Mrs. Claus was ready for a photo, but Paige Hirdler, second from left, and sister McKenna were already talking with Santa about what they wanted for Christmas during the Santa visit at Kubes Realty on Saturday, Dec. 1, in New Prague. The daughters of Chris and Amanda Hirdler, the two girls were among the many children and families stopping by the annual event that ran until 1 p.m. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

New Day Church of New Prague recreates the first Christmas for the Parade of Lights on Friday, Nov. 30. There were many entries and a large crowd lining New Prague’s Main Street for the annual parade. Following the parade families gathered for the Holiday Celebration in the Park for the lighting of the Community Christmas Tree, visits with Santa, fireworks and other activities. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

Patricia Ann Rynda, age 86, of Montgomery, died on Wednesday, November 28, 2018, at Mala Strana Care Center, New Prague.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, Montgomery on Saturday, December 1, 2018, at 11:00 a.m.  Interment will be at St. John's Catholic Cemetery, Montgomery.
Visitation will be held at the church for two hours prior to the service on Saturday.

Le Sueur County will be honored Monday, Dec. 3 during the Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust (MCIT) Annual Meeting in Bloomington.
MCIT announced last week that Le Sueur County has been selected as the 2018 County of the Year.
"The county has distinguished itself in the areas of loss control, risk management, claims administration, and responsiveness to MCIT," MCIT Executive Director Robyn M. Sykes said. "MCIT commends the county's commitment to managing exposures that jeopardize employees and citizens of the county to loss."

Leadership changes are about to take place on the Lonsdale Fire Department.
Effective January 1, 2019, the city will have a new fire chief and assistant fire chief.
Lonsdale’s current fire chief, Mike Yetzer, has served three terms as fire chief, which is the maximum allowed per the department’s policy. Though he will no longer be fire chief, Yetzer will continue to serve on the department.
“We have a top shelf chief,” said Mayor Tim Rud of Yetzer.

The New Prague Area School Board heard reports on a therapy dog pilot project and the Worlds Best Workforce during their meeting Monday, Nov. 26. They also discussed the annual superintendent performance review and approved the superintendent’s contract for the next three years.
Amy Hennen, social worker at Falcon Ridge Elementary, received permission this year to use her licensed therapy dog, AJ, in a school setting this year. Hennen told board members that the dog comes to school several times a month and interacts with students individually and in a classroom setting.

Simply wonderful.
That is the theme our newspaper chose to highlight the Christmas season.
So many times, we can take the simplest of ideas and make a mess of them, going way too far into detail and complicating even the simplest of endeavors.
So here is a simple piece of advice as you enter the holiday season: Enjoy it.
Don’t fret over which holiday party you’re going to attend or what to wear or what to bring as a gift.
Don’t worry that you’re going to offend someone if you have to leave an event early, or if you don’t show up at all.

I hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving in some way. I made my nearly annual trip to my hometown of Thief River Falls. I say “nearly annual” in that every once in a while I can’t make the more than 300 mile drive to northwest Minnesota. Other times I’ve made it for Thanksgiving, Christmas or other holidays, but it was an adventure. Once, I had to stop in Fergus Falls overnight, because of car problems. Thankfully a garage was open the next day and was able to fix my car without it costing too much. Another time it was when I was coming back to New Prague.

Workers for New Prague Utilities put lights on the Community Christmas Tree in Memorial Park Thursday morning, Nov. 29. A ceremonial tree lighting will take place Friday, Nov. 30, following the city's annual Parade of Lights. The parade starts at 6:30 p.m. going east from First Avenue NE toward Memorial Park, and the tree lighting will take place at approximately 7:15 p.m., followed by a fireworks display.

The New Prague Trojan girls hockey team went 1-1-1 during a busy week of action last week. The squad began with a 3-2 loss to Chaska/Chanhassen, then tied St. Paul United (No. 4, Class A) 2-2 in the first round of the Prior Lake Tournament. United won a shootout 3-2 to advance to the championship game, but the game goes down in the books officially as a tie. They finished with a 5-1 win over Prior Lake in the third place game of the tourney.

Mindy Wescott of New Prague became a new homeowner through Habitat for Humanity South Central Minnesota. A dedication ceremony for Wescott’s new home along Wencel Avenue NE was held on Tuesday, Nov. 20, and was attended by 17 people representing the New Prague chapter of Habitat for Humanity South Central Minnesota, its Mankato office and volunteers who helped build the house.
“It’s thrilling that we’ve gotten to this point,” said Pam O’Brien, co-chair of the New Prague chapter of Habitat for Humanity with Mary Bender. She added it was an appropriate time as it was Thanksgiving.

Carmen Brandel, age 62, of Hayward, WI passed away on Friday, November 16, 2018 at her home.

Julia J. Schoenbauer Krautkremer, age 95, of New Prague, died peacefully, surrounded by family on Sunday, November 25, 2018 at Mala Strana Rehabilitation Center.  Julie was born on December 12, 1922 in Mahnomen, MN to James J. and Mary (Stolka) Jirik.  She attended Mahnomen Country School and married Alfred S. Schoenbauer on November 21, 1944 in Mahnomen.  The couple lived in St. Paul for the first years of their marriage and moved to New Prague in 1963.  After Alfred’s death in 1974, Julia married Omer A. Krautkremer on April 14, 1978 at St.

Le Sueur County has a furry, four-legged crime fighter.
The county’s newest K-9, “Jett”, started work on November 20.
The county secured Jett, a purebred German Shepherd, last autumn when he was around nine-weeks-old. Jett was bred locally from Kozie Shepherds in southern Minnesota and attended his K9 academy with Le Sueur County Deputy Joe Kern at Performance Kennels in Buffalo. Nationally Certified K9 Trainer, Steve Pearson, was responsible for training Jett.

Dennis Jasperson, standing, talks with Zach Thompson, Tara Thompson and Audre Johnson during the Community Thanksgiving Dinner at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in New Prague Thursday, Nov. 22. Johnson helped start the annual event, which is now in its 10th year. While she turned the event over to Donna Galvin and others last year, she still helps volunteer for the dinner, greeting people at the door but staying out of the kitchen. Galvin said they had one of their largest turnouts this year. See more in an upcoming print edition of The Times.

Julie Yackley was born in Inchheon, South Korea, and was adopted in May, 1986, by Don and Janice Yackley of New Prague. Even before the adoption her mother was diagnosed with cancer, a disease that claimed her life in 1993, when Julie was just 7 years old. A year ago, she lost her father to ALS - Lou Gehrig’s Disease.