Despite the threat of storms over the weekend, the rain mostly held back until after-hours of the Le Sueur County Free Fair.
The 168th annual event took place Thursday through Sunday, Aug. 14-17.
The forecast called for storms each day, but the worst of the rain came in the early hours of Saturday and well after the fair closed Sunday night. Both times, Le Center saw up to an inch of rainfall.
A half-inch of rain fell in the afternoon Friday, but had cleared as the events for the day moved into gear.
The FFA Tractor Driving Contest began after the rain, along with the 4-H Pet Show, 4-H Lamb Lead and Sheep Show. The afternoon also featured simultaneous music from the Over-60 Band, and Somher & Dale. Open Highway played later in the evening.
The pet show was not the only event happening that evening, with the 4-H Fashion Review.
The main event for Friday was the demolition derby. Held at the grandstand, the event was preceded by the Power Wheels Derby. Young drivers in mini electric cars mimicked their full-size counterparts and banged and bashed into one another. No cars were disabled during the derby, and the kids received participation trophies presented by the 2025 Kolacky Days royalty.
Winning first place in each division of the demolition derby were Jake Johnson in compacts, Jesse Tate in ‘80s chain, Kyle Bathe in minivan, Scott Christian in stock weld cars, Joe Prchal in limited-weld trucks and Thomas Budin in limited-weld cars.
Keeping watch over the derby were fire departments from...
To see more on this story pick up the August 21, 2025 print editions of The New Prague Times, Montgomery Messenger or LifeEnterprise.
