Most Holy Redeemer Catholic School 8th grader Maximus Budin, son of Mike and Angie Budin, 8th grader Allison Rynda, daughter of Dan and Michelle Rynda, and 6th grader Arianna Devine, daughter of Bob and Sharon Devine, claimed the top three spots in their school’s spelling bee on Jan. 30. Budin won the competition and will advance to the Regional Spelling Bee. Pictured (left to right): Budin, Rynda, and Devine.

The Friends of the Montgomery Public Library will be hosting Everything Chocolate and More event on Friday, February 10, 2023, at Next Chapter Winery from 6 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. The fundraising event will include a sampling of various chocolates and other taste-bud pleasing snacks, plus a silent auction and a raffle.
Advance tickets are $20 and can be purchased at Posy Floral, Herrmann Drug or the Montgomery Public Library. Tickets at the door will be $25 each. Each admission ticket includes two drink tickets. Everyone over 21 is welcome to attend.

These are my daughters.
The above photo was taken at the Minnesota Newspaper Association’s (MNA) Annual Awards Banquet last week. They are holding the awards I received at the event, the adults-only event.
Yes. I did the unspeakable.
I registered my 10 and 13-year-olds for the event and brought them, along with my husband, to a professional work event.
It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

The Tri City United boys basketball team played three Section 2AA opponents last week and had some heartbreaking results.
The Titans dropped a 53-50 contest to Norwood-Young America (NYA) Tuesday, Jan. 24. NYA entered the game with a perfect 6-0 Minnesota River Conference record. TCU rebounded with a 58-37 win over NRHEG Thursday, Jan. 26. The following night Le Sueur-Henderson (LSH) edged the Titans, 64-61.
Missed free throws were key to the overtime loss to the Raiders. TCU missed 15 of their 27 shots from the charity stripe.

Richard (Rick) Ray Rogers, age 77, of New Prague, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, on January 31, 2023. Rick was born February 16, 1945 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Delmar and Eleanor (Brown) Rogers. He was the second oldest out of three. He grew up in Bloomington helping raise and train collies along with his sister and her pet raccoon. He graduated from Bloomington High School in 1964. After high school he worked various jobs before getting into the family business at United Steel Products Company, Inc. He married Betty Steinhouse on December 12, 1970 in Bloomington.

The Rice County Historical Society Museum will now be open, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., starting on Monday, January 30, 2023. The museum is located at 1814 2nd Ave. NW, Faribault. Admission to the museum is free, but donations are appreciated.
Additional summer Saturday hours will be announced later this spring.
If you have any questions regarding the museum or the Rice County Historical Society, please call the RCHS Museum at 332-2121.

It was a solid week for the Minnesota River boys hockey team last week.
The Bulldogs defeated Rochester Lourdes, 4-3, in overtime Thursday, Jan. 26 and tied Marshall, 2-2, in a Big South Conference game Saturday, Jan. 28.
Judson Narum scored the winning goal on an assist from Travis Kotek less than four minutes into the overtime in their win over Lourdes. It was Narum’s sixth goal and Kotek’s sixth assist of the season.

After a Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday, January 28 at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery, mourners for Officer Gordon Prochaska gathered outside for a law enforcement salute. Attending were personnel from Le Sueur County Sheriff's Department, Montgomery Police Department, and the Montgomery Ambulance and Fire Departments. Prochaska, 71, passed away at his residence in Florence, Arizona, on Saturday, January 7, from complications of contracting COVID-19. Gordon, affectionately known as “Gordy” by many, was a part-time Montgomery police officer for 33 years.

The Tri City United girls basketball team picked up its biggest win of the year and nearly pulled off their biggest upset of the season last week.
The Titans hosted NRHEG Monday, Jan. 23 and were edged by the top team in Section 2AA by a 48-44 score. Three nights later TCU scored 42 points in the first half of their 70-33 Minnesota River Conference win over Le Sueur-Henderson (LSH).
NRHEG came into their non-conference match up with only two losses, but TCU head coach Don Marcussen felt his team could hang with the Panthers.

Montgomery National Golf Club Owner Greg McKush wants his golf course and clubhouse to be more than just about golf. The log cabin and event center, which is under construction, will aim to do that.
“We want to be the place you enjoy spending time with family and friends,” McKush said on Saturday.

David Allan Konrardy, age 65 of Apple Valley died peacefully Friday, January 20, 2023 after a short illness at Apple Valley Senior Health Center under care of Grace Hospice.
Mass of Christian Burial 2:00 P.M. Thursday, January 26, 2023 in the lower-level Chapel at Mary Mother Of The Church (3333 Cliff Road) in Burnsville with Fr. Tim Rudolphi as Celebrant of the Mass.  Visitation held one hour prior to the Mass at the church.  Interment Sunset Cemetery in Minneapolis.

Gordon Prochaska, age 71, passed away at his residence in Florence, Arizona, on Saturday, January 7, from complications of contracting COVID-19.
Off-duty Montgomery Police Chief Nathan Hintz, Sergeant Pete Bulger, and Officer Mike Longbehn escorted Officer Gordon Prochaska’s body home to Montgomery from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Jan. 17.

Minnesota State Fair’s 2022 Princess Kay of the Milky Way and 2020 Kolacky Queen Rachel Rynda received the key to the city and a proclamation honoring her contributions as an exemplary ambassador to the Montgomery area at the Jan. 17 city council meeting.
Rynda was first contacted before Thanksgiving about the honor. City Clerk Patti Soukup called her and, after some small talk, said, “We would like to give you the key to the city.” Rynda was surprised, “I didn’t really expect that but it was pretty cool.”

The Minnesota River boys hockey team picked up a pair of Big South Conference wins last week, outscoring their two opponents 14-1.
The Bulldogs won three of their five games, including a 7-1 win over Worthington Saturday, Jan. 14 and 8-0 over winless Redwood Valley Saturday, Jan. 21. The locals also defeated Mound Westonka 5-3 Monday, Jan. 16. Minnesota River also dropped a 5-2 nonconference game to Litchfield/DasselCokato Saturday, Jan. 21 and 7-2 to Big South leading New Ulm Tuesday, Jan. 17.

Two TCU High School Robotics teams and five TCU Middle School Robotics teams competed at the Titans’ home tournament on Saturday, Jan. 14. A total of 45 teams competed in the tournament.
In the high school division, TCU’s teams Gear Train and Barbie Bots made it to the eliminations round. Gear Train earned a ranking of 25th (3-4-0). Barbie Bots team was ranked 30th (3-4-0).

Heather Ann Kolarik, age 45 of St. Cloud, passed away unexpectedly at her home on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023.
Heather was born on October 20, 1977 to Leonard and the late Kathy Turek. She grew up in New Prague and was a 1996 graduate of New Prague High School. Heather went on to study at St. Cloud Technical and Community College, where she earned an associate’s degree in the area of graphic design. While attending school at St. Cloud, Heather worked at Target, where she met Larry Kolarik.