Understandably so, folks took note of the results from last spring’s Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs), tests given to New Prague students and children across the state last spring to assess their proficiency with curriculum meant to meet state standards.

The Minnesota Department of Education released the results of the assessments last week and we published the local results and compared them to results of neighboring school districts in the Oct. 8 print and online editions of The New Prague Times.

    My family history holds a lot of music history within it at St. John The Evangelist Catholic Church at Union Hill, Minn. 
    Joseph J. Busch (1873-1966) of Union Hill, Minn., was my great-grandfather. He graduated in 1896 from Catholic Normal School in St. Francis, Wis., a school that was dedicated to training teachers, as a teacher and organist.

To the editor,
    I am writing because I believe Mary Nesgoda is the kind of person we need representing us in the Minnesota House for District 22B.
    What I appreciate most about Mary is simple: She listens, and she cares about people. She takes the time to hear what people are saying and to understand the challenges they face.

School boards are more often than not a collection of education-supporting folks trying to do what they think is the right thing by the community’s children when it comes to the education they receive.

That seems simple enough, doesn’t it?

To the editor,

I’m supporting Marisa Ulmen for Minnesota State Senate District 22 because she understands what it takes to build and sustain a strong rural community.

Marisa knows rural Minnesota because she has lived it. She is a fifth-generation farmer from Madelia, and she understands both the challenges and opportunities facing our farm families and rural communities.

Her campaign is focused on four priorities: affordable, accessible healthcare; support for rural families and communities; a strong future for our farm families; and stronger rural towns.

Earlier this month, New Prague School District Superintendent Andy Vollmuth notified the school board the district had received word from a booster group it might be interested in donating to help fund new jerseys for teams, jerseys carrying the logos of local businesses.

While the other members of the Scott County Board might not have agreed, Commissioner Barb Weckman Brekke did what she believed was the right thing to do when she publicly backed Rep. Angie Craig’s unsuccessful bid for a U.S. Senate post representing Minnesota.

Perhaps you haven’t heard your community will welcome 10,000 guests – hopefully more – when New Prague hosts the 103rd edition of the Minnesota Baseball Association’s state tournament.

It’s probably no surprise somebody removed a Flock surveillance camera from their community.

That isn’t the way to address the issue of removing the cameras from the community. It could cost a Faribault man a hefty fine and possibly jail time.

Somehow, we’ve made it this far – 250 years old.

With the power of governance divided between a central national government and individual states, the United States celebrated its 250th birthday as a constitutional federal republic and a representative democracy this past week.

We’ve been around for 250 years. That’s a drop in the bucket compared to some governments around the world. Fifty years ago, we thought 200 years was a really big deal. The celebration of our bicentennial in 1976 was a big deal. There was a premium on patriotism.

There have been a few posts on the local social media pages the past few months regarding the site of the anticipated new post office and if the post office isn’t going to use it, maybe – insert the name of your favorite restaurant – might be interested.

In the mid- and late-1960s, the United States began drafting its young people into military service in a faraway place called Vietnam. It’s safe to say many of them had never heard of the southeast Asian country nor understood why they were being called to serve.

New Prague city councilors met in a special meeting Monday, June 8, to discuss a challenging question – how to handle the city’s budget today and in the future and begin to discuss the long-term plan for how to bridge the gap between that the city and its residents want and what they are willing to pay for.

The New Prague School District loves to credit itself for its attention to treating everyone equally. And there’s no reason to believe the district is sincere with its claim equity matters.

But in a recent case, its attention to the notion of treating everyone equally missed the mark. Badly.

For anyone who is a big hockey fan they are preparing for the finals of the Stanley Cup playoffs. I know it happens every year, but I still find it odd the National Hockey League (NHL) is wrapping up in what some might call spring, and others might call the first month of summer.

The Minnesota Legislature called it a day Sunday, May 18, taking credit in the House for working together for the good of the state and its citizens as mature adults ought to do. People working together for a common good, compromising and acting reasonably in a legislative session will oftentimes occur when the two major parties enjoy equal representation.

And yet, the Minnesota House of Representatives weekly news service makes it sound like such bipartisan cooperation is to be celebrated rather than expected. Sadly, it is.