Early springtime can often have conditions prime for fires to start or get out of control with dry dead or dormant vegetation in combination with low humidity levels and increased wind.
    The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MnDNR) issued a Red Flag Warning on Friday, March 27, for Saturday, March 28, between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. due to the conditions mentioned above for all of southern and central Minnesota. 

    The Le Sueur County Officials meeting at the American Bar & Grill in Montgomery on Wednesday, March 25, was host to two state nonprofit representatives that assist smaller governments — Cap O’Rourke and Maddie Cash.
    Cap O’Rourke is the executive director for the Minnesota Association of Small Cities (MAOSC), which is a nonprofit that exclusively serves cities of a population of 5,000 or less, and is also the owner of O’Rourke Strategic Consulting.

Rita Ann Stasney, age 94, of Montgomery, passed away on Thursday, April 2, 2026, at Central Health Care in Le Center.

Rita was born as a twin with her brother, Richard, on December 15, 1931, in Montgomery Township, Le Sueur County, to Frank and Agnes (Schleis) Choudek. She grew up on the family farm near Montgomery and attended St. Raphael Catholic School through the eighth grade. She graduated from Montgomery High School in 1949.

    Tri-City United High School’s baseball players spent five days from Tuesday, March 24, through Sunday, March 29, having fun, warming up, and learning for this year’s season in Melbourne, Fla., nearby to Cocoa Beach. Players only missed three days of school for the trip.
    TCU’s Head Baseball Coach Greg Westerman introduced the trip, organized by the TCU Baseball Booster Club, early last year to the school board and received approval for it in May 2025.

    Tri-City United High School again has five young artists in the 2026 High School Art Show at Waseca Art Center, which runs through May 1. Students from around the region will have their works on display there. 
    The exhibit will culminate with a workshop for the students with a professional artist on Friday, May 1, and awards will be given for Best in Show, Best 2-D Artwork, Best 3-D Artwork, and People’s Choice — where visitors to the center can vote on their favorite piece in the exhibit.

    Bolten & Menk was approved to move forward with design and oversight of rehabilitating the city’s wastewater treatment facility, which is past its lifespan being over 20 years old.
    The unanimous decision by city council, and recommended by the public works advisory board, calls for an upfront fee $1,145,550 in engineering fees to oversee the project. Estimated costs for the total rehabilitation, including engineering, legal, and administration, is estimated between $13.8 to $18 million dollars.

Tri-City United School District's dedicated bond website: https://sites.google.com/tcu2905.us/ref26/home .

    The election in November 2025 came in with a failing vote for the Tri-City United School District’s $39.99 million dollar bond.

    Montgomery Fire Department’s (MFD) newest fleet addition, an enclosed top mounted pumper truck with 1,000 gallon water tank and 15-gallon foam cell, is almost ready for service. MFD Fire Chief Tony Kadrlick says that the new fire vehicle will likely be in service in early to mid-April.

    A little seventh grade team from Tri-City United Middle School’s robotics club called the Circuit Surfers (3589A), consisting of AJ Munguia, Landon Ballman, Colton Claffey, Jake Goettl, and Vincent Carpenter, has qualified for the VEX V5 Robotics World Championships to be held April 25-27, 2026, in St. Louis, Mo. at the America’s Center.
    “The VEX Robotics World Championship is a gathering of the top 588 Middle School Teams from all around the world,” said Robotics Head Advisor Jeff Ballman. It’s a first-ever honor the club has ever received, according to Jeff Ballman.

    The Tri-City United (TCU) girls track and field team won three of the four field event championships and five other titles in the Belle Plaine Indoor Triangular Saturday, March 21 at Myers Field House at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
    Juniors Louise Stock and Kaitlyn Hartwig each won two titles helping the Titans place second to a very strong Belle Plaine team. The Tigers won the event with 88 points. TCU followed with 69 points and Glencoe-Silver Lake placed third with 12 points.

A law that was on the books in Minnesota since 1942 was repealed by the Minnesota State Legislature for 2026.

Minnesota Statute 97B.318, which stated “During the regular firearms season in the shotgun use area, only legal shotguns loaded with single-slug shotgun shells, legal muzzle-loading long guns, and legal handguns may be used for taking deer. Legal shotguns include those with rifled barrels,” was effectively repealed as of Jan. 1, 2026.

    A law that was on the books in Minnesota since 1942 was repealed by the Minnesota State Legislature for 2026. 
    Minnesota Statute 97B.318, which stated “During the regular firearms season in the shotgun use area, only legal shotguns loaded with single-slug shotgun shells, legal muzzle-loading long guns, and legal handguns may be used for taking deer. Legal shotguns include those with rifled barrels,” was effectively repealed as of Jan. 1, 2026. 

    The Tri-City United (TCU) boys track and field team placed second in the Belle Plaine Indoor Triangular Saturday, March 21 at Myers Field House at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
    The Titans scored 32.5 points to place behind champion Belle Plaine, who scored 107.5 points. Glencoe-Silver Lake placed third with 27 points.
    TCU had three champions and a pair of runner-up finishes.
    The 4 x 200-meter relay team won the race in 1:42.56. Relay runners were not provided as of print time.

    TCU Titans youth wrestling wrapped up its 2025–26 season with 17 wrestlers competing at the MN/USA State Folkstyle Tournament, marking the culmination of months of hard work on the mat.
    The Titans youth wrestling program, which serves wrestlers in grades PreK-6th from the Tri-City United communities, began its season in November with 94 registered wrestlers, the most in program history. 

    I am writing in response to the article regarding the fire and ambulance services in the January 22 issue. My aunt, Frannie Kohout, always said it is never too late to say thank you, and I would like to offer mine.

(Feb. 23, 2026)