COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics
will be held every Thursday at Rice County Public Health, 320 NW 3rd Street, Faribault 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. throughout August and September  
Rice County Public Health continues to host COVID-19 vaccination clinics every Thursday from 9:00 – 4:00 p.m.  These clinics are open to those 12 years and older, with all three vaccines available.

The Czech Heritage Club will hold its August program on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, at the Lonsdale Public Library, 1006 Birch St NE, Lonsdale, at 7 p.m. 
All Czech Heritage Club members and the public are invited to attend this free event. The program will be a “History of Lonsdale” presented by Steve Vosejpka.

David Allen Halvorson, age 74, of New Prague, MN, died on Wednesday August 11, 2021 in his home surrounded by his family after 14-month battle with leukemia. David was born on November 14, 1946 in Morristown, MN, to Bernard and Adeline [Schmidtke] Halvorson. He married Julie Novotny on June 22, 1968 in New Prague, MN, and was married for 46 years.

Sandra Rae Korba, age 69, of New Prague, formerly of Montgomery, died suddenly but peacefully in her sleep at home on Wednesday, August 11, 2021.  Sandra was born on February 20, 1952 in Jackson, Minnesota to Raymond and Laila (Grantz) Schroeder.  She grew up in Jackson, attending elementary school there and graduated from Shakopee High School after the family’s move.  She attended the University of Minnesota for a short time before marrying Robert Korba on June 24, 1978 in Shakopee.  Sandra worked at many careers during her life: as a waitress, for a number of years as an accountant with N

Due to a breakdown at the printing press in Princeton, MN, the August 12th issues of The New Prague Times, Montgomery Messenger and the LifeEnterprise, which are mailed, will be a day late.
Area newsstand papers will be available on Wednesday as usual.
We are sorry for the inconvenience.

Patricia “Pat” Prchal, age 90, of Norwood Young America, passed away Saturday August 7, 2021 at The Haven in Norwood Young America.
Mass of Christian Burial 11:00 AM Monday August 16, 2021 at Church Of The Ascension (323 N. Reform St.) in Norwood Young America with Fr. Abraham George as Celebrant of the Mass.   Visitation 4-7:00 PM Sunday August 15, 2021 at the Johnson Funeral Home (141 E. First St.) in Waconia and Monday one hour prior to the Mass at the church.  There will be a Rosary Service at 3:30 PM Sunday evening at the funeral home.  Interment in the church cemetery.

Gary Michael “Hammer” Flicek, 69, of Montgomery passed away peacefully at his home after an eleven-year battle against cancer, surrounded by family and friends on August 4, 2021.
Funeral services and visitation will be held on Wednesday, August 18th, 2021, at Most Holy Redeemer Church in Montgomery, MN. Visitation will be held from 12:30p.m.-3:30p.m with mass to follow. Burial will be at a later date. Luncheon will be held at the American Legion in Montgomery. Officiating will be Father Thomas Neihaus.

Effective Monday, August 9, 2021, all Rice County employees and visitors are required to wear a face covering in Rice County government buildings. This requirement is going into effect to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
Rice County is currently classified as “high” community transmission of COVID-19 by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention’s COVID-19 Data Tracker. The CDC and the Minnesota Department of Health recommend face coverings be worn in indoor, public settings by all individuals -- vaccinated or not -- when in a community with high transmission.

According to the Czech Center, kroj (plural: kroje) designs and colors vary widely across the Czech regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia, with each having its own distinguishing characteristics.
They vary around the Montgomery area too, according to artists who colored their interpretations of the Czech and Slovak traditional costume in the Montgomery Messenger’s “Color the Kroj Contest.”

An honor guard leads the procession out of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in New Prague on Sunday, Aug. 1, for the funeral of Montgomery Police Officer Bryan Tupy. Officers and members of area police departments, sheriff’s offices, the State Patrol, the Montgomery Ambulance Service and Fire Department participated in the honor guard during the funeral. For more see upcoming print issues of the Montgomery Messenger and The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

Le Sueur County District Court has ordered the abandoned and dilapidated property at 100 First Street South to be razed.
The court ruled in favor of the City of Montgomery on July 16. Judge Patrick Goggins is ordering Taraba to vacate and remove all personal possessions from the property by Friday, July 30, 2021.
Taraba is also ordered, by the same date, to raze the building, remove all building debris from the site, dispose of it in a legally appropriate manner, and bring the basement back to grade.

It seems like this year’s Kolacky Days was two years in the making. After last year, it was nice to see people getting together and coming to our town for our fantastic festival.
Yes, it was hot, but not oppressively so. I applaud the Montgomery Area Community Club (MACC) and its list of volunteers for putting on another great multi-day event. A festival like ours does not happen over night, nor, does it happen from the work of one person. In my opinion, they did a great job throughout the year, not knowing exactly what kind of festival they would eventually be able to put on.

The three key missions of the Tri-City United Public Schools are to empower learners, create opportunities, and be united for success.
District Superintendent Lonnie Seifert reiterated that point at a work session held by the TCU school board on July 26 as he addressed the discussion topic of Critical Race Theory.
“All means all,” Seifert said. “Equal opportunities for all students. That’s really what it should be, and that’s what we have been pushing.”

The Postal Service is good to go on its plan to slow down the mail and implement aggressive price increases, according to the Postal Regulatory Commission in a pair of decisions handed down this week.
The PRC expressed skepticism about the wisdom of adding an additional day to service standards for both First-Class and Periodicals mail.
But it stopped short of telling USPS not to make the change. Instead, it cautioned USPS to examine its assumptions about cost savings and to look into the root causes of mail slowdowns in recent months.

Kristen Munden was offered, and accepted, the Head Boys Swim & Dive Coach position at New Prague High School, pending approval by the New Prague School Board.
The 2021-22 winter sport season will be the first year that Boys Swim & Dive is offered at New Prague High School.
Kristen started her swimming career on the YMCA swim team in Rochester from age 8-18. She continued swimming for Rochester Mayo High School from 7th - 12th grade.
After her personal career ended, she transitioned into coaching the sport she loves, swimming.

Seven businesses participated in this year’s Christmas-themed Kolacky Days Window Display Contest.
Moonshot on Main’s window display at The Rustic Farmer, which is located at 209 1st St. S., earned the most points—an impressive 525 points. Judges could award each entry up to 40 points for theme, 40 points for design, and 20 points for signs/explanatory materials.