Myrtle May Kucera, age 86, of Montgomery, passed away on Friday, April 7, 2023 at Mayo Clinic Health System New Prague. Visitation will be held on Saturday, April 22 from 9 am-11 am with Mass of Christian Burial at 11 am all at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery with Fr. Tom Niehaus officiating. Interment will be held in Calvary Cemetery in Montgomery. In lieu of flowers memorials are preferred to Fitness and Aquatic Center - Silver Sneakers, New Prague, MN or Alzheimer’s Association.

The 34th annual Miss Czech Slovak Minnesota Pageant is Saturday, April 15 at the Montgomery American Legion.
Dinner, only available with advanced ticket sales, will be from 5 to 6 p.m. and includes pork, dumplings, sauerkraut and kolacky. The after dinner program emcee’s are Anne Jans and Heather Vikla Dovias. The Czech Little Sisters are Annika and Adalyn Budin. Wyatt Jans will be a Czech helper.

The Minnesota River Bulldogs/St. Peter Youth Hockey Association’s girls’ 12U B team went into the District 9 tournament as the first seed and proved why as the team won the tournament championship.
The Bulldogs, made up of girls from Montgomery, Lonsdale, Le Sueur, St. Peter and Le Center, faced Austin in their first game and won in overtime, 3-2. On Sunday, Feb. 19, the Bulldogs then played Dodge County for the District 9 championship title and pulled out a 4-2 victory. This is the first Minnesota River 12U B team to win the District 9 championship.

Adults Easter egg hunt
Saturday, April 8 from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at Vintage Escapes and Winery in Kilkenny.
Adult Easter Egg Hunt (21+) at Vintage Escapes Winery! Spots are limited so get your tickets while they last. Costumes and bunny ears encouraged!
Non-refundable tickets are required and the cost is $20 per person (plus tax).

Joe “Joey” Luis Leija Jr., age 62, of Montgomery, passed away on Thursday, April 6, 2023 peacefully at his home surrounded by his family after a long battle with cancer. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, April 11 from 3-7 pm at the Schoenbauer Funeral Home in Montgomery. Interment will be held at a later date in St. Michael’s Cemetery in Montgomery.

Robert Lee Selly, age 86, of Le Center, passed away on Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at Horizon Place in Le Center. Visitation will be held on Thursday, April 13 from 4 pm-7 pm at the Le Center Funeral Home. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, April 14 at 11 am at St. Henry Catholic Church in St. Henry with visitation 10 am - 11 am also at the church. Interment will be held at a later date in St. Henry Cemetery.

Steven Roy Pany, age 65, passed away peacefully on December 23, 2022, at Norbella Assisted Living, Prior Lake, following a brief illness.
Graveside service will be held at the Bohemian National Cemetery in Montgomery at 11 am on Saturday, April 15 with Pastor Jason Pollington. A Celebration of Steve's Life will be held at Ridges at Sand Creek in Jordan at 1 pm.
Steve’s family requests memorial donations be directed to his favorite non-profit organization, Lake Volney Association, PO Box 132, Le Center, MN 56057.

Dean M. Hovey - 4/4/1959 – 3/30/2023
Dean was born to Edwin and Barbara Hovey, in Austin, MN. He spent his adolescent and teenage years with Alvin and Margie Wondra, of Montgomery, MN where he graduated high school. He went on to become a skilled welder, starting his career at Minnesota Valley Engineering (MVE), in New Prague, MN.

John George Stasney, age 96, of Montgomery, passed away on Sunday, February 19, 2023 at Central Health Care in Le Center. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, April 12 from 4pm-8pm at Schoenbauer Funeral Home. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, April 13 at 10:30 a.m. at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery with Fr. Tom Niehaus officiating. Visitation will also be one hour prior at the church. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery in Montgomery. Military Honors will be provided by the Montgomery area Veterans Honor Guard. 

Robert “Bob” Louis Heilman, age 71, of Le Center, passed away on Thursday, March 23, 2023 at his home. Visitation will be held on Friday, March 31 from 4 pm-8 pm at Le Center Funeral Home. Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, April 1 at 11 am at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Le Center with visitation one hour prior. Interment will be held in Woodlawn Cemetery in Le Center at a later date.

Arnita B.

Richard Francis Korbel, age 88, of New Prague, passed away on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at home surrounded by his family. Visitation will be held on Saturday, April 1 from 9:30 am-1:30 pm at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery. Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 1:30 pm with Fr. Tom Niehaus officiating. Interment will be held in the Calvary Cemetery in Montgomery.

After selling fashion online, out of her basement and garage, BAM Fashion Boutique owner Amy Gray opened her first-ever retail store in Lonsdale on Saturday, March 18.
Gray explains that her home business and family’s move to Lonsdale made them look for a brick-and-mortar location.
“I ran out of my basement in Elko in the beginning, then out of our detached garage,” she explained after the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday at 126 Main Street North. “I would have open shopping hours, but never set hours.”

Franke’s Bakery was sweeter than normal on Saturday, March 18 for those who renewed their membership or took out a new one to the Montgomery Area Community Club’s (MACC) Annual Membership Drive.

Tri-City United sophomore Alexia Marcussen was selected Most Valuable Player of the Titan Girls Basketball Team during their Awards Banquet Sunday, March 12.
Marcussen led the Titans with free throws made (5), best free throw percentage (50-of-70, 71.4%), assists (81), steals (53), deflections (78), and she also scored 192 points in 27 games (7.1/game).
Marcussen and classmate Audrey Vosejpka each received Honorable Mention All-Conference Honors.
Kaia Krocak, Jacy Saemrow,, and Sami Tiede were also honored with the Academic All-State Award.

Tri-City United High School band and choir students had a memorable trip March 5-10 at Disney in Florida.
For some students, it was their first time on an airplane, seeing the ocean or even their first time leaving Minnesota.
TCU Music Director Sarah Costello said, “We had an amazing time on our trip!  We are so thankful we are able to offer opportunities like this…that we did some fundraising to help lower costs, and students got to experience such wonderful memories on our trip.”