Tri-City United Schools FFA chapter will be out again trick-or-treating to collect non-perishable goods for local food shelves again this Halloween, Friday, Oct. 31. Teams from the chapter will be visiting all three towns in the school district -- Le Center, Lonsdale, and Montgomery. 

Residents are encouraged to gather items from their pantries in preparation for them Halloween late afternoon and early evening. 

Once items are collected, they will be centralized at the high school and divided up accordingly to be distributed in our communities.

Before you know it, the Christmas holiday season will be here. The 2025 Torchlight Parade & Fireworks button contest winner is here to remind us of that.

Soleil Neshek, 9, a student in Brenda Petersen’s 4th grade class at Tri-City United PreK-6 School in Lonsdale, was announced the winner this Monday. She is the fourth student to win the button contest from Petersen’s class of the 13 total contests that have been held.

The button contest was open to all 4th grade students within the TCU School District, including home-schooled individuals.

The Titans boys soccer team couldn’t muster a win at the Tuesday, Oct. 21, state quarterfinals game in Shakopee against the Academy of the Holy Angels. 
 

A strong, cold west/northwest wind worked to their disadvantage in the first period and helped somewhat in their second period.

Despite the cold and windy conditions, a crowd of over 100 Titan fans showed up to support the hometown team and were very audible the whole game. 
 

Tri-City United Boys Soccer Team is hoping for further advancement Tuesday, Oct. 21, 5:30 p.m., in the Minnesota State High School League's Boys Soccer Class A State Tournament. The quarterfinal game is being held at the Shakopee West Middle School's Vaughan Field, 200 10th Avenue East.

Spectators should park on the east side of the stadium, entering along Spencer Street South, and enter at the main entrance to the field on the north side. Additional parking will be available in the middle school's parking lot directly to the north. 

It was an action-packed, pleasant week for Tri-City United Schools homecoming week.

Festivities were kicked off Monday with coronation and the start of daily themed dress-up days. Wednesday was a flip of the sports with boys playing a volleyball game and the girls playing the powderpuff football game.

Two big wins have propelled the Tri-City United (TCU) boys soccer team into the Section 2A Championship match.

The Titans (14-5-0) will play St. Peter (9-6-3) for the third time this season on Thursday, Oct. 16, at Austin for the right to advance to the Class A State Tournament.

TCU is 2-0 this season against the Saints, winning 3-2 in September and 5-0 in October.

The Titans advanced to the Championship after defeating Butterfield-Odin United, 12-1, Thursday, Oct. 9 and defeated No. 4 seed Albert Lea, 4-2, Saturday, Oct. 11.

Only six total Tri-City United (TCU) runners competed in the New Prague Cross Country Invitational Thursday, Sept. 25 at Cedar Lake Farm.

The top runner on the day was senior Grant Fitterer who placed 11th in 18:09 in the boys race.

Sophomore Gabriel Coryell placed 32nd in 19:32. Freshman Graysen Moon placed 37th in 20:32. Eighth grader Patrick Duchene placed 41st in 21:03.

The start of combining of soybeans by farmers in the area can mean only one thing — homecoming!

Tri-City United Schools will celebrate homecoming from Oct. 5-11 and the Montgomery Messenger will feature a special page in next week’s issue on it.

A button design contest was held for the second year in a row now, but this year it was expanded district-wide to all four schools. Last year’s contest was limited to the high school only.

TCU senior Ella Schmiesing highlighted her team’s dual meet Tuesday, Sept. 23, with a record-breaking performance.

Schmiesing, a multi-time All-State performer, broke her own pool and school record in the 100-yard butterfly, taking first in a best time of 59.26. She also won the 50-yard freestyle in 24.85.

The Titans placed second to New Prague, 95-66, in a Senior Night event.

Other first place performances were turned in by Lily Traxler in 1-meter diving with 191.55 points and Kaylee Rezac in the 500-yard freestyle in 6:04.88.

Tri-City United School District has created a website to better showcase the items they are asking for in their $39.9 million dollar bond to be voted on Nov. 4 this year. People can visit sites.google.com/tcu2905.us/ref25/home or go to the district’s regular website, tcu2905.us, and click on the link on the rolling front page banner.