New Prague High School announced their Snoball king and queen candidates on Friday, Jan. 28. Queen candidates are (left to right, front row) Madi Josephson, Addie Hartshorn, Kenna Huber, Libby Olson, Hannah Robasse, Annie Glomski, Sammie Kotek, Brynn Sticha; King candidates are (left to right, back row) Josh Miller, Cam Prochaska, Matt Friedges, Jaxon Short, Joe Maxa, Tom McBroom, Ben Schmitz and Eddie Sirek. A coronation ceremony will be held at the Snoball Pep Fest at 1:50 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 4, at the high school. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times.

Tabatha (Tab) Vohnoutka passed away on January 11, 2022, at the age of 36 in Biwabik, MN.  She was born in Burnsville, MN, on December 27, 1985 to William (Bill) Crottier of Babbitt, MN and Therese Vohnoutka of Gainesboro, TN.  She was a loving mother to her children Zoey and Arturo Cameron and Akron Hanson and was very proud of them.

The New Prague girls basketball team played two of the top teams in the Metro West Conference last week and were defeated by both.
Chanhassen downed the Trojans, 81-47, Tuesday, Jan. 18. Two days later, Chaska, one of the top teams in Class AAAA, downed the Trojans, 66-38.

We’re definitely in January as temperatures are dropping and some days temperatures are only in the 20s. For the past few weeks we’ve had more temperatures that are below zero when you add in the wind chill. I hope most people are staying warm even if they do go outside for activities.

Around 7:32 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 25, the New Prague Fire Department responded to a fire at MVE Biological Solutions along Seventh Street NW in New Prague. According to early reports from the fire department the night shift saw smoke coming from the part of the building that has offices, the break room and bathrooms. Workers called 911 and evacuated. When firefighters arrived they saw heavy smoke coming form the building. They had the fire under control by 9:30 p.m. and were working to vent the smoke.

New Prague High School students, from left, Brynn Sticha, Macey Hager, and Sophie Charnstrom, with Superintendent Tim Dittberner, were honored at the Monday, Jan. 24, New Prague School Board meeting. The three students won first place at the MARS (Mastering Academics and Real-World Skills) program’s “Shark Tank” competition at the high school. The competition was patterned after the TV show “Shark Tank” where they had to take a product and present it to judges. For more see this week’s print issue of The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

On Wednesday, Jan. 19, at approximately 12:25 pm, Scott County Sheriff’s Office 911 Dispatch received a call requesting medical assistance for an unresponsive female at a residence along Livery Lane in New Market Township.
According to a report from the Scott County Sheriff’s Office, deputies found the 69-year-old female homeowner inside the residence unresponsive with serious injuries.  She was transported by ambulance to M Health Fairview Ridges Hospital in Burnsville and remains in critical condition.  

Betty Jane Rogers, age 72, of New Prague, passed away suddenly, surrounded by her family, on January 18, 2022.    Betty was born on January 24, 1949 in Redwood Falls to Benjamin & Beatrice (Stoll) Steinhouse.  She grew up in Redwood Falls and attended Redwood Falls Public Schools.  She married Richard “Rick” Rogers on December 12, 1970 in Bloomington.  She helped in the family business, United Steel Products, for a few years before becoming her best self as a wonderful homemaker and mother.  Betty enjoyed hosting parties and being on the lake.  Numerous camping trips added to her love o

There was a crash at the roundabout at the intersection of Main Street and First Avenue NE in New Prague the evening of Friday, Jan. 21. Apparently around 7:20 p.m. a driver of a four door vehicle hit the stone benches and the fire hydrant on the north side of Main Street and then abandoned their vehicle in the middle of the roundabout. The New Prague Police and Fire Departments responded to the scene. A skid loader was used to move the stone blocks of the benches out of the street. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

Guy Joseph Novak, age 55, of Veseli, MN, passed away suddenly on Saturday, January 8, 2022 at his home. Guy was born at Queen of Peace Hospital in New Prague MN, to Joseph G. and Glorene A. (Fahrenkamp) Novak. He attended and graduated from New Prague High School in 1986.

Mary Beth Retterath, 58, of Sioux Falls, SD passed away on Thursday, January 13, 2022.
 Funeral Service will be 10:00 am Tuesday, January 18, at St. Mary Catholic Church, with private family burial at Woodlawn Cemetery. Masks are required at the funeral Mass.

Former St. Wenc Choir Director pens “Minnesota’s ‘Big Woods’ Musicians”
A new book, authored by Sr. Anita Smisek, OP, a former choir director a St. Wencesalus Catholic Church, with narrative assistance from John Chromy, tells the story of how Bohemian immigrants brought their love of music to the “Bohemian Triangle” of New Prague, Veseli, Lonsdale, and Montgomery, and how this musical gift has been passed down through generations and is alive and well today.

Three players scored in double figures for the New Prague boys basketball team in a season-opener Metro West Conference win Friday, Jan. 7.
Ethan Chromy led the team in scoring with 20 points. Jaxon Short added 14 points and Noah Washa 11 points in a 69-61 win over St. Louis Park.
The win came one day after a 72-69 loss to Delano on Thursday, Jan. 6.

Hopkins scored a goal 30 seconds into overtime to edge the New Prague boys hockey team 3-2, Friday, Jan. 7.
Junior John Schmidt scored his 4th goal of the season and senior Will Andersen added his second goal of the year with less than two minutes to play in the third period to help the Trojans tie the game at 2-all.
Andersen had his 5th assist and senior Kai Johnson his 1st assist on the Schmidt goal. Senior Charlie Turnberg collected his 3rd assist of the year on the Andersen goal.

Led by four individual champions and a very solid overall team performance, the New Prague gymnastics team won the Matt Shetka Invitational Championship Saturday, Jan. 8 in New Prague.
Ava Barsness, Jadyn Klein, Ava Bruegger, and Ellie Morris each claimed individual titles and the team had the top performances on the vault and uneven parallel bars in scoring 143.700 points.

I know quite a few people are going to be enjoying the next few days because it’s going to be in the 30 degrees Fahrenheit, which compared to the previous temperatures when it was in the single digits, it will feel like a heat wave. Am I being too optimistic? Probably, but sometimes you just have to take the good times with the bad.
Another way to put it is with the song “I never promised you a rose garden” by Lynn Anderson. It talks about how things are not always going to be, well, rosy. There’s going to be rain, there’s going to be tough times when a person is by themselves.