The New Prague Fire Department was called to a fire in pole shed/garage in Heidelberg, southwest of New Prague, at 3:49 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16. The structure, belonging to the Crystal and Kevin Zvanovec family, was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived. About three vehicles and tools were lost in the fire. A nearby ice fishing house also caught on fire. None of the family was injured. A cause of the fire was unknown.

Marvin R. Wondra, age 91, of Montgomery, passed away on Monday, February 13, 2023 at Traditions of Montgomery. Visitation will be on Sunday, February 19 from 3 p.m. - 6 p.m. at Schoenbauer Funeral Home in Montgomery. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, February 20 at 11 a.m. with visitation 9:30 a.m. - 11 a.m. all held at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery with Fr. Tom Niehaus officiating. Interment will be held at a later date in Calvary Cemetery in Montgomery.

Beth Ann Chapman, age 56, of St. Paul, passed away on February 4, 2023.
Beth “Banny” was born to parents, Harvey and Eileen (Foss) Chapman on September 10, 1966 in Edina, MN, before moving to Montgomery in 1970. She was baptized into the Lutheran faith and confirmed at St. John Lutheran Church in Montgomery, MN. She graduated from Montgomery-Lonsdale High School in 1985 and attended St. Cloud State University where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology.

Florence Patricia Koldin, age 82, of Montgomery, passed away on Tuesday, February 7, 2023 at the Carriage House in Le Center surrounded by family.
Visitation will be held on Friday, February 10 from 4 p.m.-8 p.m. at Schoenbauer Funeral Home in Montgomery. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, February 11 at 2 p.m. at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery with Fr. Tom Niehaus officiating with visitation one hour prior at the church. Interment will be held in Calvary Cemetery in Lonsdale.

She earned the local honor, then the district honor.
Now, Christine Trcka holds the state honor.
Trcka is an educator at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic School (MHRS) in Montgomery, has been named the Minnesota VFW’s 2022 Middle School Teacher of the Year for her dedication to promoting civic responsibility, flag etiquette, and patriotism in the classroom.

The Minnesota River girls hockey team dropped a pair of close contests and picked up a win last week.
The Bulldogs were edged, 3-2, by Hutchinson Friday, Jan. 27. The following day, TCU was defeated by Marshall, 5-1, in a Big South Conference game. The week started with the Titans defeating Marshall, 3-1.
In the win over the Tigers, Makenna Andresen scored her 20th and 21st goals of the season. Adrianna Bixby added her seventh goal of the year.

Todd Novak, owner of Todd’s NAPA Auto Part’s in Montgomery, was surprised with the NAPA/ASE Part’s Specialist Award of the Year Award at the end of 2022. It is NAPA’s highest award nationally for parts specialists.
In the week leading up to New Year’s Day, employees around him started cleaning up the store nicely. Novak thought it was because they usually have a little something appreciative for them on New Year’s day. He said he thought, “It’s just a little party. That seems like an awful lot for that.”

These are my daughters.
The above photo was taken at the Minnesota Newspaper Association’s (MNA) Annual Awards Banquet last week. They are holding the awards I received at the event, the adults-only event.
Yes. I did the unspeakable.
I registered my 10 and 13-year-olds for the event and brought them, along with my husband, to a professional work event.
It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

The Tri City United wrestling team dropped three matches to much larger schools at the Faribault High Tournament Saturday, Jan. 28.
Hastings defeated the Titans, 63-13. Prior Lake edged the Titans, 42-33. The host school defeated the Titans, 46-22.
The Titans also dropped a pair of matches Thursday, Jan. 26 at Hutchinson. Hutch defeated TCU, 51-19. Annandale/Maple Lake downed TCU, 61-9.

Most Holy Redeemer Catholic School 8th grader Maximus Budin, son of Mike and Angie Budin, 8th grader Allison Rynda, daughter of Dan and Michelle Rynda, and 6th grader Arianna Devine, daughter of Bob and Sharon Devine, claimed the top three spots in their school’s spelling bee on Jan. 30. Budin won the competition and will advance to the Regional Spelling Bee. Pictured (left to right): Budin, Rynda, and Devine.

The Tri City United boys basketball team played three Section 2AA opponents last week and had some heartbreaking results.
The Titans dropped a 53-50 contest to Norwood-Young America (NYA) Tuesday, Jan. 24. NYA entered the game with a perfect 6-0 Minnesota River Conference record. TCU rebounded with a 58-37 win over NRHEG Thursday, Jan. 26. The following night Le Sueur-Henderson (LSH) edged the Titans, 64-61.
Missed free throws were key to the overtime loss to the Raiders. TCU missed 15 of their 27 shots from the charity stripe.

The Friends of the Montgomery Public Library will be hosting Everything Chocolate and More event on Friday, February 10, 2023, at Next Chapter Winery from 6 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. The fundraising event will include a sampling of various chocolates and other taste-bud pleasing snacks, plus a silent auction and a raffle.
Advance tickets are $20 and can be purchased at Posy Floral, Herrmann Drug or the Montgomery Public Library. Tickets at the door will be $25 each. Each admission ticket includes two drink tickets. Everyone over 21 is welcome to attend.

It was a solid week for the Minnesota River boys hockey team last week.
The Bulldogs defeated Rochester Lourdes, 4-3, in overtime Thursday, Jan. 26 and tied Marshall, 2-2, in a Big South Conference game Saturday, Jan. 28.
Judson Narum scored the winning goal on an assist from Travis Kotek less than four minutes into the overtime in their win over Lourdes. It was Narum’s sixth goal and Kotek’s sixth assist of the season.

The Rice County Historical Society Museum will now be open, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., starting on Monday, January 30, 2023. The museum is located at 1814 2nd Ave. NW, Faribault. Admission to the museum is free, but donations are appreciated.
Additional summer Saturday hours will be announced later this spring.
If you have any questions regarding the museum or the Rice County Historical Society, please call the RCHS Museum at 332-2121.

Richard (Rick) Ray Rogers, age 77, of New Prague, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, on January 31, 2023. Rick was born February 16, 1945 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Delmar and Eleanor (Brown) Rogers. He was the second oldest out of three. He grew up in Bloomington helping raise and train collies along with his sister and her pet raccoon. He graduated from Bloomington High School in 1964. After high school he worked various jobs before getting into the family business at United Steel Products Company, Inc. He married Betty Steinhouse on December 12, 1970 in Bloomington.

The Tri City United girls basketball team picked up its biggest win of the year and nearly pulled off their biggest upset of the season last week.
The Titans hosted NRHEG Monday, Jan. 23 and were edged by the top team in Section 2AA by a 48-44 score. Three nights later TCU scored 42 points in the first half of their 70-33 Minnesota River Conference win over Le Sueur-Henderson (LSH).
NRHEG came into their non-conference match up with only two losses, but TCU head coach Don Marcussen felt his team could hang with the Panthers.