Malecha, Celia Catherine, age 94 of Lonsdale, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on December 9, 2020. Preceded in death by her husband, Joe S.; siblings, Joseph (Emma) Tuma, Anna (Charles) Trenda, Jim (Grace) Tuma, Edward Tuma, Monnie (Ted) Jirik, and infant Evelyn Tuma.

Mary Ann Mach, age 94, of New Prague, died peacefully on Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at Mala Strana Rehabilitation and Assisted Living. 

Elaine I. Jacobson, age 90, of New Prague, died peacefully with her family at her side as a result of complications due to Covid 19 on Monday, December 7, 2020 at Mala Strana Rehabilitation Center and Assisted Living. 

Justin J. Deutsch, age 99, died peacefully on Monday, December 7, 2020 at Mala Strana Rehabilitation Center and Assisted Living.  Less than a month shy of his 100th birthday. 

Mary Agnes Dorzinski, 93 of Le Center, passed away on Friday, Dec. 4, 2020, in New Prague. Private family interment will be at the Fort Snelling Cemetery.
Mary Agnes was born on September 1, 1927, in Belle Plaine Township, Scott County, MN to Lawrence and Mary (Schipreth) Reak. She was united in marriage to Edmund Joseph Dorzinski on August 28, 1954, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Lexington. They had one son, Edward Joseph, born on December 22, 1960. 

John E. Ruhland, age 79, of Montgomery passed away at Mayo Clinic Health System Hospital in New Prague, on Tuesday, December 1.
John was born on August 30, 1941, in Montgomery, MN to Frank Ruhland and Dorothy (Dvorak) Ruhland. He was their only child.
John graduated from Montgomery High School in 1959, attended Mankato State, and was in the Army Reserves from 1960 to 1965.

Due to the ongoing surge of patients hospitalized with COVID-19, Mayo Clinic Health System has temporarily suspended operations at the Belle Plaine clinic and will be temporarily suspending operations at the Mankato-Northridge, Le Sueur, Janesville and Waterville clinics as of Monday, Dec. 7.
The suspensions are necessary to reallocate staffing resources to other critical care needs in response to the COVID-19 surge. The closures are expected to last six weeks. COVID-19 testing is still taking place at the Belle Plaine Clinic.

Ronald Zelenka, age 75 passed away December 1st, 2020 at the VA Hospital in Des Moines, IA.

O’Meara, Gerald Vincent, age 85 of Rosemount passed away December 2, 2020. Preceded in death by his parents Vincent And Mary Adeline (Cashin) O’Meara; siblings, Mary (Dennis) Hagerty, Virginia (Gene) Stoering and James T. O'Meara; sister-in-law Jeanie O’Meara. Survived by his brothers, Leonard (Lavonne) and Patrick O’Meara; sister-in-law, Monica O'Meara. Also, many nieces and nephews and friends.

Santa greets the crowds during Santa’s Cruise Through New Prague on Friday, Dec. 4. Riding an engine from the New Prague Fire Department, Santa makes the turn onto Columbus Avenue near the start of the parade sponsored by the New Prague Chamber of Commerce that included emergency and city vehicles. The Santa Cruise made its way through neighborhoods with sirens sounding and lights ablaze on the vehicles. Families waved and children shouted with excitement as they saw Santa. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

With about three weeks before Christmas this year is likely going to be a very different holiday season. It will fit in well with the rest of 2020. The majority of the year has been different mainly due to the world dealing with a pandemic.

On December 3, 2020, at 12:20 p.m., Scott County Sheriff’s Office 911 Dispatch received a report of a body that had been located floating in the Minnesota River near Huber Park at 150 Fillmore Street North in Shakopee.
Sheriff deputies, with the assistance of personnel from the Shakopee Fire Department and Shakopee Police Department were able to recover the body.

The Elko New Market city council approved a motion at its Thursday, Nov. 19, meeting, authorizing its staff to negotiate the acquisition of property in the Woodcrest development.
City Administrator Tom Terry explained that the area under discussion is Woodcrest Lane, which is the only access to a subdivision of the Woodcrest development.

Though there have been no major or fatal accidents at the intersection that connects Highway 19, 3rd Street West and CSAH 4, the council would like to see it change in light of a project on CSAH 4 that Rice County will be completing in 2022. “That’s the worst intersection,” Lonsdale council member Steve Cherney said.

Those who shopped locally on Saturday, November 28 found numerous Small Business Saturday deals and complimentary goodies at various stores in downtown New Prague. Multiple business owners, who were unsure whether people would venture out to shop during the on-going pandemic, reported an uptick in customers and were excited to see their stores once again filled with customers.

Robert F. Bastyr, age 78, of Jordan, died Sunday, November 29, 2020 due to complications of Covid 19 at VA Hospital in Minneapolis.  Robert was born on September 7, 1942 in New Prague to Robert R. and Estellene M. (Rutt) Bastyr.  He attended St. Wenceslaus Catholic School, graduated from New Prague High School, and attended Mankato Vocational School in mechanics.  Always proud of his military service, Robert served in the US Army in Vietnam with the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, known as the Bobcats.  He married Margaret A. “Margie” Bastyr on August 5, 1989 at St.