It’s October and we all know what that means. It’s a time when the trees really begin changing colors and for some farmers it’s the final stages of harvest season. It’s a time when some fields are golden with corn stalks or a bright orange with pumpkins. When you can come over a hill or around a bend on Highways 13, 19 or 21, County Road 2 or even Highway 169 and see the trees are ablaze with red, yellow, gold, orange or a combination of them.

More than 200 people were at the American Legion Park Ballroom Friday, Sept. 27, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the American Legion and New Prague Charles Borak Post 45.
The group also observed the 101st anniversary of the death of Charles Borak, a New Prague soldier for whom the post is named. Borak was the first area resident to die in action in World War I. About 50 members of the Borak family were in attendance and Dr. Tom Borak, nephew of Charles Borak, gave the keynote address. The Borak family held a family reunion earlier that afternoon in the Legion Clubroom.

The New Prague Trojan girls cross country team finished third of nine teams at the New Prague Invitational, held at the New Prague Golf Club Tuesday, Sept. 24.
Lakeville South and Red Wing tied for the top spot with 31 points each. South won the team title on a tie-breaker, with their sixth finisher placing 45th overall. New Prague had 67, with the rest of the field including Le Sueur- Henderson (107), Tri-City United (147), Sibley East (156) and Norwood- Young America (187). Cannon Falls and Holy Family Catholic did not field complete teams.

The Elko New Market City Council approved a sewer improvement quote for three properties as part of the Woodcrest Sewer 2019 Extension Project. The quote was awarded to Krueger Excavating, Inc. and is for $118,698.

Brogan Michael Schaefer, age 10 of rural Henderson, passed away Sunday, September 29, 2019 at Mayo Health Systems in Mankato.  Mass of Christian Burial will be 11:00 a.m. on Monday, October 7 at St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Le Sueur.  Visitation will be from 3:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the church on Sunday, October 6, and also 1 hour prior to Mass at church on Monday.

Currently the New Prague Times is without power and phones. It should be restored by 11 am Tuesday, October 1. New Prague Utilities is working on the problem.

The New Prague Trojan girls tennis team's playoff match against Mankato West scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 1, has been postponed.
The first round match in the Section 2AA playoffs will be played Wednesday, Oct. 2, at the Swanson Tennis Center at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter.
New Prague is the No. 6 seed in the South Sub-section, while West is seeded No. 3. There are nine teams in the South Sub-section.
The winner will advance to the second round of the section playoffs Thursday, Oct. 3.

Daniel R. Shetka, age 69, of Richfield, died suddenly while helping a friend on Saturday, September 28, 2019.  Dan was born on November 29, 1949 in St. Paul to Richard R. and Celia A. (Kopet) Shetka.  He grew up in the Veseli area, attended Most Holy Trinity Catholic School. He was an active 4-H member during his school years.

A kickoff return by Nathan Osborne and a fumble recovery and return by Will Busch gave the New Prague Trojans a 14-0 lead before they had even run an offensive play in their Big Southeast District game at Rochester John Marshall Friday, Sept. 27.

The New Prague Trojan girls soccer team split a pair of Wright County Conference matches last week, defeating Glencoe-Silver Lake 5-0, and losing to Waconia 1- 0.
The Trojans were scheduled to face Watertown- Mayer Tuesday, Sept. 24. They host Rockford Thursday, Sept. 26, and will play at Delano Monday, Sept. 30. Their match against Lakeville South scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 28, has been moved to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2. The Trojans close their regular season Thursday, Oct. 3, when they host Hutchinson.

New Prague’s Charles Borak Post 45 of the American Legion is celebrating its 100th anniversary Friday, Sept. 27, with a celebration at the Park Ballroom.

The New Prague Trojan boys cross country meet had two good showings last week. On Tuesday, Sept. 17, they competed at the Waconia meet, placing fifth of 15 teams, and on Saturday, Sept. 21, they competed in the Milaca Mega meet, placing 16th of 29 teams in Division 4, for the largest schools.
Waconia meet New Prague finished with 147 points, placing fifth behind first placee Buffalo, with 44, Mankato East with 64, Chanhassen with 96 and Delano with 131.

The New Prague City Council approved a change in its preliminary 2019 property tax levy for taxes payable in 2020 at its special Wednesday, Sept. 18, meeting. The council amended the preliminary levy, increasing it by $1,811.

The New Prague Trojan girls swim and dive team hosted Waconia on Thursday, Sept. 19. The Trojans swam well, but lost to a strong Wildcat squad by a 109-77 score.
"It was a great meet. We really challenged a top team," Coach Cassie Jung said.
"The Wright County Conference is a tough one, but the girls are exceeding all expectations and swimming so well this season."

The New Prague Area School Board set its 2020 preliminary property tax levy at “maximum” level during its meeting Monday, Sept. 23.
Sandy Linn, the district’s Director of Finance, requested the move to give the district flexibility as it works on finalizing its 2019-20 budget. The district is required to set a preliminary levy by September 30 in preparation for the December Truth in Taxation hearing, after which they set the final levy. At that meeting, the amount of the levy can be lowered, but cannot be increased from the preliminary figure.

Novotny, Gillard, age 84 of South St. Paul, passed away September 25, 2019 at United Hospital in Saint Paul, MN. Preceded in death by his wife, Marion, parents Martin & Mary Novotny, and siblings, Stella Vlasak, Marty Novotny, Millie Morin, and sister-in-law Donna Beckers.