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Love story: KARE followers open up about finding ‘The One’
A Facebook post led to an outpouring of sweet and sometimes unlikely tales of romance, and partners that have lasted a lifetime.
GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — It is easy to become hardened in a world that is increasingly cynical and mean-spirited, where people regularly put up emotional walls in self-defense to keep their hearts from being hurt.
Understandable… but regrettable.
For those who are looking for love, it’s a landscape that can feel bleak, but do not despair: There are real, human reasons for hope.
On Thursday KARE 11 put up a Facebook post asking readers/viewers for stories on how they met their match as part of an Extra on what some are calling the decline of dating apps. We expected a couple of responses, but instead received nearly 180 responses.
These weren’t one-liners. Instead, they were personal, detailed, and human recollections of how couples met, grew together, and STAYED together, some for well over 50 years.
Valentine’s Day seems a good opportunity to share some of them with you. Hopefully, you’ll have the same reaction as reader Melissa Ruiz, who perused the posts and wrote “These stories are beautiful, it got me teary-eyed. You are all blessed. These are the old-fashioned ways that I love how people met their “one.” I am hoping to be as blessed as you are all & meet that one. Happy Valentine’s Day to you all!”
Cheers, Melissa…. here’s to true love.
In 1965, I was in college and was working at a drive-in restaurant and a good-looking guy drove up. He was working the night shift driving a tow truck. As we talked, we found that we had gone to the same high school, same grade, but the school was so large that we’d never met. We started dating, got married the next year. We will celebrate 58 years this August.
Our 2 daughters were best friends in middle school and decided they wanted to be sisters. They set my husband and I up on a blind date. They got their wish. We’ve been together 26 years – married for 22. He proposed on Valentine’s day 23 years ago.
I met my husband in college – we were friends for 5 years. One night he asked me on a creative date and we went bowling. I dropped his bowling ball down his apt steps and felt terrible and was crying. He was comforting me and so soft and sensitive…it was like magnets flipped and we instantly connected in a romantic way. We’ve been married 27 years – built a life together. He still makes me laugh.
Cindee Hendrickson Forby
I moved back to Minnesota from Seattle. I didn’t really know where my friends had scattered to and so to meet new people I picked up a part-time job at JCPenney Southdale. Met my husband the first night I was working on the floor during back to school in the young men’s department. He was a supervisor. We danced around each other for 3 years until I asked him out. We have been together for 28 years and married 20.
My husband and I met when we were teenagers working our first real job. We lost touch and found each other years later again to get married, have two dogs and two little girls together. The cool thing is while going through old pictures, I found a yearbook from elementary school with a heart around his picture!
We met at a church during a wedding rehearsal, where we instantly disliked each other. I caught the bouquet at the wedding reception and after what’s best described as the script from a sitcom (filled with humorous exchanges and totally unrealistic circumstances) we’d planned a wedding in six weeks that took place seven months after we’d met. An ironic twist is the wedding we met at was between his sister and my brother. Though their union didn’t go the distance, we’ll be celebrating our 35th anniversary in April.
I met my hubby when we were deejays at the same radio station. I really liked his voice talent, sense of humor, and music choices. I went out on a limb and surprised him with a valentine on that fateful holiday over 40 years ago. The rest is history! We were married the next year.
I met my husband in a Central Minnesota pool hall. He actually tripped me with a pool stick as I walked by… guess that is what high school boys do when they like you. Two years later we were engaged and have been married over 40 years. Key to a long marriage is friendship with lots of love and laughter!
I was a Bouncer @ The Log Jam in Menemonie in 92. She was shooting darts with the bartender’s girlfriend. Our first date was the employee Christmas Party. We graduated UW Stout in 94.
I was in 9th grade band and noticed a trumpet player with the best dimples ever. He would come to our neighborhood by the lake and swim. One day he asked when I get my license will you go roller skating with me. I got the call and August 16th 1977 was our first date. Still high school sweethearts after all these years.
We were at a bar and there was karaoke. I heard him sing and went up to him and asked him to sing me a song. We’ve been together ever since! We’ll be married 13 years in May and have been together almost 18 years. What can I say, music brought us together and is a huge part of our lives!
We met at a high school dance our junior year. We celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary last September.
(In) 1987 we met in the choir room during open study hall. We dated for a while and broke up. The following year we were Frank Butler and Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun as well as in Madrigals together. He was a runner and swimmer so had great legs for the tights and pantaloons!! We lasted through distance romances over the summers and his freshman year of college (thank goodness for payphones and “calling cards”). Graduated from college together in 1994 and got married. 30 years this year!
My husband and I met at a Halloween party in 2007. We both interestingly enough had the same costume on! It was meant to be! That Halloween party was the beginning of our forever love story!
I met my husband online. He emailed me on Valentine’s Day, 2013. We had our 1st date at MOA on February 16th, we were married 5 months later. He was 46, I was 38, neither of us had been married before or had kids. We love being married and spend 24/7 together. He was definitely worth the wait!
Jessica Hartfiel Thurston
I met my husband at church. He was running a men’s group and I was running a womans group. He says God told him I was the one but he’d have to wait for me. (I know if you’re not a believer you may find this crazy talk) He waited for two years to ask me out. The first time I declined. A couple of months later I agreed. I knew on our third date he was “the one”. We were married less than a year later and have been together for 10 years now. It is a second marriage for both of us and truly a match made in heaven!
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The decision comes after an hours-long discussion over who was best to lead the district in the future
ST PAUL, Minn. — The St. Paul Public School district board has voted unanimously to offer the superintendent job to Dr. Stacie Stanley.
