The incident
    Steven Goettl, 41, of Le Center, was driving his motorcycle on his way home from work at Le Sueur, Inc. on Thursday, Aug. 27, at about 4:45 p.m. when he drove over some rocks or gravel on a curve where 356th Street turns south and changes into 305th Avenue, which is a paved road approximately two miles southeast of Le Sueur, Minn.
    Goettl lost control of the motorcycle, passed over the opposing side of the road, took out a road sign and landed next to his motorcycle in the ditch. 

Titans start boys soccer season 3-0

    The Tri-City United boys soccer team started its 2026 season by allowing only two goals while posting three straight wins.
    The defending Section Champions defeated Mankato West, 1-0, Wings United (St. James/Windom/Madelia), 10-1, and Worthington, 2-1, in a rematch of the Big South Conference Championship.
    Junior Angel Ruiz Gomez scored the lone goal in the shutout of Mankato West August 29, in the 22nd minute.

    It was a clean sweep for the Tri-City United girls tennis team Tuesday, Sept. 1.
    The Titans improved to 3-3 overall with straight set wins in all seven matches. They only allowed one Eagle player to score more than three points in a set.
    At No. 1 singles junior Ellie Adams was a 7-5, 6-2 winner. Junior Reagan Steffen was a 6-2, 6-0 winner at No. 2 singles. Junior Destynee Wolff was a 6-0, 6-1 winner at No. 3 singles. At No. 4 singles, junior Lexie Berger was a 6-3, 6-0 winner.

    The Tri-City United boys soccer team opened their 2026 season with a 1-0 shutout win over Mankato West Saturday, Aug. 29 in Montgomery.
    No statistics were provided following the match.
    The Titans are rated in the top 15 in Class A in the Minnesota State Soccer Association Pre-Season Poll.

Titans girls drop opening two games

    The Tri-City United girls soccer team played a pair of games before school started and were defeated in both.
    The Titans lost, 4-2, to Norwood/Sibley East Thursday, August 27. Kinsley Mach scored both the goals for TCU. Camila Perez and Alice Grimm each had an assist. Johanna Zasoski saved 18-of-20 shots on goal.
    Two days later Mankato West traveled to Montgomery and defeated the Titans, 8-1. Scoring the lone goal for TCU was Camila Perez.

    Tri-City United Schools is one of about 10 schools to try out an expanding partnership program with Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSUM) called RESEPI, which is short for Rural Experiential STEM (science, engineering, technology and mathematics) Education Partnership Initiative.
    The program was piloted by MSUM last year in Mankato’s three public schools with hopes to expand the program to about 100-plus school districts in the 2027-2028 school year and hopefully to all the 277 non-metro school districts in the state eventually.

    SOL-I.S. Technology Solutions gave the first of about four-to-five more learning events sponsored by the Montgomery, Lonsdale, Northfield, Belle Plaine, and Elko New Market chambers of commerce. These events are free for chamber members.
    The company was started by an eight-year U.S. Navy veteran, Troy Solis, with the first session focusing on the simple ways small businesses get hacked and what that means for your small business.

    Mild weather gave the Le Sueur Free County Fair time to shine last week. The 169th annual fair was held Thursday through Sunday. 
    The fair had a 1950s car theme, which was apparent in the style and the many competitions held throughout the week — from kids pedal pull to the truck and tractor pull. Young and old had a contest they could participate in, and many spectators came out to cheer them on.
    Of course, there was a car show, where actual 1950s cars could display their beauty. In all, 120 cars participated in the show.

    A new school year always brings change for students and staff, but this year proves to be a big one for a few locations.
    
TCU High School
    TCU’s school board chose Dr. Melissa Cournia as the replacement for Alan Fitterer as the high school principal, a role that Fitterer fulfilled for 20 years in the district.

Online only exclusive.

Kicking off the main portion of Kolacky Days every year is the Queen's Pageant. This year six young ladies competed on Friday, July 25 and for many weeks prior to win one of the crowns and sashes but most notably to be the 2026 Kolacky Days Queen.

These are some of the scenes of this year's pageant.

    The TCU Junior Legion baseball team capped off a thrilling 2026 summer campaign, cementing their standing as one of the premier programs in the region by capturing the Metro Junior Legion League Tier 1A Division Championship and earning a third place finish at the Tier 1A State Tournament. 
    Competing in Tier 1A, a division designated for high schools with grades 10–12 enrollments between 400 and 1,000, TCU put together a dominant, high-octane season built on relentless base running, clutch hitting, and deep pitching.

    Tri-City United Titan’s Head Coach Brian Miller said, “It was a great season for the TCU Titan 10AA Traveling Baseball team who capped off the season with earning a trip to the Minnesota Baseball Tournaments (MBT) State Tournament.”
    Titans ended up ranked second for Region 2, with a 10-4-0 record, falling just behind the Chanhassen 10AA Gold team. 
    The state tournament was held in Savage and Burnsville from July 17-19. TCU played three games at the tournament, sadly they lost all three games but put up a strong fight.

    The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) announced that 70 schools from 45 districts and charter schools, including Tri-City United, will partner with MDE this fall to pilot the Minnesota Kindergarten Fall Assessment (MnKFA), an observation-based approach designed to be embedded in everyday classroom experiences, such as communication, problem-solving, and play.

    Two local 4-H youth are stepping into one of Minnesota 4-H’s most prestigious leadership roles. Le Sueur County is one of only five counties in the state to have more than one State Ambassador selected.
    Elizabeth Holicky of Le Center and Audrey Keltgen of Le Sueur have been selected as members of the 2026–2027 Minnesota 4-H State Ambassador Team, joining 30 other outstanding young leaders from across the state.

    Kids from around the area gathered at Tri-City United PreK-8 Montgomery and Le Center schools last Thursday, July 16, for a quick lesson in science and theories on dinosaurs from Jason Lindsey.

    The Lonsdale Ambassadors announced their 2027 candidates for the Miss Lonsdale program. Three candidates registered to be Junior Ambassadors and Little Ambassadors both, with only a single candidate for Miss Lonsdale this year.
    Registration happens every spring, typically by the first week of April. Each of the candidates then spends then next months leading up to Lonsdale Community Days attending various events and festivals, alongside the current royalty.
    Lonsdale Community Days runs from Friday, Aug. 7 through Saturday, Aug. 8.