Yesterday was my last official day working at U.S. Bank Stadium as the Director of IT. I was about a week shy of six years, but what a wild ride it has been:

• Five plus seasons of Vikings Football (including the Minneapolis Miracle)
• Super Bowl LII
• Men’s Final Four
• Summer X Games
• A.C. Milan vs. Chelsea
• Monster Jam and Super Cross dirt shows
• MSHSL Championships
• Metallica, Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Guns N’ Roses, Beyoncé and Jay-Z, U2 with Beck (and many other shows)

It’s been an honor to work in this building from pre-opening through today, partnering with outstanding organizations, working with truly amazing people and learning an awful lot about the sports and entertainment industry.

There are really too many people to thank for helping me succeed in this chapter of my life, but I’d like to call out a few:

• Armon Farrari, who I stole from Apple (h/t Pash) and who became one of the best technology managers I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with in any industry.
• Curtis Schmillen, Director of Operations, Leo Pidde (now retired) and Ed Kroics (who took Leo’s place): just an amazing group of coworkers inside the building and great people to be with outside of work – be it on a golf course or at a happy hour.
• Jim Farstad, executive director of the Minnesota Sports Facility Authority (and former technology consultant during construction): a true renaissance man in every way.
• Inaugural GM Patrick Talty (and HR manager Shelly Wynia) for picking me to join the opening team back in 2015.
• Current GM John Drum, who helped during my health emergency outside the stadium in 2018.
• The CTAC team at CenturyLink (now Lumen) that designed and built the original technology infrastructure: Andy Diment, Mark Olson and Evan Teisberg. Still helping to this day, extraordinary knowledge that always made my job “really pretty simple.”
• Bill Anderson and Wesley Terry at AmpThink: no one in the world knows more about WiFi than these two individuals.
• Mentor Doug Podolak: your continued support of my career (and friendship) means the world to me.
• My wife and daughters: zero percent chance I’d be here today without their love and support. You da best ❤️

Lastly, to everyone at the Vikings (past and present): you’ve been great partners and I can’t wait to see you bring home the Vince Lombardi trophy to the great state of Minnesota.

Skol, Vikings!

Emotional day at the stadium ❤️

Luna doge is almost back to normal

Flowers, flowers, flowers

Thank you, UMD Land Lab – that was delicious

Today marks the three year anniversary of my train platform event in downtown Minneapolis. The first anniversary was amazing, I was ultra grateful for my second anniversary and now things are running on all cylinders for year three. Colleen made my favorite bars to celebrate and we will be having dinner tonight at Saint Dinette to toast another splendid year around the sun.

On the health front, everything is great. I’m on my second pair of permanent prism lenses and they work perfectly. Still don’t need them for reading screens, but I do prefer them now for watching TV and movies, riding my bike, golfing and driving (even bought a pair of prism sunglasses). The move streak on my watch is now up to 540 days, I’m at 530 miles on the bike log for 2021 and have even signed up to try another half marathon in 2022.

As the pandemic continues to roll on, some things have returned to (semi) normal. While we had an entire football season without fans, this year has seen a return to no restrictions and four games with thousands of people through the doors. We took our first airplane trips to and from Las Vegas over Labor Day and will be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary this December on Kauai. We’ve also been building a new house that should be ready when we get back (after an extended construction period).

Lastly, I want to again thank the healthcare professionals who helped get me to year three, along with all of my family and friends who have provided love and support. There is one other big change coming soon, but I’ll leave that for another day…

MK did an amazing job – so happy I got to see it in person ❤️

Anniversary ornament for 30 years

Missed kid one and kid two

Ivy Park getting richer

Kids and their restaurant hats, amirite?

Luna is the best doge

https://www.hofffuneral.com/obituary/595904/richard-t.–kingsbury/

The Portland Malt Shoppe, Duluth, Minnesota

The University of Minnesota-Duluth Land Lab

Fun afternoon and evening with the MK and SK

SK back for a short-term run in Linden Hills

MK and Luna get a quick visit ❤️

Sneak attack, post Turf Club

Best. Usher. Ever.

