Joseph (Joe) Docken, Jr., age 88, passed away peacefully on June 17, 2022 at the Northfield Retirement Community, with his family at his side.
Joe, son of Joseph and Lillian Docken, was born in Northfield on June 26, 1933. He married Lorna (Meyer) on June 30, 1962. He raised and nurtured a family of five, tended his family’s farm homestead and served the Solor Lutheran Church community for decades.

A crowd of more than 70 people gathered at Giesenbrau Bier Co. in New Prague the evening of Wednesday, June 8, to find out more about local author Frank Shima. Before the 7 p.m. program began he signed copies of his latest book “Plum Creek” and chatted with people.

Midway through the DRS Amateur Baseball League season, there is a new leader.
St. Patrick, winner of five straight games, has risen to the top of the standings with a 6-2 record. Webster, 4-1 in their last five games, moves into second place with a 6-4 record. Montgomery, the leader for much of the early season, has dropped to third place with a 7-5 record.

This Sunday will be Father’s Day, a time that dads of all types will be celebrating with their families. There’s what we consider the traditional family, a dad and a mom, there are the single dads out there who are raising a child by themselves. Others are dads by marriage, even though technically they may be a step father, in all ways that matter they are actually a dad. Some have taken a big step and adopted a child, who grows up calling them dad. Some are foster fathers, who are trying to help a child have some stability.

Robert “Bob” Michel, 78, passed away in the Lutheran Home of Belle Plaine on Tuesday, May 24th, surrounded by loved ones. He had succumbed to illness that he had been battling for some time.

She’s 10 and has already starred in multiple films.
Tenley Boushek, daughter of Devin and Sonya Boushek of New Prague, just completed fourth grade at New Prague’s Falcon Ridge Elementary and was recently nominated for the Best Child Actress award at Z-Fest Film Festival, an annual Twin Cities based contest-style film festival that features original, seven-minute, short films.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Tenley said. “I do a lot of auditions, and I don’t get every role, but it’s really fun when I do get one!”

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) confirmed an emerald ash borer (EAB) infestation has been found in the City of Elko New Market. City staff reported an ash tree with bark cracks and woodpecker damage in the tree canopy, a tell-tale sign of possible EAB infestation, to the MDA for confirmation.
Due to this discovery the City of Elko New Market encourages residents to look for signs of EAB. There are several things residents should look for when checking for emerald ash borer.

For the second time in a week, the New Prague baseball team held a lead against the once-beaten, No. 1 rated Mankato West Scarlets in the Section 2AAA Playoffs.
Earlier in a winner’s bracket semifinal game, the Trojans held a seven run lead but were defeated, 9-8. This loss put the Trojans into the consolation bracket of the Section Tourney.
New Prague defeated Albert Lea, 6-2, Tuesday, June 7 and shutout No. 2 seed, Mankato East, 1-0, to move into the Section Championship against West on Thursday, June 9.
For the second time, the Trojans built a...

John Thomas Bartusek, age 77, of Le Center, passed away after a short battle with cancer on the evening of Monday, June 13 at Methodist Hospital in Rochester surrounded by his family. 
 A visitation will be held at the Le Center Funeral Home on Sunday June 19 from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm.  Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church on Monday, June 20 at 10:00 am with a visitation an hour before the service in the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred.

Roland James Peterson was born on February 6th, 1935, in Cokato, MN.  He was the son of Theodore and Dora (Sundberg) Peterson.  Roland grew up on the family dairy farm just outside of Knapp, MN and attended the Knapp school through 8th grade, then graduated from Cokato High School in 1953.   Roland joined the army and was stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey.  It was during this time that he met, fell in love with and married his wife, Rosalie Naughton of Clifton, NJ.  After completing a tour of military duty, Roland and Rosalie moved back to Minnesota to start a new life and family.  After wo

Barbara J. Everson, 73, lifelong resident of New Prague, passed away on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, at St. Francis Regional Medical Center in their hospice care unit in Shakopee, MN. She was born on September 23, 1948, in New Prague, MN, to Edward and Evelyn Kohout.

Robert Thomas Snorek passed away on Saturday, June 11, 2022, in the early hours of the morning, surrounded by his family, God brought Robert home. Robert was 90 years old.
Visitation will be held on Saturday, June 18 from 9 am-11 am at the St. Patrick’s Church in Shieldsville with Memorial Mass of Christian Burial at 11 am with Fr. Tom Niehaus officiating. Interment will be held in St. John Catholic Cemetery in Montgomery.

James (Brad) Bradley Kline passed away with his wife, Ann Berry-Kline (Kratochvil), by his side on May 31, 2022. Born on June 13, 1953 to John and Betty (La Follette) Kline, Brad was the youngest of three boys. He lived most of the first 18 years of his life in Viroqua, Wisconsin spending his youth near the lake doing what he loved - fishing, hunting, water skiing, boating, and enjoying the company at the Leaky Fleet Club. After high school, Brad left Viroqua and worked his way into the high-performance computing industry.

John Joseph “Jack” Skluzacek, age 76, passed away on June 5, 2022 at his farm home near Lonsdale, MN.
John was born to John T. and Celia (Malecha) Skluzacek on January 21,1946 at the Northfield Hospital. John was the youngest of eight children and was loved by his siblings, Jeanette, Norbert, Loretta, Bernadine, Adrian, Valeria, and Sr. Marilyn OP.

I think many of us sometimes feel we have the weight of our own part of the world on our shoulders. For some of us it’s at work, whether you’re a manager of a certain department, or you own a business and are dealing with the issues of having to get supplies or products to sell. Others have to deal with being parents and trying to find something to keep the children interested in, besides what’s on TV or the internet, for the next few months of summer vacation.

After 45 years teaching Math, Sue Westegaard is using her love of precision to create intricate quilts.
Westegaard, who taught Montgomery-Lonsdale students from 1971 until 1996 and went on to finish her career in Hopkins, is now retired. She lives in Shakopee and enjoys hunting for unique fabrics and piecing them together to create quilts, using her keen mathematician’s eye.
“There’s satisfaction in getting things to work out,” she stated. “In math, you get an answer. With quilting, you get a beautiful, complete design.”