Lois E. Ivan, age 75, of New Prague, died suddenly on Saturday, April 11, 2020, at Mala Strana Care and Rehabilitation Center. Lois was born on November 13, 1944 in Perth Amboy, New Jersey to Louis and Elizabeth (Egnotyak) Ivan. Lois attended School #9 and was an assembly worker, living most of her life in New Jersey, until relocating to New Prague, Minnesota, in September 2011 with her sister and nephew. Lois was a fan of the arts. She enjoyed painting ceramics and paint-by-number. She loved embroidery and reading novels.

Susan M. Kurkowski, 75, of New Prague, passed away on Saturday, April 11, 2020, in Jordan, surrounded by family.
Susan was born to Alvie and Claudia (Opsahl) Olson on July 20, 1944, in Barnesville, Minnesota. She grew up on the family farm and then moved to Minneapolis with her family in her teens.
Susan enjoyed going to the casino, watching cooking shows, puzzles, gardening, shopping for antiques, but enjoyed spending time with her family the most. Her love of Elvis Presley's music even enticed her to visit Graceland on two occasions.

A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for areas along and south of a line from Springfield through New Ulm to Cottage Grove in Minnesota, continuing to New Richmond and Rice Lake in Wisconsin. Alert area: Blue Earth; Dakota; Faribault; Freeborn; Goodhue; Le Sueur; Martin; Rice; Scott; Steele; Waseca; Washington; Watonwan.
A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for a small swath of
counties just to the north of that line, including the Twin Cities metro area.

The Easter Bunny was making his way through New Prague the morning of Saturday, April 11. About 50 people gathered in or near their cars in the New Prague High School parking lot to greet the Easter Bunny, who was accompanied by vehicles from the New Prague Fire Department, Police Department and North Memorial Ambulance for a brief parade. The Easter Bunny was also going through neighborhoods in New Prague to spread some cheer to families. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

On the afternoon of April 6, 2020, as part of an ongoing drug investigation, Jordan Police Department assisted the Southwest Metro Drug Task Force (SWMDTF) by conducting a traffic stop in the city of Jordan.
The suspect and driver of the vehicle was identified as Pedro Gil Garcia (57) of Jordan.  Garcia was placed under arrest and booked into the Scott County Jail for violating a No Contact Order and felony 1st degree sale and possession of 1.2 kilos of Methamphetamine. 

Mayo Clinic staff are doing extraordinary work, leading in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are proud of, and committed to, our staff and our communities as they come together to fight this global health crisis. Mayo Clinic is facing unprecedented challenges as a result of these circumstances, including a financial impact that requires significant adjustments to our operations.

She’s 8.
And, after almost four whole weeks of being home from school due to COVID-19, she’s anything but bored.
Penny Herrmann, daughter of Katie and Michael Herrmann of New Prague, is making and selling candles (after completing all of her schoolwork, of course). The idea came to her a few months ago when she was watching a five-minute craft program.
“I saw what they were doing with candle stuff and I told my mom I wanted to start making candles… I wanted to try it,” explained Penny, who had already delved into the arts of slime-making and chap stick creating.

Data is for cases that were tested and returned positive. Numbers are cumulative since Jan. 20, 2020. All data are preliminary and may change as cases are investigated.
Not all suspected cases of COVID-19 are tested, so this data is not representative of the total number of people in Minnesota who have or had COVID-19.
Updated April 10, 2020
Updated daily at 11 a.m., with data current as of 4 p.m. the previous day.
Dates provided are those when the case, hospitalization, or death was first posted in this situation report.

Brad Drazan has been offered and has accepted the Head Boys Hockey Coaching position at New Prague High School pending board approval. Drazan comes from a family of educators, including New Prague Hall of Fame educators Fran and Irma Langer, and mom, Mary Drazan, a second grade teacher at Falcon Ridge Elementary. Drazan is a native of New Prague, Minnesota where he graduated from New Prague High School in 2008. He played hockey for the Trojans and was the captain of the 2008 Boys Hockey team.

Like all the other sports this late winter/spring, the New Prague Archery Club’s season was cut short, as well as having their state tournament being canceled - Sort of.
This year’s State Tournament was held this past weekend, “virtually”.
The state and national committees decided to hold the state tournaments virtually, as teams needed a qualifying score to move on to the National/and or World tournaments later in the summer if they are still held.

Congratulations to New Prague Trojan Senior Emily Russo for earning MN Girls Basketball All-Star Series Honors! Emily is 1 of 10 Seniors selected in Class 4A! Emily is headed to the NSIC next season to play basketball for the Mavericks of Minnesota State University-Mankato! Congrats Emily Russo on being named a 4A All-Star! #mngbbALLSTAR2020

The start to the 2020 DRS Baseball League is currently on hold.
According to League President Mike Sticha, they are waiting for more information from the Minnesota Baseball Association before rescheduling.

With his family at his side on April 9, 2020,  John A. Halloran (age 95) died peacefully in the house he built on his farm in Belle Plaine Township.  Due to the restrictions with the COVID~19 Virus, services will be private.
John was born to John P. and Grace (Schoell) Halloran on October 20, 1924 in Belle Plaine. He attended Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Grade School in Belle Plaine and New Prague High School, from which he graduated in 1942. After a farm deferment, he was drafted in Spring 1945 and served his country in Japan as an MP in the Occupation Forces.

Walleye angling on Mille Lacs Lake will be catch-and-release only for this year’s open water season, with the exception of the month of July, when walleye fishing will be closed.
Additionally, anglers will not be allowed to use live bait for any species in July, except sucker minnows greater than 8 inches in length for targeting northern pike and muskellunge.
The new walleye rule is among several regulations changes this year. Bass and northern pike also have new regulations.

The City of New Prague received an application for a commercial building permit for the former Shopko. The permit is valued at an estimated $1.3 million and the applicant is HyVee Construction. The building is expected to be converted into a HyVee Dollar Fresh grocery store. For more see an upcoming print issue of The Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

Robert W. Vosejpka, age 81 of Owatonna, MN, formerly of rural Lonsdale died peacefully on March 31, 2020 at The Emeralds in Faribault, MN.  
 Robert was born May 6, 1938 in Forest Township, rural Lonsdale, MN to Frank A. and Rose (Barta) Vosejpka. He was the youngest of 4 children. He attended country school through 8th grade and later graduated from Northfield High School.