A pre-Thanksgiving holiday storm hit the area with several inches of heavy, wet snow by Wednesday morning, Nov. 27.
The arrival of the white stuff came from a system that brought snow falling hard and fast across southern Minnesota. According to weather.gov, snow totals in the Twin Cities metro area early Wednesday morning included 8.7 inches in Prior Lake, 11 inches in spots of New Prague, and 7 inches in Montgomery.
On Tuesday, area schools cancelled classes in anticipation of the snow’s arrival.

Due to weather concerns, New Prague Area Schools will be closed on Wednesday, November 27, 2019. This is the first weather closure of the year and is built into the calendar as a “traditional” weather closure for all students. This will NOT be a blended learning day.
WRAP and Kids’ Company will also be closed on Wednesday.

A Winter Storm Warning has been issued for portions of southwest, south central, and east central Minnesota, and all of west central Wisconsin starting late Tuesday afternoon, and continuing through Wednesday morning. The warning includes areas along the Buffalo Ridge in west central Minnesota, and areas southeast of a line from Redwood Falls, to Hutchinson, Clearwater, Princeton and Rush City in Minnesota. Snowfall totals of 6 or more inches are likely in the warned area, with locally higher amounts possible.

This fall Holy Cross Catholic School middle schoolers drew the month away creating their visions of what peace means. The students were competing in the International Lions Peace Poster contest sponsored locally by the Veseli Lions Club. This year’s theme was “Journey to Peace.” This is the first year all the winners were from the seventh grade. Charlotte Benolkin was awarded first place, Lucy Havlicek earned second place honors, and third place was awarded to Jocelyn Simones. The three were awarded cash prizes from the Veseli Area Lions.

The New Prague Times The Elko New Market Chamber of Commerce held its annual dinner and meeting at the Firehouse Grille. There was a little twist this year. Besides holding elections and listing what were some highlights of the year, a murder mystery was included during the Monday, Nov. 18, festivities.

This Friday, Nov. 22, New Prague High School students begin their run of shows for the fall musical “Once Upon a Mattress.” A comedic take on the fairytale “The Princess and the Pea,” it includes incredible songs that are romantic, but also those that are hilarious.
Performances will be over two weekends at the high school auditorium, 221 12th St. NE. There are 7:30 p.m. shows on Friday, Nov. 22, Saturday, Nov. 23, and Saturday, Nov. 30, plus two Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. on Nov. 24 and Dec. 1.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) recently made speed limit changes for portions of Highway 21 between New Prague and Jordan, according to a release from the Scott County Sheriff's office.
Two sections of the highway will increase in speed, one from 55 to 60 mph and in another area from 30 to 40 mph, while another spot will decrease from 55 to 50 mph.

Our hearts are heavy today as we report that our Managing Editor, Chuck Kajer, passed away suddenly last night. We will miss our “teammate” at The Times… his wit, his thoughtfulness and his amazing ability to recall sports trivia! We ask that you keep his family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. We will post further information when available.

New Prague High School student athletes, from left, Sophia Andersen, Emily Russo, Luke Tupy, Will Busch and Kennedy Buckman signed letters of intent during a Wednesday, Nov. 13, ceremony in the high school’s commons area. Family, friends, coaches and teammates attended the ceremony. Buckman will be playing softball at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD, Tupy will be playing baseball at St.

Ominous charcoal gray smoke and blazing orange flames rose from behind the trees bordering the New Prague Compost Site along Columbus Ave. N early Tuesday morning, Nov. 12. The fire was a controlled burn, with city crews burning and clearing the piles that had accumulated from city residents during fall yard cleanup. At times, the smoke could be seen from miles away.

Andrea Means Lehman, right, talks about honoring and remembering veterans during New Prague High School’s Veterans Day ceremony on Monday, Nov. 11. She is the widow of Marine Lance Corporal Dale Means and talked about his career and how all local veterans need to be honored. For more see an upcoming print issue of The Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

On a sunny, fall afternoon under a clear, blue sky, Virgil Schoenecker and his son, Pete, are busy harvesting corn from the fields on land that’s been in the family for generations. Pete rents the land from his dad now, carrying on the tradition of farming that started decades ago when his great-great-grandfather, Nicholas Schoenecker, emigrated from Waxweiler, Germany in 1850 and homesteaded the original 134 acres northwest of New Prague in 1856. Farming and harvesting has been a mainstay of the community for generations.

Kristin Wornson, daughter of Dick and Cathy Wornson of New Prague, has been selected to be part of the Sedna Epic Expedition, an allwomen's team of scientists, explorers, educators, filmmakers, photographers, journalists and artists, that will take part in an expedition to the Arctic Circle.

The New Prague area woke up to 1-2 inches of snow Wednesday, Nov. 6, the first measurable snowfall of the season. City snowplows were on the road for the first time this season, clearing the roads for motorists.