Wood and Metal on display
City Council Member, Mayor, Kolacky Days Grand Marshal and business owner are just a few of the hats Mick McGuire has or is wearing. In 2021, he added wooden canoe builder to that list.
“I’d seen a number of these canoes and thought that it would be kind of a fun project to take on,” said McGuire.

The importance of civic leadership cannot be underestimated in its importance, need, and overall community benefit. In a town the size of Montgomery, a very low amount of your time is often necessary for such an engagement too.
Civic leaders are people that help shape communities and influence the path that they are headed on. Organizations and cities are struggling to find enough individuals to fill all of those roles.

Elvin Leigh Wehking, age 57, of rural Janesville, died in a single vehicle crash on Tuesday, Jan. 9.
    The Le Sueur County Sheriff’s dispatch center received a 911 call at 5:33 p.m. of a vehicle crash near a residence on Tetonka Lake Road in Elysian Township. Le Sueur County Sheriff’s deputies and Elysian Fire and Rescue were initially dispatched to the scene. 
    Sheriff’s deputies noted that a 2003 Ford Taurus, driven by Wehking, had left the roadway, travelled through a ditch and collided with a large tree — which caused extensive front end damage to the vehicle. 

The Tri-City United (TCU) girls basketball team trailed for the first 26 minutes of their Thursday, Dec. 28 game with WEM.
But once they took the lead they never relinquished it, pulling out a 62-52 nonconference win over the Buccaneers.
WEM scored the first bucket of the game, a three-pointer by senior Kylie LaFrance. They led 30-25 at halftime and extended that lead to 39-30 on back-toback baskets by junior Tianna Pope and senior Claire Bohlen with 13:38 to play in the game.

The Tri-City United (TCU) boys basketball team outscored WEM 34- 16 over the final nine minutes of their game Thursday, Dec. 28 to pull out a 72-68 nonconference win in Waterville.
After leading 27-25 at halftime, the Bucs increased their lead to 52-38 on a rebound basket by senior Caleb Caron with 9:13 remaining.
The TCU defense held the Bucs to five field goals over the next nine minutes while their offense did much of their damage at the free throw line, scoring 14 from the charity stripe, including the final four of the game.

Montgomery VFW Post 5340 and the post’s auxiliary held their annual awards ceremony and holiday gathering on Dec. 20 at the American Legion.
The post welcomed 2023 new members Keith Barta, Steve Harper, Paul Hessing, Roy Otero, Mark Roemhildt, Joel Sticha and Kasie Vlasak. The auxiliary welcomed new member Diane Radil.
Years of service awards were presented to members celebrating milestone years of continuous membership.

Many of you have likely heard of Festivus (for the rest of us), the popular holiday skit from the hit show Seinfeld. It includes the Airing of Grievances and the Feats of Strength. Actor Jerry Stiller in the role of Frank Costanza proclaims “Festivus Miracles” and starts out dinner with the famous line, “I got a lot of problems with you people. Now, you’re going to hear about it!” It also includes a Festivus Pole, a bare pole requiring no decoration.

The American Legion in Montgomery has had a banner out front for a few weeks now advertising a new restaurant coming called Taco Terco. It is a partnership between the Legion and Taco Terco’s owners, Chef Daniel Garza and his wife Cara Sutton. The restaurant is set to open in the first part of January 2024.

Ruth Helen Gaul, age 88, of Montgomery, passed away on Saturday, December 30, 2023, at Central Health Care in Le Center, surrounded by her family. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, January 3, 2024 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Schoenbauer Funeral Home in Montgomery. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, January 4, 2024 at 11:30 a.m., with visitation one hour prior, all at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery with Father Tom Niehaus officiating. Interment will be at Calvary Cemetery in Montgomery, MN.

On December 26, 2023, Sandra Ann (Jakes) Sticha, 71, passed away at her home in Florida.  Sandy was born September 8, 1952, in New Prague, Minnesota, to Marvin and Irene (Spoor) Jakes.
Sandy is survived by her two children; Daniel (Roni) Jakes of Florida and Jill (Katie Bastyr) Sticha of Montgomery, MN.  Sandy has four grandchildren, Cora, Jeremiah, Danielle, and Joshua and 8 (soon 9) great-grandchildren. 

Diana Mary Turek, age 65, of Montgomery, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, December 21, 2023. Visitation will be held on Thursday, January 4, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Prayer service will follow at 2:00 p.m all at the Schoenbauer Funeral Home. Interment will be at Calvary Cemetery in Montgomery, MN.

Diana Turek, age 65 of Montgomery, was found deceased in her vehicle in front of Edel’s Meat Market at 116 1st Street North in Montgomery Thursday, Dec. 21.
A female customer arriving at the meat market noticed Turek in the vehicle and knocked on the window but got no response. She made a call to 911 at about 3:22 p.m.
Montgomery Police Officer Sladek was dispatched, arrived on scene and advised dispatch to send Montgomery Area EMS. Officer Sladek found Turek in her vehicle. He checked for vital signs and advised dispatch to cancel EMS as she was deceased.

Daniel Michael Borchardt, age 57, of Montgomery passed away Thursday, December 21, 2023, at his home. Visitation will be held on Thursday, December 28, 2023, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m at the Le Center Funeral Home. Funeral service will be held on Friday, December 29, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. with visitation one hour prior, all at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Le Center, MN, with Pastor Jason Pollington officiating. Interment will be held at Woodlawn Cemetery in Le Center, MN.

When Montgomery resident Taylor Hindermann was pregnant with her youngest son, doctors informed her that her son would have medical challenges.
Kip Hindermann was diagnosed with fetal ascites when Taylor was 18 weeks pregnant. He was born with gastrointestinal issues and a malformed abdomen. These issues also affected his mobility.
“He was taken into therapy early because they thought that he wouldn’t be able to walk or crawl on time,” Taylor said. “He needed to strengthen his core so that he could help hold himself up to sit, and then to crawl and then to walk.”

The first win of the season for the Tri-City United (TCU) boys basketball team was recorded Tuesday, Dec. 12 - an 81-61 win over Mayer Lutheran.
Reggie Vosejpka and Luke Holicky combined for 55 points in the victory.
Vosejpka scored 31 points, grabbed 19 rebounds and added two assists and two steals.
Holicky hit five three-pointers on his way to 24 points. He also added five rebounds.
Connor Flintrop scored 10 points and had five steals, three rebounds, and three assists. Eduardo Flores scored six and assisted on three baskets.

A routine visit to see my grandmother on my dad’s side, where she was making us dinner, can never go well for someone after my dad tells me that she’s making a soup and I should at least pretend to like it.
I am not sure where the term came from exactly or who ever said it first, but it looked like and tasted like “Dishwater Soup.” If you can imagine a really dirty batch of dishwater that had been sitting for a while where the suds are gone, that is what it kind of looked like.