David Leonard Skluzacek, 61, of Montgomery, died unexpectedly on Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018 at his home. Visitation will be on Wednesday, Oct. 3 from 10 a.m. to noon with a prayer service to follow all at Schoenbauer Funeral Home in Montgomery. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred.
 
David was born on May 18, 1957, in New Prague to James and Leonella (Simek) Skluzacek. He attended Saint John the Baptist Catholic School and Jordan High School. He was united in marriage to Pamela Soine at Vang Lutheran Church in May of 1990. 
 

Michael P. McLoone, age 74 of Mankato and originally from Waseca, died unexpectedly but peacefully at home on Thursday morning, September 20, 2018. Mike’s love and generosity for family and friends will forever be cherished.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning, September 29, 2018, at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Mankato, with Father John Kunz officiating. Immediately following the Mass, a reception to celebrate Mike’s life will be held at Loyola Catholic School in Mankato. He will then be privately interred at Calvary Cemetery in Waseca.

Homecoming week at New Prague High School kicked off Sunday, Sept. 23, with the annual Powder Puff football game, a flag football game between the junior and senior girls. This year's senior class dominated play, winning 35-0. Homecoming activities continue throughout the week, highlighted by a pep fest, coronation, parade, football game and dance on Friday Sept. 23. Read more in the print edition of The New Prague Times.

Paul H. Wermerskirchen, of Jordan, passed away peacefully at home on September 22, 2018, at the age of 90.  A visitation will be held on Friday, September 28, 2018, from 3-7 p.m., at Ballard-Sunder Funeral Home in Jordan.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, September 29, 2018, at 12:30 p.m., with visitation one hour prior at St.

A detour will be going into effect at the intersection of New Prague’s Main Street (Highway 19) and Union Pacific Railroad’s crossings beginning next week. While the sign says it will be Monday, Oct. 1, a press release from the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) says the detour begins Wednesday, Oct. 3, as crews will be working to replace two railroad crossings for the Union Pacific Railroad located between Highway 21 and Third Avenue Northwest.

The O’Neill Brothers, Tim and Ryan, perform at the Dozinky Variety Show on Saturday, Sept.22, at the New Prague High School. The piano playing duet gave a special performance to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Variety Show. The two started in New Prague and have gone on to release more than 40 CDs of piano music that have sold millions of copies. For more on New Prague’s Czech Harvest Festival see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

Grand Marshal Darlene Witt, center, waves to the crowd during the Parade of Farm Pride on Saturday, Sept. 22, in New Prague. Witt has been part of the community through farming, working for the New Prague Area School District and as a volunteer through the hospital and her church. The weather was wonderful for the parade, which included farm equipment, floats and representatives of area organizations. New Prague’s festival continues with the Dozinky Variety Show at 7 p.m. this evening at the high school. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times.

The New Prague Trojan football team lost a Big Southeast Red Division game to Northfield Friday, Sept. 21. The score was 49-13. 
Each team scored on their opening drive, but then Northfield scored 21 unanswered points to lead 28-7 at the half. The Raiders upped the lead to 42-7 before Nathan Osborne scored from 70 yards out. 
Parker Johnson had the Trojans' first touchdown on a 1-yard run, 
New Prague (1-3) will host Mankato West (No. 3, Class AAAAA) in the Trojans' Homecoming game Friday, Sept. 28. Gametime is 7 p.m.

A vast array of vintage vehicles take part in Cruise Night the evening of Friday, Sept. 21, on New Prague’s Main Street. While most of the day was overcast, the sun broke through the clouds just before the 25th annual parade that marks the beginning of Dozinky, the city’s Czech Harvest Festival. Dozinky continues on Saturday, Sept. 22, beginning at 10 a.m. with an opening ceremony, followed by music, dancing and various activities, including the Parade of Farm Pride at noon. For more on the festival see The Times website, Facebook page and upcoming print issue. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

As officials continue to assess the damages throughout Rice County, they are encountering a significant amount traffic congestion due to high volumes of on lookers in the damaged areas. In a press release to area news outlets, they would like people to stay away from the areas.
 

New Prague High School announced its Homecoming candidates for King and Queen on Friday, Sept. 21. Queen candidates are (front row, left to right)  Aidan McLoone, Laura DeGross, Anna Holden, Kaitlyn Blair, Callie Peterson, Morgan Pint, Molly Giesen, Kate Wagner; King candidates are (back row) Mason DeGross, Bryce Simon, Travis Frerk, Collin Dorzinski, Grant Yackly, Blake Woodson, Andrew Piilola and Hartman Sadusky. Coronation for royalty will be at 11:10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 28. Homecoming activities begin at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Sept.

New Prague will pull out all the stops this weekend as it celebrates the 34th Annual Dozinky Festival.
The Czech Harvest Festival has become one of the highlight of the year for many in the community. It gives local residents a chance to celebrate the community’s ethnic and agricultural roots, as well as the progress the community has made in the 34 years since the first celebration started.

Because of the weather, the New Prague High School soccer games against Rockford scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 20, have been postponed. The games will be played Wednesday, Sept. 26, at Rockford. Boys will play at 5 p.m. and girls at 7 p.m. 

The Trojan tennis meet at Hutchinson was moved from Hutchinson High School to the Hutchinson Fairgrounds indoor courts.

New Prague High School will celebrate its Homecoming week September 23-28, with the highlight being the football game against Mankato West on Friday, Sept. 28.
The week begins with the annual Powder Puff football game, to be played at 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept 23. The annual game features the senior girls against the junior girls. Each day during the week will include a “dress-up” day, and other events will be held during the week.

This weekend sees the biggest event of the year in New Prague… The annual Dozinky Festival.
Dozinky has been around for 34 years now. I’ve been to all but a few of the early ones. I think the first one I was around for was in 1988, which would have been the fourth one. I was working in Le Sueur and I remember bringing my young family to the event. Josh would have been two years old and the thing I remember most was him stopping in front of each band that was playing and dancing to the music.

The New Prague Trojan girls tennis team was swept 7- 0 Tuesday, Sept. 11, at the Trojan home courts.
“Even though it does not reflect in the score, I think we stepped out and competed hard against a very good team,” New Prague Coach Luke Swedberg said. “Orono has experience and talent. They are coached really well. We were able to force a couple of third sets at different positions.”
In singles, all four Trojans lost in straight sets. They were Kianna Howard, Jenna Larson, Libby Hummel and Victoria Bisek.
Two of the three doubles matches went to....