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Emily K. Ardolf, age 104, of New Prague, died peacefully on Wednesday February 6, 2019 at Mala Strana Rehabilitation Center in New Prague.  Emily was born on September 8, 1914 in Wheatland Township, Rice County to Math and Mary (Novak) Ruzicka.  After Veseli school she attended Hopkins High School before she married Joseph F. Ardolf at Veseli on September 8, 1936.  Emily was a farm housewife and homemaker and raised five children.  She was one of the oldest living residents in New Prague.

Brilliant sun dogs put on a spectacular morning show Friday, Feb. 8, for those heading to work or school, or just out braving the frigid temperatures. This photo was taken along Redwing Avenue, just east of New Prague, by New Prague High School student Marah Slavik.

Sisters Lydia, left, and Paige Olson, daughters of Tim Olson of New Prague, enjoy the snow on Thursday, Feb. 7. About 4 to 6 inches of snow had fallen on the area by Thursday afternoon. New Prague Area Schools had cancelled classes for the day and several businesses closed early due to the weather. Area high school sports scheduled for Thursday evening were either cancelled or postponed. This evening's New Prague Area Chamber of Commerce's Bingo Night scheduled at Giesenbräu Bier Co. was also cancelled. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

New Prague’s Veterans Memorial Committee is holding their MusicFest II fundraiser Saturday, Feb. 9.
This is the second year of the event. Last year’s MusicFest which was highly successful and brought in a lot of money to fund the memorial, which is scheduled to be built in the summer of 2020.

Jeremy Weckman, a 2000 New Prague High School graduate, is one of the hosts of XOR (Xtreme Off Road), a television show that was recently picked up by the History Channel.
Jeremy attended Dakota County Technical College and was an automotive technician at Jeff Belzer’s in Lakeville. He later attended WyoTech in Laramie, WY, to study collision refinishing and street rod fabrication, graduating No. 1 in his class. He moved back to Minnesota and worked for a private car collector/builder and later ran his own shop in Jordan.

The New Prague Veterans Memorial MusicFest II fundraiser will take pace Saturday, Feb. 9, at the Park Ballroom, 300 Lexington Ave. S in New Prague.
The day-long event will feature eight bands, silent auctions, door prizes, food and more.

This past weekend the New Prague Archery Club hosted their annual home tournament with 652 archers from 34 different schools.
The High School team finished in second, falling to Mahtomedi by only eight points, with Princeton High School placing third.
The New Prague Middle School finished second behind Princeton Middle School with Jackson Middle School from Champlin Park taking third.
The Elementary team also finished second, with Milaca finishing first.

New Prague Area Schools will be closed Thursday, Feb. 7, due to predicted weather conditions.
Students will have a blended learning day.
There will be no WRAP or pre-school classes.
All evening activities are cancelled.

The New Prague Trojan wrestling team won the Wright County Conference East championship Thursday, Jan. 31, by defeating Waconia 38-28 in the New Prague gym.
The two teams came into the match undefeated in the conference. New Prague was ranked No. 6 in Class AAA and Waconia was no. 6 in Class AA.
The Trojans have a dual meet record of 15-3 entering the final week of the regular season. They are scheduled to host Rosemount on Thursday, Feb. 7, and will compete in the Minnetonka Duals on Saturday, Feb. 9.

The New Prague Adapted Floor Hockey team lost to Burnsville/Farmington/Lakeville in a thrilling 5-4 overtime contest Thursday, Jan. 24.
New Prague trailed 3-2 going into the final period, but tied the game at 4-4 in the third. The Blazing Cats scored the game-winner with 50 seconds left in the overtime period.
New Prague outshot BFL 33-15 for the game.
Evan Minar had two goals and two assists for New Prague. Seth Dorner and Garret Gagner had the other goals, with Blake Perry getting an assist.

New Prague Area Schools announced Thursday evening that schools would start two hours late Friday, Feb. 8, due to the weather.

Yesterday it was announced that the New Prague High School girls basketball game had been moved from Friday, Feb. 8 to Thursday, Feb. 7.
Forget that plan.
With a classes cancelled for Thursday, the game has been postponed. The make-up date has been set for.... Friday, Feb. 8 the originally scheduled date. The game will be played at Holy Family Catholic High School in Victoria. B-squad plays at 5:30 p.m., varsity at 7 p.m.

Nordwall, Lonna R., age 73 of Prior Lake, passed away February 6, 2019.  Preceded in death by parents, Alfred and Shirley Beenken; brother, Lee Beenken; daughter-in-law, Joan Nordwall. Survived by her by husband, Jim; children, Michael (Robin) Nordwall and Michelle Nordwall; granddaughter, Brittney; sister, Paulette Vaughan; also by other loving family and friends.

Shopko announced Wednesday, Feb. 6, that it was closing 174 additional stores following its recent bankruptcy filing, and that includes the Shopko Hometown store in New Prague.
When all is finished, the company will have just 109 stores, compared to the current total of 360.
A list published Wednesday includes stores closing in six phases, some as early as March 2. This includes stores that were announced to close last month. Fifteen stores in Minnesota are on the list. The New Prague store is in the sixth phase, and its estimated last day of operation is May 12.

Loretta (Stanton) Zweber, age 83, passed away peacefully on Monday, February 4, 2019, at her home in Prior Lake, MN.  
 Service will be at St. Michael Catholic Church 16311 Duluth Ave. SE, Prior Lake. A visitation will be on Friday, February 8, from 3-7 pm and on Saturday, February 9, from 9:30-10:45 am, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 am. Interment at St. Michael Cemetery.    

Harry Dietz, age 96, of New Prague, died peacefully on Sunday, February 3, 2019 at Mala Strana Rehabilitation Center. Harry was born on January 30, 1923 in Lanesburgh Township, Le Sueur County, Minnesota to Frank J. and Rose (Panek) Dietz. He graduated from New Prague High School. In his early years he worked at the mill in Montgomery and as a mechanic for Jimmy Rutt’s garage. He married Leota Busta on October 15, 1945. He spent his life as a farmer, who valued conservation of both the soil in his farming practices and wildlife.

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