Robert L. Srnec, age 89, of Lonsdale, passed away on October 3, 2026. Robert is survived by his wife of 67 years, Rita; children, Becky (Tim) Arens, Richard (Cindy) Srnec, James (Anne) Srnec, Joyce (Brian) Kotek, and Rob Srnec; grandchildren, Joe, Keith, Melissa, and Jonathan; great-grandchildren, Ashton, Emma Rose, Oaklyn, Vanessa, and Nora Rose; also by other loving relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Louis and Albina Srnec; brother, Milo; and sister-in-law, Lollie.

    My family history holds a lot of music history within it at St. John The Evangelist Catholic Church at Union Hill, Minn. 
    Joseph J. Busch (1873-1966) of Union Hill, Minn., was my great-grandfather. He graduated in 1896 from Catholic Normal School in St. Francis, Wis., a school that was dedicated to training teachers, as a teacher and organist.

Jerel "Jake" Charles Lawson, from Eagle Lake, MN, at the age of 73, passed away peacefully at his home on Oct. 3, 2026, surrounded by loved ones and the Lord.

    Minnesota House District 22B and Senate District 22 candidates answered a couple values-orientated questions at the Sept. 22 Meet Your Candidates event held at the Revival on Main in Montgomery. Each candidate was given up to two minutes to answer, whether or not they chose to use the entire time.

New Prague students out-performed their counterparts from across the state in the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments given to students last spring, according to results released this past week by the Minnesota Department of Education.

Michael “Mike” John Miller passed away with immense dignity, love and peace at his home in Marietta, Georgia, surrounded by family, on September 29, 2026, at age 80. While lung cancer was the medical cause of his death, Mike fundamentally died of a broken heart after caring for his soulmate and wife Judi, who passed away seven months earlier. They were married for 59 years.

    The Le Sueur County Officials Association held its monthly meeting Wednesday evening, Sept. 30, at New Prague’s combined emergency response building. The meeting was held in the meeting hall of the New Prague Fire Department with a tour of the new police station at 505 Fifth Ave. NW.
    Interim Mayor Chuck Nickolay welcomed the 20 government officials from townships and cities in Le Sueur County and county commissioners. Nickolay said it had been a real honor to be a part of the association and hoped people would enjoy the tour.

New Prague High School’s girls’ tennis team has won three matches in the last few weeks.

“The Trojan tennis team has had a good couple of weeks on the courts,” said head coach Jamie Schoenbauer.

“We beat Waconia 5-2 on Sept. 22,” Schoenbauer said.

Lily Bible won at No. 1 singles with scores of 6-1, 6-1; Tori Erickson won at No. 2 singles, 6-2, 7-5, and Lucy Larson won at No. 4 singles 6-2, 6-2.  The No. 2 doubles team of Lexi Eischens and Maeve Kane won 6-0, 6-3, and No. 3 doubles Claire Erickson and Kate Gilles won 6-1, 7-6.

To the editor,
    I am writing because I believe Mary Nesgoda is the kind of person we need representing us in the Minnesota House for District 22B.
    What I appreciate most about Mary is simple: She listens, and she cares about people. She takes the time to hear what people are saying and to understand the challenges they face.

Betty Ann Ziskovsky, age 92, of Veseli, died peacefully on October 2, 2026, at Mala Strana in New Prague, Minnesota.

    Last Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 22, a regular customer of Lonsdale’s Dollar General store crashed into the entryway of the building.
    Lonsdale Police Chief Jason Schmitz said that the call came in at 1:57 p.m. for the incident, with Lonsdale Fire Department and Northfield Ambulance also responding.
    “The cause of the crash was the driver failed to stop. We suspect the driver accidentally accelerated the vehicle instead of stepping on the brake pedal,” said Chief Schmitz. “Were just thankful no one else was hurt knowing how busy Dollar General is.”

    Social media posting on Facebook has been all abuzz the last couple weeks about the roundabout in Lonsdale at Highway 19 and Rice County 2, which was completed less than two months ago. 
    The subject of the chatter is a large dip on the northeast corner of the roundabout that developed that is about four-to-six inches deep, about four-to-six inches from side-to-side and extends the width of the lane.

Constance Julia Franek, known to those who loved her as Connie, passed away on December 25, 2025, at Mala Strana Assisted Living and Rehabilitation Center in New Prague, Minnesota. She was 79 years old.

Michael G. Simon, age 77, Lonsdale, passed away September 26, 2026 at Praha Village in New Prague. Mike was born July 18,1949 in Northfield, MN to Ray & Ann (Skluzacek) Simon. He grew up on the family farm outside of Lonsdale, attending Catholic school in Lonsdale and high school in New Prague, graduating in 1967.

Jane (Kerber) Michel, age 93, of Victoria, passed away Thursday, September 24, 2026, at her residence.

Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Thursday, October 1, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Victoria Parish Family (8228 Victoria Dr) in Victoria with Father Bob White as Celebrant of the Mass. Visitation Wednesday, September 30, 2026, from 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. and from 9:30 a.m. until the time of the Mass on Thursday, ALL  AT THE CHURCH. Interment in the church cemetery.

Thursday, Sept. 24, the six individuals and members of the state championship 2000 Girls Basketball team, were honored at a special ceremony in New Prague High School’s auditorium. The honorees were also  honored during halftime of the homecoming football game Friday, Sept. 25, 7 p.m., at Trojan Stadium.