Douglas Alan Traxler, 52, of Le Center, passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday, April 27, 2022, at his home. 
  A visitation with family present was held Tuesday, May 3, 2022, at the Le Center Funeral Home. A celebration of life was held Wednesday, May 4, 2022, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Le Center. Donations will be directed for the purposes of scholarships with Tri-City United Dollars for Scholars and to the St. Paul Lutheran Church Endowment Fund. 

Update
On May 4, at 11:44 a.m., Scott County 911 Dispatch was notified of a barn on fire along 280th Street (Highway 13/19, east of New Prague) in Cedar Lake Township.
Police and fire were dispatched to the address and found a large steel shed and single-family home on fire. Fire personnel immediately began fire suppression efforts and were ultimately able to extinguish both fires. However, damage to the home and shed was substantial.

Francis E. Schoenecker, age 73, of New Prague, formerly of Montgomery, died peacefully with his family at his side on Monday, May 2, 2022 at Mala Strana Assisted Living.  Francis was born on July 9, 1948 in New Prague to Erwin H. and Mary E. (Ademmer) Schoenecker.  He attended Holy Redeemer Catholic School and graduated from Montgomery High School.  He worked for Minnesota Valley Breeders for many years and finished out his career as a machinist for Scott Equipment. 

Montgomery’s spring celebration, Czech May Day returns this year on Sunday, May 1 from 12 to 5 p.m.
The public (Czech and non-Czech) can join free event to celebrate the arrival of spring. However, spring’s weather has moved the event to the Revival on Main.
The afternoon will feature performances by the Sokol Minnesota Children and Teen Czech and Slovak Folk Dancers, as well as the adult group, the St. Paul Czech and Slovak Folk Dancers.

Nearly an inch of rain and gusts of winds exceeding 40 miles per hour did not stop vendors and attendees from making it out to the 45th annual Le Sueur County Pioneer Power Swap Meet over the weekend.
“I love it,” said Linda Friesz of New Prague. “The weather makes it more fun.”
Friesz said that she loves being a part of the swap meet both as a member of the Credit River Tractor Club selling raffle tickets and being a customer shopping at the wide variety of booths whose vendors sell everything from hand crafted items to scrap metal to antiques and more.

Elko Express Terry Fredrickson/ Elko Express Manager ( 7th season), Last year’s record: 22-15 overall. Lost the last Section 1 play in game to not qualify for the Class B Tournament. Players who left to team: We lost several key players from last year. Key players back: Dylan Thomas, pitcher/outfielder/hitter. Travis Evanson infield/hitter, Chase Hentges outfield/hitter, Ash Larsen Hitter/outfield Kyle Kraska infield/hitter, and Easton Richter ss/pitcher/hitter. New players: Hayden Mileski, Ryan Baumgartner, Justin Roitman, Nick Dolsky pitcher, Alex Schneider pitcher.

The cause of the explosion and fire at 35533 211th Ave. Le Center (Montgomery Township) on February 26, 2022, that killed Kailey Mach, 20, has been determined.
According to Le Sueur Co. Sheriff Brett Mason, a leak in the home’s propane line outside of the residence was the cause. Mason said investigators from his office, the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office and other private Fire Cause and Origin Investigators met at the property on April 21 and conducted an in-depth examination of the scene.

Le Sueur County Historical Society (LCHS) saw little change to it’s nine-person board after an election was held at the organization’s Annual Meeting on April 19.
Of the five board seats on the ballot, four were filled by incumbents. Those re-elected to the board include: Rich Bennett, Bryce Stenzel, Mike Frederick, and George Luskey.
Board member Lois Mack chose not to run for re-election, and Paul Malchow of Ottawa was elected to fill the seat.

John G. Wohlers, Sr., 73, lifelong resident of Le Center, passed away on April 16, 2022, at Methodist Hospital in Rochester, surrounded by his loving wife and children. 
John was born on July 2, 1948, at St. Peter Hospital to George H. and Merle E. (Hinz) Wohlers. He grew up in Le Center and lived his entire life in the community. He enjoyed growing up on the farm, working the land, helping and learning from his dad, working with the animals and just being a country boy. 

The Le Sueur County Board of Commissioners, in accordance with Minnesota Statutes Chapter 375, approved redistricting of the county commissioner districts during their Tuesday, April19 meeting.
The Statute establishes the procedure and requires a process for redistricting based on population figures from the 2020 federal census.
The commissioners districts must be redistricted within 80 days of when the legislature has been redistricted or at least 25 weeks before the state primary election, whichever comes first.

Spring isn’t being kind to the athletes of TCU’s spring sports. Temperatures hovering around freezing, rain, winds, or a combination of all three have allowed the Titan baseball team to play only one game so far.
The Titans postponed their March 31 game against Pine Island, and their April 8 game against Medford, however they were able to host Sibley East on April 11.
Sibley East 6
TCU 5
SE 1-2-2-0-1-0-0
TCU 0-0-2-0-1-1-1
Sibley East jumped out...
To see more on this story pick up the April 21, 2022 print edition of the Montgomery Messenger.

Despite supply shortages and other factors, issued building permits have seen a steady increase over the last five years in the city of Montgomery, even reaching a new record in 2021, according to a recent report released by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
In 2021, the city issued a total of 195 permits, up 51 from the previous year, and about 20 more than the peak number of permits issued in 2012.

Ten teams from the Dakota, Rice, Scott (DRS) Baseball League will be opening up their 2022 seasons Sunday, April 24.
Here is a list of games:
St. Patrick at Shakopee.
Lonsdale at Webster.
Montgomery at New Prague.
Union Hill at Veseli.
Prior Lake at Elko.
All games are scheduled for 2 p.m.
The New Prague Times will be previewing the 12 DRS teams in the April 28 edition of the paper.

Tami M. ”Tootie” Elstad, age 56 of Backus, formerly of New Prague, was called home to the house of our Lord on April 19, 2022, dying suddenly from a heart attack. Tami was always full of life and definitely kept the party going.
 Tami was born on August 14, 1965 to Leo and Marilyn (Pavek) Odenthal at Queen of Peace Hospital in New Prague. Tami is the fourth of five children and is so very much loved by her siblings Bev, Bonnie, Brenda and Terry.

Titan artists captured five of the 12 top honors awarded at the Section 2A North Art Festival, which was hosted by Tri-City United High School last week.
The Minnesota State High School League event brought together the top student artists from TCU, Belle Plaine, Le Sueur-Henderson, Nicollet, and Sibley East High Schools.
It was the first time TCU hosted the festival, which featured 65 pieces of artwork created by 50+ student artists. Eighteen of the pieces were Titan-made.

Belle Plaine High School, in conjunction with the Minnesota State High School Coaches Association, recently presented Dick Milinkovich a plaque for his 50 years in coaching. Milinkovich, a resident of New Prague and 1964 graduate of New Prague High School, was presented with the honor during Belle Plaine Award Nights after serving as the girls assistant basketball coach this year.