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Family meets in Foreston for Thanksgiving meal with 100 members at the dinner table
The extended family also raises money for charity with a silent auction among the family. They’ve raised over $15,000 for charity since 2018
FORESTON, Minn. — Think your family’s Thanksgiving dinner is big? How many people show up?
In Foreston, an annual tradition has been growing for decades – and so has their dinner table. The Otten family started with John and Arnelda Otten, who had 14 kids.
“I started out by having 11 of my own, so it was obvious that we were going to have a lot of family!” said Janice Hallin, one of the original 14 kids.
Since then, the family has done nothing but grow. Janice says there are close to 200 members of the extended family.
Not everyone was able to make it to Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, but there were about 100 people who made the trip.
If you’re wondering if they have enough food to go around, you’re not alone. Some also wondered about that.
“I do!” one family member told us. “Because I always seem to be at the last table that comes around!”
Their Thanksgiving feast isn’t held at anyone’s home – they’ve grown much past what any of their houses can handle. Instead, they eat at a local church, the only place with enough room for them all.
“We love each other, there’s no hate in this family, ever” Janice said. “Ever!’
Besides gathering to share a meal, they also make gingerbread houses. On top of that, they hold a silent auction.
All money collected from that goes to charity. Since 2018, that silent auction has raised over $13,000 for charity. Today’s silent auction collected an additional $2,515.
They are now staying in a hotel and urging other renters to consider the importance of insurance.
STACY, Minn. — One day before Thanksgiving, Danielle Thompson and Justin Honken lost everything they’d spent years building.
“It’s really hard to see everything that we worked so hard for just gone in a matter of minutes,” Thompson said, standing in front of the home she and Honken rented in Stacy. “We worked so hard to get to where we’re at today,” Honken added.
A fire erupted outside the back of the house on Wednesday afternoon as Honken was making lunch for his children. He said his daughter spotted smoke outside as she was sitting in the kitchen.
“Before I knew it, the fire was already into the kitchen and I was getting the kids out.”
Honken got himself, his two children and two dogs out safely, but said he had to watch the house and everything in it burn to ash before fire crews arrived. Thompson was not home at the time, but came back as the house was still burning.
Investigators have not determined the cause of the fire, which is being investigated by the State Fire Marshal.
“We lost everything,” Thompson said. “We walked out with what we’re wearing.”
Thompson and Honken are now staying in a hotel. They are urging other renters to consider the importance of insurance. The couple did not have renters insurance, a decision they said they now regret.
“It’s a big thing,” Honken said. “Make sure you get that. It’s a must because you think it ain’t going to happen to you. It can, it could and it might.”
Honken is the owner of Home Proz LLC, a remodeling and construction company. He lost all of his essential work tools in the fire.
Despite the loss, the couple is choosing to remain positive this Thanksgiving and determined to keep moving forward. “We’re all still here. We have a lot to be thankful for,” Thompson said.
Noah Carlson performed as a member of Macy’s Great American Marching Band.
MINNEAPOLIS — A Rosemount High School senior was selected to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Noah Carlson is a member of the Rosemount High School Marching Band where he plays the mellophone.
He auditioned in January to be a part of Macy’s Great American Marching Band. His assistant high school principal opened the gym for him one morning during winter break, so he could record the visual part of his audition. It paid off.
Carlson flew into New York on Saturday but was prepping for his performance a week earlier.
“We get music about a week in advance and it’s kind of up to everybody to memorize to their own ability,” Carlson said.
He said Macy’s Great American Marching Band is made up of around 240 high school students from across the country.
“It was cool to meet all these people and work on something so special collectively as a group with only like four days of rehearsal,” he said.
Carlson said the longest rehearsal lasted eight hours. He said they did get to do a fun activity each day like going to the Radio City Rockette Show and shopping at the American Dream Mall. However, nothing compared to performing in the parade.
“I remember looking at the crowd and kind of watching the receptiveness of the music that we’re playing. It was cool to see people lean over to their parents and be like ‘Oh, my gosh they’re playing ‘Happy,’ I know this song’ or like they’ll start clapping or leaning side to side. I thought that was kind of cool and made me smile a little bit,” Carlson said.
He said they had a final run-through the morning of the parade.
“We got a wakeup call at 1:45 in the morning and we had to be down ready to go at 2 a.m. in full uniform with our instrument,” he said.
Carlson said they also got to work with two-time Tony Award winner Billy Porter.
“We worked with him on his opening ceremony at the Macy’s parade,” Carlson said.
He said it started to rain on them during rehearsals, but the show goes on.
“Everybody’s dripping, our uniforms are two times heavier because they’re all soaked in water,” he said
Despite being wet, he said it was a cool experience, one that made his family proud.
“It was pretty exciting for me and his dad and his sister and quite frankly everybody back home here,” said Dee Carlson, Noah’s mother. “Everything’s been leading up to that moment.”
His family watched him perform in the parade at home.
“He has worked so hard to get to this place,” she said.
Dee said they knew he had a gift for music at a young age.
“He’s always enjoyed music for sure and when he started playing trumpet in the fifth grade, he knew and we knew at that point that he had some really good musical ability and he just has enjoyed it. It’s come naturally,” she said. “We’re so excited to see what his future holds.”
Noah said he plans to continue playing in college after he graduates high school. And, if it wasn’t for his high school band, Noah says he wouldn’t have been able to perform on Thursday.
“They really taught me everything I needed to know,” he said.
Noah records his band’s rehearsals and performances and posts the videos on YouTube.
His high school performance days may be numbered but his performances are not. He’ll be traveling with his high school band to Germany and Austria to perform.
According to MPD, the shooting occurred just after 6 p.m. Thursday inside an apartment on the 700 block of Emerson Avenue North.
MINNEAPOLIS — A 21-year-old man died after police say he was shot inside a north Minneapolis apartment Thursday evening.
According to the Minneapolis Police Department, officers were called to an apartment on the 700 block of Emerson Avenue North just after 6 p.m. on a report of a shooting. When police arrived, they said they found a 21-year-old man inside one of the apartment units with a gunshot wound. He was transported to Hennepin Healthcare where he later died.
Police say preliminary information indicates that the man was inside the apartment when he was shot, and the suspect fled the scene before officers arrived.
“On a day that is supposed to be a celebration, another family has been impacted by a senseless act of violence,” said MPD Chief Brian O’Hara in a press release. “My thoughts today are with the victim and his family. Our investigators are focused on seeking justice for the victim and are asking anyone who knows what happened or has any information about this incident to contact us immediately.”
Police say no arrests have been but are asking anyone with information to contact CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or by electronically submitting tips at www.CrimeStoppersMN.org. All tips are anonymous and could be eligible for a financial reward.
*This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
