Funeral arrangements have been set for Father Denny Dempsey, 73, a former pastor of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, who passed away unexpectedly Monday evening, Oct. 25, according to an announcement made by Dempsey’s current parish, Church of the Risen Savior in Burnsville.
The church posted the following on its Facebook page on Tuesday: “It is with heavy hearts that we need to share some very sad news. We learned Monday evening that Father Denny Dempsey had been riding his bike in Rosemount, as he so loved to do. He was struck by a motor vehicle and did not survive the impact.”

Former New Prague mayor Chuck Nickolay, center left, and Mayor Duane Jirik, center right, share the duties of cutting a ribbon along Main Street in downtown New Prague on Tuesday, Oct. 26. The ceremony marked the two years of work that has gone into rebuilding the city’s Main Street. Also present were representatives of the City of New Prague, the city’s engineering firm Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc., contractor SM Hentges & Sons, MnDOT, the New Prague Chamber of Commerce, local businesses and residents. For more on the ceremony see this week’s print issue of The New Prague Times.

New changes are coming to how people make phone calls as mandatory 10-digit dialing starts on Sunday, Oct. 24. The Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) July 2020 Order required all telecommunications carriers, to make any network changes necessary to ensure that users can dial 988 to reach the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) by July 16, 2022.

New Prague’s branch of Habitat for Humanity held a fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 16, at Giesenbrau Bier Co. with 200 tickets sold for the event held 2-7 p.m. There was music, food, an assortment of beers, a silent auction, a meat raffle and commemorative mugs and wine cups.

The Elko New Market City Council approved the adoption of two ordinances that deal with pawnbrokers and precious metal dealers in the community.

Come and celebrate the Main Street ribbon cutting and ceremony. Be sure to shop these local businesses. 

LCHS Goals: Elysian Museum, technology updates, artifact inventory
Le Sueur County Historical Society (LCHS) has been busy.
The society, which aims to collect, preserve, and tell the story of Le Sueur County, will be holding its October meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 19 in New Prague at the New Prague Public Library. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. CDC guidelines are followed.

Tom Chromy, left, tapes a message just before he tees off from the first hole at the New Prague Golf Club around 6:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 15, with him are Kurt Ruehling, PGA and Director of Golf Operations at the club, and Chromy’s golf partner Tim Neeser of New Prague. Chromy plans to shoot 65 holes in honor of his 65th birthday and raise funds for the New Prague Golf Club Junior Golf Foundation. Chromy estimated they needed 13 hours to reach the goal of 65 holes and with only about 11 hours of sunlight they needed to start early with glow in the dark golf balls.

Woody Odendahl, son of Kristina and Joe Odendahl of Webster, is obsessed with cars, especially classic cars and old cars. Woody likes cars so much that he organized a car show on Sunday, Oct. 3, where more than 60 vehicles showed up. An amazing effort for a 6 year old.
“We spent the summer taking him to as many car shows and car cruises as we could,” said Kristina in an email. “One day he decided he wanted to have his own car club, which he named ‘Steel Flame Car Club,’ and sat down and came up with his own logo and car club business cards.”

The New Prague School Board held its work shop on Monday, Oct. 11, where Director of Operations Craig Most detailed the transportation challenges that the school district is facing. The challenge is due to not having enough drivers for the school district’s bus routes. It is a situation that other school districts around the state have been facing.
Superintendent Tim Dittberner explained that there have been a variety of issues that has led to the shortage of bus drivers. He added they have had teachers and mechanics driving buses.

The Memorial Duck Cup held its Stomp the Stigma Gala at the Hotel Broz in New Prague on Friday, Oct. 8.
From top to bottom and inside and out Hotel Broz on Main Street was decked out in purple and lights by organizers of Stomp the Stigma Gala in an effort to “Light up the Darkness” and support Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention to their community and supporters. The Stomp the Stigma Gala was attended by more than 200 guests. They enjoyed music and connections with family and friends while honoring and remembering those that have suffered with a mental illness.

It was a busy evening on Thursday, Oct. 7, as the New Prague Chamber of Commerce held its Ladies Night Out from 5-8 p.m. Area businesses participated in the evening of shopping and fun as there were specials, prizes and treats for those who came out to New Prague businesses. The theme was Fall into the ‘80s with several shoppers dressing up in T-shirts with ‘80s nostalgia such as MTV or in bright clothing or as celebrities from that time. For more see an upcoming article in The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

The three public school districts that span the length of Le Sueur County have seen some positive COVID-19 cases and the quarantining of students and staff since the school year started.
Questionnaires regarding the status of COVID in the school districts were sent to the superintendents of New Prague Area Schools, Tri- City United Schools, and Waterville- Elysian-Morristown Schools last week. Of the three, New Prague reported the highest rate of positive student COVID cases, which accounts for 1.2 percent of the student body.

As students lined up at the starting line of St. Wenceslaus Catholic School’s fundraising marathon event on Saturday, Oct. 2, they, along with school staff members and parents had a lot to be excited about. The school managed to raise more funds this year than ever before.
“This year we collected more cash than we have ever done in the past,” stated Principal Kim Doyle. “We are currently sitting at around $51,000 collected from the families with more funds coming in, plus over $9,000 in funds collected by Ron McBroom. Our grand total will be well over $60,000 when all is done!”

Shane Mahowald and his parents Bob and Amy Mahowald were out at Gopher State Railway Museum, north of New Prague, on Saturday, Oct. 2, for Shane’s senior photos at Jordan High School. The family got a surprise in that members of the train museum made sure it was a day Shane wouldn’t forget.
Shane, who is high functioning autistic, had his photos taken by Kristy Johnson, who had reached out to museum member Jeff Braun in late August. “I drive by the museum often and I would see the trains,” said Johnson. She knew that when Shane was younger he loved trains.

Most people in the stands at the Trojans’ homecoming football game could have probably named the quarterback who led the home team to victory.
Even more could have probably named the newly crowned king and queen, but the majority of people in the stands—on both sides of the field—knew the name of a local eighth grader who had been recently diagnosed with cancer.