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NORWOOD YOUNG AMERICA, Minn. -- The April Fool's Day snowstorm impacted thousands of travelers across the country. That includes a Minnesota high school band who found themselves stranded in Florida.

"We got a coveted spot. Several groups that were heading to Florida around the same time did not get a spot," said Adam Halpaus, band teacher.

For Norwood Young America band students, the Orlando trip is well-earned. It takes them a couple years to raise just enough money so they can perform at Disney World. But when Sun Country cancelled their flight back due to weather, the trip hit a sour note. More than 80 students and chaperones were stranded for two extra days.

"Finding a flight for 86 people proved to be very difficult," said Halpaus.

In Minnesota, Sandi Harms saw what was happening on social media. She knew that the band had to pay for hotel rooms and food with money they didn't have.

"This is going to be a huge expense on our families and our community and our school," said Harms.

As co-owner of Northside Grill, she and her business partner decided to donate to the band, and then reached out to other businesses to see if they wanted to help. Almost as soon as they put the word out, 17 local businesses stepped up. Within three days they raised more than $10,000.

"Businesses were coming in left and right just to donate, to help our kids get home," said Harms.

Harms is a former school lunch lady, but other than that, she wasn't connected to the band.

"To take care of the financial side was super emotional, especially since Sandi and crew didn't have someone on the trip," said Dawn Eggers, parent and chaperone.

It was a small town gesture that wasn't lost on the students.

"I think it's amazing. This community really just comes together whenever anyone is in need and they just help out," band student Josie Benek said.

"You've got all the local businesses there to help you out when you need it, so that was pretty cool to see," band student Tanner Neubarth said.

The students are getting close to covering the full cost of the extra days they were stranded. Band teacher Adam Halpaus wanted to thank the Performance Tours travel company which helped line up extra hotel rooms and the flight for 86 people, which was not an easy task.

John Lauritsen

John Lauritsen is an Emmy award-winning reporter from Montevideo, Minn. He joined WCCO-TV in late-July of 2007. Two days after he started, the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed.

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Bevens Creek Inn - Stay Suites officially opened in Norwood Young America on Dec. 17. Named after the creek in Carver County, it’s located in the Railroad Drive strip mall off Highway 212 on the east side of town. The brand new boutique hotel houses 10 suites, including one handicap-accessible room as well as a pet-friendly room, though pets are allowed in all 10 rooms for an additional fee.

The hotel will provide a convenient location for travelers and guests coming into town short-term. In fact, it’s the only hotel on Highway 212 in all of Carver County. Owner Arun Subbiah, who has a background in commercial properties and hotel management and owns Sauber Laundromat in the same strip mall, explains the inspiration and reason behind opening the business.

“There was an opportunity to bring a hotel in a small scale to an existing space In NYA, which currently does not have a hotel. We wanted to focus on creating a few different suite configurations that could suit different needs. We worked with Architect Whitten & Associates in Wayzata to implement this concept and got some of the original contractors that were involved in the construction of the mall back in 2004. Our goal at the same time was to improve the mall and bring additional customers into the space. After discussing with the city, and doing some preliminary analysis, we thought it was a good fit and the city has been very supportive of our effort here.”

Despite there being little competition in the area, Subbiah didn’t hold back when it came to getting creative with the design and operation of the hotel, all while honoring much of the original structure of the space. After all, a 10 room hotel is not a large operation. And while getting creative may simply come with the territory, what Subbiah has accomplished here makes Bevens Creek Inn more than a hotel. It’s a stay in a unique and modern, yet quaint space.

Subbiah says, “Hotels typically come with quite a bit of overhead expenses, which are typically justified at a larger scale. We wanted to implement remote-access technology in this facility to help us create a sustainable cost model along the lines of vacation rental; combining some of these aspects with the hotel model. We offer only contactless self check-in and express check-out, and staff is always available by phone or text at the main hotel number. We have attempted to automate the frontend tasks that are typically associated with a hotel, but the backend support for this facility remains the same as any other hotel.”

In addition to a convenient check-in and check-out model, the comfort and privacy of guests is a top priority. Since the hotel sits inside a space with large storefront commercial windows, all of which are part of the front-facing suites, Subbiah had to come up with a solution to maintain the look on the outside while providing privacy for hotel guests.

“For day time privacy, we have plans to modify the store front windows with unique graphics, where only guests inside can see outside, but not the other way around. In addition, large decorative curtains will provide privacy if needed during the day and at night.”

What’s more, the hotel will utilize Sauber Laundromat for its laundry needs, so guests need not worry about running out of clean clothes. The inn will also be partnering with Alli B’s Coffee Shop in the same strip mall. Every guest will be given a coupon to the café to get their day started with a coffee just steps away from their room.

