The Miss Czech Slovak Minnesota Pageant is looking for young women of Czech, Slovak or Moravian heritage to compete for the state title. The 30th annual Miss Czech Slovak Minnesota Pageant will be held on April 13, 2019, at the American Legion Club in Montgomery, Minnesota. 

Roger Schoenbauer passed away peacefully on December 23, 2018 at the age of 69. A gathering of family & friends is Tuesday, January 1, 2019 from 4:00 – 7:00 PM at Ballard-Sunder Funeral & Cremation (104 First Street West) in Jordan. Funeral Liturgy is Wednesday, January 2, 2019 at 12:00 Noon with visitation one-hour prior at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church (313 East 2nd Street) in Jordan. Father Neil Bakker will preside. Memorials are preferred and will be distributed in Roger’s honor by his family.

Ann Marie Pint, age 79, of New Prague died at Methodist Hospital in Rochester on Friday December 28, 2018 with her husband at her side. Ann was born on October 26, 1939 in Lonsdale, MN to Frank J. and Hedwig (Pekar) Skluzacek. She attended Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Lonsdale and graduated from Bethlehem Academy in Faribault, MN. After high school she worked at the State Bank of New Prague before attending Beauty School in Minneapolis, and opening her own beauty shop, Ann Marie's Beauty Shop. She married Robert E.

The Ptarmigans had a hard fought game, but came up with an 8-0 win in the 59th Annual Sno-Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 29, in Memorial Park. It was a cold day for the game as temperatures only reached the teens, with very little snow cover as rain earlier in the week melted most of it away leaving a hard frost. The Ptarmigans increased their record to 17 wins. For more see an upcoming print issue of The Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

The snowstorm that affected much of Minnesota has caused a schedule change for the New Prague Trojan wrestling team.
The team was scheduled to compete in the Rumble on the Red Tournament in Fargo, ND. However forecasts for that area called for as much as 13 inches of snow by Thursday morning, when the team was scheduled to leave. The tournament pushed back its starting schedule for Friday and a number of teams, including New Prague, cancelled their plans.

The Le Sueur County Board of Commissioners approved the final pay 2019 levy in the amount of $20,716,550, a 6.9 percent increase over the 2018 levy. This levy was approved during an early evening meeting Tuesday, Dec. 18. For more information on the levy check out the Dec. 27 edition of the Life/Enterprise.

The New Prague Trojan girls basketball team concluded a stretch of six games in 11 days last week, defeating Bloomington Jefferson and then losing to Section 1AAAA foes Lakeville South and Farmington.
The Trojans (3-7) travel to Moorhead this week for a holiday tournament. They play Osseo on Friday, Dec. 28, then will take on either Moorhead or Red Lake on Saturday, Dec. 29. They return to action Thursday, Jan. 3, with their Wright County Conference opener at Hutchinson.

After more than 36 years in the financial/banking industry, Ed Hrabe is calling it a career.
Hrabe was hired to manage the State Insurance Agency, operated by the State Bank of New Prague, in 1982. After a year and a half, bank president Don Sirek asked him to join the bank’s lending department. He was later promoted to assistant vice president and, in 2003, as vice president for the bank, which in 2016 became part of First Bank and Trust. Over the years he has helped thousands of customers in securing home, auto and other consumer loans.

The New Prague Trojan girls hockey team upped its record to 7-4-1 as they closed out their pre-Christmas schedule last week with a pair of wins. New Prague defeated Hutchinson and Faribault.
The Trojans will compete in the Farmington Tournament beginning Wednesday, Dec. 26. Their first round game was scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Wednesday against Eastview. They will play Simley at 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 27, and take on host Farmington at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 28.

The Elko New Market City Council adopted three resolutions at its Thursday, Dec. 20, meeting. One was a resolution approving the city’s 2019 budget, the second was to approve the 2018 tax levy, collectable in 2019 and the third was to approve use of debt service fund balances to cover under levied bonds.

The New Prague Trojan wrestling team headed into the Christmas break with a pair of convincing wins last week. New Prague defeated Blue Earth Area and Le Sueur-Henderson in a home triangular Tuesday, Dec. 18.

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s “Minnesota Morning” event featured breakfast pastries from Lau’s Czech Bakery in New Prague last Thursday, Dec. 20.
Klobuchar has visited dozens of Minnesota communities in recent months and after tasting favorite local foods, she decided to showcase these Minnesota specialties at her weekly Thursday morning coffee gatherings in her Washington, D.C. office.
“Locally owned shops and restaurants like Lau’s Czech Bakery keep our economy strong,” Klobuchar said. “I was happy to bring a taste of New Prague to my guests here in Washington.”

2018 certainly has been an interesting year both not only in New Prague, but across the world.
Locally, New Prague has been blessed with many signs of growth and progress - new businesses opening, a new senior apartment complex nearing completion and a school system that is thriving. The city, school and Mayo Clinic Health System worked together to move the Fitness Center to the Central Education Campus building, where, partnered with the Aquatic Center, provides a complete center for both recreation and fitness that will benefit the community in an economical way.

This year I reached 24 years being a combination reporter and photographer. Reaching that milestone reminded me of some time back when someone asked me how long I had been a reporter. At the time it was about 20 years and she was a little surprised as she thought people today don’t seem to stay in one field that long. I could understand as it seems people have moved on to a second career in another field before they reach 50 these days. It also seems that a few people have a third career before they retire.

The New Prague Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors announced today the promotion of Brooke Sticha to Executive Director. Brooke previously was the Event Coordinator for the chamber. “Brooke has played a vital role at the chamber office for the past four years. We are thrilled to have her accept the role as Executive Director and are confident that she will do a great job,” said Barb Skluzacek, President of the New Prague Chamber of Commerce. Brooke has been the interim Executive Director since mid-November of this year.

The Bolin Brothers gather around the piano during the Dec. 15 concert. From left is Joseph, Ben and John (seated). Ben Bolin is the pastor of Calvary ChurchThe trio, who come from a family of eight children, performed traditional Christmas songs, plus one they wrote together. (Patrick Fisher Photo)