Kare11
Minnesota state troopers deliver heart amid road construction
ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Gift of Life Transplant House near Mayo Clinic is an unlikely place to learn about someone’s boyhood misdeeds.
“Let’s just put it this way,” 73-year-old John Neuenschwander says. “I grew up with a colorful life in a small town.”
As a high school student, Neuenschwander was known to the all the officers in Fessenden, North Dakota.
“Oh, you think?” Neuenschwander says for emphasis.
Nothing too serious, Neuenschwander swears, as he mock reads his high school’s morning announcements. “’And will the following students come down to my office?’”
Consider it good background for the rest of this story.
In October, Neuenschwander, who now lives in Fargo, was transported to a Mayo operating room to receive a heart being delivered to Rochester from a hospital in the Twin Cities.
Neuenschwander’s heart had been failing for years and he was running out of time. Now, a donor heart was suddenly available.
But Neuenschwander’s surgeon had a concern.
For months, construction had been slowing, and even stopping, traffic on Highway 52, the route Neuenschwander’s new heart would travel.
Transplant surgeon Mauricio Villavicencio wondered what might happen if the unmarked car delivering the heart got stuck in the construction zone.
“Time was of the essence,” Dr. Villavicencio says. “I was afraid to have a poor outcome, obviously.”
The surgeon picked up the phone.
The call landed with Lt. Mitch Elzen of the Minnesota State Patrol.
“It’s definitely a new one for me,” Elzen says. “Time wasn’t on our side. They needed the heart down there ASAP. We didn’t have flight available; we didn’t have — basically, we had cars.”
Seconds later, trooper Mike Pavear would get his marching orders: Pick up Neuenschwander’s new heart and start heading toward Rochester.
Soon, Pavear and Joe Groteboer, a Mayo Clinic transplant specialist escorting the heart, were heading down Highway 52 with the red lights on Pavear’s squad car activated, clearing a path through traffic.
“Speeds ranged from 80 to 100, just depending on cars and stuff,” the trooper says. “Everyone yielded and moved to the shoulder.”
Near Zumbrota, Pavear pulled off the highway to transfer his passenger and the heart to a squad car from the Rochester district of the State Patrol.
Pavear pulled from his back seat the cooler packed with ice and the human heart, shuttling it roadside to the car of trooper Quentin O’Reilly.
“We didn’t talk too much,” O’Reilly says. “Just kind of handed off and on we went.”
O’Reilly continued the drive south, now with Groteboer in the backseat and the heart on the passenger seat next to the trooper.
“I looked at it a few times, you know, just looking at a big old cooler sitting there a foot away from me, thinking, ‘It’s pretty surreal that it’s right there,’” O’Reilly says.
Driving with lights and siren, trooper O’Reilly exited Highway 52 and headed for the Mayo Clinic emergency entrance.
There he removed the heart, which the technician quickly wheeled into the hospital.
Neuenschwander was already in the operating room, his chest open and ready to receive the precious cargo.
“They delivered my heart,” says Neuenschwander, reflectively.
It wasn’t until after the surgery that he became aware of the drama playing out on Highway 52.
Neuenschwander would benefit greatly from the speedy delivery.
“As soon as I implanted the heart, it started beating very strongly,” Dr. Villavicencio says.
As surgical director of heart and lung transplantation, Dr. Villavicencio has performed 300 heart transplants.
And how many times has he enlisted the State Patrol?
“This was the first time,” he says with a smile.
Three months later, Neuenschwander is doing well. He continues his recovery at the Gift of Life Transplant House.
John’s partner, Ruth Ann Halls, sits next to him on a couch, wiping away tears. She can’t stop thinking about the troopers.
“You saved my loved one’s life,” she says, referring to the troopers. “You had a part in that.”
That very day, she would get the opportunity to tell the troopers in person.
“Big day, very big day,” O’Reilly says as he exits his squad car outside the transplant house.
Neuenschwander emerges from the front door — hand extended — to meet the troopers.
“How you are doing, John?” Pavear asks.
“Wow, thank you, thank you,” Neuenschwander responds.
A few feet away, Halls struggles to contain her emotions as she takes pictures of the meeting.
“I’ve been praying for this for a long time,” she says. “I’m very thankful to these folks.”
