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COUNTRY MESSENGER
APRIL 8, 2015 www.countrymessenger.com
'We're the same people — we just have a bigger house' Life after lottery for Marine's Joe and Rhonda Meath BY MICHELLE MIRON EDITOR - THE LOWDOWN
MARINE ON ST. CROIX — Most every time Joe and Rhonda Meath visited Minnesota State Fair tractor displays in the past, Joe vowed to splurge once he won the lottery. Surprise. Joe no longer has to dream. To their shock last September, the former Linwood residents won Minnesota’s $11.7 million Hot Lotto jackpot. Since then they’ve picked up a few other fun things (a motor home, new towels, patio furniture, a German shepherd puppy), left sizable tips for good service, hired financial experts for investments, left their Linwood place for a Marine on St. Croix mansion and starred in an HGTV show about home-shopping lottery winners. A trip to Alaska is next, perhaps followed by jaunts to Hawaii and Disney and maybe a cruise. That said, it’s clear from talking to Rhonda, 52, that she hasn’t changed her basic values. The 1981 White Bear Lake Area High School grad still holds her long-term job as a server at Lake Elmo Inn, she and Joe still debate every purchase. She still loves a bargain as much as the next person. In a recent interview she gave a tour of their elaborate new home and furnishings but saved perhaps the best for last — an outbuilding housing her vast Christmas decorations, including a tree she snagged for $50 on holiday clearance. Meath said the lottery has thus far resulted in no hidden downsides, no obnoxious friends or family members asking for handouts, no wackos coming out of the woodwork. The only real annoyance to date: their name was used for an apparently fruitless email scam. “We’re the same people — we just have a bigger house,” she said. “We don’t treat anybody differently. We still have the same core friends. We were worried people would change around us, but we can’t control that if they do.” Rhonda said she still laughs when people say they’re pleased so-called “normal people” won the lottery. But they’re
MICHELLE MIRON
The Meaths removed some dead trees close to the house and hired a chainsaw carver to turn one into a sculpture of a German shepherd.
likely referring to the Meaths’ hardworking pasts. Rhonda (maiden name Schloer) has worked at area eateries since high school, including White Bear restaurants Key’s, Washington Square and Ingredients. Joe retired from Xcel Energy three years ago and these days helps his brother in law at White Bear Heating and Cooling. The Meaths have been married 33 years. Looking back, Rhonda said the couple was apprehensive about the required release of their names and city of residence to the media. But the Anoka County Sheriff’s Department offered extra patrols near their home and the family’s highly trained German shepherds also help with security. “It’s going to fade away,” she noted of the public attention. “And we’re just fine with that.” One of the couple’s immediate tasks after winning was finding trusted financial advisors, a task she called surprisingly grueling. Revising wills was another priority. “You don’t just put it in a bank account,” she noted. “It’s a different kind of worry … some people spend lavishly and lose it all.” While the family enTjader & Highstrom Utility Services, LLC is joyed raising children an industry leading underground utility contractor Jami, Kelly, Jessica and out of New Richmond WI, and we are looking to Cathie (all FLAHS grads)
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fed creek, a wooded area, a century-old barn, an outbuilding and a caretaker’s cottage they’re renovating for its rental income. The 7,400-square-foot main house was built in 2007 but never occupied, and was bank-owned when purchased. Rather than moving everything, they bought new furniture and moved in last November (their daughter still lives in their Linwood home). Meath said some parts feel like a real luxury. In her high-tech home gym, a personal trainer helps her stay fit and heal from a broken rib she sustained in October. An entire laundry/storage room is set aside for her dogs’ gear, and she enjoyed decorating to the nines for multiple holiday parties, using seven Christmas trees. Still underutilized are other features including a decked-out home theater. As for the Meaths’ day-to-day activities, she said not much has changed so far. Even before the lottery, she spent about four days weekly training her dogs to perform in agility, herding, obedience and tracking and showing them across the U.S. some 49 weekends per year. Her German shepherd Smith, among other American Kennel Club titles for his breed, holds the No. 8 ranking nationwide for Agility (he’s No. 1 in the state) and the No. 6 nationwide ranking for Speed. He can perform more
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Rhonda Meath and one of her German shepherds.
on their 10-acre place in Linwood, they ultimately opted to seek a place closer to their employers that had more land. By October they were contacted by HGTV about participating in a new pilot (see accompanying story). Known locally as Willow Brook Farm, their $1.6 million new place sits on 38 acres that include farmland, a spring-
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than 26 tricks, has modeled and acted in commercials and is a breed ambassador. Fans may have seen him perform at the State Fair. Meath’s other dogs are German shepherds Bones and Jades and long-haired mini dachshund Elsa Bea. A longtime volunteer with and SEE LOTTERY WINNERS, PAGE 7
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