“I am officially announcing my candidacy for Rice County Sheriff in the 2026 election. This decision follows Sheriff Jesse Thomas’s announcement that he will retire at the end of his term this December,” said Nathan Budin.    
    Rice County Sheriff Jesse Thomas announced earlier announced earlier this year that he would be retiring at the end of his term on Dec. 31.

    Tri-City United High School’s FFA students once again showed their pride in agriculture through another “Drive Your Tractor to School Day.”
    FFA students gathered early on Thursday, April 16, on the south end of Montgomery for a light breakfast and for each other to gaze over the other’s tractor — or in the case of one individual, a road grader.

    The Tri-City United (TCU) baseball team showcased its strong potential and grit this week, moving to 4-2 on the season with back-to-back victories over Waseca and Sibley East. Behind a masterful one-hit shutout and a power surge that included a key home run, the Titans' depth was on full display as the pitching staff kept opposing bats at bay while the offense may have found its stride.

    A doubleheader sweep of Worthington Saturday, April 11 helped the Tri-City United (TCU) softball team finish the opening week of the season with a 3-2 record.
    The Titans defeated Worthington 13-3 in six innings and 25-5 in five innings. They also opened the season with an 11-1, six inning win over Blooming Prairie March 30.
    In between the wins, the Titans were defeated by St. Peter, 11-8, April 7 and 8-1 by Belle Plaine April 9.

    Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative (MVEC), which serves much of our readership area, held its annual meeting at Jordan High School on Tuesday, April 7, where over 200 members gathered.
    A total of 20 $1,500 scholarships to high school seniors were given out or a total of $30,000. To be eligible for the scholarship, students must have a parent or legal guardian who are MVEC members, be enrolled to attend an accredited post-secondary institution as a full-time student, and have at minimum GPA of 2.0. 

    Thespians depicting roles of various fairytales were thrown into the pit this past weekend in Tri-City United High School’s spring play, “Dragon’s Lair.”
    Four “Dragons,” representative of  the Sharks on the popular television show “Shark Tank,” decided the fate of various fairytale characters and their ideas and products related to make them money. Those who didn’t make the cut were thrown into a pit with the Dragon.

    Tri-City United High School was again host to the Section 2A North Visual Arts Festival. Schools within the subsection presented about 120 pieces of art in total, up from about 90 last year, according to TCU High School Art Teacher Tony Barnack.
    The Titan students, 15 in total, displayed the maximum allowed per school of 18 pieces, which included drawings, paintings, sculptures, crafts, digital photography, and ceramics.

    The Lonsdale Ambassadors held their annual Easter Egg Hunt at Jaycee Park in Lonsdale this past Saturday. Snow showers, sometimes mixed with sleet and graupel, happened throughout the event. 
    Despite the less-than-ideal weather, about 250 people showed up. A soggy softball infield kept people avoiding that area as much as possible while egg hunting, and most wore hats, gloves and mittens in the cold weather. 

    Montgomery Community Foundation (MCF) transitioned the care of the third annual event, Montgomery State of the Community, to the care of the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce (MCC) while still providing funding support. 
    Along with the change in oversight came a change of day and format. MCC Executive Director Caitlin Huiras moved the event to a weekday at lunchtime and included lunch this year as a part of the deal in attempts to attract more of the community than what the previous two years brought on a Saturday morning.

    TCU Schools held their first of four open houses on Wednesday, April 1, at TCU Montgomery PreK-8 School regarding the upcoming special election on May 12 for a $39.99 million bond. 

Montgomery Streets
    Most of the streets in the area between the railroad tracks and Le Sueur County 3/5th Street, and north of Le Sueur County 56/Oak Avenue and south of Boulevard Avenue will receive partial surface milling and a full overlay of pavement this summer. 

    Tri-City United High School’s spring play, “Dragon’s Lair” by Katie B. Oberlander and directed by 8th grade teacher Sarah Mejia, is a meld of two worlds.
    “Basically it’s Shark Tank with fairytale characters and proposition,” said Kylie Anderson (Buttercup Twinkletoes/Fairy Godmother). “The fairytale characters will go to the dragons instead of the sharks, and we have to tell them basically if we are wanting their product or not.”

    The Le Sueur County Officials meeting at the American Bar & Grill in Montgomery on Wednesday, March 25, was host to two state nonprofit representatives that assist smaller governments — Cap O’Rourke and Maddie Cash.
    Cap O’Rourke is the executive director for the Minnesota Association of Small Cities (MAOSC), which is a nonprofit that exclusively serves cities of a population of 5,000 or less, and is also the owner of O’Rourke Strategic Consulting.

    Tri-City United High School’s baseball players spent five days from Tuesday, March 24, through Sunday, March 29, having fun, warming up, and learning for this year’s season in Melbourne, Fla., nearby to Cocoa Beach. Players only missed three days of school for the trip.
    TCU’s Head Baseball Coach Greg Westerman introduced the trip, organized by the TCU Baseball Booster Club, early last year to the school board and received approval for it in May 2025.

    Tri-City United High School again has five young artists in the 2026 High School Art Show at Waseca Art Center, which runs through May 1. Students from around the region will have their works on display there. 
    The exhibit will culminate with a workshop for the students with a professional artist on Friday, May 1, and awards will be given for Best in Show, Best 2-D Artwork, Best 3-D Artwork, and People’s Choice — where visitors to the center can vote on their favorite piece in the exhibit.

Tri-City United School District's dedicated bond website: https://sites.google.com/tcu2905.us/ref26/home .

    The election in November 2025 came in with a failing vote for the Tri-City United School District’s $39.99 million dollar bond.