Thursday September 6th
GOLDEN STAR TREASURE HUNT
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A $500.00 cash prize is given to the person who can figure out the 15 clues. The Golden Star will be hidden within the city limits on public property. (NOT at Inver Wood Golf Course). It will not be buried, so do not dig for it! 5 Clues a day (15 Total) will be posted by 9:00 A.M. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, September 7-9th at City Hall and the Parks and Recreation Office. Contest ends 9:00 A.M. Monday September 11th, 2006. The Winner MUST own a 2006 Inver Grove Heights Days button. NOTE: the "Golden Star" is about 4" and says "Inver Grove Heights Days GOLDEN STAR" on it. Call 651-450-2585 if you find the star. Call the Hotline, 651-450-2489 for updates.
Time
All Weekend
Location
Inver Grove Heights
Entry Fee
Button
Sponsors: Sun Current Newspaper & Inver Grove Heights Parks & Recreation.
IGH Parks
IGH Days
GOLDEN STAR TREASURE HUNT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A $500.00 cash prize is given to the person who can figure out the 15 clues. The Golden Star will be hidden within the city limits on public property. (NOT at Inver Wood Golf Course). It will not be buried, so do not dig for it! 5 Clues a day (15 Total) will be posted by 9:00 A.M. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, September 7-9th at City Hall and the Parks and Recreation Office. Contest ends 9:00 A.M. Monday September 11th, 2006. The Winner MUST own a 2006 Inver Grove Heights Days button. NOTE: the "Golden Star" is about 4" and says "Inver Grove Heights Days GOLDEN STAR" on it. Call 651-450-2585 if you find the star. Call the Hotline, 651-450-2489 for updates.
Time
All Weekend
Location
Inver Grove Heights
Entry Fee
Button
Sponsors: Sun Current Newspaper & Inver Grove Heights Parks & Recreation.
IGH Parks
IGH Days
n00b
But he is planning on participating in the $4,000 treasure hunt for the Winter Carnival in St. Paul.
wtf? 4k?? when that happen???
n00b's
geeez....
But you better protect that star
I can't imagine what he would do if he found the big one. Can anyone say anal-cavity? :worried: :lipsealed:
Heh. I don't need the fame or the fortune, I just wanna find the darned thing.
Well.. the fortune isn't too bad. But honestly I could do without the fame.
BY MEGAN ANDERSON - SUN NEWSPAPERS
(Created: Wednesday, September 26, 2007 10:39 PM CDT)
After following the clues toward a 4-inch golden star, Inver Grove Heights resident Jeff Huebscher became $500 richer.
Huebscher, 24, is the winner of the Golden Star Treasure Hunt, which was part of the activities surrounding Inver Grove Heights Days, Sept. 6-9. The treasure hunt was sponsored by both the Inver Grove Heights Parks and Recreation Department and Sun Newspapers, which provided the $500 reward.
The city started putting the clues for the treasure hunt at 7 a.m. Sept. 6 at City Hall. The city planned to post five clues a day, with up to 15 clues. But all it took was half a day and four clues before Huebscher solved the case.
When Huebscher arrived at 11 a.m., he was ready to begin the hunt. After reading the clues, he said he thought about the possibilities where the golden star could be. "I went to one park and looked around for a bit, but didn't find it. So I sort of gave up."
But later, something clicked as he drove past Skyview Park. "I thought, 'Oh, it's got to be at this park,'" he said.
Sure enough, he found the golden star hidden underneath a bush near the warming shed at Skyview.
He recalled how one clue said that fall is the "time of year for leaves to change, but some of them don't," which made him think about pine trees, leading him to Skyview.
"I was pretty excited, jumping up and down," he said. As he made his way to City Hall, Huebscher called his girlfriend and told her that he found the treasure.
Not wanting anyone to see it before it was official, he said he ran through City Hall with the golden star underneath his shirt. Huebscher was declared the winner, marking the end of the treasure hunt.
Huebscher, a Simley High School graduate, said the prize could have been hidden at any public property in Inver Grove Heights. "But there's not a million parks, so I just kind of narrowed it down."
