Rita Ann (Rosendahl) Shimota, age 89, of Hugo, passed away peacefully on May 15, 2024.
She was born May 18, 1934, in Tyrone Township, MN, to Charlie and Dolores and grew up and was schooled in New Prague, MN. She married her husband, Leonard Shimota, in 1954 and they made their first home in Minnetonka. Their new family then moved in 1971 to an old farmstead in rural Hugo.
Preceded in death by her parents; husband of 64 years, Leonard; brother, Richard; and brother- and sister-in-law, Wilbert and Caroline.

Kathleen Mary Hoelz, age 83, of Belle Plaine, passed away on Saturday, June 1, 2024, at Praha Village in New Prague, surrounded by family.  Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, June 7, 2024, at Our Lady of the Prairie Catholic Church in Belle Plaine.  Fr. Michael Kaluza will officiate.  Visitation will be Thursday, June 6 from 4 -7 p.m.

New Prague’s Karder Schmoll, 14, is called safe at home as he scored the winning run in the Saturday, June 1, semifinal game for the Section 1AAAA baseball tournament. The Trojans, seeded second, won, 2-1, in the bottom of the eighth inning. New Prague had been trailing fourth seeded Rochester Mayo for most of the game. The Trojans will now face number one seeded Farmington Tuesday, June 4, 5 p.m. for the section championship at Dundas Memorial Field.

Dolores Marie Tuma, age 91, of New Prague, formerly of rural Lonsdale, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, at Mala Strana in New Prague. Dolores was born on July 6, 1932, on the family farm in rural New Prague, Scott County, to Charles and Adeline (Machacek) Bartusek. She graduated from New Prague High School. Dolores married Joseph L. Tuma on June 10, 1952, at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Veseli.

Marvin Emil Smisek, 84, surrounded by his loving family, passed away on February 10, 2024 at Mala Strana nursing home in New Prague, MN. Celebration of Life on Saturday,  June 8 at the Lonsdale American Legion, 115 Second Ave NW, Lonsdale, MN, from 10:30 a.m. -  2:30 p.m. Burial will be at 3 p.m. at Calvary Cemetery in Lonsdale. Lunch will be at 11 a.m. and music will be provided by his grandson, Coltan and his band the Rockin’ Hep Cats. Come celebrate and share stories of Marvin with his family and friends.

Lloyd Carl Svoboda, age 85, of rural New Prague left the loving arms of his family to join God in eternal life on Thursday, April 25, 2024, at Central Healthcare of Le Center. 

Those driving through Elko New Market Monday morning, May 20, likely saw crews from the public works department setting up 41 banners along Main Street. The banners honor local veterans and service members as part of the Hometown Heroes program.
The Elko New Market Fire Department’s fire relief association is overseeing the program.
“We’re really excited, this is a great thing for the community,” said Jodi Muelken, president of the fire relief association. She said the banners will be up through Labor Day.

New Prague and area residents will have the opportunity to honor those who served their country in the military or were taken from us or have passed away since their service during the annual Memorial Day services.
Monday, May 27, begins with visits to area cemeteries to honor war dead and those who have left us after their service ended. The schedule of cemetery services includes:
• 9 a.m., St. Patrick;
• 9:25 a.m., St. Benedict (change from last year)
• 9:55 a.m., Lanesburgh;
• 10:15 a.m., Union Hill;
• 10:30 a.m., Czech National;

Duane G. “Dewey” Tinderholm, age 66, of New Prague, died  Monday, May 20, 2024, at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale after a catastrophic stroke and was a proud organ donor.  Dewey was born on May 25, 1957, in Duluth to Gene P.

Elko New Market Police Chief Brady Juell will be honored 4:30-5:45 p.m. before the Elko New Market City Council’s Thursday, May 23, meeting at city hall. Juell announced recently he is stepping down from the position he has held for more than five years.
Juell informed the council at its Thursday, May 9, meeting his last day will be Friday, June 7, and beginning Monday, June 10, he will be Savage’s police chief taking over for Rodney Seurer, who is retiring.

Please join us for a memorial reception to celebrate the life of Edward LaPierre, who passed away September 26, 2023, at his home. We will gather together on June 8, 2024 at the Montgomery American Legion, 102 Elm Ave SW, Montgomery MN,  from 1 p.m. - 4 p.m., to remember our brother.

Amateur baseball in the Dakota, Rice, Scott League began a few weeks back. Teams are hoping for a good summer of town baseball. Here is a brief look at the DRS teams that responded to a request for information on their teams.

Marilyn A. Sindelar, age 92, of New Prague, died unexpectedly at her home on Monday, May 20, 2024.  Marilyn was born on February 7, 1932, in the new home of Frank J. and Blanche (Kubesh) Rehor of New Prague.  She graduated from St. Wenceslaus Catholic School in 1945 and New Prague High School in 1949.  Marilyn was employed at the Federal Reserve Bank in Minneapolis until her marriage to Russell J.

Colonel Jacob C. Helgestad passed away on May 17, 2024, in Mankato, Minnesota, after a strong fight against cancer.  While his friends and family are shocked at the abrupt passing, they are grateful for every moment of his life. 

Richard F. Tikalsky, age 80, of New Prague, died peacefully at home with his family at his side on Friday, May 17, 2024.  Richard was born on March 3, 1944, in New Prague, to James and Bessie (Pikal) Tikalsky and attended New Prague Public Schools.  He married Jeanne A. Pumper on July 31, 1968, in Cleveland, Minnesota. He spent his career working as a roofer.  His favorite job, however, was probably driving bus for the Montgomery School District for the many special education students who graced his life.

Seneca Foods Corporation in Montgomery has been issued a citation by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (MNDLI) and issued a penalty of $156,259 in regards to the incident which happened in the early morning hours of October 5, 2023, where 58-year-old worker Jose Luis Alvarado had items in a warehouse fall on top of him and he died from his injuries.