The restoration of Montgomery’s mural will soon come alive with the application of colorful paint.
The 40-foot mural is being redone in a warehouse in Montgomery. Victor Garcia, a retired painter who had lived in Montgomery for 18 years before moving to his home in Belle Plaine, knows the mural’s scene very well. He painted the original 25 years ago. However, weather took its toll on the masterpiece and its boards were taken down last fall.

Ludmilla (Ludy) Korbel, 88, of Montgomery passed away on Sunday, July 7, 2019. Visitation will be held from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Friday, July 12 at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery. Mass of Christian burial will follow at 10:30 a.m. with Father Tom Niehaus officiating. Interment will be in St. Wencelsaus Cemetery in New Prague.
Ludmilla was born in New Prague on December 6, 1930, to Edward and Elizabeth (Minar) Korbel. She attended country school in rural New Prague and later graduated from New Prague High School.

The local Catholic community, including Most Holy Redeemer Church in Montgomery, St. Canice Catholic Church in Kilkenny, and St. Patrick Catholic Church in Shieldsville, is under new leadership as of July 1.
Fr. Victor Valencia, who has led the parish for five years, has transferred to St. Jerome Church in Maplewood.
Fr. Tom Niehaus (pronounced knee-house), who has most recently served at St. Columbanus Catholic Church in Blooming Prairie, has taken on the leadership role in the local Catholic community.

Richard Dorr Hudson, 74, of Otsego, MN passed away peacefully on July 4, 2019. Services will be held Saturday, July 13 at 11 am with visitation beginning at 9 am at Peterson Chapel in St. Michael, MN.

Richard Earl Morrow, age 76 of Texas passed away peacefully on July 4th, 2019, in Waconia, MN. 
Richard was born on September 6th, 1942, in Vernon Center, MN to Alfred and Lucille Morrow (Burdick). He was one of eight children. Richard lived in Texas since the early 80’s and would visit family in Minnesota during the summer months.

Tri-City United High School Assistant Principal Jeff Eppen has been named Southwest Assistant Principal of the Year by the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP).

A herd of hundreds (of people) visited the Pieper family farm in rural New Prague on Saturday, June 29, as part of Rice County American Dairy Association's free Day On the Farm event.
Visitors were treated to a free lunch, milk shakes, kids' games, and tours of the approximately 890-head dairy farm that proudly produces an average of 34,000 pounds of milk a day.
The farm is owned and operated by Ray and Bridget Pieper with help from five of their 10 children, Tim, Brian, Nick, Dan, and Emily.

New Prague defeated New Market 2-1 Sunday, June 30, handing the Muskies their first league loss of the season. New Market is ranked No. 1 among Class C teams in the state. The win was the fifth straight for the Orioles, and evened their league record at 8-8. Both New Prague and St. Patrick picked up three wins in the past week and Montgomery had two wins.

Joseph William Connolly, 74, passed away Saturday, June 29, 2019, at his home in Le Center surrounded by his loving family.
Visitation will be held Friday, July 5 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday, July 6 from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Le Center. Funeral service will be held Saturday, July 6 at 10 a.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Le Center with Father James Stiles officiating. Military honors will be provided by the Le Center Area Veterans Honor Guard. Interment will be at St. Henry Cemetery.

Local dentist Dr. Mark Brahs, who has provided dental care in Montgomery for 43 years, has hung up his tooth explorer tool and mouth mirror and is settling into retirement.
“I was fortunate to have a good career,” stated Brahs, who officially retired on May 30. “I’ve had the privilege of seeing patients as young as two years old, up to 103… I’ve seen some families for three generations, possibly four. I’m grateful for those who have put their trust in me over the years.”

Thursday, July 4, is celebrated as the birthday of the United States, and many area communities will be celebrating Independence Day with fireworks and other festivities. In the immediate area, New Prague, Lonsdale and Veseli will hold their traditional fireworks displays, as will other communities in Scott, Le Sueur and Rice counties. Here are some of the highlights.

The New Market Muskies didn’t play any league games last week, but they clinched a bye into the double-elimination portion of the Region 3C playoffs. The Muskies have a 16-0 record and a 5-1/2 game lead over second-place St. Patrick with the season entering its final four weeks. The top four teams get first-round byes, with the remaining teams competing in best-of-three series to qualify for the region playoffs. Besides New Market, St. Patrick, Montgomery and Prior Lake currently hold on to the top four spots.
New Prague, Montgomery and Faribault each won two games last week.

Patrick Goggins of New Prague has been appointed a District Court Judge in Minnesota’s First Judicial District by Governor Tim Walz.
Goggins will be replacing the Honorable Martha Simonett and will be chambered at Le Center in Le Sueur County.

Jim and Patti Mladek are going to see a lot more of Kolacky Days this year.
They were bestowed the honor of being named Grand Marshals at the Montgomery Area Community Club’s Meet and Greet Monday.
The couple is no stranger to volunteering. Before they were introduced to a crowd that packed the City Hall (rain forced a venue change from Memorial Park), MACC President Tom Washa read a part of their volunteer history.

The Tri-City United Clay Target team placed sixth at the Minnesota State High School League Championships Friday, June 21, at the Minneapolis Gun Club in Prior Lake. The Titan shooters hit 479 of 500 targets, just five fewer than champion New Prague. There were 40 teams competing at the tournament.
The Titans’ Wyatt Hurd hit 99 of 100 targets, with Lukas Dietz hitting 97. Benjamin Sladek had 95 and James Krautkremer and Wyley Petersen each had 94.

New Market continues their dominance, sitting undefeated at 16-0 in DRS League play, holding a commanding 6 game lead on St. Patrick, the 2nd place team. St. Patrick holds a 0.5 game lead on the surging Montgomery Mallards, who are winners of 4-straight, and have settled into 3rd place in the Standings. Prior Lake holds down the 4th spot to round out the top 4, which would all be in line for a bye from League Playoffs.