Shirley A. Scherz, age 82, of New Prague, died peacefully, surrounded by her family on Sunday, September 9, 2018 at Mala Strana Rehabilitation Center in New Prague.  Shirley was born on January 6, 1936 in the Hiller farmhouse near Weaver Lake to Donald W. and Lillian M. (Rice) Hiller.  She graduated from Anoka High School.  Following high school, she went to Minnesota School of Business to learn shorthand.  She worked many jobs but most notably, worked her way up to being a Manager for Tupperware Direct Sales Marketing.  She married M.

Matthew “Mike” J. Tikalsky, age 87 of New Prague, passed away at his home surrounded by his family on September 7, 2018. Mike proudly served his country in the US Army and was a member of the Lonsdale American Legion. Mike owned and operated the Tikalsky Store in Lonsdale before his retirement. He is preceded in death by his parents, Joseph Sr. and Adeline (Svoboda) Tikalsky; siblings, Joseph Jr., and Adeline (Leo) Malecha, also brother-in-law, Eugene Dwyer.

Leslie Kyle Thill, age 86, of Jordan, passed away on Friday, September 7, 2018 at Oak Terrace Assisted Living after a strong, patient, stubborn and hard-fought battle with multiple health complications: heart damage from sepsis; chronic lymphocytic leukemia; and esophageal cancer.  Born on September 22, 1931 in Chetek, WI, the son of Edward Francis and Bessie Ruth (nee: Lyon) Thill.  Les graduated from Chetek High School in 1949 and proudly served in the United States Army from 1949 to 1952, where he met Maria in Paris, France.  Even before Les asked Maria to marry him, and because he wante

Emily Ardolf was having an early celebration of her 104th birthday, which is on Saturday, Sept. 8. A resident of Mala Strana Assisted Living and Rehabilitation Center in New Prague, she and her late husband Joseph raised five children on their farm before moving into town. She has 21 grandchildren, many great grandchildren and several great great grandchildren. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

Gerald (Jerry) Norbert Machacek, 83, passed away peacefully on Thursday morning September 6, 2018, at Prairie Meadows Assisted living in Kasson. 

The 2018 Minnesota Amateur Baseball State Tournament concluded Monday, Sept. 3, with an 8-5 win by Plato over Sobieski for the Class C championship at New Prague’s Memorial Park Stadium.
The game, the last of 29 to be played at New Prague, concluded five years of work to land, prepare and host the annual tournament, along with co-host Shakopee and third site Jordan.

Social media has become an important tool for many, but there is a disturbing trend that turns a lot of people off about it, and that is the anonymity and immediacy of the medium.
People sometimes put whatever unfiltered thoughts enter their mind immediately onto social media, without thinking. A motorcycle crash that happened Saturday evening in New Prague is a prime example.

The New Prague Trojan girls cross country team opened its 2018 season at the St. Olaf Showcase Thursday, Aug. 30, in Northfield, and had a strong showing. The Trojans placed 13th of 33 squads at the meet, which included several nationallyranked teams.

Three Dakota-Rice-Scott League teams qualified for the final weekend of the Class C Minnesota Amateur Baseball Tournament, with New Prague and Faribault losing in the third round on Saturday, and New Market advancing to the quarterfinals before losing in 14 innings on Sunday.
Two DRS players, Matt Lane of Faribault and Nate Rost of New Market, were named to the All-Tournament team.

The New Prague Trojan girls soccer team split a pair of games last week, defeating Mankato East 3-1 for its first win of the season, then losing to Lakeville North 3-0.
New Prague, 1-3 on the season, plays at Mound Westonka at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 6, and at Rochester Mayo at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8. They will host Glencoe- Silver Lake Tuesday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m., and play at Waconia at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13.

The Elko New Market City Council began looking toward street work for 2019 at its Thursday, Aug. 23, meeting as it directed city staff to begin preparations for a Streets Expo.

Ricky Fehler, age 59, of New Prague, died peacefully after an extended illness on Sunday, September 2, 2018 at Methodist Hospital.  Ricky was born on October 31, 1958 to Robert and Diana (Zick) Fehler in St. Paul.  He was raised in the Apple Valley area and graduated from Rosemount High School.  Ricky worked as a heavy equipment operator and was now retired.  He was a member of IUOE Local 49.  In his spare time, he enjoyed working on cars and tractors and farming with his dad on the family farm in Jordan.

Marla Ann Reichow, 63, of rural Garretson passed away Friday, August 31, 2018 at her home surrounded by her family.
Private family services will be held.
Marla Ann Reichow was born on April 10, 1955. She grew up on a small farm outside of Watertown, MN along with her parents and 4 siblings (Rita, Janice, Kevin, Gary) She spent her childhood exploring the pastures and playing with her pets. She loved horses and said one of the best days of her life was when her dad brought home her first saddle which was accompanied by her first horse.

Dale William Benson passed away on Friday, August 31, 2018 at the age of 59. Dale was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on January 15, 1959.  
Dale was born to parents Elinore (Lynn) and William (Bill) Benson. He married Vicki Benson on August 11, 1979. They have two children: Son, Kaleb (Cassie) Benson and granddaughter, Kendra Benson; daughter, Krystle (Shawn) Bloch and grandsons, Viktor, Thor, and granddaughter, Vivian. Dale and Vicki lived in Montgomery, MN until Dale was diagnosed with cancer.  After that time they moved to the hunting shack in McGrath, MN.

Grounds crew volunteers used bags of diamond dust, large sponges, squeegies, rakes and industrial strength leaf blowers, among other means, to dry and repair the infield at the conclusion of a 90-minute rain delay midway through the Class C State Championship baseball game at New Prague’s Memorial Park Monday, Sept. 3. As many as 30 people helped get the field back into playable condition following the rain. Plato scored eight runs in the first inning of the game and held on for an 8-5 win over Sobieski to claim the crown.

The New Market Muskies were the last Dakota-Rice-Scott baseball team to bow out of the State Amateur Baseball Tournamet, but they didn't go down easily. The Muskies tied Young America late in regulation before falling to the Cardinals in 14 innings, 4-3. the quarterfinal game was played Sunday afternoon in Shakopee
In the semifinals in Shakopee Sunday evening, Sobieski defeated Young America 2-1 and Plato downed defending state champion Kimball 12-5. 
Sobieski and Plato are scheduled to play at 3 p.m. Monday at New Prague for the State Class C Championship.