MANKATO, Minn. – (3:45 p.m.) With significant snow and strong winds forecast for Friday and Saturday, the Minnesota Department of Transportation advises motorists to plan for difficult driving conditions or make alternate plans.
Heavy snowfall combined with moderate winds can dramatically reduce visibility during the storm and continued wind gusts after the storm may prolong MnDOT snowplow drivers’ ability to recover the roads.

Secretary of State Steve Simon is reminding Minnesotans about the beginning of absentee voting for the March 3, 2020, Presidential Nomination Primary. The primary will help determine both the Democratic and Republican party candidates for the November general election.
“The presidential nomination primary opens up the selection process and allows more Minnesotans to participate,” said Simon. “Caucuses are limited to a few hours on one evening; this primary will give more people more ways to participate, and over a longer period of time.”
How to request an absentee ballot

It's a girl!
The Montgomery Messenger is happy to announce the arrival of Montgomery's New Year's baby, Blakely Bernice Reak, daughter of Tim and Kim (Myhro) Reak of Montgomery.
Little Blakely was born at 12:30 a.m. Thursday, January 16, 2020, at Mayo Clinic Health System New Prague Hospital, weighing in at 8 pounds 7 ounces and measuring 19 inches long.
She is the Reaks' first child.
Watch for more about the Reak family in the print edition of the Montgomery Messenger.

On Tuesday, Jan, 14, Bevcomm, the Blue Earth based telecommunication company, announced it has reached a definitive agreement with Lonsdale Telephone Company to acquire ownership of that Lonsdale based business. Transfer of ownership is pending regulatory approval, which is expected in the first half of this year.
According to a press release from Bevcomm, “Existing employees of Lonsdale Telephone Company will become employees of Bevcomm, and will continue to manage the day-to-day office functions.”
For more on this story see upcoming print issue.

In advance of the forecasted heavy snow and winds, the TCU School District cancelled school on Friday, Jan. 17.
Through the district's phone-alert system, Superintendent Teri Preisler said the day will be considered a "Blended Learning Day" so students should check for the online work posted by teachers in the morning.
Because Friday is the last day of the semester, Preisler said any student who still has final exams to take will take them when school resumes on Wednesday, Jan. 22.

Dorothy Ann Sladek, age 88 of Dundas and formerly of New Trier and Bloomington, died peacefully following a brief illness on Sunday, January 12, 2020 at Mayo Clinic Health System - St. Mary's Campus, Rochester.
She married Allen Sladek of Montgomery on June 21, 1980.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, January 20 at 11:00 a.m., with visitation from 9-11 a.m., at St. Mary's Catholic Church in New Trier. Interment will follow at the church cemetery. Memorials are preferred to St. Mary's Church or to donor's choice.

Leonard Joseph Wondra, 95, of Montgomery, died on Monday, Jan. 13, 2020 at Traditions in Montgomery. Visitation will be held on Friday, Jan. 17 from 4 to 8:00 p.m. at the Schoenbauer Funeral Home in Montgomery.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 11 a.m. with visitation one hour prior at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery with Father Tom Niehaus officiating. Interment will take place at St. John’s Catholic Cemetery in spring. Full obit in next weeks paper.

On Monday, the Montgomery City Council got things in order for the new year approving depositories and appointments to committees, boards and commissions, and the council calendar.
The council unanimously approved the consent agenda, which contained the majority of the housekeeping items, one of which was designating the Montgomery Messenger as the city’s official newspaper. This means the Messenger will again be the publication for the city’s public or legal notices for the year.

World renown photographer Edward S. Curtis, who captured images of Native Americans in the early 20th century, spent a decade growing up in little Cordova in Le Sueur County, Minnesota.
Curtis’ work and his ties to the local area are celebrated in the Arts and Heritage Center of Montgomery’s newest exhibit: Edward S. Curtis Photography Display.
The exhibit, which opened last week and will remain open for public viewing during the center’s regular hours until February 29, features more than 60 of Curtis’ prints of Native American life between 1900 and 1930.

For the second time this season, the 5th ranked New Prague wrestling team has returned from a tournament with hardware.
The Trojans had 17 top six finishers, including three champions, winning the Tri City United Invitational Saturday, Jan. 4 in Montgomery.
Koy Buesgens (106), Colton Bornholdt (113), and Jake Trachte (182) each claimed individual titles.

The Le Sueur County Board of Commissioners held their 2020 Reorganizational Meeting Tuesday, Jan. 7 in Le Center.
Fifth District Commissioner Steve Rohlfing was named the Board Chairman and Second District Commissioner Danny O’Keefe was named the Board Vice Chairman.
The Le Sueur County Montgomery Messanger News was named the 2020 first legal newspaper. The Montgomery Messenger was named the second legal newspaper.
Mileage reimbursement for Le Sueur County employees will be 57.5 cents per mile, in accordance with the federal IRS mileage rate.

Thomas “Tom” Michaels, age 80, of Montgomery, died Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020, at Mayo Clinic Health Systems – New Prague. Arrangements by Boldt Funeral Home will be announced later.

Thomas “Tom” Michaels, age 80, of Montgomery, died Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020, at Mayo Clinic Health Systems – New Prague. Arrangements by Boldt Funeral Home will be announced later.

A Waseca Police Officer was shot in the head and “gravely injured” while responding to a report of a suspicious person with a flashlight in the backyard residence on the 900 block of 4th Avenue SE in Waseca after 8 p.m. on Monday night, Jan. 6. The suspect was shot twice and sustained non-life threatening injuries.

Alvin R. Pany, 90, of New Prague, passed away on Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2019, at Mayo Clinic Health System Hospital New Prague. Visitation will be held on Friday, Jan. 10, 2020, from 9 to 11 a.m. at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery with Memorial Mass at 11 a.m. with Father George Grafsky officiating. Burial will be in the Bohemian National Cemetery in Montgomery.

Memorial services for Elizabeth “Betty” (Gabriel) Cashin, of Albert Lea will be held at 10:00 A.M. on Saturday, January 4, at St. Theodore Catholic Church, Albert Lea.  The Reverend Timothy Reker will officiate. Interment will be in St. Theodore’s Cemetery.  Visitation will be from 4-7 on Friday at Bonnerup Funeral Service, Albert Lea, and one hour before the service at the church.
Betty died on Tuesday, December 31, 2019 at St. John’s Lutheran Home in Albert Lea. She was born November 10, 1929, in St. Paul, MN, to Edward and Madeline (Gerke) Gabriel.