This week I stopped during a bike ride at Acacia Park Cemetery to say hi to the family and check on my parent’s headstone (we’ve been waiting for my dad’s numbers to be updated for quite a while). As you can see in the photo, it now correctly says 1946 – 2020 (and is actually a completely new headstone). This sent me down two rabbit holes:

• Investigating headstone options for my plot
• The wondrous site that is findagrave.com

While we wait for the pricing options on the first one, I was amazed at how much personal information was available on our family on the second. I had no idea there were several other relatives buried at Acacia and I learned a bunch of things about the Kingsbury side of things too (more details after the jump).

In addition to my mom and dad, my maternal grandmother and grandfather are in the Cypress section of Acacia, along with my uncle Greg and my great uncle Warren and his wife Evelyn. Also on the Smith side of the family, Acacia is the final resting place for my great-grandparents Walter and Edna Smith, along with my great-great-grandparents John and Margaret Blaylock (who knew?). Also learned about the ties back to England (I already knew grandma Helen was “a beautiful Swedish Lady”).

On the Kingsbury side, I learned most of the family is buried in southern Minnesota, Iowa and Ohio (with one set of great-great-grandparents in Missouri and a New York connection too). I also learned about “Baby Kingsbury,” who died in 1944 and that I have a Norwegian relative named Ole Larsrud (not married to Lena). Also forgot that my paternal grandmother died on my wife’s birthday (in 2000).

For posterity, here is the data they listed for various relatives (down to fifth generation):

Karen Leslie Smith Kingsbury, mother
BIRTH 1 Sep 1944
Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA
DEATH 22 Dec 2017 (aged 73)
Edina, Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA
BURIAL
Acacia Park Cemetery
Mendota Heights, Dakota County, Minnesota, USA
PLOT Cypress, Block 5, Lot 3, Grave 12 HE

Michael Alvin Kingsbury, father
BIRTH 7 Sep 1946
Lanesboro, Fillmore County, Minnesota, USA
DEATH 10 Feb 2020 (aged 73)
Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA
BURIAL
Acacia Park Cemetery
Mendota Heights, Dakota County, Minnesota, USA
PLOT Cypress, Block 5, Lot 3, Grave 12 FE

Helen Margaret Elmquist Smith, maternal grandmother
BIRTH 14 Jun 1920
Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA
DEATH 26 Dec 2007 (aged 87)
West Saint Paul, Dakota County, Minnesota, USA
BURIAL
Acacia Park Cemetery
Mendota Heights, Dakota County, Minnesota, USA
PLOT Cypress, Block 5, Lot 3, Grave 11 FE

Donald Leslie Smith, maternal grandfather
BIRTH 24 Nov 1919
Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA
DEATH 30 Dec 2013 (aged 94)
Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA
BURIAL
Acacia Park Cemetery
Mendota Heights, Dakota County, Minnesota, USA
PLOT Cypress, Block 5, Lot 3, Grave 11HE

Greg Alan Smith, uncle
BIRTH 27 Dec 1946
Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA
DEATH 25 Dec 2018 (aged 71)
Spokane, Spokane County, Washington, USA
BURIAL
Acacia Park Cemetery
Mendota Heights, Dakota County, Minnesota, USA
PLOT Cypress, Block 5, Lot 3, Grave 9 HE

Warren Hewson Smith, great-uncle
BIRTH 16 Jan 1917
Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA
DEATH 14 May 1992 (aged 75)
Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA
BURIAL
Acacia Park Cemetery
Mendota Heights, Dakota County, Minnesota, USA
PLOT Cypress, Block 5, Lot 3, Grave 9

