Elko New Market welcomed its newest police officer, Jeff Addabbo, during an induction ceremony at the city council’s Thursday, April 11, meeting. As part of the ceremony officer Addabbo’s father, Mike Addabbo, was invited to pin his son’s badge on him.
Addabbo’s parents and others in his family were present for the ceremony, which included his taking the oath of office from Mayor Joe Julius.
“Jeff's journey into law enforcement is a testament to his determination and passion for making a difference,” said Elko New Market Police Chief Brady Juell.

Corner Bar at 100 Main St. W in New Prague has on its main door, “Sorry we are closed due to roof repairs.”
According to New Prague city staff the bar’s liquor license expired March 31. Planning/Community Development Director Ken Ondich said the local bar had submitted an application for a liquor license with other liquor establishments before the March 31 deadline, but the business did not have an approved lease for its location. The license could not be renewed because there was not a valid lease, said Ondich.

Trying to soften the runway for anticipated future budget reductions, the New Prague Area School Board approved offering veteran teachers in the upper quadrant of the salary schedule an early-retirement package they can use for expenses including healthcare plans.

Crews will begin work on the Highway 169 Jordan-Shakopee improvement project at 7 a.m. Wednesday, May 1, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
Workers will reduce Highway 169 to one northbound and one southbound lane between Highway 21 in Jordan and Highway 41 in Jackson Township through mid-August. Lane closures will not be allowed weekends beginning Aug. 9.
Also starting May 1, through late-June, drivers will be limited to right-in, right-out access to Highway 69 in the project area, except at these intersections:

Submitted by: Sarah Stultz, Managing Editor, Albert Lea Tribune
A significant discussion is taking place at the state Legislature in reaction to the recent announcement that eight community newspapers will close at the end of the month.
Under a proposal in the Senate Education Policy Omnibus bill (SF 3567), school districts would no longer be required to publish their proceedings in newspapers and could instead move them to their own websites.

The New Prague Fire Department and North Memorial Ambulance responded to a two vehicle crash east of New Prague on highways 19/13 around 5 p.m. Thursday, April 18. According to a preliminary report from the State Highway Patrol one person was transported by ambulance from the scene.
Both vehicles, a Chevy truck and a minivan, were in the north side ditch. Also responding were the New Prague Police Department and the Scott County Sheriff’s Office. For more information see an upcoming print edition of The New Prague Times.

First boy Junior Ambassador entered into program
Saturday evening was a gathering from around the state at the Montgomery American Legion for the 35th Annual Miss Czech Slovak Minnesota Pageant.
Festivities started with an authentic Czech meal, prepared by board member and Head Chef Josh Gare and his volunteer crew. Gare was recognized for his work in the organization, with special attention for the meals, by the Minneapolis Aquatennial Ambassadors with the Honorary Commodore’s Award.

Carrie Simon, of Montgomery, went to the doctor in early 2022 thinking it would be a typical doctor visit. In February of 2022, she went through surgery. She and her husband, Russ, believed it was just an ovarian cyst. The doctors thought it was about 18 centimeters, and it ended up being 35 centimeters in diameter and had ruptured.
“Russ knew it was cancer already from the doctors while I was under, but they told me when I woke up. It was pretty gut-wrenching,” she said.

The Koko and Sam Tarr family of New Prague told New Prague City Council they had concerns their son was racially profiled and was being harassed by a member of the New Prague Police Department. The family said they are originally from Liberia and have been living in New Prague for four years. The family delivered its claim at the council’s March 18, meeting.

Two weeks after board members struggled to approve cutting $3.5 million from the general fund, the New Prague School District is once again looking at a plan to reduce the cost of one of its biggest expenses – veteran teachers.

Ambassadors looking for candidates
The Lonsdale Ambassadors annual Easter Egg Hunt once again drew hundreds of area families to Lonsdale’s Jaycee Park on Saturday, March 30.
Miss Lonsdale Ambassador royalty facilitating the three age group-separated hunts were Miss Lonsdale Alli Simon, Miss Ambassadors Khloe Flicek and Avery Lerfald, Junior Ambassadors Payton Fischer and Paige Miller, and Little Ambassador Kyrie Smisek.

Performances of New Prague High School’s spring play “You Can’t Take it With You,” are Friday, April 5, and Saturday, April 6, at 7:30 p.m. both nights, in the high school auditorium. Tickets can be bought online at https://gofan.co/app/school/MN19627 or at the door of each performance.
George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart wrote the play. It is set in the 1930s during the Great Depression and is a comedy about an eccentric family and their friends, with the message is to pursue things that make you happy.

The New Prague City Council directed city staff at its Monday, April 1, meeting to move forward with work on a 54-unit apartment to be located on the lot south of Walgreens along Chalupsky Avenue SE.
City staff will be working on an application from the Workforce Housing Development Program with the city using a housing tax abatement for the required local match.
City Planning/Community Development Director Ken Ondich presented the request for the application. Ebert Construction of Farmington is working on the apartment building.

While it won’t be open for public use, a new recycling facility will be bringing benefits to Montgomery starting next month.
Cosmic Recycling has plans to open a facility that focuses on recycling solar panels and electronic waste, dubbed e-waste. The waste items will be shipped in from outside sources rather than collected from the community.
The facility will be located at 513 1st St. South in Montgomery in a facility owned by Hruby Rentals.

The New Prague City Council at its Monday, March 18, meeting received an update on its community recreation in the form of how many parks it has, what condition they are in and what to do next.
“We have not put any cost to this,” said John McNamara of Wold Architects, who presented the update. He added the firm wanted to find out from the city how it wanted to proceed with community recreation needs.

A 22-year-old Gaylord man was arrested on March 20 for his role in supplying fentanyl pills to a Montgomery 18-year-old girl who died as a result of a suspected overdose on Jan. 8, according to a press release by the Cannon River Drug Violent Offender Task Force (CRDVOTF).