Kevin William Zwirner, age 38, of New Richmond, Wisconsin, passed away peacefully on August 11, 2026. Born on September 16, 1987, in Maplewood, MN, Kevin was the son of Sheila Sarafin and Bill Zwirner.

Kevin loved fishing, nature, playing with the dogs, and spending time with his nieces and nephews. He was a kind and gentle person with a big heart. Kevin saw the good in every single person he encountered and often had a smile on his face. He was an avid Timberwolves and Vikings fan and loved watching college sports.

New Prague starting pitcher Gavin Bergman blasted a three-run home run and held New Your Mills to one run through 7-plus innings as the New Prague Orioles topped the Millers, 4-1, Saturday at Memorial Park in New Prague.

NP's win in the opening round of the Minnesota Baseball Association's Class C state tournament advances the Orioles to face the winner of Glencoe-Howard Lake game Friday, Aug. 28, 7:30 p.m., at Memorial Park.

Joseph “Joe” Mathias Sand, Jr. age 71, passed away peacefully on August 11, 2026, in his home surrounded by his family after a month-long battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He was a resident of New Prague, MN. 

Seeding games set the brackets for state tournament

After a summer of amateur baseball, five area teams have advanced to the Minnesota Baseball Association’s state tournaments beginning this weekend in New Prague, Shakopee, Jordan and Chaska.

In Class A, Elko and St. Patrick qualified for the state tournament. Union Hill and Webster made the Class B state field while New Prague is the lone area team in the Class C state tournament. See the special congratulations page for scheduling information in this week’s edition of The New Prague Times.

Friday, Aug. 7, was a busy day for Trygg Holliday as he managed the building of a prayer garden at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Elko New Market.

Part of his inspiration for the prayer garden is his dad, Timothy Holliday, who passed away four years ago. The small garden will have a bench where people can sit. A memorial plaque for Holliday’s dad will be placed on the bench. It was Timothy Holliday, plus Trygg’s grandmother, Darlene Thomas, who got Trygg involved in Boy Scout Troop 9111 out of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Lakeville.

Union Hill pounded out 14 hits and used a pair of big innings to defeat Princeton, 10-2, in the opening round of the Minnesota Baseball Association's Class B state tournament Friday night, Aug. 21, at Memorial Park in New Prague.

The Bulldogs never trailed in the contest. They opened with three runs in the second inning, added solo runs in the third and fifth innings before taking a 9-0 lead with four runs in in the seventh. UH finished off its scoring with one run in the eighth frame.

Without the funding needed to complete the full array of improvements planned for Highway 19 between New Prague and Highway 169, the Minnesota Department of Transportation is planning a comparatively short-term pavement improvement along the dilapidated roadway next year.

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.

Update: Fifteen-year-old Levi Schelhaas of rural New Prague passed away Friday, Aug. 21,  from injuries suffered during a crash while riding his dirt bike Tuesday, Aug. 18.

His obituary appears on The New Prague Times' website and will be in the Aug. 27 print edition of The New Prague Times.

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Scott Malecha, age 62, of Lonsdale, passed away on August 15, 2026.

Scott was preceded in death by his father, Ray Malecha; and brother-in-law, Marty Berg.

Dennis Joseph Novak, 72, of Veseli, passed away on Sunday, August 16, 2026, at home surrounded by loved ones.

Daniel "Dan" Young LaBelle of New Prague, MN, passed away unexpectedly on August 9, 2026. Dan was one of five children born to Joseph and Ann (Kelly) LaBelle. He was a graduate of Mounds View High School and Winona State University. After college, he began his career with ADC Telecommunications, where he met the love of his life and future wife, Stephanie (Sinclair). Together they built a life filled with adventure, love, laughter, and family.

Julia M. Busch, age 93, of Jordan, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her family on August 16, 2026.

Michael “Mick” Patrick McGuire, age 73, of Montgomery, passed away on Sunday, August 16, 2026, at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis.

Jane Mary (Malecha) Pesta/Shriver, age 83, of Montgomery, MN, passed away peacefully at her home, surrounded by the love of her family.

    A rural New Prague woman is facing multiple charges stemming from a domestic dispute at the home of her former boyfriend in Derrynane Township.