Many moons ago the 74-year-old, soon to be 75, Ronald Prchal was given the nickname “Chubby” or “Chubs” by his father. “Between sixth and seventh grade I grew nine inches and 60 pounds,” said Chubby. “I got the nickname from my dad.”

Even his friends Wendy Vargo and Bob Krocak agree, no one knows him by his given name. “If you said Ron Prchal, people would ask you if he was related to Chubby,” laughed Krocak. Chubby’s younger brother, Ralph Prchal, said, “He used to be chubby, and now he’s not. He’s the skinniest of anyone (from his friends and family).”

A serious crash on the morning of Thursday, Sept. 11, left two vehicles, one towing a trailer with a vehicle on it, in disarray with at least one fatality, according to a press release by the Le Sueur County Sheriff’s Office.

The incident happened at the intersection of Le Sueur County Roads 28 (320th Street) and 32 (211th Avenue) in rural Derrynane Township, about three miles north of Clear Lake (Lexington) at about 7:12 a.m. 

Mayo Clinic Health Systems (MCHS) shared a press release that announced that it will close several clinics by Dec. 10 of this year, transitioning care to nearby clinics.

Among the list of clinics being closed are Belle Plaine, Caledonia, Northridge (North Mankato), St. Peter, Wells, and Montgomery.

James “Jim” C. Lombardi, passed away peacefully on September 7, 2025, surrounded by his family.

Helen M. Tikalsky, age 84, of New Prague, died peacefully at home with her family at her side on Sunday, September 7, 2025.  Helen was born on April 19, 1941, in New Prague to Frank E. and Regina (Zaun) Bartyzal.  She graduated from New Prague High School and married her high school sweetheart, Daniel J. Tikalsky on January 3, 1959, in New Prague.

The front of Tri-City United Le Center PreK-8 School has some new Titan Pride to show off thanks to the TCU Le Center Parent-Teacher Organization.

The PTO group donated funds to purchase the graphics, which includes the words “TCU TITANS” along with the lightning bolt fist in the middle of them.

TCU Marketing and Communications Director Anna Hoy said that there is still one piece coming but that they are waiting for a window to be fixed.

Pomala "Pam" Farrell Mariska, age 87, of Montgomery, died on the morning of Tuesday, September 2, 2025, at Traditions of Montgomery.

Maintenance agreement with county

Montgomery City Council approved its annual municipal maintenance agreement with Le Sueur County for the 3.36 miles of county roads that go through the city.

Le Sueur County is paying the city $8,536.52 per mile or $28,682.71 total annually for the City of Montgomery to do snow removal and general maintenance on the routes.

CenterPoint Energy franchise

The Czech Heritage Club and Montgomery Historical Society are hosting a joint event at 10 a.m. where Dale Ruhland, local historian, will present about the history and give tours of Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery on Saturday, Aug. 30, at 10 a.m. Free will offering for the church. All are welcome.

Correction: The Aug. 21 Montgomery Messenger stated that there would be a Montgomery Historical Society Show and Tell on Wednesday, Aug. 27, but there will not be. The above noted event replaced that show and tell event. 

Daniel Joseph Scheffert, age 59, of Faribault, passed away on Friday, August 22, 2025, at M Health Fairview Medical Center in Minneapolis.

Dan was born on November 1, 1965, in New Prague, the son of Kenneth and LaVaughn (Janaszak) Scheffert. He received his education through eighth grade at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic School in Montgomery and graduated from Montgomery High School with the Class of 1984. On November 16, 1991, Dan was united in marriage to Becky Krueger, and together they had one daughter.

Joseph "Joe" Michael Gores, age 75, of Montgomery passed away at his home on Thursday, August 21, 2025.

Joe was born on February 19, 1950, in Redwood Falls, Minnesota, to Hubert and Lillian (Hauptli) Gores. He grew up in Wabasso and graduated from Wabasso High School. On October 26, 1968, he married the love of his life, Suzanne Burns. Together, they moved to Montgomery in 1973, and built a life centered around family, hard work, and community.

Gordy the mailman, the dad, granddad, great-granddad, master of common sense, friend & lover of food passed away in his sleep on August 13, 2025.He was active & living alone up to the end.  He had driven the night before to the Dairy Queen to get himself a chocolate shake & left this world much like he ended phone calls, abruptly.

Born April 11, 1931, in Kilkenny, MN, to Hattie (Born) & Michael Balfe. His strong values, of family, helping others, & appreciating what you have, all began there & continued on during his entire well spent life.

Kilkenny’s annual Fireman’s Relief Association ATV Ride and Raffle on Saturday, Aug. 9, brought in a total of 200 riders on 94 allterrain and utility vehicles.

This year’s route took them from Lakefront Bar & Grill in Lexington on Clear Lake, The Bait Bucket in Cleveland, the city of Elysian, and ended at the Toy Box Saloon in Kilkenny, where the raffle drawing was conducted at 6 p.m.

Despite the threat of storms over the weekend, the rain mostly held back until after-hours of the Le Sueur County Free Fair.

The 168th annual event took place Thursday through Sunday, Aug. 14-17.

The forecast called for storms each day, but the worst of the rain came in the early hours of Saturday and well after the fair closed Sunday night. Both times, Le Center saw up to an inch of rainfall.

A half-inch of rain fell in the afternoon Friday, but had cleared as the events for the day moved into gear.

Montgomery Chamber of Commerce’s third annual Meet in Montgomery event on Thursday, Aug. 14, was bigger than the previous two years. It certainly helps coupling it with the Montgomery Farmer’s Market and the city’s Music in the Parks series. Together, they make for a compelling event for families.

Moving up with additional food options was a bonus, with The Rolling Cones, El Mexicano, and Pizzeria 201 serving out food and beverage. Probably the most popular beverage though was the free 1919 Root Beer being served by Frandsen Bank & Trust.

The City of Lonsdale spent many years with their city hall housed in a building not meant for its purpose near the fire hall at 415 Central Street NW, not to mention it was grossly undersized.

When Northfield Hospital and Clinic’s Lonsdale location, 103 15th Ave SE, on the east side of town decided to cease operations in November of 2023, city leaders saw an opportunity. They purchased the site and building in early 2024 and went to work at renovating it for the city hall location.