The Le Sueur County Board of Commissioners approved the final 2022 levy in the amount of $24,611,528, which is an increase of $1.1 million or 4.8 percent from 2021.
This action was taken during the December 21 meeting.
County departments developed their proposed budgets during the months of April and May. Work sessions are held between the department heads and the county commissioners during June through August. In September the board sets the preliminary levy.

The tradition where residents make Christmas special for the needy was again a success in 2021.
According to Eileen Segna, the coordinator for the Sharing Tree program, all of the recipients who had tags on the tree, received gifts. She said people were generous with their gifts to the people who are mostly local senior citizens.
“I’m so happy. There’s a lot of people who buy over (the suggested amount) what’s on the tag,” she said.

The Lonsdale City Council has approved another no-frills budget and property tax levy for the 2022 fiscal year.
“I know there are no frills in this budget,” said Lonsdale City Council Member Kevin Kodada. “I know we won’t end up in a surplus like the state did.”
Lonsdale City Administrator Joel Erickson echoed Kodada’s statement as he went over the budget and property tax levy proposed for approval at the December 9 council meeting.
“The whole city budget is as basic as it gets,” Erickson said.

An intimate, outdoor ceremony at Tri-City United High School marked the dedication of two memorial benches, Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 22.
The benches, which are gifts from the Class of 2021, commemorate the lives of two Titans who passed aways in recent years.
One bench is dedicated to Blake Asher, a member of the TCU Class of 2021 who passed away at the age of 17, just a few months shy of graduation in a one-vehicle car accident on February 18, 2020. The words “In memory of Blake Asher, Class of 2021” appear on the front of the bench.

Montgomery has a new church.
Life Church, a new non-denominational church, has served the Montgomery religious community since early November, but the church’s beginnings started on a lakeshore in rural Le Sueur County.
According to Executive Pastor Doug Pint, the church began meeting in open-air spaces on Lake Volney during the summer. Life Church, which promotes helping one another as a family, now has a new, physical home at Hilltop Hall, 206 First Street N.

The holiday classic, "A Charlie Brown Christmas," made its way to St. John Lutheran Church on Sunday, Dec. 19. The program, which features Charlie Brown trying to find the Christmas spirit with a forlorn little fir Christmas tree, was presented by the church’s Sunday School youth. In addition to the play, the production also included songs, “Christmastime is here,” “Joy to the World,” “O Christmas Tree,” “Away in a Manger,” and Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”

A number of school districts around the country, including Tri-City United, are responding to an anonymous threat on TikTok that seemingly warns against students attending class on Friday.
The threat, or "challenge,"reportedly calls on students to commit acts of violence on Dec. 17. It does not name a specific school or district.
According to TCU Superintendent Lonnie Seifert, there have been no threats that the district is aware of that specifically identify TCU schools as a site for violence.

The Le Sueur County Sheriff’s Office, with other area law enforcement, held its Shop with a Cop the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 8, at the Knights of Columbus Hall in New Prague. There were 23 children that participated in the annual event that allows children to find gifts for family members and something for themselves.

MANKATO, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Transportation is preparing motorists for forecasted heavy snowfall rates Friday morning through Saturday morning. The heavy snowfall rates of 1-2 inches per hour are expected to reduce visibility, cause compaction on the roadways, and make travel difficult in south central and southwest Minnesota. 

Le Sueur County received $3.7 million from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), part of a $2.2 trillion federal economic stimulus bill that was passed in March 2020 in response to the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
So, how did the county spend those dollars?

A family of cousins found this year’s Christmas medallion on Wednesday, Dec. 1. Cousins (front, from left) Mikayla Segna, Ruby Vosejpka, Max Segna, and Zoey Finkenbiner (back) share the prize of $50 Monty Bucks and a $50 Mackenthun’s gift card. The cousins found the coin hidden in a coffee can that was on the tree line near the cemetery behind Mackenthuns’s Fine Foods.
Read more in the December 9 issue. (Wade Young Photo)

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and the City of Montgomery are hosting an open house to share updates on the Highway 13 project, as well as gather input from the community regarding proposed improvements between Fir Avenue NW and Vine Avenue NW.
For the three parking and lane options, click on the pdf.
The open house will take place on Monday, November 29 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Montgomery City Hall (201 Ash Avenue, Montgomery).

When they climb aboard their specially-designed float for the Torchlight Parade on December 2, Chloe Hart and Wyatt Harms are going to make sure people see them.
“We’re going to wave … a lot!” said Chloe.
“The Queen waves like this (palm down, as if wiping a table). I don’t know how the boys wave. I’m going to wave regular,” Wyatt said.
The Tri-City United second graders have been named as the Junior Grand Marshals of Montgomery’s 28th Annual Torchlight Parade that will roll down First Street, Montgomery, on Thursday, Dec. 2, starting at 6:30 p.m.

Eight members of the TCU FFA chapter visited the 2021 FFA National Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana from October 26 to 29. They were Jacey Saemrow, Maddy Ruger, Grace Halloran, TCU FFA Treasurer Sami Tiede, TCU FFA Reporter Marty Malecha, Cole Walters, Brendan Germscheid, and Nathan Goettl. Randy Krahl, ag teacher at TCU accompanied the students.
According to Tiede, during the trip, the members had a lot of new learning experiences. Some happened before they arrived at the convention.

A 446-acre park in Le Sueur County will benefit from a fundraiser held in Montgomery on Sunday.
The Ney Nature Center (NNC) was the focus of the 13th annual Fall Fling, the nature preserve’s largest fundraiser of the year. It attracted people from around the county who are dedicated to the NNC’s mission of preservation of the natural state of its surroundings, restoring and preserving the buildings of historical significance, and engaging the greater community in connecting with the natural world.

Hundreds of people gathered in Montgomery on Friday for a fundraiser to help two people who were struck by a wrong-way driver last month.
TCU graduates Kylie Maxa and Leonardo “Leo” Herrera-Lara felt the love and support on November 12 when family, friends and members of the TCU Dance Team held a fundraiser for them following a car accident on October 6.