Many of you have likely heard of Festivus (for the rest of us), the popular holiday skit from the hit show Seinfeld. It includes the Airing of Grievances and the Feats of Strength. Actor Jerry Stiller in the role of Frank Costanza proclaims “Festivus Miracles” and starts out dinner with the famous line, “I got a lot of problems with you people. Now, you’re going to hear about it!” It also includes a Festivus Pole, a bare pole requiring no decoration.

The Tri-City United (TCU) boys basketball team outscored WEM 34- 16 over the final nine minutes of their game Thursday, Dec. 28 to pull out a 72-68 nonconference win in Waterville.
After leading 27-25 at halftime, the Bucs increased their lead to 52-38 on a rebound basket by senior Caleb Caron with 9:13 remaining.
The TCU defense held the Bucs to five field goals over the next nine minutes while their offense did much of their damage at the free throw line, scoring 14 from the charity stripe, including the final four of the game.

Montgomery VFW Post 5340 and the post’s auxiliary held their annual awards ceremony and holiday gathering on Dec. 20 at the American Legion.
The post welcomed 2023 new members Keith Barta, Steve Harper, Paul Hessing, Roy Otero, Mark Roemhildt, Joel Sticha and Kasie Vlasak. The auxiliary welcomed new member Diane Radil.
Years of service awards were presented to members celebrating milestone years of continuous membership.

The American Legion in Montgomery has had a banner out front for a few weeks now advertising a new restaurant coming called Taco Terco. It is a partnership between the Legion and Taco Terco’s owners, Chef Daniel Garza and his wife Cara Sutton. The restaurant is set to open in the first part of January 2024.

Ruth Helen Gaul, age 88, of Montgomery, passed away on Saturday, December 30, 2023, at Central Health Care in Le Center, surrounded by her family. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, January 3, 2024 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Schoenbauer Funeral Home in Montgomery. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, January 4, 2024 at 11:30 a.m., with visitation one hour prior, all at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery with Father Tom Niehaus officiating. Interment will be at Calvary Cemetery in Montgomery, MN.

On December 26, 2023, Sandra Ann (Jakes) Sticha, 71, passed away at her home in Florida.  Sandy was born September 8, 1952, in New Prague, Minnesota, to Marvin and Irene (Spoor) Jakes.
Sandy is survived by her two children; Daniel (Roni) Jakes of Florida and Jill (Katie Bastyr) Sticha of Montgomery, MN.  Sandy has four grandchildren, Cora, Jeremiah, Danielle, and Joshua and 8 (soon 9) great-grandchildren. 

Diana Turek, age 65 of Montgomery, was found deceased in her vehicle in front of Edel’s Meat Market at 116 1st Street North in Montgomery Thursday, Dec. 21.
A female customer arriving at the meat market noticed Turek in the vehicle and knocked on the window but got no response. She made a call to 911 at about 3:22 p.m.
Montgomery Police Officer Sladek was dispatched, arrived on scene and advised dispatch to send Montgomery Area EMS. Officer Sladek found Turek in her vehicle. He checked for vital signs and advised dispatch to cancel EMS as she was deceased.

Diana Mary Turek, age 65, of Montgomery, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, December 21, 2023. Visitation will be held on Thursday, January 4, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Prayer service will follow at 2:00 p.m all at the Schoenbauer Funeral Home. Interment will be at Calvary Cemetery in Montgomery, MN.

Daniel Michael Borchardt, age 57, of Montgomery passed away Thursday, December 21, 2023, at his home. Visitation will be held on Thursday, December 28, 2023, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m at the Le Center Funeral Home. Funeral service will be held on Friday, December 29, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. with visitation one hour prior, all at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Le Center, MN, with Pastor Jason Pollington officiating. Interment will be held at Woodlawn Cemetery in Le Center, MN.

The first win of the season for the Tri-City United (TCU) boys basketball team was recorded Tuesday, Dec. 12 - an 81-61 win over Mayer Lutheran.
Reggie Vosejpka and Luke Holicky combined for 55 points in the victory.
Vosejpka scored 31 points, grabbed 19 rebounds and added two assists and two steals.
Holicky hit five three-pointers on his way to 24 points. He also added five rebounds.
Connor Flintrop scored 10 points and had five steals, three rebounds, and three assists. Eduardo Flores scored six and assisted on three baskets.

A routine visit to see my grandmother on my dad’s side, where she was making us dinner, can never go well for someone after my dad tells me that she’s making a soup and I should at least pretend to like it.
I am not sure where the term came from exactly or who ever said it first, but it looked like and tasted like “Dishwater Soup.” If you can imagine a really dirty batch of dishwater that had been sitting for a while where the suds are gone, that is what it kind of looked like.

When Montgomery resident Taylor Hindermann was pregnant with her youngest son, doctors informed her that her son would have medical challenges.
Kip Hindermann was diagnosed with fetal ascites when Taylor was 18 weeks pregnant. He was born with gastrointestinal issues and a malformed abdomen. These issues also affected his mobility.
“He was taken into therapy early because they thought that he wouldn’t be able to walk or crawl on time,” Taylor said. “He needed to strengthen his core so that he could help hold himself up to sit, and then to crawl and then to walk.”

Every year in Montgomery, community members spread Christmas cheer and the joy of the holiday season with the Sharing Tree. The project brings together businesses, volunteers, and generous residents to ensure the holiday wishes of those in need are fulfilled.
Aging Services for Communities (ASC), the Happy Hour Bar, and CornerStone State Bank hosted Christmas trees decorated with cards that contain items wished for by residents who need a little cheer or help around the holidays.

Kyle Daniel Clark, age 39, of Montgomery, died unexpectedly at his home on Sunday, December 17, 2023.  Kyle was born on January 10, 1984, in Minneapolis to Kevin D. and Gail J. (Schneider) Clark.  He grew up in Lonsdale and graduated from Montgomery High School.  He continued his education in the electrical curriculum at Minnesota West Community & Technical College in Jackson to get his Associate Arts Degree.  He  went to Denver, Colorado, to further his education towards his journeyman license.  

Le Sueur County passed a levy and budget for 2024 at the County Board of Commissioners meeting on Dec. 12.
After breezing through monthly business, the levy and budget section of the meeting was convened after an hour recess.
County Administrator Joe Martin first gave a presentation breaking down user fees, highlighting the increases for the next year. No commentary was given by the public once the floor was opened. On a motion by David Preisler, second by David Gliszinski the user fee changes were unanimously approved.

Week 4 Clue
“While Eileen hoped someone depicted Pine Tree, Vermont, from White Christmas.”
Week 3 Clue - “Max advised he was more interested in seeing Buddy from Elf growing up.”
Week 2 Clue - “As they were checking out the window displays, Mikayla stated her favorite Christmas movie was Home Alone 2. She hopes someone depicted the scene when the pigeon lady throws bird seed on the Sticky Bandits.”