It’s not even March yet and there are already those sports gearing up for state tournaments. At least one, the State Dance Team Tournament, has already happened. The state tournament for girls hockey and gymnastics are going on over the next few days. In the next few weeks, there will be the tourneys for wrestling, boys hockey, adaptive floor hockey and girls and boys basketball.

Evelyn L. Vlasak, 92, of Montgomery, died on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020 at Mala Strana Rehabilitation Center in New Prague. Visitation will be held Thursday, Feb. 27 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Schoenbauer Funeral Home in Montgomery.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, Feb. 28 at ­­­11 a.m. at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church with Father Tom Niehaus officiating with visitation one hour prior at the church. Interment will be in Calvary Cemetery in Montgomery.

New Prague senior Emily Russo was named one of 40 Minnesota seniors as a finalist for the honor of Miss Basketball.
Russo, who has scored close to 1,600 points and has more than 800 rebounds, joins a number of local players as a finalist.
Gus Boyer of Waseca, Sarah Conlon of St. Peter, Annie Guentzel of Lakeville South, Lauren Jensen of Lakeville North, Mackenzie Kramer of St. Michael-Albertville, and Molly Mogensen of Farmington are among the finalists.

Tim Neeser has been with Chart Industries for nearly 40 years. He began as an intern in 1980 when the New Prague based company was MVE (Minnesota Valley Engineering). He was hired full time as a product engineer for packaged gases fresh out of college in 1982. He retired on Friday, Feb. 14.
He said when he began with the company it employed 150 people. Now it has 5,000 employees and does $1.5 billion in sales worldwide. His work with the company has also resulted in his filing 25 patents.

Blake Ryan Asher, age 17, of Lonsdale, died tragically in a car accident on Tuesday, February 18, 2020.  Blake was born on November 7, 2002 in Northfield to Ryan P. Asher and Jennifer Kassa Jones.  He was raised in the Farmington/Lonsdale area and was currently a junior at Tri-City United (TCU) School, where he was a member of the speech club.  Blake was loved by everyone with his bubbly, funny, goofy personality.

Due to a lack of a quorum, the New Prague City Council meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. tonight (Tuesday, Feb. 18) has been cancelled. For the council to meet it needs at least three of its five members to be present. The agenda, which included public comment on the renewal of the Ambulance Service Agreement, has been rescheduled for the Monday, March 2, council meeting.

More than 340 people showed up to warm up at the 26th annual Soup Supper at St. Wenceslaus Church on Monday, Feb. 17. The all you can eat supper had three delectable choices for the evening, chili, vegetable beef soup and chicken noodle soup, plus homemade breads, cookies and bars. The proceeds will benefit the Dorothy Day Center in St. Paul. For more see an upcoming print issue of The Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

Vicky Jo Martell (King) passed away on Friday, February 14th, 2020 in the comfort of her home.  She was 68 years old.  She is survived by her husband Kurt Martell and their children Allison, Bryce and Callie.

Clauson, Robert O. ,age 95, of New Hope, previously of Worthington and New Prague. Preceded in death by wife, Fern; parents, Ida and Edwin; siblings, Evelyn, Hazel, Mabel, Harold, John, and Paul; grandchildren, Karalyn Capriotti, and Naomi & Nathan Spores. He will be deeply missed by his children, Barbara Clauson (Robert Timm), Deborah Werth (Thomas), Roger (Cathy), Gary (Amy), Mary Spores (Ronald); 7 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren; siblings, Ruth, Ellen, and Lois; many relatives and good friends.

Edward M. “Eddie” Dvorak, age 64, of Jordan died peacefully at his home on Sunday, February 16, 2020.  Eddie was born on January 25, 1956 in New Prague to Edward and Martha A.

Guests at the annual 4-H Valentine’s Dance enjoy line dancing on Friday, Feb. 14. The dance at Falcon Ridge Elementary School in New Prague is held for adults with developmental disabilities. There were 60 guests from area communities who had a fun time on the dance floor, with games, crafts and other activities. The Valentine’s Dance is organized by the Booster 4-H Club of New Prague and Magnifying Abilities, a social and recreational program for persons with cognitive and physical disabilities. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

It took one of the top teams in the state to end the double digit winning streak of the New Prague girls basketball team.
St. Michael-Albertville, ranked 7th in Class AAAA, defeated the Trojans, rated 18th in Class AAAA, 66-63 Saturday, Feb. 8.
The loss snapped a 10 game Trojan winning streak. The last time they were defeated was Dec. 28.

New Prague’s Cub Scouts of Pack 323 had a lot of exciting fun on Saturday, Feb. 8, as they held their annual Pinewood Derby at St. Wenceslaus Church’s Parish Activity Center. This year’s races of 52 wooden cars, built by the Cub Scouts, was a record number of entries for the annual event.
“It went fantastic this year,” said Cubmaster Erick Christianson of the Pinewood Derby.

A huge second half comeback came up just short Friday, Feb. 7 for the New Prague basketball team.
The Trojans trailed 30-19 at halftime and fell behind by as many as 18 points before pulling to within three against Hutchinson.
The Tigers held on, defeating the Trojans, 54-50 in a Wright County East Division game.
“We dug ourselves a hole going down by as many as 18 in the second half,” Trojan head coach Dan Peterka said. “We battled back and gave ourselves a chance down the stretch, but we couldn’t get it done.”

On Tuesday, Feb. 4, State Representative Bob Vogel, R-Elko New Market, announced he will not be seeking re-election for a fourth term to the Minnesota House of Representatives. Vogel has represented House District 20A since being first elected in 2014.
“I never dreamed growing up in New Market, then a community of 250 people, that I would have the honor of representing over 38,000 people in the Minnesota House for three terms,” said Rep. Vogel. “Serving in public office has been a great privilege and truly a life-changing experience.”

This Tuesday, Feb. 18, New Prague area residents can provide input into what ambulance service will provide aid to the community and the region around town. This time of public comment will be held at New Prague City Hall at 6 p.m. Another option for those who wish to be heard, you can send comments to City Hall by way of emails or letters.
The council decided at its Monday, Feb. 3, meeting to request public comment on the issue. It will help decide whether the city should remain with North Memorial Health’s ambulance service or go with Mayo Clinic Health System in New Prague.