Cancer survivors made the first lap at the 26th Annual Le Sueur County Relay for Life on Friday night, July 12, at the Le Sueur County Fairgrounds in Le Center. The event, which celebrates the fight against cancer, remembers those who lost their battle with cancer, and raises money for the American Cancer Society, will be held until midnight. The closing ceremony will be at 12:45 a.m.
Pick up a copy of this week's paper to read more about local teams and their fight against cancer.

DRS season enters final two weekends With just two weekends remaining in the Dakota-Rice- Scott League regular season, the surging New Prague Orioles have won seven games in a row and have moved into the top four of the league standings. New Market continues to lead the league with an 18-1 record, while St. Patrick has solidified its hold on a playoff bye.

The Minnesota Valley Bowling Association held a Hall of Fame induction recently at the New Prague Knights of Columbus Hall.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.