New Market, St. Patrick, New Prague and Faribault earned the top four seeds for the Region 3C playoffs and byes into the tournament, as the Dakota-Rice-Scott League finished play Sunday, July 21.
New Market and St. Patrick and already clinched the top two spots. The Irish defeated the Muskies at St. Patrick on Sunday. New Prague defeated both Prior Lake and Shakopee on the season’s final day, giving the Orioles a 14-9 season record to clinch the third spot.

When the new board of the Le Sueur County Historical Society took control on June 3, it inherited remarkable problems, among them old buildings with no heating/ cooling/ventilation and some with mold growing in the basement.

It began with the desire to babysit.
Christine Skluzacek wanted to baysit her granddaughter, Marie Joy, but Marie’s parents - Makayla and husband James - encouraged Skluzacek and her family to take infant CPR. As luck would have it, the Montgomery Ambulance Service offered a free, noncertification refresher class last week. Skluzacek was excited and signed up with two of her boys, Luke and Connor.

Members of the Tri-City United Trap Shooting Team competed in the National Trap Shooting Tournament in Mason, MI last weekend.
According to the National Championship website, usactgo. com, the TCU Squad 1, made up of Preston Anderson, Caleb Cihak, Jonathan Hurd, Gabe Robinson, and Turner Staupe, placed 42nd.
The second squad, which included Lukas Dietz, Wyatt Hurd, Wyley Petersen, Stuart Schatz and Andrew Trnka, placed 45th out of 207 teams.

Cancer survivors made the first lap at the 26th Annual Le Sueur County Relay for Life on Friday night, July 12, at the Le Sueur County Fairgrounds in Le Center. The event, which celebrates the fight against cancer, remembers those who lost their battle with cancer, and raises money for the American Cancer Society, will be held until midnight. The closing ceremony will be at 12:45 a.m.
Pick up a copy of this week's paper to read more about local teams and their fight against cancer.

DRS season enters final two weekends With just two weekends remaining in the Dakota-Rice- Scott League regular season, the surging New Prague Orioles have won seven games in a row and have moved into the top four of the league standings. New Market continues to lead the league with an 18-1 record, while St. Patrick has solidified its hold on a playoff bye.

The Minnesota Valley Bowling Association held a Hall of Fame induction recently at the New Prague Knights of Columbus Hall.

Ludmilla (Ludy) Korbel, 88, of Montgomery passed away on Sunday, July 7, 2019. Visitation will be held from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Friday, July 12 at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery. Mass of Christian burial will follow at 10:30 a.m. with Father Tom Niehaus officiating. Interment will be in St. Wencelsaus Cemetery in New Prague.
Ludmilla was born in New Prague on December 6, 1930, to Edward and Elizabeth (Minar) Korbel. She attended country school in rural New Prague and later graduated from New Prague High School.

The restoration of Montgomery’s mural will soon come alive with the application of colorful paint.
The 40-foot mural is being redone in a warehouse in Montgomery. Victor Garcia, a retired painter who had lived in Montgomery for 18 years before moving to his home in Belle Plaine, knows the mural’s scene very well. He painted the original 25 years ago. However, weather took its toll on the masterpiece and its boards were taken down last fall.

The local Catholic community, including Most Holy Redeemer Church in Montgomery, St. Canice Catholic Church in Kilkenny, and St. Patrick Catholic Church in Shieldsville, is under new leadership as of July 1.
Fr. Victor Valencia, who has led the parish for five years, has transferred to St. Jerome Church in Maplewood.
Fr. Tom Niehaus (pronounced knee-house), who has most recently served at St. Columbanus Catholic Church in Blooming Prairie, has taken on the leadership role in the local Catholic community.

Richard Dorr Hudson, 74, of Otsego, MN passed away peacefully on July 4, 2019. Services will be held Saturday, July 13 at 11 am with visitation beginning at 9 am at Peterson Chapel in St. Michael, MN.

Richard Earl Morrow, age 76 of Texas passed away peacefully on July 4th, 2019, in Waconia, MN. 
Richard was born on September 6th, 1942, in Vernon Center, MN to Alfred and Lucille Morrow (Burdick). He was one of eight children. Richard lived in Texas since the early 80’s and would visit family in Minnesota during the summer months.

Tri-City United High School Assistant Principal Jeff Eppen has been named Southwest Assistant Principal of the Year by the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP).

New Prague defeated New Market 2-1 Sunday, June 30, handing the Muskies their first league loss of the season. New Market is ranked No. 1 among Class C teams in the state. The win was the fifth straight for the Orioles, and evened their league record at 8-8. Both New Prague and St. Patrick picked up three wins in the past week and Montgomery had two wins.

A herd of hundreds (of people) visited the Pieper family farm in rural New Prague on Saturday, June 29, as part of Rice County American Dairy Association's free Day On the Farm event.
Visitors were treated to a free lunch, milk shakes, kids' games, and tours of the approximately 890-head dairy farm that proudly produces an average of 34,000 pounds of milk a day.
The farm is owned and operated by Ray and Bridget Pieper with help from five of their 10 children, Tim, Brian, Nick, Dan, and Emily.

Joseph William Connolly, 74, passed away Saturday, June 29, 2019, at his home in Le Center surrounded by his loving family.
Visitation will be held Friday, July 5 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday, July 6 from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Le Center. Funeral service will be held Saturday, July 6 at 10 a.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Le Center with Father James Stiles officiating. Military honors will be provided by the Le Center Area Veterans Honor Guard. Interment will be at St. Henry Cemetery.