Ivan R. Flicek, age 85, of Annandale, formerly of Faribault, died Thursday, December 24, 2020 at the St. Cloud Hospital.
A Private Requiem Mass will be held Thursday, December 31, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. at Parker Kohl Funeral Home in Faribault with Fr. Nino Molina officiating. Burial will follow at Meadow Ridge Cemetery in Faribault.

The Montgomery Sharing Tree program wrapped up last week when 90 gift bags were delivered to residents in nursing homes, assisted living, or senior facilities who need some extra joy this season.
Organizer Eileen Segna said the pandemic eliminated any gift shopping for recipients this year. Instead, she used money that was still in the account and donations to purchase gifts for the residents.
She delivered the joy Friday.

“Mom, I really like our Christmas tree. It’s not like other people’s trees... Ours doesn’t match.” ~ Ellen, age 8
Oh, the joys of Christmas!
My little redhead is correct. Our tree does not “match.”
It will never be featured in a magazine. It’s not much to look at, until you lose closely.
Every ornament is different, the star is made of cardboard and aluminum foil, and we still wrap our tree in multi-color lights (it’s not a “fancy” pre-lit one).
It’s a glorious hodgepodge of shapes and colors.
My ornaments from childhood hang...

A donation of vintage kroj—otherwise known as Czech and Slovak folk costumes—was recently received by the local Czech Heritage Club. Some of the delicate items date back to the early 1900s.
The beautiful apparel was sent to the local club by Mary Ellen Sweeney of Hull, Massachusetts, who wore some of the costumes when she...
To see more on this story, pick up the December 24, 2020 print edition of the Montgomery Messenger or The New Prague Times

Gift boxes give back to military members and veterans
A program is delivering holiday cheers to military members and local veterans.
The program Treasures for Troops collects needed items that are packaged and sent to active local military members and local veterans.
Organizers Wendy Vargo and Cindy Zahratka said...
To see more on this story, pick up the December 24, 2020 print edition of the Montgomery Messenger.

New Market Town Hall - 8950 230th St. E, Lakeville
9 am - 11 am
Wed. December 23, 2020
To sign up for an appointment for either locations go to:
https://www.primarybio.com/r/scottcounty

Effective Immediately....... Please be advised that the City of Montgomery has declared a snow emergency. Once a snow emergency has been declared it is unlawful to park a vehicle on any public street, excluding the Central Business District, until it has been fully cleared, curb-to-curb.

MANKATO, Minn. – (3:30 p.m.) The Minnesota Department of Transportation has closed highways in southwestern Minnesota due to numerous crashes and zero visibility including Interstate 90 from the South Dakota Border to Blue Earth. The closures are now in effect and include the following counties:

Blue Earth (Hwy 60 west of Hwy 60/169 junction only)
Brown (western portion)
Cottonwood
Jackson
Martin
Nobles
Rock
Watonwan
I-90 from South Dakota to Blue Earth

Le Sueur County businesses will have the opportunity to receive money from the state and county.
The Minnesota legislature has approved more than $556,000 for grants to small businesses and non-profits to be administered by Le Sueur County for its citizens.
The county is continuing its contract with Next Stage, the firm that processed the CARES Act funds last fall. Le Sueur County has begun...
To see more on this story, pick up the December 24, 2020 print edition of The New Prague Times, Montgomery Messenger or LifeEnterprise.

Al Milgrom, the filmmaker who made the documentary “Singin’ in the Grain” has died at 98. Milgrom’s movie featured Minnesota's "Czech Triangle" (New Prague, Montgomery, Veseli and Lonsdale) and followed more than 40 years of the Eddie Shimota Band, including footage of the late Eddie Shimota Sr., his son, Eddie Shimota Jr., Jerry Minar and others from around the area. Milgrom was 96 when he came out with the documentary.

Two Le Sueur County officials submitted resignations during the Tuesday, Dec. 22 commissioners meeting. Darrell Pettis, full-time County Administrator will resign effective January 22, 2021. Joshua Mankowski, full-time
Environmental, Planning and Zoning Administrator in Planning and Zoning, will resign effective December 31, 2020. More on these resignations in the December 31 print edition of the newspapers.

St. Patrick’s Tavern north of New Prague is among three bars/restaurants that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office filed lawsuits against on Monday, Dec. 21. The other establishments are Pour House in Clarks Grove and The Interchange in Albert Lea. The lawsuits against the restaurants are for operating indoor dining in violation of the current COVID-19 restrictions.

James C. Lorence, Sr., 89, of Montgomery, passed away Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020 at The Lutheran Home in Belle Plaine. Visitation will be held on Monday, December 28 from 9 to 10 a.m. at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery with Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. with Father Tom Niehaus officiating.
Military Honors will be provided by the Montgomery Area Honor Guard. Interment will be in St. John Catholic Cemetery.
Jim was born on January 6, 1931, in Montgomery. He served in the US Army in 1950 during the Korean War and was honorably discharged in 1952.

James F. Cleasby (Jim), 72 passed away on Wednesday, December 16, 2020.
 Jim resided in Columbia Heights, MN. with his wife of 52 years, Faye (LaCroix).  Their two daughters, Heather Lucking and Mindy Murphy, (Joe)  live in the vicinity.
Jim was raised in Lonsdale, the son of Edward, (Ed) and Adeline Cleasby, (Herda).
Jim graduated from Montgomery High School, class of '66.  Lived and worked most of his life in the Minneapolis area.
Jim was preceded in death by his Father, Ed, brothers Paul and Mark, nephew Clinton, brother in-law Jim Kokoszynski.

Free help available for teens struggling with drugs, alcohol
Jeremy Gerres gets right to the point.
He’s a recovering addict.
Drugs and alcohol governed his life for many years. He knows the struggle, the pain, and the consequences.
Gerres opened Spirits at Rest, a drug and alcohol treatment center in Montgomery, earlier this year, but quickly identified a need for a program for adolescents.

Ask everyone what they’re getting the senior citizen in their life, and you’ll most likely hear: “I don’t know. They have everything.”
This is true for many folks. When you reach the golden years, you’ve lived a full life and have amassed a lot of stuff. Buying Christmas presents can be difficult.
The pandemic has made our choices harder when our senior citizens have been cut off from the outside world and human contact with loved ones. A new report by Senior Care asked 10,000 seniors if they could have anything in the world this holiday season, what would it be.