It was a week of redemption for the Minnesota River girls hockey team in the Section 2A Tournament.
    The Bulldogs avenged losses from a year ago on their way to their first Section Championship appearance ever.
    Minnesota River opened the Section 2A Playoffs with a 3-1 win over Willmar Thursday, Feb. 5 at Le Sueur. Willmar ended their season in the Section Quarterfinals last year with a 2-0 win. Minnesota River was 18-6-2 last season.

    Saturday evening concluded the Snow Week fun at Tri-City United High School with a dance at Next Chapter Winery. 
    Thursday afternoon about a dozen students showcased their various talents during a talent show, and each day of the week students showed their school spirit with various dress up days. 

    Pedro Abraham Munoz, 33, of Montgomery, was arrested in Shakopee, Minn., near the Holiday gas station near Scott County 83 and 17th Avenue shortly before midnight on Feb. 5, 2026. 

    Local Montgomery and Lonsdale businesses and volunteers convened at the Revival on Main in Montgomery for the Lonsdale Area Chamber of Commerce’s (LACC) annual meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 27.
    The 80 attendees enjoyed a brief social period starting at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner with of a choice of three different entrees, catered from Pizzeria 201, and cupcakes for dessert,  provided by sponsors.

    The winter blues had nothing on Hibernation Celebration as it celebrated its eighth year on Jan. 31.
    Moving on to a more centralized bingo and raffle format, a crowd packed the space at Revival on Main and Rustic Farmer Saturday night for a night of drawings and fun.
    There were 400 tickets sold for the night’s big drawing, with a top prize of $10,000. Smaller cash amounts were also raffled off in the same drawing, down to a $500 prize.

    The longstanding American Legion building, 102 Elm Avenue Southwest, is now under the new ownership of Robert Krautkremer and Dione Bast of New Prague, renaming it The American Bar & Grill. 
    “This place came available. We looked at it, talked about it and saw some potential there,” said Krautkremer. Their first day of business, a soft opening, was Friday, Jan. 29. 

Montgomery city officials held their first of three town halls regarding the updated Street and Utilities Improvement Plan (SUIP) and the long-term budget of the city, as well as gave more details about the new Memorial Park playground to be installed in 2026. Only two residents showed up to this first town hall.

    Tri-City United High School’s one act thespians’ season didn’t pan out quite what they wanted to, but it was a great show none-the-less by the students.
    Students competed at the 2A sub-section one act competition on Saturday, Jan. 24, at the school’s performing arts center. This coming after their Thursday, Jan. 22, public performance was postponed until Thursday, Jan. 29, due to cold temperatures. Temperatures that evening and the following day dipped to around 20 degrees below zero. 

A small number of Tri-City United (TCU) wrestlers competed at The takedown on 22 Wrestling Tournament Saturday, Jan. 31. Those who wrestled did quite well.
    Five different Titans claimed top five finishes, led by Trista Gessler who won a championship.
    Gessler placed first in the girls 112-pound weight division. Gage Factor placed second in the 139-pound weight class. Tucker Skluzacek placed 2nd in the 145-pound weight class. Griffin Lemieux placed 3rd in the 127-pound weight class. Owen Delander placed 5th in the 121-pound weight class.

    With the increased spotlight on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) presence in Minnesota, it seemed pertinent to see how our local community is responding to it and what presence of the taxpayer activities has been locally. 
    
TCU Schools

    Eleven bowlers from Tri-City United Schools competed in Mankato for the Minnesota Special Olympics State Bowling Tournament Nov. 22-23, 2025. It was one of eight sites containing a total of 792 volunteers and 4,106 athletes. 
    The TCU competitors had been playing and practicing since the end of September as a part of the TCU Titan Special Olympics Program that practiced at Pla Mor Lanes in Montgomery.

Kathleen “Katie” Scheel was a beautiful wife, devoted mother, and cherished grandmother, among the many roles she carried with quiet strength and grace throughout her life. A woman of deep integrity, unwavering faith, and boundless kindness, Katie lived her values rather than simply speaking them. Her love was steady, her compassion sincere, and her actions, always thoughtful and selfless, spoke far louder than words ever could.

Firefighters from at least New Prague Fire Department and Montgomery Fire Department extinguished a fully-engulfed separated garage fire Thursday, Jan. 29, during the evening hours at Number One Auto north of Heidelberg in rural Lanesburgh Township in Le Sueur County. Temperatures at the time were only about five degrees above zero.

Three Tri-City United Schools middle school students performed this past Saturday, Jan. 24, as a part of the Hope Lutheran High School’s inaugural 2026 Southeast Minnesota Middle School Honor Choir.

Gohan Ruiz, Chris Traxler, and Zoey Lien represented TCU after being nominated by their teachers to do so.

Ruiz and Traxler come from Le Center, and Lien from Montgomery.

Faced with a deteriorating infrastructure, the City of Kilkenny is looking to rehabilitate and modernize its water systems.

The city met with Kyle Renneke of the engineering firm ISG Monday to go over details of the project. Particular focus is given to the well house. The 90-year old structure is in critical disrepair.

“It has a concrete roof that could collapse at any time,” said Kilkenny Mayor Tammy Holicky said.

Republicans and Democrats in Le Sueur, and Rice counties interested in participating in the early stages of the process of selecting their respective party’s candidates and platforms at upcoming precinct caucuses can do so on Tuesday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. at various locations.