Maintenance agreement with county
Montgomery City Council approved its annual municipal maintenance agreement with Le Sueur County for the 3.36 miles of county roads that go through the city.
Le Sueur County is paying the city $8,536.52 per mile or $28,682.71 total annually for the City of Montgomery to do snow removal and general maintenance on the routes.
CenterPoint Energy franchise
The Czech Heritage Club and Montgomery Historical Society are hosting a joint event at 10 a.m. where Dale Ruhland, local historian, will present about the history and give tours of Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery on Saturday, Aug. 30, at 10 a.m. Free will offering for the church. All are welcome.
Correction: The Aug. 21 Montgomery Messenger stated that there would be a Montgomery Historical Society Show and Tell on Wednesday, Aug. 27, but there will not be. The above noted event replaced that show and tell event.
Despite the threat of storms over the weekend, the rain mostly held back until after-hours of the Le Sueur County Free Fair.
The 168th annual event took place Thursday through Sunday, Aug. 14-17.
The forecast called for storms each day, but the worst of the rain came in the early hours of Saturday and well after the fair closed Sunday night. Both times, Le Center saw up to an inch of rainfall.
A half-inch of rain fell in the afternoon Friday, but had cleared as the events for the day moved into gear.
Montgomery Chamber of Commerce’s third annual Meet in Montgomery event on Thursday, Aug. 14, was bigger than the previous two years. It certainly helps coupling it with the Montgomery Farmer’s Market and the city’s Music in the Parks series. Together, they make for a compelling event for families.
Moving up with additional food options was a bonus, with The Rolling Cones, El Mexicano, and Pizzeria 201 serving out food and beverage. Probably the most popular beverage though was the free 1919 Root Beer being served by Frandsen Bank & Trust.
The City of Lonsdale spent many years with their city hall housed in a building not meant for its purpose near the fire hall at 415 Central Street NW, not to mention it was grossly undersized.
When Northfield Hospital and Clinic’s Lonsdale location, 103 15th Ave SE, on the east side of town decided to cease operations in November of 2023, city leaders saw an opportunity. They purchased the site and building in early 2024 and went to work at renovating it for the city hall location.
Kilkenny’s annual Fireman’s Relief Association ATV Ride and Raffle on Saturday, Aug. 9, brought in a total of 200 riders on 94 allterrain and utility vehicles.
This year’s route took them from Lakefront Bar & Grill in Lexington on Clear Lake, The Bait Bucket in Cleveland, the city of Elysian, and ended at the Toy Box Saloon in Kilkenny, where the raffle drawing was conducted at 6 p.m.
The 2025 Le Sueur County Fair begins Thursday, August 14 at the fairgrounds in Le Center and runs through Sunday, August 18.
Events are scheduled through the weekend at one of the state’s oldest county fairs.
The Le Sueur County Board of Commissioners approved renewing telecommuting and remote agreements with county employees at the board’s Aug. 5 meeting.
However, the agreements were only renewed through the end of the year.
“Unlike previous annual approvals, I’m requesting approval through the end of 2025,” Human Resource Director Theresa Kubes told the commissioners. “We’re working to make updates to our policy with a January 2026 effective date.”
Although popularity has changed over the years, the horseshoe courts put in by the Montgomery Lions Club in the summer of 1985 still continue to see regular care and use. They likely would not have existed if it were not the dedication of one man, Richard or Dick David.
“I started in Kilkenny. I pitched at home at the farm myself. I was interested in horseshoes since in the 1970’s sometime,” said Dick David. Initially, there were no formal courts. David said, “They used to pound the stakes in the grass and put wood chips around the stakes.”
Le Sueur County’s 32nd Annual Relay for Life filled the buildings of the Le Sueur County Fairgrounds Friday, July 11.
The four-hour event brought in $58,000 in funds for the American Cancer Society (ASC). The nonprofit is the largest funder of cancer research grants in the United States, other than the federal government.
The amount raised was the total as of Monday morning. According to Co-Chair person Amy Sellner, more money is still coming in from the event.
“We raised more than $20,000 over our goal,” Sellner said.
Tri-City United Schools has approved the preliminary budget and has proposed a $39,990,000 general obligation bond based off of the recent community task force’s recommendation and district needs.
The information has to be approved through the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) yet before all details will be finalized, and a public hearing and special election on the bond in November would be held on the bond before being instituted.
“This really just covers the necessities,” said Kevin Babcock, TCU superintendent of schools.
Construction on Le Sueur County State Aid Highway (CSAH) 30 south of Heidelberg between CSAH 26 and CSAH 28 is scheduled to start the first full week in August.
The project includes edge drain tile and full-depth reclamation and paving, along with aggregate for the shoulders of the road.
The roundabout that was supposed to be constructed starting in July this year at the intersection of Highway 19, and Rice County Roads 2 and 96 (70th Street West) is being delayed until May of 2026.
'Our children's murderers are sitting right there on their phones'
A quiet epidemic is sweeping the countryside — opioid overdoses, better known from the families of victims as fentanyl poisoning. In Minnesota alone, the numbers have more than tripled over ten years.
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, there were 317 opioid-involved overdose deaths, but that number skyrockets to 1,031 in 2022 and 1,001 in 2023.
With 32 days left before the start of Kolacky Days, the parade marshals were announced for the 91st annual event.
The Kolacky Days Meet and Greet was held at Memorial Park on Monday evening. The pavilion hosting the event was packed with Montgomery Area Community Club (MACC) members and directors, volunteers, and Kolacky Queen candidates.
The Kolacky royalty for 2025 was introduced. Kolacky Queen Neysa Anderson and Second Princess and Miss Congeniality Tayla Kline spoke about their experiences attending events as royalty over the past year.
Lonsdale Chamber of Commerce’s 3rd Annual Badges & Bobbers event on Friday, June 20, was a ‘reel’ catch with local emergency responders. It was a great day for fishing, and wasn’t thwarted by rain like last year’s event.
A total of 25 kids were paired up with law enforcement officers, firefighters and staff at Rezac Nature Preserve’s fishing pier for a lesson in catching fish while making positive connections with emergency personnel.
