There was a crash at the roundabout at the intersection of Main Street and First Avenue NE in New Prague the evening of Friday, Jan. 21. Apparently around 7:20 p.m. a driver of a four door vehicle hit the stone benches and the fire hydrant on the north side of Main Street and then abandoned their vehicle in the middle of the roundabout. The New Prague Police and Fire Departments responded to the scene. A skid loader was used to move the stone blocks of the benches out of the street. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

Guy Joseph Novak, age 55, of Veseli, MN, passed away suddenly on Saturday, January 8, 2022 at his home. Guy was born at Queen of Peace Hospital in New Prague MN, to Joseph G. and Glorene A. (Fahrenkamp) Novak. He attended and graduated from New Prague High School in 1986.

Mary Beth Retterath, 58, of Sioux Falls, SD passed away on Thursday, January 13, 2022.
 Funeral Service will be 10:00 am Tuesday, January 18, at St. Mary Catholic Church, with private family burial at Woodlawn Cemetery. Masks are required at the funeral Mass.

Former St. Wenc Choir Director pens “Minnesota’s ‘Big Woods’ Musicians”
A new book, authored by Sr. Anita Smisek, OP, a former choir director a St. Wencesalus Catholic Church, with narrative assistance from John Chromy, tells the story of how Bohemian immigrants brought their love of music to the “Bohemian Triangle” of New Prague, Veseli, Lonsdale, and Montgomery, and how this musical gift has been passed down through generations and is alive and well today.

Three players scored in double figures for the New Prague boys basketball team in a season-opener Metro West Conference win Friday, Jan. 7.
Ethan Chromy led the team in scoring with 20 points. Jaxon Short added 14 points and Noah Washa 11 points in a 69-61 win over St. Louis Park.
The win came one day after a 72-69 loss to Delano on Thursday, Jan. 6.

Hopkins scored a goal 30 seconds into overtime to edge the New Prague boys hockey team 3-2, Friday, Jan. 7.
Junior John Schmidt scored his 4th goal of the season and senior Will Andersen added his second goal of the year with less than two minutes to play in the third period to help the Trojans tie the game at 2-all.
Andersen had his 5th assist and senior Kai Johnson his 1st assist on the Schmidt goal. Senior Charlie Turnberg collected his 3rd assist of the year on the Andersen goal.

Led by four individual champions and a very solid overall team performance, the New Prague gymnastics team won the Matt Shetka Invitational Championship Saturday, Jan. 8 in New Prague.
Ava Barsness, Jadyn Klein, Ava Bruegger, and Ellie Morris each claimed individual titles and the team had the top performances on the vault and uneven parallel bars in scoring 143.700 points.

I know quite a few people are going to be enjoying the next few days because it’s going to be in the 30 degrees Fahrenheit, which compared to the previous temperatures when it was in the single digits, it will feel like a heat wave. Am I being too optimistic? Probably, but sometimes you just have to take the good times with the bad.
Another way to put it is with the song “I never promised you a rose garden” by Lynn Anderson. It talks about how things are not always going to be, well, rosy. There’s going to be rain, there’s going to be tough times when a person is by themselves.

Dorothy Mae Machacek, age 88, of Faribault, MN, passed away suddenly on Sunday, January 9, 2022, at her home.

Robert W. Johnson, age 78, of Lonsdale, died unexpectedly at his home on Friday, January 7, 2022.  Bob was born on September 22, 1943 in Litchfield, MN to Algot W. and Olga A. (Strom) Johnson.  He grew up in Dassel, graduating from Dassel High School and went on to attend the University of Minnesota St.

Jon Michael Eaves, age 82, of New Prague, passed away unexpectedly on Friday, January 7, 2022 at Mayo Clinic Health System Hospital New Prague.  Jon was born in North Platte, Nebraska on June 7, 1939 to Beuford and Genevieve (Goodmanson) Eaves.  He was the middle child to siblings, Gerhard Andrew, Janet Hildred, Beuford Allyn, and Gordon Eugene.  He grew up in a home filled with love, music, and many beloved pets and where hard work and honesty were the cornerstones.  From an early age he developed a deep faith in our Lord that guided him all through life.

Due to staffing shortage, the New Prague Post Office is delivering packages and rotating mail routes. This may delay your newspaper delivery. 

Eleanor A.

Valeria “Val” (Turner) Thielman, age 94, peacefully passed away Wednesday, January 5, 2022 with her son by her side at Mala Strana Health and Rehabilitation Center. 

Daniel J. “Danny” Tikalsky, age 62, of New Prague, died unexpectedly at his home on Wednesday, January 5, 2022.  Danny was born on April 2, 1959 in New Prague to Daniel J.

We are now into the first week of a new year and like every turning of the calendar year this one holds promise for what we can accomplish over the next 12 months. For some of us that is something such as losing weight, for others it’s taking a few more walks, while a few of us are hoping to cut down how much time we spend on social media and there are those who are going to reach for a new job or buy a house.