Vadnais Heights Press

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WHAT’S HAPPENING: Go for a hike or learn a new skill PAGE 12A

Couple’s love story gets some help from fate

INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE PHOTO

Max Nelson, Mahtomedi senior, has competed in two World Cups and is now headed for the Paralympics.

Mahtomedi skier headed for Paralympics

The well-traveled Rappas visit Sedona, Arizona, in early 2020. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED

CORINNE STREMMEL STAFF WRITER

Their missed connection turned into 63 years of marriage. Bernard and Diane Rappa, who now reside in Grant, have one of those love stories that make us wonder about the power of fate. The pair originally met during their freshman year while they

attended college in Chicago. “I remember walking down the street with my buddy and seeing this girl, and I asked him, ‘Do you know that gal?’ and luckily, he did,” Bernard Rappa said. Their first date was on a chilly day, as Rappa recalls. He had asked Diane out to the local jukebox club across the street where song requests cost just a nickel.

“I was just smitten with her blue-green eyes and that infectious smile,” Rappa said. Diane and Bernard dated for two years, going to pizza parlors and driving around in Bernard’s Ford convertible with the little money they had. On their fourth date, Bernard splurged on a date to the

BRUCE STRAND CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Max Nelson, the Mahtomedi athlete who’s placed first and second in his conference Nordic ski meets despite being nearly blind, has been chosen for Team USA in the Paralympic Games coming up in March in China.

SEE LOVE STORY, PAGE 9A

SEE MAX NELSON, PAGE 9A

Vadnais Heights city staff to get parental leave People who work for the city of Vadnais Heights and are expecting a child will soon benefit from a new paid parental leave policy adopted by the City Council. Employees who have worked for the city at least one year are eligible. Part-time employees who have worked at least 20 hours per week for a year

will be eligible for prorated leave, based on the number of hours they have worked. The leave must be taken continuously; it cannot be split. City-employed mothers who deliver a baby naturally or are the primary caregiver of an adopted child will receive four weeks’ paid leave. If their spouse or non-primary caregiver is employed by Vadnais Heights, they will receive two weeks’ leave. Mothers who deliver via Caesarian

section will be given five weeks off. Vadnais-employed spouses will receive three weeks. Surrogate mothers and sperm or egg donors are excluded from coverage, and foster care placement is not eligible for coverage. The proposal was put forth by Council Member Erik Goebel, who noticed that the city did not have a parental leave policy. He noted in his proposal that the city experiences

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maybe “0-1” births per year, so the policy would not have a great effect on the budget. A recent survey of Vadnais residents found great support for the work done by city employees. “This policy will help us retain our staff,” Goebel said. The council officially adopted the policy Feb. 2.

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BY CYNTHIA SOWDEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER


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