Stanley is the current superintendent of Edina Public Schools.
“Dr. Stanley brings strong leadership experience and expertise in building relationships with the community, improving student outcomes and enhancing equity in diverse school districts,” said Board Chair Halla Henderson.
The unanimous vote came after hours of debate and discussion on which of the three candidates – Stanley, Dr. Rhoda Mhiripiri-Reed, and Dr. Brenda Cassellius – would be better suited to lead the district in the future. Board members discussed who would put an emphasis on safety, rebuilding trust, an ability to consider their budget problems, and considering the needs of students.
According to the SPPS website, Dr. Stanley, “led the (Edina) district’s strategic plan to create accelerated student achievement across all demographic groups, including a comprehensive literacy plan.”
Dr. Stanley previously worked as an associate superintendent at Eden Prairie Schools, and has worked in several other districts around the Twin Cities metro. She is the current president-elect of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators.”
That meeting was packed with parents and students, mainly of the Hmong community. After hours of discussion, they voiced their concerns for what the district needs, including a public comment period that came after the board voted for Dr. Stanley.
“We as a Hmong community are strong here in St. Paul. No matter who comes in to represent or work for us, they will keep us in their agenda,” Mee Moua, on the Hmong Parent advisory Council, said. “And so they see us front and center, that we matter, that we are here, they need to hear us, they need to see us.”
At the Hennepin Healthcare Burn Center in Minneapolis, providers have treated three patients with similar cases since the start of this winter season.
MILACA, Minn. — Like many Minnesotans and as a lifelong hunter and angler, Justin Cowden of Milaca typically spends the winter season outdoors. This winter, Cowden is forced to spend most of his time inside and on crutches after the electronically heated insoles he was wearing malfunctioned, exploded and left him with second and third-degree burns.
KARE reported on a similar case on Monday. Since then, more people have reported experiencing similar injuries.
Cowden purchased the insoles from the seller Meisinuo on Amazon in November of last year. The link to the product has since been taken down.
After wearing the insoles last winter with no issues, Cowden put them on once again for the first time this year on Nov. 30—the first day of muzzleloader hunting season. “I was sitting in the stand, and the sun just started to pop up and I heard a pop,” he recalled. “I was thinking the neighbor was shooting at a deer and then all of a sudden, the bottom of my foot just started rolling. I didn’t know what was going on, so I jumped up from my chair and I screamed because I felt the burning, and then I pulled my pant leg up and I saw the smoke coming out of my boot.”
Cowden said it took him less than 10 seconds to remove his boot. When he did, the insole came out in pieces and the battery was stuck to his skin. “I just ripped it off because I didn’t know what else to do. It was a scary situation.”
Cowden was told by specialists he sustained second and third-degree burns on his left foot. Three weeks later, he is still using crutches and following up with weekly appointments. Doctors told him his treatment could possibly require skin graft surgery. “It’s tough. It definitely is,” Cowden said.
At the Hennepin Healthcare Burn Center in Minneapolis, providers have treated three patients with similar cases since the start of this winter season.
It’s something medical professionals are seeing more of, according to Hennepin County Medical Center’s Trauma Prevention Coordinator Kaytlin Hanson.
“We’ve had three patients since the beginning of winter already come in with varying degrees of burns on the lower extremities from first to third-degree, and it is from these insoles malfunctioning or even exploding,” she said. “Our medical staff was kind of shocked. This isn’t something that we’ve seen necessarily in the past, so when you see something that’s all of a sudden, ‘Wow, we have three immediately right away this season,’ we definitely want to get the messaging out there that this is probably a product to stay away from.”
Hanson recommends sticking to tried and true methods of staying warm. “We want you to be wearing some well-insulated boots that are well-fitting, waterproof, and then wearing those thick wool socks. That’s great and all the protection you should need.”
Cowden said he is sharing his story in hopes of warning others who are thinking of buying similar products. “It’s nice to have warm feet when you’re out hunting and fishing, but no, it’s not worth it to deal with that pain,” he said. “It’s the worst pain ever, and like I said, I wouldn’t wish it on anybody.”
On snowy days you don’t take a clear driveway or sidewalk for granted, especially if you don’t know the person clearing it.
HENNEPIN COUNTY, Minn. — While all this snow will open the door to winter fun in the days ahead, it is already proving challenging for area seniors who need help clearing it from their driveways and doorsteps.
Gerrod Ernst is volunteering to make sure Judy Kipka’s sidewalks and patio are cleared, not just today, but all winter long. Though the Kipka’s have taken advantage of the program through Senior Community Services for several years now… They spent part of last winter on a waitlist that included 150 households.
While demand is still high, the volume of volunteers has been picking up. Though fresh snow also likely means fresh demand.
“The phones ring off the hook when there is snow like this because everyone needs help,” said Emma Friend with Senior Community Services. “They need it as quickly as they can get it because they need to leave their house to get to medical appointments, or they have medical professionals who they need to get in their home, and if the snow isn’t removed, they might just not come.”
Ann Baily says DARTS Healthy Aging Solutions, which covers parts of Ramsey, Dakota and Washington counties, had caught up to demand until Thursday morning. Which is why, if you’re willing and able, Ernst has a message for you.
“They can find ones near you or on your way to work, which is what I have,” he said. “As I commute, I can stop by here on my way to or from home, so it’s not really an inconvenience.”
If you’d like information on how to request help with shoveling or how to become a volunteer, click here.
In Hennepin county, KARE 11 is told the need is greatest in Plymouth and Brooklyn Park right now.
