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**General Information Required:**
– Your full name
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– Name of deceased
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*Verification of Death*
To publish obituaries, we require the name and phone number of the funeral home or cremation society handling the arrangements. We must contact them during business hours to verify the death. If the deceased’s body was donated to the University of Minnesota Anatomy Bequest Program or a similar program, their phone number is required for verification. Please allow enough time, especially during limited weekend hours. Alternatively, a death certificate is acceptable. Only one of these two options is necessary.
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*Example:* If the first run date is 20 lines, the cost would be $162 + (10 x $12.20) = $284. For photos, 2 photos on 2 days equals 4 photo charges totaling $500.
**Deadlines:**
Please adhere to the following deadlines to ensure timely publication:
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**Memoriam (Non-Obituary) Requests**
Unlike obituaries, Memoriam submissions are remembrances of loved ones. Rates differ from obituaries. For more information, call 651-228-5280 or email memoriams@pioneerpress.com.
**Office Hours:**
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**Feature Story: Giving a Dream Hunt to Keagen**
Sarah Gilder of Leonard, Minn., surprised her 16-year-old son Keagen with a special gift — his first deer hunt. “When you tell him something, he usually just fixates on it and talks and talks and talks,” Sarah said lightheartedly.
On Friday, Oct. 17, from their home in Stillwater, Sarah handed Keagen a note congratulating him on going deer hunting. Keagen’s reaction was pure joy. “The face that he made when he read that and looked at me, he said, ‘We’re going deer hunting?! I really get to do this?’ And I said, ‘Yep.’ And so he just was ecstatic,” she recounted.
Keagen, who has hemiplegic cerebral palsy, had dreamed of deer hunting but never had the opportunity. “He has an aunt that’s a pretty avid hunter,” Sarah explained. “I never knew, as his mom, what kind of adaptations or accessibility things were available because I never grew up around hunting.”
When Sarah saw a Facebook post about the United Special Sportsman Alliance’s (USSA) Minnesota Dream Hunt, which takes youth with permanent disabilities or life-threatening illnesses deer hunting, she knew it was perfect for Keagen.
At organizer Jack Juberian’s house in Leonard, about 30 minutes northwest of Bemidji, they were warmly welcomed. Keagen quickly befriended Jack’s kids, joining a basketball game and making new friends effortlessly. “Jack’s family, his kids, they just were amazing,” Sarah shared.
Jack and other volunteers taught Keagen and three other young hunters gun safety and target practice before heading out on their hunting trip. Although Keagen didn’t get a deer on the first day, he remained undeterred.
On the second day, Keagen spotted a doe and, with Jack’s guidance, made an almost perfect shot — successfully harvesting his first deer. “The immediate gratification that Jack showed Keagen is something that most people only, I feel, give their own children in some aspect,” Sarah said. “And it was so heartwarming.”
For Keagen, who struggles socially at school, the experience was unforgettable. “He struggles socially with friends and things like that in school. Sometimes based off of parents, and kids are mean. They don’t take the time really to get to know him,” Sarah said.
To realize that something as simple as hunting is possible for him “opens the door for him to do more things that he’s been told he can’t do.”
**Five Years of the Minnesota Dream Hunt**
The USSA Minnesota Dream Hunt has been running for five years, largely thanks to Jack Juberian, although he humbly prefers not to call himself an organizer.
A few years ago, Jack learned about USSA, which marks 25 years of providing free outdoor activities like hunting and fishing to critically ill and disabled youth and disabled veterans.
“Some college friends of mine worked with USSA on their land in Colorado taking kids hunting,” Jack said. “They said, ‘Listen, you have the optimal setup for this. You need to be taking some kids hunting.’”
Jack reached out to USSA founder Bridget O’Donoghue, and the Minnesota Dream Hunt was born in 2021, taking place annually since.
This year, four kids, including Keagen, Jaydan and Jacob Kungu, and Tyler Ash, went deer hunting. All but Ash returned with deer after two days.
For many, this is their first deer hunting experience. Guided by Jack and volunteers, the kids learn gun safety and hunting skills. The entire trip, including lodging at a Bemidji hotel, is paid for.
Jack remarked, “It gives them something different than, say, going to Disneyland or Universal Studios… These kids that have been dealt a little different hand than the rest of us… it gives them an opportunity to do something different.”
Parents like Sarah are immensely grateful to Jack and USSA for investing time and effort to make such dreams come true. “The whole event was just humbling,” Sarah said. “Humbling to see these people open their house and give up their time that they could spend with their families to show others what hunting and the outdoor life can be like.”
https://www.twincities.com/2025/10/26/minnesota-dream-hunt-offers-heartwarming-experiences/