A beautiful winter day helped lead to a great turnout for MusicFest III at the Park Ballroom in New Prague on Saturday, Feb. 22. Lots of sun and temperatures in the low 40s likely helped the fundraiser for the New Prague Veterans Memorial as 550-600 attended the dance and silent auction. The combined events raised approximately $19,500 that will go to the Veterans Memorial that is scheduled to be built this summer.

Sunday, Feb. 23, was a busy day for the 21st annual Wood Duck Box Building Day as a multitude of families stopped by the Knights of Columbus Hall in New Prague to make duck houses.
“We think we’ll be out of houses before it’s over,” said Andrew Harms, the new chapter president of the Scott-Le Sueur Waterfowlers. Around 11:30 a.m. 270 of the 300 duck houses had been built and taken home by families. “It’s been a busy day, but that’s what we like,” said Harms.

Between 390 to 400 people showed up to savor the offerings at the 26th annual Soup Supper. Held in the basement of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church on Monday, Feb. 17, the free will event served up three flavorful soups. The all you can eat supper had choices of chili, vegetable beef barley and chicken noodle.
Volunteers served up 35 gallons of chili, 35 gallons of vegetable beef barley and 40 gallons of chicken noodle to those attending or those who took their meals to go. There were also several choices of...

The Hwy 21 bridge replacement project in Jordan begins in two weeks and will continue through November to replace two bridges and to build a trail for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Beginning Mon, March 9, construction crews will close Hwy 21 between Mill St. and south of the Sand Creek bridge to:

Replace two bridges over Sand Creek and the Union Pacific railroad
Build a trail for pedestrians and bicyclists between Mill St. and the Sand Creek bridge
Reconstruct Hwy 21 between Mill St. and south of the Sand Creek bridge

National American Legion Commander James W. “Bill” Oxford, center, addresses an audience of 130 people on Wednesday, Feb. 19, during his visit to New Prague American Legion Post 45. A dinner and program was held for Commander Oxford, who was visiting several American Legion Posts in Minnesota. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

Tim Neeser has been with Chart Industries for nearly 40 years. He began as an intern in 1980 when the New Prague based company was MVE (Minnesota Valley Engineering). He was hired full time as a product engineer for packaged gases fresh out of college in 1982. He retired on Friday, Feb. 14.
He said when he began with the company it employed 150 people. Now it has 5,000 employees and does $1.5 billion in sales worldwide. His work with the company has also resulted in his filing 25 patents.

The Le Sueur/Rice County Drug Task Force was very busy in 2019.
Le Sueur County Chief Deputy Nick Greenig presented information about the work completed by the drug task force within the county during the Elysian City Council meeting Feb. 11.
Last year there were 64 cases opened, 55 search warrants were issued, and there were 61 arrests made.
A total of $18,020 in cash was seized as were nine firearms.
More than 3.4 million dollars in street value worth of controlled substances were seized.

Residents of Praha Village, New Prague’s senior apartment complex, held a fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association, bringing in $1,623.75. The residents held a Bake & Craft Sale on December 13 that was open to the residents and their families. It was the first year that the residents held the fundraiser.

Due to a lack of a quorum, the New Prague City Council meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. tonight (Tuesday, Feb. 18) has been cancelled. For the council to meet it needs at least three of its five members to be present. The agenda, which included public comment on the renewal of the Ambulance Service Agreement, has been rescheduled for the Monday, March 2, council meeting.

More than 340 people showed up to warm up at the 26th annual Soup Supper at St. Wenceslaus Church on Monday, Feb. 17. The all you can eat supper had three delectable choices for the evening, chili, vegetable beef soup and chicken noodle soup, plus homemade breads, cookies and bars. The proceeds will benefit the Dorothy Day Center in St. Paul. For more see an upcoming print issue of The Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

Guests at the annual 4-H Valentine’s Dance enjoy line dancing on Friday, Feb. 14. The dance at Falcon Ridge Elementary School in New Prague is held for adults with developmental disabilities. There were 60 guests from area communities who had a fun time on the dance floor, with games, crafts and other activities. The Valentine’s Dance is organized by the Booster 4-H Club of New Prague and Magnifying Abilities, a social and recreational program for persons with cognitive and physical disabilities. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

This love story starts in the halls of New Prague Middle School back in 1993 when a boy and a girl first crossed paths, as seventh graders.
Jennie Kotzenmacher was the new girl in school with long red hair.
Ben Schoenbauer stood at an impressive 6-foot, 2-inches tall.
That’s pretty much all they remember of each other from those awkward teen years, but even those vague memories seem to sweeten their love story, which now includes almost 13 years of marriage, an incredible fight to live, and three young, active boys running through their St. Paul home.

New Prague’s Cub Scouts of Pack 323 had a lot of exciting fun on Saturday, Feb. 8, as they held their annual Pinewood Derby at St. Wenceslaus Church’s Parish Activity Center. This year’s races of 52 wooden cars, built by the Cub Scouts, was a record number of entries for the annual event.
“It went fantastic this year,” said Cubmaster Erick Christianson of the Pinewood Derby.

On Tuesday, Feb. 4, State Representative Bob Vogel, R-Elko New Market, announced he will not be seeking re-election for a fourth term to the Minnesota House of Representatives. Vogel has represented House District 20A since being first elected in 2014.
“I never dreamed growing up in New Market, then a community of 250 people, that I would have the honor of representing over 38,000 people in the Minnesota House for three terms,” said Rep. Vogel. “Serving in public office has been a great privilege and truly a life-changing experience.”

American Legion Auxiliary Unit #45 will meet Tuesday, Feb. 18, at the Park Ballroom, 300 Lexington Ave. S in New Prague. A light lunch will be served at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting will start at 7 p.m. The dessert committee for February is Linda Dvorak, Alberta Erickson and Tonja Flick.

New Prague American Legion Post 45 will hold its regular meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m. with a lunch at 6:30 p.m.