Mary E. Thera, age 87, of New Prague, formerly of Inver Grove Heights and West St. Paul, died peacefully on Sunday, November 2, 2025, at Mala Strana Health and Rehabilitation Center.  Mary was born on Aprill 16, 1938, in St. Paul, to Henry and Helen (Smith) Thera.  She graduated from Our Lady of Peace High School in St. Paul and went on to receive a bachelor’s degree from Viterbo College.  She worked as a medical technologist and Supervisor of Hematology at St. Joseph Hospital in St. Paul.

Geraldine “Gerry” Mary Pany, age 90, of New Prague, died in the early morning hours of Friday, October 31, 2025, at Praha Village Senior Living in New Prague.

Sharon Ann (Hillesheim) Malecha, age 84, of Lonsdale, passed away peacefully on Friday, October 31, 2025, at United Hospital in St. Paul, surrounded by her children.

Sharon was born on May 10, 1941, in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, to Nicholas B. and Veronica T. (Marz) Hillesheim. She graduated from St. Mary’s Catholic School in 1959. After high school, she attended secretarial school in Minneapolis and worked at Maico and Bell Telephone Security Systems.

Irene Rose Scheffler, age 100, of Benson, passed away Monday, October 27, 2025, in Benson, Minnesota.

Irene was born October 9, 1925, on the family farm in Rice County near Veseli, Minnesota, to Bohumil and Ludmilla (Kalina) Simon. She was the fifth of nine children.

Jean D. Jirik , age 90, of Webster, passed away Oct. 29, 2025, at Three Links Care Center in
Northfield, MN.
 

Jean was born on Sept. 27, 1935, in Northfield to Francis "Buck" and Chiquita "Doll" Palan. She
attended elementary school in Dundas and graduated from Northfield High School. She married
Raymond W. Jirik on Sept. 8, 1955, at St. Dominic’s Catholic Church in Northfield and together
they raised five children on a family farm near Lonsdale.
 

Lorraine L.

The Elko New Market City Council discussed the future of the former police department building at 26518 France Avenue at the council’s Thursday, Oct. 23, meeting. A study workgroup had come up with three possibilities for the building, demolish, sell or save. The council decided to bring the building back for discussion in January.

Falcon Ridge Elementary School’s multipurpose gym was extremely quiet Friday, Oct. 24, as students participated in the school’s Read-A-Thon.

During the day each grade at the school, which has 500 students, had a designated time to read and celebrate the day in the gym, said Greta Deutsch of the Parent Advisory Committee (PAC).

Besides reading in the gym, students were also reading in their classrooms for the event, said Deutsch. The event has two purposes, to encourage reading and raise funds for the school.

The small yellow signs do exactly what any good piece of advertising ought to do – catch your attention and encourage you to learn the rest of the story.

Found at many intersections, the signs state, “We love Our City.”

Maybe young eyes can read the fine print. From the driver’s seat, the small print at the base of the sign is illegible. At first, one might assume they were created and placed by a business, perhaps the New Prague Chamber of Commerce. Might one of the community’s outstanding service clubs be behind them?

If New Prague’s top two simmers and its best divers have a chance to reach the state meet at the University of Minnesota, their best will be required.

Coach Cassie Fisher says her athletes are aware of the challenge ahead. The Trojans will begin the Section 1AA competition Wednesday, Nov. 5, at the Rochester Recreation Center. The diving preliminary round and finals are slated for Thursday, Nov. 6. The swimming finals are slated for Friday, Nov. 7, at the Rochester Recreation Center.

When word that Scott, Le Sueur and Rice counties could no longer process applications for assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Rita Goggins knew more people would be looking for assistance.

The counties are expecting additional pressure on the food shelf created by the federal government shutdown.

Erv Haman, age 76, of New Prague, died Monday, October 20th at his home.  A memorial visitation for Erv will be held Saturday, November 15, 2025, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Bruzek Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Wee3Beasties: Saving the Strays.

Donald S.

Allen Pumper, age 61, of New Prague, died unexpectedly with his family at his side Saturday evening, October 25, 2025, at Mayo Clinic Health System Hospital New Prague.  Allen was born on March 13, 1964, in Northfield, to Alois and Stella (Havlicek) Pumper.  He grew up on a farm east of Lonsdale, the youngest of eleven children, attended Lonsdale Parochial School and graduated from New Prague High School, where he met Jean M. Cavanaugh. These high school sweethearts married at St.

Host Rochester Mayo turned a pair of New Prague turnovers into touchdowns to blow open a tight game on the way to a 35-20 win over the Trojans in the Section 1AAAAA semifinal Saturday night, Oct. 25.

Back in 2006, former Minnesota State Rep. Tom Emmer, then R-Delano, took the editor of a nearby community newspaper to the woodshed for suggesting in an editorial the proposed smoking ban for bars and restaurants was worthy of discussion.