By the looks of it, things are off to an exciting start, and Subbiah anticipates a busy spring and summer. He is looking forward to running the hotel and creating a stay that is comfortable and enjoyable for each and every visitor.

Bevens Creek Inn and the NYA Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a ribbon cutting in February. Be sure to check out Bevens Creek Inn’s website at https://bevenscreekinn.com/website?id=q9oa7LR

Friday night I got a little too invested in a new Netflix series, Pepsi, Where's My Jet? which in and of itself is pretty interesting, at least for me. But there is a Minnesota connection to the story, that is brief but a small Minnesota town was playing a big part in the Pepsi Points/Harrier Jet story.

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Before letting you know what the Minnesota connection is, you have to understand what happened. Back in the mid-90s Pepsi began a promotion where you could accumulate points by purchasing Pepsi products, and then turn those points in for some Pepsi SWAG. It was a pretty awesome promotion that was heavily advertised. One commercial for the promotion listed some of the standard Pepsi swag that you could get in exchange for your points, like a leather jacket, sunglasses, and a t-shirt.

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Well, at the end of the commercial it listed a Harrier Jet, for 7 million Pepsi points. (that number was then changed to a larger amount later on) The entire time the ad was played early on, there was NO fine print, so one person, a 20-year-old from Washington purchased 7,000,000 Pepsi points for $700,000 and called Pepsi to the carpet, wanting his jet.

This is where the Minnesota connection comes in. The fulfillment center for the promotion had a PO Box in Young America, Minnesota.

TVShowTranscripts.com has a direct quote from the documentary when they reference Young America.

In the Pepsi Points catalog, there was an address for a PO box in Young America, Minnesota. Young America, Minnesota is the fulfillment house for a lot of these different competitions, whether it's Camel Bucks, the Marlboro Man, or Pepsi Points. - John in the Netflix Documentary Pepsi, Where's My Jet

Ultimately John went and hand-delivered the $700,000 check to the PO Box in Young America as he didn't want it to get lost in the mail.

Not wanting to spoil the ending, if you don't know how this saga ends, I won't get into that, but it is only 4 episodes, about 40-50 minutes each in length, and I thought it was pretty cool Minnesota played a small part in the real-life story and got a 'shout-out' during the series.

NORWOOD YOUNG AMERICA, Minn. (KMSP) - The Young America Cardinals is a team with deep roots in the community, making it quite the family affair for many of the players - some with relatives spanning decades of past team rosters.

“That’s one thing about my boys, when they were young I never had to look for them because I knew where they were at – that was right here,” said Virgil Zellman.

Eighty-year-old Virgil Zellman embodies Young America baseball. A former Cardinals player and manager, he’s not only in the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame, he and his family are woven into the fabric of the Cardinals.

“Well, I played a lot of sandlot baseball and the town team was looking for ball players in ’53. The Korean War came in and they were short on ballplayers, so I joined the team and I played every game since,” Zellman said.

It’s a love he passed on to his son, Terry.

“I was a bat boy and used to hang the canvas out here,” said Terry Zellman, a former Cardinals player and current team board member. “I was short enough to do the outfield lower fence and I hung canvas and I’ve been out here ever since, too.”

The Stender family is also intertwined. In the 1970s, Doug Stender bought the house across the street to be close to the field - and you have to wonder what his wife thought of that.

“Well, it was easy for her to say goodbye because she knows she could get ahold of me,” laughed Doug Stender, who is the team’s assistant manager. “I played until I was 44, 45. I started in ’69, so that’s quite a few years. My favorite, most cherished moment was when [my son] Brandon pitched and I got to catch him. I would say that’s my favorite. I think I was 41 and he was 17.”

“It’s an opportunity that I cherish and will always love,” said Brandon Stender, Doug’s son and current Cardinals player. “Can’t imagine a life without [town ball] to be honest with you. It’s so intertwined with everything I’ve always done that I can’t imagine life without it.”

“Having the opportunity to have two of my cousins co-managing, having three or four other cousins on the team,” said Jeremy Stender, a Cardinals board member. “We’ve got a lot of those family connections. On this team when you look up and down the roster, you’ll see a lot of the same names. That’s just kind of what makes this fun. It’s a family kind of deal.”

“That’s why I keep playing just to kind of pass it on to [my kids] and to know that this is a fun place to be, where families can grow,” said Matt Mann, a Cardinals player.

The next generation not only embraces the game, but this town and the rich history and they love their place in it with all their heart.

“It’s pretty incredible,” said Isaac Hormann, Cardinals catcher and Concordia catcher. “I’ve been part of the team since I was four. I was the bat boy when my dad played. So I live a block away from the park, so basically it’s where I grew up. I used to come up here every summer night and play wiffle ball in center field... now I get to wear the jersey and actually play for the Cardinals.”