You can honor your veterans by attending one or all of the area ceremonies within the area on Veterans Day, Monday, Nov. 11. The opportunities to show support for veterans are listed in chronological order below and are open to all the public unless otherwise noted. Montgomery VFW Post 5340 will present the Patriot's Pen Essay Contest winners and Voice of Democracy Contest winners at these programs.

The 2024 election had some key local races. Democrat Angie Craig won over Republican Joe Teirab for congressional district 2 by little more than 56,000 votes. Republican Terry M. Stier won over Democrat Sara Nett-Torgrimson by a large margin of almost 10,000 votes in senate district 22B. Democrat Kristi Purcell returned to senate district 58A with about 1,000 more votes than Republican Rita Hillman Olson.

Irene B. Ceplecha, age 94, of New Prague, died peacefully at Mala Strana Assisted Living with her family at her side on Friday, November 1, 2024. Irene was born on November 14, 1929, in New Prague, to Emil and Bessie (Novak) Ziskovsky. Raised in Veseli on the family farm she attended Most Holy Trinity Catholic School.

Delores G. “Dee” Heyda, age 90, of Faribault, passed away on October 31, 2024, at Milestone Senior Living.
Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Divine Mercy Catholic Church, Faribault, on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, at 10:30 a.m.  Interment will be at Maple Lawn Cemetery, Faribault. 
A memorial visitation will be for one hour prior to the service at the church.
Arrangements are being completed by Boldt Funeral Home, Faribault.

For the second straight year the Tri-City United (TCU) boys soccer team advanced to the Section 2A Championship.
Unfortunately for the second time the Titans were shutout in their attempts to make their first State tournament appearance.
Pine Island/Zumbrota-Mazeppa, the No. 1 seed in the section, shutout TCU, 5-0, to earn their State Tourney bid.

In her last cross country race of her stellar career, Tri-City United (TCU) senior Yasmin Ruiz had a great performance at the Section 2AA Cross Country Championships Thursday, Oct. 24 at Benson Park in North Mankato.
Ruiz placed 15th overall among the 72 runners entered in a time of 20:20. She was only four places away from advancing to State.
Fairmont senior Macy Hanson won the girl’s race in a time of 17:52 on the 5,000-meter course. St. Peter junior Keira Friedrich and freshman Lucia Penner placed second and third in 18:27 and 19:08, respectively.

Tri-City United (TCU) junior Grant Fitterer closed out his 2024 season with a 47th place finish in the Section 2AA Cross Country Championship which was held at Benson Park in North Mankato.
Fitterer was clocked in 18:41 on the 5,000-meter course to lead the Titans. Mankato East senior Audi Thom won the race in 15:44.

The Miss Czech-Slovak Minnesota Pageant is now accepting applications for candidacy for junior ambassadors and queens for the 36th Annual Miss Czech-Slovak Minnesota Pageant.
An informational open house will be held at the Montgomery Public Library, 104 Oak Ave, on Saturday, Nov. 9, from 12-1:30 p.m. Potential candidates will have the opportunity to meet with board members, ask questions and learn about the opportunities.

In advance of the upcoming Veterans Day holiday, Le Sueur, Rice, and Scott Counties announce plans to illuminate county buildings green from Monday, Nov. 4, to Monday, Nov. 11, as part of Operation Green Light for Veterans, a nationwide effort uniting counties to support military veterans.
Le Sueur County Veterans Service Officer, Mark Roemhildt, stated, “Operation Green Light is an opportunity to show appreciation for those who served our nation in the armed forces. A simple ‘thank you’ or gesture like illuminating a green light shows our support.”

Locations will be open during the stated days/times starting September 20 (Fri).
Locations will also be open 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. on November 2 (Sat), and November 3 (Sun).
Locations will also be open until 5:00 p.m. on November 4 (Mon).
Locations will serve all voters in the county unless marked with an asterisk (*).
Those marked with an asterisk (*) will only serve residents of that city/town.

For additional questions, contact the county auditor or municipal clerk.
Le Sueur County

As an incentive for students of Most Holy Redeemer School (MHRS) to raise funds, Pastor Timothy Sandquist said he would sleep on the Catholic school’s rooftop if they raised at least $25,000 in funds.
“They did a great job. They really did surprise me,” said Father Sandquist. “Typically, they went to relatives and friends and knocked on their doors to raise the funds.” Total amount of funds raised were $29,642.15 and there is an additional $25,000 for the matching grant from Bob Washa.

Kindness continues to live on in Kailey Mach’s legacy, who passed away tragically in a house explosion in the late hours of Feb. 26, 2022, while house sitting in rural Lexington Township.

Gloria A. Kovall, age 85, of Annandale, died on Sunday, October 27, 2024, at the Annandale Care Center.
A Requiem High Mass will be held 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, November 5, 2024, at Immaculate Conception Traditional Catholic Church, Sartell with Fr. Nino Molina officiating. Burial will follow at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, at Woodlawn Cemetery, Annandale. Visitation will be held from 4:00-7:00 p.m. on Monday at Dingmann Funeral Care Chapel, Annandale and one hour prior to the service on Tuesday at the church. A prayer service will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Monday at the funeral home.

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Aria Stepka, 9, of Tri-City United Lonsdale Elementary School, was chosen as the 2024 Torchlight Parade and Fireworks button designer winner.
The honors were presented to Mrs. Brenda Petersen’s 4th grade classroom on Wednesday, Oct. 9, at noon. Stepka was very surprised, and her classmates were extremely supportive and happy for her.

Minnesota’s Paid Leave Law was passed by the Minnesota legislature in 2023, and it will go fully into effect on Jan. 1, 2026. A multi-chamber of commerce event, including New Prague, Montgomery and Lonsdale, was held on Thursday, Sept. 26, at Next Chapter Winery in Lanesburg Township to discuss the changes coming forward regarding the new law.
Minnesota Director of Paid Leave Greg Norfleet presented to a capacity group of about 40 registered area business owners, sole proprietors, and employees about what that means for them.