Staff writer and columnist Lisa Ingebrand, who works for the Lake Region Life, Elysian Enterprise, and the Montgomery Messenger, was honored for her writing during the 2019 Minnesota Newspaper Association’s (MNA) Annual Convention on January 24 in Bloomington. Ingebrand earned third place honors for her work as a writer in the Arts and Entertainment category among weeklies with up to 1,500 in circulation. This was her tenth MNA Award in 15 years with the local newspapers.

The Tri-City United Titans hosted two dual meets last week at TCU High School and dominated in all of them.
Coach Brian Mikel said the wins were against some good schools and that it put the Titans’ record at 16-3.

The TCU boys’ basketball team dropped a conference game to the Belle Plaine Tigers with a score of 49-56 on Tuesday in Belle Plaine.
Titan Coach Austin Pinke said his team got down early, going into the half with a 19-33 deficit. However, after the break, the Titans rebounded scoring 30 points to the Tigers’ 23 points. But it wasn’t enough to make up for the first half’s loss.
“We did not hang our heads,” Pinke stated. “We climbed back in the second half to take a three-point lead but couldn’t hang on. It was great effort from the boys!”

Tri-City United schools will be closed tomorrow, Thursday, Jan 31st due to cold weather & bus transportation concerns. Our bus company has been closely monitoring our fleet and reports that the cold weather is causing concerns about reliable bus transportation.
Preschool will be closed.
TCU noted the following: This is a highly unusual situations and so we will provide Kidzone on Thursday, January 31st from 8:30 a.m.—4:30 p.m. for all registered families.
Varsity/Bsquad Activities will still take place, but no Jr. High.

Current and former Montgomery firefighters and emergency service medical personnel were honored and recognized Saturday, Jan 19 at their annual fire and rescue awards banquet in Montgomery.
"Thank you for everything you have done and everything you still do to this day for the community," said Montgomery Fire Chief Ken Pavek of those who have retired and whose presence is still felt daily by current firefighters on the department. "I am honored to walk in your footsteps."

Due to projected deteriorating weather conditions, the United States Postal Service has suspended delivery for Wednesday, Jan. 30, for Minnesota, Western Wisconsin, Iowa and Western Illinois.
A press release issued Tuesday afternoon said retail operations at local offices will be available, but may be limited.
There will be no collection mail pickup from business or collection boxes. In addition, there will be no residential or commercial package pick-up service.

TCU Schools closed Tuesday and Wednesday
Tri-City United Schools are closed Tuesday, January 29 and Wednesday, January 30 due to the predicted National Weather Service Wind Chill Warning.
Both days will be blended learning days, which the district explained will include a variety of activities.
PreK - Grade 6
• complete at least 5 activities from activity choice board

• sign and return activity sheet to their teacher on the next school day

• K-6 Choice Boards  (Links)
On a Blended Learning Day, parents will:

Due to current road conditions and forecasted continued snow and winds, Tri-City United Schools and Most Holy Redeemer School will be closed tomorrow, Monday, Jan. 28, 2019. Phone messages are on their way.

Winter Storm Warning for Le Sueur County, Minnesota
From 3:00pm CST, Sun Jan 27 until 6:00 am CST, Mon Jan 28
Action Recommended: Make preparations per the instructions
Issued by: Minneapolis - MN, US, National Weather Service,
...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM SUNDAY TO 6 AM CST MONDAY... *
WHAT...HEAVY SNOW EXPECTED. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 8 INCHES EXPECTED.
WHERE...PORTIONS OF CENTRAL, EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA. *

Tri-City United High School announced its royalty candidates for SnoWeek 2019 on Friday, Jan. 26 during a Pep Fest. The theme this year is “Minnesota Masquerade.” All of the candidates received Mardi Gras masks, and the young women also received flowers. The candidates are (from left) Maggie Trnka, Sarah Colwell, Destiny Dunagan, Lizzie Christian, John Carson, Thomas Budin, Cade Passe and Alex Miland. Missing are candidates Rianna Doyle and Isaac Rynda. See more in the print edition. (Wade Young Photo)

The calendar year of 2019 will be filled with many projects in Le Sueur County.
One of the county’s biggest projects in the last three decades is the construction of the new Justice Center in Le Center.
The project is scheduled to be completed and ready for occupancy in August of 2019.
The county is currently hiring a number of new correction officers and dispatchers.
They are also working on the transferring of probation, court administration, court rooms, judicial court areas, and all sheriff’s department personnel to the new justice center.

The Minnesota River Bulldogs shutout visiting Fairmont on Tuesday, Jan. 15 with a 9-0 score.
The Minnesota River team saw scoring from nine different players on its team. Coach Shea Roehrkasse said the entire team played well and supported each other throughout the game.

It takes a team effort to respond calmly and effectively in the face of an emergency situation.
The outcomes are heavily dependent upon the quick reactions and efforts of those witnessing and responding to the emergency.
A matter of seconds and minutes can be the difference between life and death.
On Friday, August 31, John Segna learned how true this is and fully believes he wouldn't be alive today if it hadn't been for the team of heroes that were there in his time of need, his emergency.

The Tri-City United Girls’ Basketball Team added another win to its record after it defeated Belle Plaine on January 15 with a score of 55-47.
According to coach Eric Specht, after the girls dropped points early in the game, they reduced the deficit by two points at the half with a score of 26-28.
The second half is where the girls got the win with a lot of confidence and a plan to wear down the Tigers.
“Our girls got down ten early and slowly chipped away,” Specht stated. “Defensively, I thought our press wore down Belle Plaine during the second half.”

The New Prague Adapted Floor Hockey team won its season opener Tuesday, Jan. 15, claiming an 8-0 win over the South Suburban Jets in Bloomington.
New Prague took a 4-0 lead in the first period, with Seth Dorner getting three goals and Garret Gagner one.
Gagner, Evan Minar and Chase Smith each scored in the second and Blake Perry tallied a goal in the third to make it an 8-0 final.
Breanna Stark was solid in the net, stopping all 21 shots she faced.
Dorner added two assists and Gagner one.

The Tri-City United Wrestling Team scored two easy wins when they met two Minnesota River Conference teams last week in Norwood Young America (NYA).
Class after class, the TCU team dominated on the mat. The first was against home team NYA who put up a fight, but were eventually defeated by the Titans, who won the match 58-15.
NYA won only three of the rounds: Joash Lord (138 pounds) won a decision over Hunter Rutt, Sam Meeker (195) won by a forfeit and Sean Franck (285) pinned Robert Bastyr.