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Former baseball champ has heart attack at Saints game
Help was close by when Rob Warhol suffered a heart attack at a St. Paul Saints game.
ST PAUL, Minn. — They may call themselves the Saints, but it’s not every day that St. Paul’s minor league baseball team actually performs a miracle.
“I’m just lucky, really lucky, to be around,” Rob Warhol says from his seat in the left field stands.
Rob wasn’t looking for divine intervention when he arrived three months ago for his usual Friday night ballgame.
He was simply looking to feed his lifelong passion.
“Well, that’s the team,” Rob says holding up a University of Minnesota baseball photo.
“1970 Big Ten champion team,” he continues.
Rob points to the third baseman in the back row. “That’s me,” he says.
Playing for the Golden Gophers – on a championship team – was the pinnacle for a boy from Richfield who practically grew up on a baseball diamond.
“Right there,” Rob says as points to himself in a montage of players. “The fearsome batter,” he laughs.
Scouted to play in the minor leagues, Rob instead traded his uniform for a tie and tux, and Rene.
“Over 50 years we were together,” says Rob, standing near a credenza on which stands his wedding photo.
“She died of cancer last September,” he says. “I really miss her, I really do.”
And so it was when Rob arrived at CHS Field on July 14.
His stay would not last until the opening pitch.
“This is where it happened,” Rob says as he stands near a beer stand, just inside CHS Field.
Rob had just picked up his first beer.
“And boom, down I went,” he says bluntly.
Rob and his heart hit the ground, unconscious.
“They call it the widow-maker,” he says of his heart attack. “It was on my main vein.”
Never had Rob been more in need of a Saint.
He found one in Diane Bauer, who’s worked as a paramedic for 45 years.
The night of Rob’s heart attack, Diane was working the Saints game for Regions Hospital.
She was standing near the stadium’s first aid room when a police officer alerted Diane that a man had just collapsed.
“I ran into the room where my other teammates were. I said, ‘We have a cardiac arrest, grab everything, let’s go.’”
Diane made a quick assessment of Rob’s condition.
“He wasn’t breathing; he did not have a heartbeat,” she recalls. “One of my teammates started CPR. Another teammate put the AED pads on.”
The team shocked Rob’s heart once with the defibrillator.
“And then a teammate doing CPR said, ‘I think he’s breathing,’ and I’m like, ‘Really?’”
The news for Rob only got better.
“He stated moving his arms and then he started moving his head, Diane says. “I’m like, ‘Stop CPR.’”
One month later, Diane and Rob stand at that same beer stand.
“This is the first time,” Diane says of their meet up.
Rob gives Diane a hug. “She’s my best buddy from now on,” he says.
But before Rob goes to his seat to watch the game, he has one other item of business.
“We now call your attention down toward the first base line,” the stadium announcer tells the crowd.
Diane and two of her Regions teammates, Tony Pangal and Sandy Witter, stand with Rob in the infield as the crowd applauds.
“Tonight, we honor them for saving Rob’s life,” the announcer continues.
Then, Rob walks to the front of the mound to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
The former Golden Gophers third baseman expresses disappointment when the throw hops on its way to the catcher’s mitt.
But how, at this ballpark, can a man of faith not see saints at work?
“If I wouldn’t have been here, if I had been in my apartment, I’d be dead,” Rob says. “If I had been in the parking lot even, I would have been dead.”
Rob pauses, smiles, and resumes his thought.
“This is where I’m meant to be maybe,” he says.
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Prosecutors charged 45-year-old Trevor Joseph Wunderlich with second-degree murder in the death of his 68-year-old mother, Charlene Gail Wunderlich.
HUGO, Minn. — The man who was the “person of interest” in the north metro search Monday night was charged Thursday morning in the murder of his mother.
Prosecutors charged 45-year-old Trevor Joseph Wunderlich with second-degree murder in the death of his 68-year-old mother, Charlene Gail Wunderlich.
According to court documents, Washington County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call from a home in the 15000 block of Ingersoll Ave. at approximately 5:55 p.m. on Sept. 16.
Dispatchers said they “could hear noises on the line consistent with an ongoing assault or struggle.”
When deputies arrived they found Charlene Gail Wunderlich on the kitchen floor severely injured, according to the criminal complaint. Deputies tried to “detain the defendant, but he ran into the basement of the home and fled out a rear door.”
Charlene Gail Wunderlich told the deputies that her son beat her before she lost consciousness. She was rushed to the hospital but died from her injuries.
Law enforcement agencies across the metro launched a manhunt for Wunderlich. Sheriff’s officials warned the public not to approach him as he was considered dangerous.
Just before 11 a.m. Tuesday, a resident in the 9800 block of 152nd St. N saw a man matching Wunderlich’s description in their trailer. KARE 11 spoke to the woman who owns the trailer, and she says her dogs were growling at the trailer, and when she opened the door Wunderlich was sleeping inside.
The woman said she screamed to her son who was working on the property to call 911. Her son had a brief conversation with Wunderlich and then Wunderlich ran down the road with no shoes to another property where, according to officials, police arrested him.
According to court documents, in 2021 Wunderlich was sentenced to 203 days in prison for violating a domestic abuse no-contact order. While serving that sentence, he was convicted of fourth-degree assault against a correctional officer.
The FDA recently approved the first pill to help symptoms of postpartum depression.
Having a baby is an exciting time in many parents’ lives. But for some parents, that excitement can come with postpartum depression and other emotions that can be difficult to talk about.
Dr. Lisa Saul, the national medical director of women’s health at UnitedHealthcare, visited KARE 11 News at Noon to share tips for parents and loved ones affected by postpartum depression.
First of all, what is it? The Mayo Clinic states that postpartum depression usually begins during or up to a year after a pregnancy. The symptoms include depressed mood, mood swings, crying excessively, difficulty bonding with the baby, withdrawing from friends and family, feelings of worthlessness, and additional symptoms.
The experience is more common than you might expect, as it affects up to 15% of people, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
In August, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first pill to treat postpartum depression. This medication may lessen symptoms.
Saul also recommended talking about your feelings to loved ones and healthcare providers for support.
August was a promising month for employers, as 14,400 jobs were added.
Minnesota employers logged a remarkable August as they recorded the largest monthly increase in jobs in two years, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).
In August, employers added 14,400 jobs. Employment grew by 0.5% in the state, exceeding the national average of 0.1%, according to DEED’s release. Unemployment rates increased to 3.3%, which still is lower than the national rate of 4.2%.
“We added the most jobs in a single month in two years, reflecting employers’ ongoing appetite to hire more workers,” DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek said in a statement. “September is Workforce Development Month in Minnesota, offering a reminder of the initiatives underway to invest in our economic future by recruiting and retaining workers and making sure Minnesota is creating the jobs of the future right here at home.”
Leisure and Hospitality jobs saw the most growth in Minnesota in August, increasing by 1.6%. Education and Health Services and Professional and Business Services also saw notable increases.
As for wages, DEED reported that the average private sector hourly wage is $37.74, which is a 5.9% increase over this year.
“Wage growth has consistently outpaced inflation, which is a good thing as we work to attract and retain talented workers for our labor force,” said Labor Market Information Director Angelina Nguyen in a statement.
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