Frosty was the keyword entering Saturday’s annual Frost Fest event held along Lonsdale’s Main Street.
Frosty was the best way to describe the weather for the event. Temperatures were in the low teens, and gradually dipping throughout the event. A slight breeze added additional chill to the air.
Lonsdale was prepared, however. Fire pits were set up in front of participating businesses to warm or roast marshmallows, sometimes both.

Anna Tobacco and Smoke Shop Montgomery had a soft opening on Saturday, Nov. 16., with a ribbon cutting on Wednesday, Nov. 20. This opening date is a little later than the owner, Zahed Mohibullah, anticipated, originally thinking it would be operational by the end of October.
This is Mohibullah’s fifth store in Minnesota that he owns solely. He is also partner in six other stores.

Union Hill Bar & Grill owner Ryan Klein of New Prague pled guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol, and admitted to crashing his vehicle shortly after leaving his bar on the evening of Saturday, Sept. 28, according to a Le Sueur County Sheriffs Office incident report and court records obtained.

Overnight Closure Alert: Highway 169 South of Jordan Dec. 5, 6
Highway 169 in one direction closes overnight (10 p.m. to 5 a.m.) from Park Blvd to Highway 282 / Scott County Road 9 on Dec. 5 and 6. Northbound Highway 169 will be closed 12/5; Southbound Highway 169 will be closed 12/6. See Detour Map for temporary alternate routes.

TCU’s fall musical goes under the sea with a production of The Little Mermaid.
The musical opens Friday, Nov. 22, at the TCU Performing Arts Center and runs through Sunday. Showtimes are 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24.
There are 52 students participating in the musical, based on the classic Disney movie. The show is directed by Sarah Mejia.
“It’s going very well,” TCU Senior Josiah Velarde, who plays Prince Eric, said. “After seeing all the costumes and all of the set put together. It’s coming to life. I’m very excited.”

The 2024 Torchlight Parade and Fireworks has announced their grand marshals for this year’s event, 7-year-old Kylee Balfe from Tri-City United Montgomery PreK-8 School and 8-year-old Chase Barnett of Most Holy Redeemer Catholic School.
Balfe, daughter of Matt and Desiree Reak, is from Montgomery. She participates in dance and cheerleading, loves to sing at home, playing on her swing set, going to the park, riding bicycle, playing games on her Nintendo Wii, building forts and playing outside with her dog Bear.

Le Sueur County Sheriff Brett Mason, along with the Mounted Posse and The Sheriff’s Youth Project, have once again come together to launch the project, “Believe in the Magic of Christmas.”
The project “will provide an opportunity for our community to come together and spread a little Christmas Magic for a very deserving family.”

Joe Johnson
Rice County Emergency Management Director
As winter approaches, it's critical to prepare for extreme cold, snow, and icy conditions. These storms can last a few hours or several days and cut off heat, power, and communication. 
Winter storms create a higher risk of car crashes, hypothermia, frostbite, carbon monoxide poisoning, residential fires, and heart attacks from overexertion. 
To ensure that you and your loved ones are prepared, follows these steps: 

Larry Parsons, of Montgomery, stands on his open porch every day at 5 p.m. and plays “Taps.” He has an Amazon Alexa notification to remind him, just in case he forgets what time it is. “A couple of neighborhood children across from his place come out with their hand on their hearts, almost daily,” Parsons said. The children came out the day we visited him, and another neighbor from across the corner shouted, “Thanks for your service Larry!”

Among the buildings along South Plut Avenue at the Le Sueur County Fairgrounds in Le Center, Minn., lies a small building nestled between the other structures that keeps a piece of yesteryear alive — District #75 Schoolhouse. The building is a wood, oneroom schoolhouse, which was typical for the area at the time.

Monty Auto Wash, 626 4th St SW, received a full revamp from its new owners, Grant and Sierra Kaisershot.
The facility originally opened almost 20 years ago to the day as Montgomery Car Wash under the owners of Ron Pexa and Dick Franek with business offices located in the R&R Metalworks building.
The Kaisershots bought the facility earlier this year and shut it down for a period of time to make upgrades to it — some upgrades they did themselves and some through contractors.

You can honor your veterans by attending one or all of the area ceremonies within the area on Veterans Day, Monday, Nov. 11. The opportunities to show support for veterans are listed in chronological order below and are open to all the public unless otherwise noted. Montgomery VFW Post 5340 will present the Patriot's Pen Essay Contest winners and Voice of Democracy Contest winners at these programs.

The 2024 election had some key local races. Democrat Angie Craig won over Republican Joe Teirab for congressional district 2 by little more than 56,000 votes. Republican Terry M. Stier won over Democrat Sara Nett-Torgrimson by a large margin of almost 10,000 votes in senate district 22B. Democrat Kristi Purcell returned to senate district 58A with about 1,000 more votes than Republican Rita Hillman Olson.

The Miss Czech-Slovak Minnesota Pageant is now accepting applications for candidacy for junior ambassadors and queens for the 36th Annual Miss Czech-Slovak Minnesota Pageant.
An informational open house will be held at the Montgomery Public Library, 104 Oak Ave, on Saturday, Nov. 9, from 12-1:30 p.m. Potential candidates will have the opportunity to meet with board members, ask questions and learn about the opportunities.

Locations will be open during the stated days/times starting September 20 (Fri).
Locations will also be open 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. on November 2 (Sat), and November 3 (Sun).
Locations will also be open until 5:00 p.m. on November 4 (Mon).
Locations will serve all voters in the county unless marked with an asterisk (*).
Those marked with an asterisk (*) will only serve residents of that city/town.

For additional questions, contact the county auditor or municipal clerk.
Le Sueur County