The TCU softball team is advancing in the  Section 2AA playoffs, thanks to a double elimination round. In the first bracket, the Titans (#10 seed) beat Maple River (#7 seed) 1-0 on May 22. They faced Jordan (#2 seed) on May 24 and lost 1-5, but thanks to a double elimination, the Titans will play again on Saturday, May 26 at Caswell Park in North Mankato. 
 
They will play the loser of the game between Le Sueur-Henderson and Belle Plaine. That game was started on Thursday, but stopped due to rain. It will be finished on Friday, May 25 at 4:30 p.m.
 

Titan Coach Bruce Davis said the Titans’ 9-1 win over the Sibley East Wolverines on Thursday in Montgomery was a great way to start the Section 2AA playoffs.
 
“It was an excellent all around baseball game for TCU. The kids came focused and ready to play,” he said.
 
The Titans move on to play Maple River at Memorial Park in Montgomery on Tuesday, May 29 at 5 p.m.
 

The New Prague Trojan Adapted Softball team lost its regular season finale to Burnsville/Farmington/Lakeville 11-10 on Wednesday, May 16.
The Trojans led 10-6 going into the final inning, but gave up five runs in the top of the seventh. They were unable to get back on the board in the seventh.
"We played our best game of the year tonight," Coach Shellie Kriha said. "Losing in the top of the seventh was a tough way to go, but we are proud of how our team played against a tough Burnsville team.”

The St. Patrick Irish stand alone atop the Dakota-Rice- Scott baseball standings with a 5-0 record. The Irish defeated Webster twice in the past week to keep their record perfect. New Market and Shakopee are one-half game back in the standings at 5-1.
The season heats up this weekend, with six games scheduled for Sunday and five more on Monday during the Memorial Day holiday.

Seventeen patriotic works of art will be featured in store windows along Montgomery's First Street, starting Memorial Day. 
 
The artwork is part of the city's first-ever Windows for Veterans contest, which aims to salute veterans, spotlight artists, decorate downtown, and encourage patronage of local businesses. 
 
Maps featuring the locations of the artwork will be available during the 9:30 a.m. Memorial Day program at the Montgomery American Legion on Monday, May 28. 
 

Approximately 45 people from New Prague and other area communities attended the annual Stakeholder’s Breakfast at the Mayo Clinic Health System in New Prague’s Jameen Mape room to learn what is happening at the local health care facility.
Among those speaking were Dr. James Hebl, vice president of the Southwest Region for MCHS, Terry Brandt, administrator for the region, and Heather Tietz, community relations officer. In addition, Kirby Johnson, the new administrator for the local hospital, was introduced.

Memorial Day, which will be observed on Monday, May 28, commemorates all men and women who have died in military service for the United States. 
 
Around the country, many people visit cemeteries and memorials on Memorial Day, and it is traditionally seen as the start of the summer season.
 
Montgomery’s program will follow its traditions beginning with Mass at Most Holy Redeemer Church at 8:15 a.m. It will be followed by the parade from Holy Redeemer to First Street to Elm Avenue to the American Legion Post 79.
 

Rita H. Schipreth, 84, of Le Center, died on May, 17, 2018, at Mayo Clinic Health System, New Prague. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, May 21 at 10 a.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Le Center with visitation two hours prior at the church. Father Chris Shofner will be officiating.  Interment will be in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Belle Plaine.
 
Rita was born on March 21, 1934, in Cleveland to Frank and Mary (Lucy) Schipreth. Rita went to County School and graduated from Belle Plaine High School in 1954. She worked in restaurants and factories.
 

It was hard to determine who enjoyed Baby Animal Day more - the students or the baby animals.
 
Puppies, kittens, kids, chicks and other baby animals received plenty of holding and attention at the annual Baby Animal Day on a beautiful spring day, May 16. It was held in the district’s former Ag Shop on the elementary and middle school campus in Montgomery. 
 

Shakopee and St. Patrick each won two games this week to stay undefeated in Dakota-Rice-Scott Baseball League play.
The Coyotes defeated Prior Lake and Lonsdale to go to 4-0, while the Irish topped Union Hill and Montgomery and are 3-0 in the league standings through May 13. New Market (3-1) and New Prague (2-1) are close behind in the early stages of the season.

I am faced with a dilemma. Do I help save the bees or be happy with a dandelion-free yard?
 
On January 11, 2017, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service placed the rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) on the list of endangered species. The listing became effective on March 21, 2017, making it the first listed bee from the continental United States. 
 

A lone bear was spotted walking in a field south of Montgomery, near the intersection of Highway 99 and County Road 3, on May 1, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
DNR Wildlife Resource Biologist Andrew Tri, who is one of two bear research specialists in the state, spoke to the Faribault couple who reported the bear sighting. “They were very surprised,” Tri reported.

Despite wet and rainy conditions in Montgomery, the Tri-City United girl’s team took second place at their Invitational on Monday, May 14. The girls finished with 122.5 points, behind Belle Plaine’s 181. Other schools competing were Jordan (3rd place, 115.5), Le Sueur-Henderson (89) and St. Clair Immanuel Lutheran (42).
 
Coach Brian Fogal was pleased with the results.
 

Janet Edith Schoenbauer Retka, 84, of St. Thomas, MN died peacefully Saturday, May 12, 2018. Jan suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease and lived the last four years of her life at Traditions in Montgomery. 
 
Jan’s Celebration of Life will be held Wednesday, May 16, 11 a.m. at St. Thomas Catholic Church with Father Roger Hessian presiding. The visitation will be at Schoenbauer Funeral Home, 200 Third St SE, Montgomery on Tuesday from 4 to 8 p.m. and one hour before the funeral Mass at St. Thomas.
 

According to the Law of the Pack, a Cub Scout gives good will and in the Boy Scout Promise, a boy scout promises to help other people at all times. 
 
By participating in a Scouting for Food program, Scouts come a step closer to fulfilling those words. The Montgomery Scouts are doing a food drive to collect non-perishable items for the Montgomery Food Shelf on Saturday, May 12.
 

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It's time to clean up! Montgomery's City-Wide Clean Up will be held this Saturday, May 12. Appliances and electronics with the required, paid-in-advance tags will be picked up at the curbside, while all non-hazardous household waste will need to be hauled to the city's public works garage and paid for at the time of drop off.