Tri-City United High School was again host to the Section 2A North Visual Arts Festival. Schools within the subsection presented about 120 pieces of art in total, up from about 90 last year, according to TCU High School Art Teacher Tony Barnack.
    The Titan students, 15 in total, displayed the maximum allowed per school of 18 pieces, which included drawings, paintings, sculptures, crafts, digital photography, and ceramics.

Virginia I. Hickey, 84 of Springfield, IL, passed away at 9:44 a.m., Saturday, March 14, 2026, at The Arch of Sangamon Valley. She was born July 22, 1941, in Madison, WI, the daughter of the late Gordon and Jean Neff. She married John F. Hickey on January 28, 1961, and he survives.

Fr. George Jerome Grafsky, age 81, of Montgomery, Minnesota, died on Saturday, April 11, 2026, at Cura Healthcare Center in Le Sueur.

Fr. George was born on March 10, 1945, in St. Paul, Minnesota, the only child of George and Rosemary (Hayne) Grafsky. He was raised in West St. Paul, where his Catholic faith took root at a young age and would remain the guiding foundation for his entire life. From childhood through his final days, his devotion to God and service to others shaped everything he did.

    The Lonsdale Ambassadors held their annual Easter Egg Hunt at Jaycee Park in Lonsdale this past Saturday. Snow showers, sometimes mixed with sleet and graupel, happened throughout the event. 
    Despite the less-than-ideal weather, about 250 people showed up. A soggy softball infield kept people avoiding that area as much as possible while egg hunting, and most wore hats, gloves and mittens in the cold weather. 

    Montgomery Community Foundation (MCF) transitioned the care of the third annual event, Montgomery State of the Community, to the care of the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce (MCC) while still providing funding support. 
    Along with the change in oversight came a change of day and format. MCC Executive Director Caitlin Huiras moved the event to a weekday at lunchtime and included lunch this year as a part of the deal in attempts to attract more of the community than what the previous two years brought on a Saturday morning.

    TCU Schools held their first of four open houses on Wednesday, April 1, at TCU Montgomery PreK-8 School regarding the upcoming special election on May 12 for a $39.99 million bond. 

Montgomery Streets
    Most of the streets in the area between the railroad tracks and Le Sueur County 3/5th Street, and north of Le Sueur County 56/Oak Avenue and south of Boulevard Avenue will receive partial surface milling and a full overlay of pavement this summer. 

Le Sueur County Emergency Management Director Tammy Stewig said that dispatchers accidentally sounded off the county's sirens today, Thursday, April 9, at 1:45 p.m. thinking it was Severe Weather Awareness Week (SWAW), which is actually April 13-17, 2026.

On Thursday, April 16, of SWAW, almost every corner of the state will have two rounds of sirens sounding, one at 1:45 p.m. and one at 6:45 p.m., for businesses and residents to practice tornado safety procedures.

Leona Cecelia Finken, age 88, passed away on April 4, 2026, at her Lakeside Memory Care residence in Plymouth. 

Anna Marie Rosival, age 76, of Lonsdale, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Monday, December 29, 2025, at her home.

Visitation will be held from 9 – 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Shieldsville with Mass of Christian Burial following at 11:00 a.m. with Fr. Timothy Sandquist officiating. Interment will be held in the Trebon Cemetery in Shieldsville.

    Tri-City United High School 2025 graduate Alexis Marcussen was named All-Defense Team for the North Region in the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) Women’s Basketball 2026 All-Region Awards. The awards were voted upon by the by each of the region’s coaches.
    Marcussen plays for the Bellevue College Bulldogs in Bellevue, Wash., as a guard. It’s a suburb of Seattle. This season she has played in 28 games and started in 25 of those, playing an average of over 26 minutes a game.

    Tri-City United High School’s spring play, “Dragon’s Lair” by Katie B. Oberlander and directed by 8th grade teacher Sarah Mejia, is a meld of two worlds.
    “Basically it’s Shark Tank with fairytale characters and proposition,” said Kylie Anderson (Buttercup Twinkletoes/Fairy Godmother). “The fairytale characters will go to the dragons instead of the sharks, and we have to tell them basically if we are wanting their product or not.”

    Montgomery Historical Society (MHS) will be hosting their annual meeting on Wednesday, April 29, at the Rustic Farmer on Main, 201 1st Street South.
    The evening will start with a social hour at 6:30 p.m., a brief business meeting at 7 p.m., and will finish with a presentation by author and historian Jeffrey M. Sauve on “The Le Sueur Lyre.”

    Early springtime can often have conditions prime for fires to start or get out of control with dry dead or dormant vegetation in combination with low humidity levels and increased wind.
    The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MnDNR) issued a Red Flag Warning on Friday, March 27, for Saturday, March 28, between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. due to the conditions mentioned above for all of southern and central Minnesota. 

    The Le Sueur County Officials meeting at the American Bar & Grill in Montgomery on Wednesday, March 25, was host to two state nonprofit representatives that assist smaller governments — Cap O’Rourke and Maddie Cash.
    Cap O’Rourke is the executive director for the Minnesota Association of Small Cities (MAOSC), which is a nonprofit that exclusively serves cities of a population of 5,000 or less, and is also the owner of O’Rourke Strategic Consulting.

Rita Ann Stasney, age 94, of Montgomery, passed away on Thursday, April 2, 2026, at Central Health Care in Le Center.

Rita was born as a twin with her brother, Richard, on December 15, 1931, in Montgomery Township, Le Sueur County, to Frank and Agnes (Schleis) Choudek. She grew up on the family farm near Montgomery and attended St. Raphael Catholic School through the eighth grade. She graduated from Montgomery High School in 1949.