The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is seeking public input on the potential installation of an aeration system on Cody Lake between Lonsdale and Montgomery within Wheatland Township in Rice County. This would essentially be a reinstating of aeration that had been turned off a number of years ago operated by Wheatland Twin Lakes Sportsmen Club (WTLSC).

WTLSC, working under new leadership this year, has been doing a number of improvements to the Cody Lake public access site area that resides between Cody Lake and Phelps Lake.

Diane (Cookie) Rae Reimer, age 78, went home to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on November 12, 2025, with her family by her side. 

The start of November brought about the shutdown of funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP because of the government shutdown and the contingency funds not being used as they were meant to be for such an event. This left many people in the nation with a gap in essential food sources, even in our own backyard.

Caitlin Huiras teamed up with the Montgomery Public Library to try and provide those needs for anyone who might need them.

Lloyd Krocak, age 92, of Prior Lake, formerly of Montgomery, died peacefully on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, at Abbott Northwestern Hospital.  Lloyd was born on the family farm in Lanesburgh Township on June 17, 1933, to Vladamir and Ludmilla (Bicek) Krocak.  He graduated from Montgomery High School and went on to complete his degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota.  It was there that he caught the eye of a beautiful nursing major and discovered that they had grown

As a young teenager in 2020, Ella Schmiesing got her first taste of varsity swimming.

Now a Tri-City United (TCU) senior, she will be making her last appearance in a pool as a Titan at the Class A State Swimming and Diving Meet Friday, Nov. 14 at 10:30 a.m. and Saturday, Nov. 15 at Noon at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center at the University of Minnesota.

Preliminaries will be held Friday and finals on Saturday.

This will be Schmiesings’ fifth State Tournament appearance after winning two Section 1A Championships last weekend.

JoAnn Marie Petricka, age 81.

With deep sadness, we announce the passing of our beloved mother, JoAnn Marie Petricka, on Saturday, October 18, 2025. She leaves us with a life of love, charity, selflessness and world famous recipes.

Born on February 24, 1944, to Mary Ann and John Clarence Pomije in New Prague, MN, JoAnn was the second youngest of four sisters, Marion, Dorothy, Janet and Grace.

Scott County Veteran Service Officer and Honorably Discharged Army Veteran Derek Farwell, a Montgomery native, is set to speak at the Tri-City United High School Veterans Day Program. The public is invited to attend this program in the high school’s performing arts center at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 11, entering at the north door (stadium side).

John “Jack” Frank Vlasak, age 85, of Montogomery, MN, passed away peacefully on November 5, 2025, at Mala Strana Assisted Living – Rehabilitation Center in New Prague, with his loving family by his side.

Along Montgomery’s Historic District, the streets were lined with monsters, dinosaurs, ninjas and so, so many princesses.

The annual Monster Mash on Main may have been on the eve of Halloween, but it brought no less of a crowd. Local businesses handed out candy and goodies, and kids, parents and the young at heart walked along 1st Street. There was also a trunk-or-treat area stationed at Frandsen Bank, for businesses who didn’t have a physical location along the street. The bank grounds also had games and activities for trick-or-treaters.

Ten members of the Tri-City United School’s FFA Chapter and one graduate spent Tuesday, Oct. 28, through Saturday, Nov. 1, on a trip to Indianapolis, Ind., to the 98th Annual National FFA Convention & Expo.

TCU FFA President Isaak Worm said that the members also partook in three separate educational site visits on the trip. “The first day we spent at ‘Caves of Mounds’ in (Blue Mound) Wisconsin on the way down,” said Worm. Caves of Mounds is a cave system known for its colorful formations as one of the oldest cave formations in the midwest, located west of Madison, Wis.

The $39.99 million bond for Tri-City United Schools was rejected by voters in the Nov. 4 election despite $7.982,004 being covered by the state Ag2School Tax Credit.

Tax impact on a $400,000 residential property would have been between $10.12-$10.66  a month.

The three precincts voted in total 926 (45.98%) in favor and 1,088 (54.02%) opposed.

Lonsdale voted to pass with 311 in favor and 269 opposed.

Sharon Ann (Hillesheim) Malecha, age 84, of Lonsdale, passed away peacefully on Friday, October 31, 2025, at United Hospital in St. Paul, surrounded by her children.

Sharon was born on May 10, 1941, in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, to Nicholas B. and Veronica T. (Marz) Hillesheim. She graduated from St. Mary’s Catholic School in 1959. After high school, she attended secretarial school in Minneapolis and worked at Maico and Bell Telephone Security Systems.

Geraldine “Gerry” Mary Pany, age 90, of New Prague, died in the early morning hours of Friday, October 31, 2025, at Praha Village Senior Living in New Prague.

Tri-City United Schools held a series of four open houses this and last week, one at each school, ahead of the Nov. 4 election for the $39.99 million dollar bond. Each location had plenty of resources on hand to answer questions and tours were given showcasing some of the areas that the bond would cover.

A small group of residents along Elm Avenue Southeast and 7th Street Southeast expressed concerns at the Monday, Oct. 20, city council meeting over a potential 43-unit apartment building off the end of the circle on 7th Street Southeast by Community Asset Development Group.

The record-breaking season for the Tri-City United (TCU) boys soccer team ended Tuesday, Oct. 21 with an 8-1 loss to Academy of Holy Angels (17-0-1 record) in the Class A State Tournament.