Submitted by: Sarah Stultz, Managing Editor, Albert Lea Tribune
A significant discussion is taking place at the state Legislature in reaction to the recent announcement that eight community newspapers will close at the end of the month.
Under a proposal in the Senate Education Policy Omnibus bill (SF 3567), school districts would no longer be required to publish their proceedings in newspapers and could instead move them to their own websites.

The New Prague Fire Department and North Memorial Ambulance responded to a two vehicle crash east of New Prague on highways 19/13 around 5 p.m. Thursday, April 18. According to a preliminary report from the State Highway Patrol one person was transported by ambulance from the scene.
Both vehicles, a Chevy truck and a minivan, were in the north side ditch. Also responding were the New Prague Police Department and the Scott County Sheriff’s Office. For more information see an upcoming print edition of The New Prague Times.

First boy Junior Ambassador entered into program
Saturday evening was a gathering from around the state at the Montgomery American Legion for the 35th Annual Miss Czech Slovak Minnesota Pageant.
Festivities started with an authentic Czech meal, prepared by board member and Head Chef Josh Gare and his volunteer crew. Gare was recognized for his work in the organization, with special attention for the meals, by the Minneapolis Aquatennial Ambassadors with the Honorary Commodore’s Award.

Carrie Simon, of Montgomery, went to the doctor in early 2022 thinking it would be a typical doctor visit. In February of 2022, she went through surgery. She and her husband, Russ, believed it was just an ovarian cyst. The doctors thought it was about 18 centimeters, and it ended up being 35 centimeters in diameter and had ruptured.
“Russ knew it was cancer already from the doctors while I was under, but they told me when I woke up. It was pretty gut-wrenching,” she said.

The Koko and Sam Tarr family of New Prague told New Prague City Council they had concerns their son was racially profiled and was being harassed by a member of the New Prague Police Department. The family said they are originally from Liberia and have been living in New Prague for four years. The family delivered its claim at the council’s March 18, meeting.

Two weeks after board members struggled to approve cutting $3.5 million from the general fund, the New Prague School District is once again looking at a plan to reduce the cost of one of its biggest expenses – veteran teachers.

Ambassadors looking for candidates
The Lonsdale Ambassadors annual Easter Egg Hunt once again drew hundreds of area families to Lonsdale’s Jaycee Park on Saturday, March 30.
Miss Lonsdale Ambassador royalty facilitating the three age group-separated hunts were Miss Lonsdale Alli Simon, Miss Ambassadors Khloe Flicek and Avery Lerfald, Junior Ambassadors Payton Fischer and Paige Miller, and Little Ambassador Kyrie Smisek.

Performances of New Prague High School’s spring play “You Can’t Take it With You,” are Friday, April 5, and Saturday, April 6, at 7:30 p.m. both nights, in the high school auditorium. Tickets can be bought online at https://gofan.co/app/school/MN19627 or at the door of each performance.
George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart wrote the play. It is set in the 1930s during the Great Depression and is a comedy about an eccentric family and their friends, with the message is to pursue things that make you happy.

The New Prague City Council directed city staff at its Monday, April 1, meeting to move forward with work on a 54-unit apartment to be located on the lot south of Walgreens along Chalupsky Avenue SE.
City staff will be working on an application from the Workforce Housing Development Program with the city using a housing tax abatement for the required local match.
City Planning/Community Development Director Ken Ondich presented the request for the application. Ebert Construction of Farmington is working on the apartment building.

While it won’t be open for public use, a new recycling facility will be bringing benefits to Montgomery starting next month.
Cosmic Recycling has plans to open a facility that focuses on recycling solar panels and electronic waste, dubbed e-waste. The waste items will be shipped in from outside sources rather than collected from the community.
The facility will be located at 513 1st St. South in Montgomery in a facility owned by Hruby Rentals.

The New Prague City Council at its Monday, March 18, meeting received an update on its community recreation in the form of how many parks it has, what condition they are in and what to do next.
“We have not put any cost to this,” said John McNamara of Wold Architects, who presented the update. He added the firm wanted to find out from the city how it wanted to proceed with community recreation needs.

A 22-year-old Gaylord man was arrested on March 20 for his role in supplying fentanyl pills to a Montgomery 18-year-old girl who died as a result of a suspected overdose on Jan. 8, according to a press release by the Cannon River Drug Violent Offender Task Force (CRDVOTF).

The decision to sell the family-owned hardware store was easier in some ways than it was to tell the employees, Donald Simon said. Monday, March 18, he and his siblings will turn control of the stores they have built over to new owners.

Members of the New Prague School Board face a decision on a $3.5 million budget adjustment Monday, March 25, a vote they know will likely leave many people unhappy but a decision the district needs to have completed to balance the district’s books for the 2024-25 school year.

A Waterville woman was arrested Saturday, March 16, after holding sheriff’s deputies and police at bay in a several-hour standoff on the 100 block of Sakatah Boulevard.
Saturday morning at 12:04 a.m., Ande Bremmer, 30, advised police in several phone calls she was upset how officers handled a domestic disturbance at the residence earlier in the night and she began making comments about shooting law enforcement and advised she had firearms and ammunition, according to a press release from the Le Sueur County Sheriff's Office.

Thursday, March 21, the New Prague Educational Foundation will host its second annual Arts & Activities Showcase at the Park Ballroom in New Prague, 5:30 to 8 p.m.
There will be art exhibits by preschoolers to high school students in music and speech on the stage from 5:45 to 7:45 p.m. with many, many other items to see and groups to visit with.
This is a no-charge, come-as-you-wish social event. There will be a drawing for two tickets to the O'Neill Brothers Holiday Concert in late-December. The O'Neill Bros. provided door prizes for this event.