The Minnesota Valley Bowling Association held a Hall of Fame induction recently at the New Prague Knights of Columbus Hall.

It takes more than just lighting off a few fireworks to make a memorable community wide fireworks display for Independence Day. In fact, the planning and executing for this year’s 4th of July celebrations in Lonsdale and Veseli began in January, according to the organizers of the Lonsdale Freedom Fireworks committee.

On Monday, July 1, Father Eugene Theisen became the Parochial Administrator for the New Prague Area Catholic Community. He takes over for Father Kevin Clinton who recently retired. He explained that it is policy in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis that when a priest is assigned to their first parish they are named a Parochial Administrator and after their first year they are named Pastor.

New Prague's annual Fireworks Display was held Wednesday evening, July 3, near the New Prague Middle School. Many people showed up for an evening of fun, highlighted by an approximately 20-minute fireworks show presented by RES Pyrotechnic. Showered earlier in the day worried the event's sponsors, but the rain cleared, and many people showed up for the fun.

A herd of hundreds (of people) visited the Pieper family farm in rural New Prague on Saturday, June 29, as part of Rice County American Dairy Association's free Day On the Farm event.
Visitors were treated to a free lunch, milk shakes, kids' games, and tours of the approximately 890-head dairy farm that proudly produces an average of 34,000 pounds of milk a day.
The farm is owned and operated by Ray and Bridget Pieper with help from five of their 10 children, Tim, Brian, Nick, Dan, and Emily.

About 650 people attended “Under the Big Top 3,” a pro wrestling card held outside the Doublewide in Elko New Market. The event, promoted by Mitch Paradise (New Prague’s Dan Michel) featured six matches. Besides Paradise, other wrestlers of note included Mr. Anderson, a former WWE wrestler who now operates a wrestling school in Minneapolis, Aaron Corbin, and Johnny Love, who won the first-ever "Doublewide Wrestling Championship."

The New Prague Area Historical Society currently has two exhibits at the New Prague Library, 400 Main St. E. One is about 4-H Clubs, the other touches on the Korean War with memorabilia such as banners, books and prizes concerning 4-H and, for the Korean War, photos and articles collected by the late LeRoy Henry Kline, who served in the Navy during that conflict.