Betty Marie Braun, 88, died on Monday, June 17, 2019, at Mayo Clinic Health System Hospital in New Prague. Visitation will be held Friday, June 21, 2019, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Schoenbauer Funeral Home in Montgomery. Funeral Service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday June 22, 2019, at St. John Lutheran Church in Montgomery with visitation one hour prior at the church. Interment will be at St. John Lutheran Cemetery in Montgomery.

John Krocak of Montgomery, center, races for home plate during a costumed obstacle course at the third annual Home Run Derby the evening of Saturday, June 15, at Union Hill. The event was a fundraiser for Aurora Jesperson, daughter of Nate and Sarah Jesperson of Elko New Market. Despite the rain, many people showed up for the fun filled event. In the background, from left, are Ted Nytes, owner of Nytes Cabinets and Home Town Bats, sponsor of the Home Run Derby, Michael McCrady of St.

Russell Harry Dietz, 72, of Montgomery, passed away after a long battle with cancer on Wednesday, June 12, 2019, surrounded by family at Mayo Clinic Health System Hospital in Mankato. Visitation will be held Thursday, June 20 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Schoenbauer Funeral Home in Montgomery with a funeral service following. Interment will be at a later date.
Russell was born on September 30, 1946, to Harry and Leota (Busta) Dietz. He graduated from Montgomery High School. He was in the US Army Reserves and Montgomery Police Reserves.

New Market is now the lone undefeated Class C team in the Dakota-Rice- Scott League, as they won three games during the week, upping their record to 13-0. The Muskies have a 3-1/2 game lead over second-place St. Patrick, which lost their first game of the season to Faribault.
Faribault, Elko and Prior Lake all won two games as well during the past week.

Who will step up to bat for a local family’s little princess?
The third annual Home Run Derby sponsored by Ted Nytes, owner of Nytes Cabinets and Home Town Bats, will be held this Saturday, June 15 at Union Hill ballpark west of New Prague, starting at 5 p.m. The event will benefit a little girl named Aurora and her family, who could use a boost of spirits and funds at this time.

She began her career in a small country school in 1949 and taught for just a few years until she married. When her children got older, Anna Mae Witt became a school teacher in New Prague, and is known widely for her dedication, patience and the love so many in the community feel for her. When Praha Village opened its doors to seniors in January, 2019, Anna Mae became one of its earliest residents. Now, she graciously welcomes new residents and neighbors to the community.

Michael “Carp” Sery, age 67, of Montgomery, passed away on Tuesday, June 11, at his home in Montgomery. Visitation will be held on Friday, June 21 from 9 a.m. to noon at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery with funeral mass following. Private interment will be at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to establish a scholarship fund in Michael’s name.

With steady hands and eyes on the flying targets, TCU alumnus Ben Sladek shot a perfect score at the Caribou Gun Club and Hunting Preserve’s 2019 High School Trap Championship event June 1-2.
Shooting against seven local teams, Belle Plaine, Cleveland, Jordan, Le Sueur–Henderson, Sibley East, St. Peter, TCU shooters took first place in the varsity and the junior varsity levels. This was a repeat success for the teams, as they placed the same last year.

Minnesota Viking Anree Saint-Amour, left, signs a football for Kolby Nixon as Joel and Dylan Greening watch. Saint-Amour was among 18 Vikings players and coaches to attend the annual Le Sueur County Sheriff's Mounted Posse’s Take a Kid Fishing Day on Saturday, June 8, at Beaver Dam Resort. There were 75 children ages 8 to 15 that participated, who each got a football that they could have Vikings players sign. The youngsters and Vikings also went out on boats to fish for two hours. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times and Montgomery Messenger.

You CAN get there from here....
The Minnesota Department of Transportation announced Friday morning that Highway 19 from Highway 169 to Henderson opened to traffic this morning, Friday, June 7 - just in time for the city’s Prince Festival on Saturday.
Highway 93 from 169 to Henderson opened on June 1 leaving both major roadways into Henderson clear for one of the city’s many summer celebrations.

Waterville’s annual Bullhead Days 2019 will be held June 7th, 8th, and 9th. This will be the 55th straight year the celebration has been held.
This year’s celebration will remain much the same as last year, with the continuation of the KORN Country 92.1 Entertainment Stage.
A Food Court Area furnished with benches and picnic tables will feature the Entertainment Stage, where many different activities will be held.

Tri-City United pole vaulter, Jackson Nesmoe, advanced to the State competition after his performance at the Section 2A Meet.
Nesmoe placed second in the meet, for a third year in a row, clearing 13 feet-nine inches this year. Also for the third year it was due to a tie-breaker situation.
Coach Craig Nordling said Nesmoe will go into the state meet seeded fourth and will look to improve on his third place finish from 2018 against a field that could easily compete with the big schools.

If you have noticed the American flags flying on the streets in Montgomery, those are there because of the American Legion Post #79.
The Post donated several new replacement flags last week to the City of Montgomery. According to Corey Kotek, Post 79 Commander, the organization donated 25 flags for First Street, and replacements for the ones at the Montgomery Public Library, City Hall, and Memorial Park.
Next year, flags will be donated for Veteran’s Memorial Way, as part of a rotation.

New Market and St. Patrick remain unbeaten and atop the Dakota- Rice-Scott standings through games of June 2. The Muskies claimed two wins last week, over Union Hill and Webster, while the Irish defeated Lonsdale.

The Czech Heritage Club invites young and old to join them in learning about the kroje, the Czech ethnic dress. This presentation will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 11, at the New Prague City Hall.
Anne Jans will be presenting her Kroje collection from the different regions of the Czech Republic. 

Softball team fought hard in both of their games at last week’s state tournament, but came up short in both as they went 0-2 in the tournament at Chanhassen High School.
The Trojans opened with a 9-4 loss to eventual tournament champion Burnsville/Farmington/Lakeville and then lost 8-6 to St. Cloud. The team, which includes players from New Prague, Tri-City United, Belle Plaine and Jordan schools, ended their season with a 4-6 record.