This isn't the first time he's participated in the treasure hunt. "I almost found it last year, so that made me really want to find it this year," he said.
Plus, Inver Grove Heights Days has been something he's participated in since he was younger. "I like doing all the different activities for Star City Days," he said. "It's just something I do every year. And 500 bucks isn't too bad either."
His girlfriend was excited that he won and his co-workers teased him about what he should do with the money. "They started joking around that I had to bring in a case of beer," he said. "But they're all pretty jealous because I got to be in the parade."
But Huebscher really used his prize money to purchase a TV at Best Buy.
The seeker said he's not planning on trying to find the treasure again next year. "I'll probably give someone else a chance."
But he is planning on participating in the $4,000 treasure hunt for the Winter Carnival in St. Paul. What would he do with that prize? "I'd probably put that money in the bank."
remember, all he did was follow everybody else, on where they were going.
http://www.mnsun.com/articles/2008/09/25/news/c125golden.txt
Inver Grove Heights golden star hunters $500 richer
BY MEGAN ANDERSON - SUN NEWSPAPERS
Published: Wednesday, September 24, 2008 9:55 PM CDT
Sometimes two heads are better than one.
That's true for Becki Pope of South St. Paul and Brad TeGantvoort of Inver Grove Heights, who teamed up to win the Inver Grove Heights Days Golden Star Treasure Hunt.
The reward for their efforts was $500 from Sun Newspapers, which sponsored the hunt with Inver Grove Heights Parks and Recreation.
This isn't the first time the two friends have successfully solved a treasure hunt. Both members of a treasure-hunting group called the Cooler Crew who enjoy geocaching, Pope and TeGantvoort are experienced hunters.
The main event for the Cooler Crew's 300 members is hunting for the St. Paul Winter Carnival medallion, TeGantvoort said.
Three years ago, Pope found the Inver Grove Heights Days Golden Star in Oakwood Park.
"We are kind of avid medallion hunters," Pope said. "Inver Grove Heights Days is personally my favorite hunting event."
This year the city put up five clues a day at City Hall starting Sept. 3. Pope and TeGantvoort used all 15 of the clues to find the star Sept. 5.
While the hunt was going on, TeGantvoort said he was bedridden by a swollen ankle and couldn't go out to search for the star. "I looked at the clues," he said. "It was killing me that I couldn't get out there."
But after getting off work, Pope said she swung by to pick up TeGantvoort and they were on the hunt.
The pair put their heads together going over the clues. One clue mentioned swinging a racquet, which Pope determined meant the park had tennis courts.
Another hint about "a seed," was what Pope said helped her zero in on Salem Hills Park because it has a tree nursery. "The seed clue solidified it," she said.
Not wanting her friend to move around, Pope left TeGantvoort at a park bench and went looking around the park.
While walking around the natural area of the park, Pope said she saw other people tracking the golden star.
Knowing that TeGantvoort wouldn't sit still for long, Pope decided to cut back through along a path off the normal trail.
When she came out of the path, she noticed rocks unusually embedded where she was walking through. "The rocks piqued my interest right away," she said. One clue had referred to Zen and Pope interpreted that meant sand or rocks.
Spotting an evergreen tree, Pope looked underneath and discovered the golden star hidden in the base branches. Pope said she hadn't been looking for 10 minutes when she found the star.
"I was just thrilled," she said. "I resisted the urge to yell out that I had found it."
If she hadn't gone along the path to cut back to TeGantvoort, Pope said she probably wouldn't have found the star.
As experienced hunters, Pope and TeGantvoort said there's a thought process to figuring out clues. "You have to think outside the box," TeGantvoort said.
"Don't make the part fit the clues," Pope said. "You have to let them guide you."
One fun part about hunts in Inver Grove Heights and other cities, Pope said, is that it gives people an opportunity to discover different areas and parks.
Pope said she plans to split the prize with TeGantvoort. Participating in treasure hunts isn't always about the reward, Pope said. "A lot of it is just the fun of doing it," she said.
(You are invited to comment about this story on our website at www.mnsun.com and/or write a letter to the editor at suncurrentsouth@acnpapers.com.)
wonder what it gets for mileage...