The message of the evening was clear from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MnDNR) Tuesday, Dec. 18, at the Montgomery American Legion, aeration systems are rather ineffective at providing meaningful oxygen to most bodies of water and are a source of danger to the public.

About 100 Wheatland Twin Lakes Sportsmans Club (WTLSC) members and the general public gathered to see, hear, and ask questions about what the MnDNR had to present about Cody Lake and the possibility of reinstating an aeration system there.

History of aeration at Cody Lake

    Saturday’s home weightlifting duo with the Burnsville Blaze yielded three individuals qualifying for state and slug of first place finishes. 
    Morgan Meier qualified for varsity state competition with an automatic qualifying total (AQT) greater than 95 KG of 100 KG in the varsity girls’s 58 KG category. 

Lonsdale was the centerpoint of Christmas-related activity this past Saturday.
    Triumphant Life Church held an ornament-making activity in the afternoon. Next door, the Lonsdale American Legion hosted kids bingo. Down the street, Something For All held their outdoors Who-Ville event for all to meet The Grinch.

The Tri-City United (TCU) boys basketball team opened its 2025-26 season with three losses.

St. Peter handed the Titans a 113-36 loss Monday, Dec. 1. Three days later St. Claire defeated TCU, 86-61. Friday Worthington traveled to Montgomery and handed the Titans a 78-40 loss.

In the loss to St. Peter, the Saints have a majority of their players returning from last year and they looked to be in mid-season form from the tip.

Trust for Public Land (TBL) and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced the permanent protection of 200 acres of grassland, forest, and wetland habitat about 2 miles southeast of Lonsdale in Forrest Township within Rice County. The new Sungina Wildlife Management Area (WMA) rests between Union Lake Trail (Rice County 59) and Millersburg Boulevard (Rice County 1), and east of Garfield Avenue.

This newly established WMA will offer residents and visitors a green oasis to explore the outdoors, connect with nature, and enjoy recreation close to home. 

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is seeking public input on the potential installation of an aeration system on Cody Lake between Lonsdale and Montgomery within Wheatland Township in Rice County. This would essentially be a reinstating of aeration that had been turned off a number of years ago operated by Wheatland Twin Lakes Sportsmen Club (WTLSC).

WTLSC, working under new leadership this year, has been doing a number of improvements to the Cody Lake public access site area that resides between Cody Lake and Phelps Lake.

As a young teenager in 2020, Ella Schmiesing got her first taste of varsity swimming.

Now a Tri-City United (TCU) senior, she will be making her last appearance in a pool as a Titan at the Class A State Swimming and Diving Meet Friday, Nov. 14 at 10:30 a.m. and Saturday, Nov. 15 at Noon at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center at the University of Minnesota.

Preliminaries will be held Friday and finals on Saturday.

This will be Schmiesings’ fifth State Tournament appearance after winning two Section 1A Championships last weekend.

Ten members of the Tri-City United School’s FFA Chapter and one graduate spent Tuesday, Oct. 28, through Saturday, Nov. 1, on a trip to Indianapolis, Ind., to the 98th Annual National FFA Convention & Expo.

TCU FFA President Isaak Worm said that the members also partook in three separate educational site visits on the trip. “The first day we spent at ‘Caves of Mounds’ in (Blue Mound) Wisconsin on the way down,” said Worm. Caves of Mounds is a cave system known for its colorful formations as one of the oldest cave formations in the midwest, located west of Madison, Wis.

The $39.99 million bond for Tri-City United Schools was rejected by voters in the Nov. 4 election despite $7.982,004 being covered by the state Ag2School Tax Credit.

Tax impact on a $400,000 residential property would have been between $10.12-$10.66  a month.

The three precincts voted in total 926 (45.98%) in favor and 1,088 (54.02%) opposed.

Lonsdale voted to pass with 311 in favor and 269 opposed.

Tri-City United Schools held a series of four open houses this and last week, one at each school, ahead of the Nov. 4 election for the $39.99 million dollar bond. Each location had plenty of resources on hand to answer questions and tours were given showcasing some of the areas that the bond would cover.

Tri-City United High School students once again introduced Hispanic heritage to younger students at TCU Le Center PreK-8 School on Friday, Oct. 24, in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.

The theme this year revolved around vaqueros (cowboys) with interactive opportunities. TCU Cultural Coordinator Mary Lou Velásquez said, “Kids learned how to line dance to a popular song played at many fiestas, ‘Payaso de Rodeo.’ They also had a chance to learn how to lasso a bull, draw butterflies, learn about popular candies and dance folklore.”

The record-breaking season for the Tri-City United (TCU) boys soccer team ended Tuesday, Oct. 21 with an 8-1 loss to Academy of Holy Angels (17-0-1 record) in the Class A State Tournament.

Tri-City United Schools FFA chapter will be out again trick-or-treating to collect non-perishable goods for local food shelves again this Halloween, Friday, Oct. 31. Teams from the chapter will be visiting all three towns in the school district -- Le Center, Lonsdale, and Montgomery. 

Residents are encouraged to gather items from their pantries in preparation for them Halloween late afternoon and early evening. 

Once items are collected, they will be centralized at the high school and divided up accordingly to be distributed in our communities.

Before you know it, the Christmas holiday season will be here. The 2025 Torchlight Parade & Fireworks button contest winner is here to remind us of that.

Soleil Neshek, 9, a student in Brenda Petersen’s 4th grade class at Tri-City United PreK-6 School in Lonsdale, was announced the winner this Monday. She is the fourth student to win the button contest from Petersen’s class of the 13 total contests that have been held.

The button contest was open to all 4th grade students within the TCU School District, including home-schooled individuals.

The Titans boys soccer team couldn’t muster a win at the Tuesday, Oct. 21, state quarterfinals game in Shakopee against the Academy of the Holy Angels. 
 

A strong, cold west/northwest wind worked to their disadvantage in the first period and helped somewhat in their second period.

Despite the cold and windy conditions, a crowd of over 100 Titan fans showed up to support the hometown team and were very audible the whole game. 
 

Tri-City United Boys Soccer Team is hoping for further advancement Tuesday, Oct. 21, 5:30 p.m., in the Minnesota State High School League's Boys Soccer Class A State Tournament. The quarterfinal game is being held at the Shakopee West Middle School's Vaughan Field, 200 10th Avenue East.

Spectators should park on the east side of the stadium, entering along Spencer Street South, and enter at the main entrance to the field on the north side. Additional parking will be available in the middle school's parking lot directly to the north.