I wanted a unicycle.
I was 10 years old and wanted nothing else—just a unicycle.
I begged for one for my birthday. Begged.
I cut a picture of one out of a magazine and dreamed of riding the darn thing around my driveway.
I would have been so cool.
But, instead, I got a pogo stick.
My parents were “concerned” I’d severely injure myself learning how to ride a unicycle, but for some reason… a pogo stick was “just fine” in their minds.
I was not pleased when I unwrapped the pogo stick.

The TCU Titan girls basketball team improved its overall record of 3-10 after its beat the Cleveland Clippers last week on Tuesday, before falling to the Le Sueur-Henderson Giants on Friday.
TCU 55 - LSH 61
According to Titan Coach Don Marcussen, this was a close ball game pretty much right up until the last minutes of the game, and the difference could have been his team was down two starters due to covid protocol. He noted the game plan had to be quickly adjusted instead of maybe getting a few days to adjust the line-up.

The Montgomery City Council held a workshop on Monday. It’s only agenda item: discuss a new police facility.
Among the things the council talked about were locations for the department, new construction or remodel an existing building. Each member was given homework to search the city for possible locations.

The TCU Wrestling Team added more wins to its record last week at the high school and on the road in Waseca.
TCU 47 - Medford 9
On Tuesday, Feb. 23 it hosted Medford and Pine Island. TCU beat both teams. In the match against Medford, TCU dominated in the contest’s first nine weight classes.
Chris Johnson (113 pounds) Zach Balma (120), Cole Franek (138), and Carter O’Malley (145) all beat their opponents with pins. Brant Lemieux won with a 14-12 decision, and Caleb Whipps won with a 20-8 major decision.

Minnesota’s 1,781 townships will hold their annual meeting on Tuesday, March 9. Known as Township Day, these annual meetings are held every year on the second Tuesday in March.
Residents of the townships will meet to voice their opinions about local issues with other township residents and also vote directly on their annual tax levy; direct democracy in action. Citizens attending annual meetings also often discuss and vote on other local issues.
In addition, many of the state’s townships will hold their township officer elections on Tuesday’s Township Day.

On Wednesday, March 3, TCU announced it is cancelling all remaining regular season sporting events for this winter. 
In an email sent to parents, Activities Director Chad Johnson said it is because other schools have been cancelling contests with TCU due to its positive COVID-19 and/or exposure numbers.

UPDATED: Wed., March 3, 2021
The Scott County Sheriff’s Office has released the names involved in the two-vehicle, fatal crash on March 2. 
                According to Steve Collins, Captain of Services and Support for the Scott County Sheriff’s Department, Marcia Back, 32, of Morris, the driver of the Hyundai Elantra, died at the scene. Ryan Trcka, 20, of Montgomery, the driver of the 1995 Chevrolet pickup, was airlifted to North Memorial Hospital with serious injuries. 
                Calls to the hospital regarding the status of his condition, were not returned.

Jerome “Jerry” Malone, 84, of Montgomery and Surprise, AZ, died February 26, 2021, peacefully at his home. Funeral services will be held at a later date.
 
Jerome was born on February 3, 1937, in Wadena, MN to Robert and Elizabeth (Spahn) Malone. He graduated from Wadena high school and then went on to earn his bachelor degree at the University of Minnesota.
Jerome worked in sales management at The Maytag Co. in Newton, Iowa for 38 years, where he finished his career as Vice President of Sales.

Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts of America. The coveted achievement must be reached before the age of 18, and usually takes six years for scouts to meet all of the specific requirements, which makes Alexandria Watts’ achievement all the more impressive.
Watts joined Boy Scouts as soon as the organization opened to girls in 2019 and managed to earn Eagle Scout honors in just two and a half years.

The TCU Girls’ Basketball Team earned their second win of the season, this one over Sibley East at Norwood Young America High School on Friday, Feb. 19.
TCU 50 - Sibley East 43
Kaia Krocak was the Titans’ leading scorer with 16 points, followed by Sam Lang who also scored in the double digits with 14 points. Assisting them with the win were Jess Dull and Kaitlyn Lang each with 6 points, and Isabelle Factor’s 5. Charlotte Houn also saw some scoring with 2 points, and Sam Tiede added 1.
TCU 47 vs. Mountain Iron-Buhl 79

After leading the visiting Norwood Young America Central Raiders on Thursday, Feb. 18, the Titans - in the final seconds of the contest - lost 40-41.
Throughout the game, TCU had been leading until the halftime break when the Raiders returned to the court determined to close the gap. Toward the middle of the second half, the team rallied, and with less than a minute remaining, and they brought the score to a point difference. NYA fouled TCU’s Jonathan Hurd who made one free-throw to put the score at TCU 40-NYA 38.

Due to a spike in number of coronavirus cases and quarantined students, TCU High School is returning to a hybrid learning model.
Superintendent Lonnie Seifert made the announcement Thursday after six confirmed covid-19 cases were reported, and 86 students were quarantined due to being identified as close contacts since Tuesday.
That total represents 18 percent of the high school population.
He added those numbers may increase because the district is waiting on other test results.

Wearing a seatbelt helped a man escape injury when his car rolled on Le Sueur County Road #3 in Montgomery, in the early morning hours on Thursday, Feb. 18.
According to Anne Doyle, her son, Phillip, 21 of Montgomery, was going to work at Technical Methods, Inc. in Lonsdale around 6 a.m. on the outskirts of Montgomery when another car traveling westbound on County Road 142 (dirt road) ran a stop sign and forced Phillip to slam on his brakes to avoid a crash.

Among a country and FFA-theme display on the stage of the Performing Arts Center, TCU High School crowned its Snow & FFA Week royalty on Tuesday, Feb. 23. Crowned King was Reece Weydert. Crowned Queen was Kylie Maxa. (Wade Young photo)

Each year, the Veterans of Foreign Wars selects elementary, middle, and high school teachers to participate in the Smart/Maher VFW National Citizenship Education Teacher program.
Montgomery V.F.W. Post 5340 recently bestowed three local teachers with the honor for their work in...
To see more on this story, pick up the February 18, 2021 print edition of the Montgomery Messenger.

Members of the Webster Willing Workers had a food drive for the Lonsdale Food Shelf and collected 354 pounds of food. Members dropping off the donation at the Lonsdale Food Shelf are (left to right, front row) Mara and Heather; (back row) Maggie, Lucy, Vivian, Gretchen, Reagan, Sophie and Clara. The cold weather didn’t stop the members from reaching out to others to serve the community.