As a teen, John Neuenschwander kept the cops jumping. Now, he stands indebted to the troopers who helped keep John pumping.
“In high school and college, you saw the reds light of the highway patrol, you went ‘Oh, God.’ Now, it’s a little different,” Neuenschwander says. “Thank God.”
Boyd Huppert is always looking for great stories to share in the Land of 10,000 Stories! Send us your suggestions by filling out this form.
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11’s newscasts. You’ll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
Watch the latest videos from the Land of 10,000 Stories in our YouTube playlist and subscribe to the Land of 10,000 Stories Complete Collection on YouTube.
MINNEAPOLIS — How much do you know about your grandma’s upbringing?
“The Stories From My Grandmother’s Hands” is a book that aims to show young Black children how their grandmas lived through beautiful illustrations and descriptions.
KARE 11 News at Noon shared more on Thursday about the impact that this book will have.
Gary Peterson and his friends are collecting donations to help people in their community.
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — A St. Louis Park pumpkin display is raising money for their local food shelf.
Gary Peterson started carving and painting three pumpkins over a decade ago. It’s now grown to over 100.
“I’ve heard people say they’ve come from Hutchinson,” he said.
Peterson along with two of his neighbors have spent the last 14 years growing their display, turning it into a neighborhood event.
“It’s been incredible, I just can’t believe how much this has expanded,” he said. “We did it just because we like to and then people were asking to give us money to cover the cost.”
The trio refused to take people’s money, but then one of them had an idea.
“My neighbor, Steve Leensvaart, just mentioned how about we just do it for the STEP program and the STEP program is our local food shelf in St. Louis Park,” he said.
So, they started to collect donations to help families in need. They’ve raised hundreds of dollars and donated hundreds of pounds of food over the last few years, carving for a cause.
“It is more gratifying every year,” Peterson said.
He estimated they have over 100 unique pumpkins in their yard. They’ve created the displays and come up with new family-friendly concepts for people to enjoy. Peterson said about 30 of their neighbors carved their own pumpkins to be put on display, and it’s been a big hit.
“It’s great. In the last couple of years, it’s turned into more of a neighborhood event,” said Sarah Durch.
“We love this Halloween display, we come every year to see it. We love that the whole community gets involved to craft and carve the pumpkins,” said Jami Gordon-Smith.
“The shading and the details are unbelievable,” said Elizabeth Hanson.
Hanson hopes to take her 2-year-old son trick or treating for the first time but is worried the cold temperatures might keep them indoors.
“We’re going trick or treating hopefully,” she said. “He’s going to be a firefighter, but we’re probably going to have sweatshirts maybe like two pairs of sweatpants underneath. We’re going to be bundled up.”
Gordon-Smith said her family will be out Halloween night no matter the weather.
“Halloween only comes once a year, so you really have to take advantage and enjoy the evening no matter what the weather brings,” she said. “Guess it’s not totally unheard of in Minnesota to have a cold Halloween, but we are going to try and modify and do a lot of layers underneath our costumes and then we might add some hats and maybe some warmer socks.”
Durch also isn’t surprised they’re in for another chilly night.
“Well, what would Halloween be without Minnesota cold? I feel like every time you plan a costume you have to plan for how you can make this work if it’s snowing,” she said.
Peterson said they will have a bonfire and some hot chocolate and cider on Halloween to keep trick-or-treaters warm while they look at their pumpkins.
Click here to learn where you can see the pumpkins and how you can donate.
Jeremy Jourdain was 17 when he was last seen on Halloween 2016.
BEMIDJI, Minn. — The search for Jeremy Jourdain, who was last seen on Halloween in 2016, continues now eight years later.
Jourdain was last seen at a family member’s house in Bemidji, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs. He left the residence near the 500 block of Wood Avenue after midnight and while people followed him, no one was able to find him.
Jourdain was 17 at the time.
Officials said he was wearing a blue and grey sweatshirt, and blue jeans when last seen. He is Native American and is described as 6 foot 5 and 175 pounds.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, you can contact the Bemidji Police Department at (218) 333-9111. Tips can also be sent to 1-833-560-2065, or you can email ojs_mmu@bia.gov.
