The Waterville Fire Department was called to a fire at The Funky Munkey restaurant in Waterville early Saturday morning, March 26. According to a firefighter at the scene, the call was made at approximately 3 a.m.
People in the nearby apartments were evacuated.
Elysian Fire, Madison Lake Fire, Morristown Fire, Waseca Fire, Janesville Fire, Faribault Fire, Le Center Fire, Kilkenny Fire, and New Richland Fire were called to assist and helped extinguish the fire.
There have been no reports of injury.

Le Sueur County has a handful of roadway projects scheduled for 2022 which may limit travel to county roads.
In the northern-most portion of the county there will be a resurfacing project on the east side of New Prague.
The project is set to resurface one mile of County State Aide Highway 3 (141st Ave.) between CSAH 20 and State Highway 19. There will be Stabilized Full Depth Reclamation, bituminous paving, and aggregate shouldering.
The project is currently being advertised and the contractor is unknown. The start-up time will be late spring to early summer.

It was a near perfect performance for the New Prague/TCU/ LSJ/Belle Plaine/Jordan CI Division Adapted Floor Hockey team at the 2022 State Tournament held at Bloomington Jefferson High School March 18 and March 19.
The Trojans won their second State title. The first was in 2014. They defeated three teams at State by a total score of 35-4. They finished the year with a perfect 10-0 record.

Kevin Crawford who owned and operated Crawford’s Standard Services, 126 Main St. E, in New Prague for 40 years is retiring and closed the auto repair business on Friday, March 25. Crawford’s two employees will be going to work for his son Nick Crawford who, with Ronnie Bastyr, recently bought New Prague Auto Repair on the town’s west side. From left are Alex Palma, Kevin Crawford, Wes Bennett and Nick Crawford. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

New Prague High School for its spring play will perform the classic production “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder. Show times are Friday, March 25, and Saturday, March 26, at 7:30 p.m. at the high school auditorium, 221 12th St. NE.

St. Wenceslaus Catholic School seventh and eighth graders spent Thursday night, March 17, sleeping outside in cardboard boxes to experience homelessness first-hand, to raise awareness of homelessness, learn the circumstances that often lead to homelessness, and raise money to benefit organizations that help alleviate homelessness.
According to St. Wenc teacher Jill McBroom, who helped organize the event, 42 students participated in the project, with 40 of the students spending the night outside.

New Prague VFW Post 5145 recently announced the winner and three honorable mentions for its essay contest. The participants are all students in Jill Bailey's seventh grade class and the essay theme was “How can I be a good American?” Orelia Slavik won the local contest and Annie Blaschko, Daniel Erickson, and Bella Web received honorable mention. Each of them will receive $30.

Kathleen Budin, age 92 of Northfield, passed away Thursday afternoon, March 17, 2022, at Three Links Care Center.

Robert J. Goggins, age 85, of New Prague, died peacefully on Sunday, March 20, 2022 at Praha Village in New Prague.  He was born on June 10, 1936 in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin to Patrick Henry and Anna Mae (Duffy) Goggins.  He grew up in Chilton, WI, attending St. Augustine Parochial School and graduating from Chilton High School.  He attended college for a brief time before entering the US Army for 3 years.  He attained his Bachelor of Science Degree in Math from Oshkosh State College, where he was voted prom king and served as the captain of his college baseball team.

Beverly Bissell Graf, age 79, of Aitkin, Minnesota, formerly of New Prague, passed away at her home on Friday, March 11, 2022, with her loving family by her side.

Marie Nelson, 104, of Northfield, passed away Saturday evening, March 19, 2022, at the Long Term Care Center in the Northfield Hospital.
Arrangements are pending with Bierman Funeral Home & Crematory, Northfield. www.biermanfuneralhome.com

Kathleen Budin, age 92 of Northfield, passed away Thursday afternoon, March 17, 2022, at Three Links Care Center.
Arrangements are pending with the Benson & Langehough Funeral Home.  www.northfieldfuneral.com

Mary Ann Bauer, age 85, of Jordan, MN, entered eternal life on Tuesday, March 15, 2022, at Oak Terrace Senior Living, in Jordan, MN. She led a simple life by example! Mary Ann grew up with her parents instilling the values of a strong faith foundation, family closeness and working hard together.  

The St. Wenceslaus Catholic School’s All-You-Can-Eat Fish Fry on Friday, March 11, had a good catch in attendance as volunteers served 1,600 meals. Volunteers helping cook the fish, cheesy potatoes and preparing the meals were kept busy. The evening meal had crowds lined up down the hall of one part of the Parish Activity Center (PAC) to get into the PAC’s gym. While many prepaid there were those who waited to pay at the door.

They may be young, but New Prague’s first all girls wrestling team shows a lot of promise. With around 23 members from kindergarten to sixth grade these young grapplers had a fantastic first season.
“We have ten girls who will compete in the girls state tournament this year,” said Simon Kallal, head coach of the team. He and his wife Sarah helped organize the team.

This Sunday, March 20, the 14th annual Roman Barten Memorial Breakfast will benefit Emma Burns, age 3, daughter of David and Carissa Burns of rural Henderson. The breakfast of pancakes, sausages and cinnamon rolls will be held from 8 am. to 1 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 411 Fourth Ave. SW in New Prague and it is a free will donation.