New Prague High School volleyball coach Greg Sayuk has been named the Class AAAA Coach of the Year by his peers in the Minnesota High School Volleyball Coaches Association (MNVBCA).
Sayuk’s team finished the season in the Class AAAA championship match against undefeated Wayzata, a team loaded with college-bound talent. Though the Trojans fell in three tough games to Wayzata, they finished the season with a best-ever record of 27- 6. They finished undefeated in conference play and swept their four matches against section competition.

Roger J. Novotny, age 82, of Veseli, died Monday, January 15, 2024, after an extended illness at Mayo Clinic Health System Hospital Mankato.  Roger was born on July 19, 1941, in New Prague to Joseph G. and Mary A. (Tupa) Novotny. He graduated from New Prague High School and started out his career at Lindsay Water Softener.  The majority of his life was spent at Metropolitan Mosquito Control.  Roger loved anything that had to do with nature and the outdoors.  In his younger years, he enjoyed fishing and hunting.  He loved nature walks and feeding wildlife and birds.

Wilfred Heine died peacefully at his home on January 14, 2024, at the age of 91 years.
Wil was born on May 24, 1932, in New Prague.  His parents were William and Marie (Bohnsack) Heine.
Wil was baptized at Friedens Lutheran Church, New Prague, the church he attended his whole life. He attended New Prague Public Schools, graduating in 1950.

Mary Ellen Pass, age 85, of Shakopee, MN, entered eternal life on Monday, January 15, 2024, at St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Shakopee.
Mary Ellen was born in New Prague, MN, on April 14, 1938, the daughter of Alfred and Veronica (Deutsch) Hartman, and raised in Saint Benedict.

Catherine Kes, 89, of Jordan, passed away on January 11, 2024. A time of gathering will be held at Ridges Golf Course in Jordan from 4-7 p.m. on January 18. At 7 p.m., there will be a Celebration of Life ceremony held at Ridges. Her Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. John the Baptist in Jordan (313 2nd Street East, Jordan) on Friday, January 19, starting at 11 a.m. Father Neil Bakker will be presiding.  Lunch will follow at Ridges. Prior to the mass, there will be a time of visitation from 10-11 a.m. at St. Johns.

Randolph M. “Randy” Giesen, age 76, of Eagan, died peacefully in the early morning of Friday, January 5, at the VA Hospice in Minneapolis following a battle with pancreatic cancer.  

Arnold C. Sticha, age 80, of Webster, died unexpectedly following a brief illness, on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, at Hennepin County Medical Center.  Arnie was born on March 11, 1943, at the family farm to Charles E. and Angeline M.

Rosemary Tuma (Ruzicka), age 88 of Lonsdale, MN passed away peacefully with family at her side on January 9, 2024. Rosemary was born on April 16, 1935, on the family farm in Wheatland Township to Frank and Anna (Flicek) Ruzicka.  Rosie grew up in Veseli, attending country school and graduating from New Prague High School. Rosie met her husband of 53 years at a dance at Herrmann’s Hall in Lonsdale, they were married on June 24, 1954, at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Veseli. She enjoyed playing cards, fishing, dancing, going to the casino and visiting northern Minnesota.

Virgil B. Schoenecker, age 96, of New Prague, died peacefully at his home at Praha Village on Wednesday, January 10, 2024.  Virgil was born on August 22, 1927, on the family farm in Belle Plaine Township, to Joseph and Celia (Ruhland) Schoenecker.  He attended the district school in Union Hill.  

Elvin Leigh Wehking, age 57, of rural Janesville, died in a single vehicle crash on Tuesday, Jan. 9.
    The Le Sueur County Sheriff’s dispatch center received a 911 call at 5:33 p.m. of a vehicle crash near a residence on Tetonka Lake Road in Elysian Township. Le Sueur County Sheriff’s deputies and Elysian Fire and Rescue were initially dispatched to the scene. 
    Sheriff’s deputies noted that a 2003 Ford Taurus, driven by Wehking, had left the roadway, travelled through a ditch and collided with a large tree — which caused extensive front end damage to the vehicle. 

Shirley Jean Lebo, age 97, of Chaska, MN, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on January 7, 2024.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, January 19, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. with visitation one hour before at Hope Lutheran Church located at 201 Hope Ave. Jordan, MN.  The inurnment will be at Spirit Hill Cemetery in Jordan.

After splitting two games over break, the New Prague High School girls’ hoops team started 2024 off right with a solid win over section competition before opening Metro West play.
New Prague topped Rochester John Marshall Jan. 2, a victory that could help NPHS earn a top-four seed in the section seedings and a home playoff game later in the season. The victory gives the Trojans a leg up on the Rockets as an upper-middle tier team in the section behind Section 1AAAA powerhouses Lakeville North, Lakeville South and Rochester Mayo, said NPHS coach Eric Specht.

Andrew Thom stresses he is joking when he says he was hoping his daughter would arrive in time for he and his wife, Nicole, to receive a tax credit for having a child in 2023.
But Nicole and Andrew were delighted when their daughter, Louella Ann, arrived in time to become the first baby of 2024 in The New Prague Times’ New Year’s Baby 2024 contest.
Louella Ann arrived Monday, Jan. 1, 8:10 p.m. Born at St. Francis Regional Medical Center, she arrived weighing 8 pounds, 8 ounces. Louella arrived at 21 1/2 inches long. Louella Ann is the couple’s first child.

The New Prague High School wrestlers traveled to Chanhassen High School where the Trojans wrestled 15th ranked AAA Chaska/Chanhassen in the opening round and then faced off against Eden Prairie. In both NPHS had close wins, clipping the wings of the Stormhawks, 31-25, and the Eagles, 36-29. New Prague is scheduled for a tournament at St. Cloud Tech High School, Saturday, Jan. 13. The Trojans have one remaining conference dual with Waconia on Thursday, Jan. 18. For more see an upcoming print edition of The New Prague Times.

New Prague’s gymnastic team hosted the 11th annual Matt Shetka Invitational Saturday, Jan. 6, with nine teams competing.
“The Matt Shetka invite was a great meet. New Prague had two teams of nine competing at the meet,” said head coach Darrell Christenson.
“Our team one took third place overall with a score of 138.3. That's our second highest score of the season so far.”

Yvonne Geraldine (Severson) Schaefer, peacefully passed away on January 1, 2024, at the age of 95 in Aitkin, Minnesota. She looked upon her children and smiled as she took her final breath.  She was born on September 17, 1928, in Churchs Ferry, North Dakota, to Paul and Aagot (Nygaard) Severson.