The Tri-City United Schools $39.99 million proposed capital bond that was put up for a special election on Tuesday, May 12, was again rejected by the voters in the district.
Slightly more voters showed up for this election, voting 1,055 (48.5%) in support of the bond and 1,120 (51.5%) not in support of the bond.
A train derailed on the Union Pacific line in far northwestern Tyrone Township, Le Sueur County, on the east side of the Minnesota River between Henderson and Ney Nature Center. A total of eight rail cars left the tracks just north of the Highway 19 bridge over the tracks.
Le Sueur County Sheriff’s Office dispatch center received a call from Union Pacific Railroad at approximately 2:39 a.m. on May 2 and were notified of the derailment, according to the press release from the sheriff’s office. The report said that the cars were carrying liquid methane, propane, and grain.
Le Sueur County Veterans Service Officer (CVSO) Mark Roemhildt delivered his final department report to the Le Sueur County Board of Commissioners at their regular meeting on April 21.
“I am just across six years in this position,” Roemhildt said. “My last day will be Friday, May 1. My last day in the office, however, will be this coming Friday (April 24), and then Joe will have the keys to the castle.”
Succeeding Roemhildt is Joe Fisher, who was hired to the position on April 6. He had been training for the three weeks before the meeting.
When people need help, they oftentimes call a firefighter. When firefighters need help dealing with the worst of the outcomes they face, Reverend George Jerome Grafsky was there to help.
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.
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.
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.
Saturday, March 14, 5 p.m. Update
The National Weather Services (NWS) in Chanhassen, Minn., has issued a Blizzard Warning for our greater area from 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 14, through 4 a.m. on Monday, March 16. They are calling this a "historic March winter storm on track to bring extreme snow accumulations and strong winds."
The warning calls for a broad swath of 12 to 18 inches of snow over the region, with some area approaching two feet, with winds between 35 and 45 mph, with gusts to 55 mph, even after the snow starts to taper off.
NP falls to champs in Saturday semifinal round
Rebounding from a tough loss in the semifinal round to the tournament’s eventual champion, the New Prague Trojans’ floor hockey team took third-place honors at the Minnesota State High School League’s floor hockey tournament at Bloomington Jefferson High School.
Over 300 people showed up to show their support at the benefit for Mike Meyer held at the American Bar & Grill in Montgomery on Saturday.
Paulette “Polly” Bieber, coordinator of the benefit said, “It was a really great turnout. Really good support.” She said that a total of 32 businesses “from Belle Plaine to Montgomery and everywhere in-between” donated to the benefit, whether silent auction items or in-kind.
Gary West provided music for the event, and Odenthal Meats provided the pulled pork for the sandwich dinners.
To the Editor,
This letter is written in response to Rep. Terry Stier’s article on federal immigration enforcement published in the Feb. 5, 2026, edition of The New Prague Times (and Montgomery Messenger). Rep. Stier outlines his law enforcement background and his preference for behind-the-scenes engagement with federal agencies rather than public confrontation, a perspective shaped by his years as a police chief and legislator.
Heading into the state tournament, New Prague High School’s cooperative floor hockey team seems ready to begin a strong defense of its state championship from a year ago.
The opening round is the big question mark. New Prague will face Shakopee-Prior Lake-Chaska-Chanhassen tomorrow evening, Friday, Feb. 27, 8 p.m., at Bloomington Jefferson High School’s activities center. See the team congratulations page in the print edition for the bracket information.
The longstanding American Legion building, 102 Elm Avenue Southwest, is now under the new ownership of Robert Krautkremer and Dione Bast of New Prague, renaming it The American Bar & Grill.
“This place came available. We looked at it, talked about it and saw some potential there,” said Krautkremer. Their first day of business, a soft opening, was Friday, Jan. 29.
Firefighters from at least New Prague Fire Department and Montgomery Fire Department extinguished a fully-engulfed separated garage fire Thursday, Jan. 29, during the evening hours at Number One Auto north of Heidelberg in rural Lanesburgh Township in Le Sueur County. Temperatures at the time were only about five degrees above zero.
The Tri-City United School District School Board voted on Monday, Dec. 22, to ask voters in the district again to pass the same $39.99 million bond that was proposed at the November 2025 single vote election. In November, the tax base that showed up to vote voted 926 in approval and 1,088 in opposition.