Cam Stoltz was offered, and has accepted, the Head Boys Soccer Coach position at New Prague High School, pending approval by the New Prague School Board.

Like anyone watching the work on Main Street progress by our front door, we at The Times sometimes have questions about why the work crews do things.

St. Patrick Church of Cedar Lake had a beautiful day for its annual Summer Festival on Sunday, July 18, with sun and temperatures in the 80s. The weather helped bring out large crowds, plus the festival not being held last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Everybody’s happy to be free from COVID,” said Chad Sandey, one of the organizers of the festival. “The crowd is definitely larger than other years.”

Mary Margaret Walker, age 80, of New Prague, died unexpectedly with her husband at her side of complications from pancreatitis at Fairview Southdale Hospital on December 29, 2020. Mary was born on November 13, 1940 in Minneapolis to Andrew and Lylis (Blanchard) Jones. 

Carol Tupy, age 72, of New Prague, passed away peacefully and unexpectedly at her home on July 16, 2021. Even though she struggled with Rheumatoid Arthritis for the past several years, that never affected the smile on her face and her desire to spend time with family and friends. Carol was born on January 24, 1949 to Frank and Mayme Simon. After graduating from New Prague High School, Carol married Myron Tupy at St. Wenceslaus Church September 9, 1967. The couple settled on the Tupy Family homestead to raise their five children.

The idea for “Back to Basics,” the new display by the New Prague Area Historical Society, came from the recent events of the COVID-19 pandemic. The display will be up at the New Prague Library through the first part of November.
Dennis Dvorak of the New Prague Area Historical Society noted how the restrictions and guidelines due to the pandemic changed people’s lifestyles. For those who grew up in the 1930s and 1940s they will remember the restrictions their families had to deal with due to the Great Depression and World War II.

St. Patrick, Faribault, and Montgomery are on the upswing in the DRS Amateur Baseball standings. Prior Lake is heading the other way.
The Irish lead the league by three games with a 14-3 record after downing Prior Lake, 7-6, in 11 innings Sunday, July 11. The loss was one of three this past week by the Lakers.
Faribault is 4-1 in their past five games and have climbed into third place with an 11-6 record. Union Hill is in second place with a 10-5 record.

There were more than 20 people at the New Prague School Board’s Monday, July 12, meeting with seven of them speaking during the open forum. Their comments ranged from inclusion to history to Critical Race Theory. School Board Chair Tammy Pexa informed those that would be speaking that they were limited to five minutes and personal attacks would not be tolerated.

The Credit River Antique Tractor Club held its 1 p.m. parade on Friday, July 16, at Cedar Lake Farm Regional Park. Around 40 tractors took part in the parade that was part of the 22nd annual show, which continues at the park north of New Prague on Saturday, July 17, and Sunday, July 18. Tractor parades will also be held at 1 p.m. those days with antique vehicles and engines on display, plus activities around the park and food vendors. The show is held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day and offers free admission and parking. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times.

Beginning at 4 a.m. on Thursday, July 15, the intersection of Main Street and Highway 21, on the west side of New Prague, is scheduled to be closed for one day for mill and overlay work. The work will begin at the intersection and go west on Highway 19 to the intersection with Fifth Avenue NW/SW. There will be several detours around the closed intersection. Northbound vehicles on Highway 21 can take the turnoff right before the intersection to get onto Main Street. Drivers can then go north on Second Avenue NW, then west onto Second Street NW and reconnect to Highway 21.

Rodney Joseph Soukup, 82, passed away at home on June 23, after a 10-month-long battle with pancreatic cancer. Born in Faribault, Minnesota, on March 9, 1939, Rod grew up in Montgomery, Minnesota, and received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota.

The Henderson Tractor Ride on Saturday, June 26, paused in Union Hill as part of its 20th annual journey through the Minnesota River Valley.
There were 60 tractors ranging from a 1937-38 John Deere to a model from 1982, and lots of tractors from the 1950s and 1960s, that took part in the trip. Many of the tractor riders were looking forward to this year’s ride as last year’s was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Amateur baseball doesn’t see a ton of home runs.
Very few hitters hit more than one, or possibly two in a game.
Union Hill shortstop Nathan Berg put on a power hitting show which probably has not been seen in many, many years.
Berg struck out in his first at bat Wednesday, June 30 against New Market. He then proceeded to hit home runs in four of his next five at bats, including a solo home run which provided the Bulldogs with the winning run.
To make Berg’s game even better, he closed out the contest in the bottom off the 10th, picking up the save in a 7-6 win.

The New Prague City Council on Tuesday, June 29, unanimously offered the position of the New Prague City Administrator to Joshua Tetzlaff, who currently serves as the City Administrator for the City of Dodge Center. The offer came after a two-day interview process, held on Monday, June 28, and Tuesday, June 29. The terms of employment were under negotiation and were expected to be presented for consideration and approval to the council at its Tuesday, July 6, meeting.

One of the benefits of a small town is seeing people come together as a community to help others or work on a project. Over the years I have covered I don’t know how many fundraisers to help a family with medical needs or to help the community in general with such things as the food shelf.

This weekend Generations Theatre Company will present Shrek Jr., a production that was all set to go in 2020, but was cancelled on its opening night due to COVID- 19 restrictions. There are three shows that will be performed at the New Prague High School auditorium, 221 12th St. NE. The first is 7:30 p.m. on Friday, July 9, the next two are at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 10. Cost is a donation to Generation Theatre Company’s scholarship fund.