Evelyn Josephine Rigoni Smith, great-aunt
BIRTH 15 May 1918
Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA
DEATH 20 Nov 2011 (aged 93)
Eden Prairie, Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA
BURIAL
Acacia Park Cemetery
Mendota Heights, Dakota County, Minnesota, USA
PLOT Cypress, Block 5, Lot 3, Grave 10
Daughter of Antonio Rigoni and Rose Cella

Walter Ellsworth Smith, great-grandfather
BIRTH 27 Aug 1890
Pennsylvania, USA
DEATH 22 Mar 1946 (aged 55)
Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA
BURIAL
Acacia Park Cemetery
Mendota Heights, Dakota County, Minnesota, USA
PLOT Cypress, Block 5, Lot 3, Grave 5

Edna L Blaylock Smith, great-grandmother
BIRTH 8 Apr 1892
Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA
DEATH 25 Aug 1958 (aged 66)
Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA
BURIAL
Acacia Park Cemetery
Mendota Heights, Dakota County, Minnesota, USA
PLOT Cypress, Block 5, Lot 3, Grave 6

John Hewson Blaylock, great-great-grandfather
BIRTH 17 Sep 1848
England
DEATH 8 Aug 1936 (aged 87)
Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA
BURIAL
Acacia Park Cemetery
Mendota Heights, Dakota County, Minnesota, USA
PLOT Cypress, Block 5, Lot 3, Grave 13

Margaret Ann Tweddle Blaylock, great-great-grandmother
BIRTH 17 Jul 1856
England
DEATH 2 May 1940 (aged 83)
Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA
BURIAL
Acacia Park Cemetery
Mendota Heights, Dakota County, Minnesota, USA
PLOT Cypress, Block 5, Lot 3, Grave 14

Evalyn C. Campbell Kingsbury, paternal grandmother
BIRTH 20 Oct 1914
Stuart, Adair County, Iowa, USA
DEATH 23 Jun 2000 (aged 85)
Rushford, Fillmore County, Minnesota, USA
BURIAL
Henrytown Cemetery
Henrytown, Fillmore County, Minnesota, USA

Alvin Clifford Kingsbury, paternal grandfather
BIRTH 28 Nov 1908
Harmony, Fillmore County, Minnesota, USA
DEATH 29 Aug 1987 (aged 78)
Rushford Village, Fillmore County, Minnesota, USA
BURIAL
Henrytown Cemetery
Henrytown, Fillmore County, Minnesota, USA

Baby Kingsbury, aunt
BIRTH 1944
DEATH 13 Dec 1944 (aged less–than 1 year)
BURIAL
Henrytown Cemetery
Henrytown, Fillmore County, Minnesota, USA

Frances Mabel Arnold Campbell, great-grandmother
BIRTH 29 Oct 1887
Dexter, Dallas County, Iowa, USA
DEATH 4 Dec 1978 (aged 91)
Coon Rapids, Carroll County, Iowa, USA
BURIAL
Dexter Cemetery
Dexter, Dallas County, Iowa, USA

Clyde Marion Campbell, great-grandfather
BIRTH 2 Oct 1888
Sidney, Fremont County, Iowa, USA
DEATH 5 Apr 1977 (aged 88)
Coon Rapids, Carroll County, Iowa, USA
BURIAL
Dexter Cemetery
Dexter, Dallas County, Iowa, USA

Caroline Larsrud Kingsbury, great-grandmother
BIRTH 1 May 1876
DEATH 6 Dec 1933 (aged 57)
BURIAL
Henrytown Cemetery
Henrytown, Fillmore County, Minnesota, USA
Father’s Name: Ole Larsrud
Father’s Birthplace: Norway
Mother’s Name: Betsey Hilestad
Mother’s Birthplace: Norway

Charles Clarence Kingsbury, great-grandfather
BIRTH 8 Oct 1874
DEATH 14 Jan 1960 (aged 85)
BURIAL
Henrytown Cemetery
Henrytown, Fillmore County, Minnesota, USA
Father’s Name: John
Father’s Birthplace: Norway
Mother’s Name: Cordelia
Mother’s Birthplace: Norway

Cordelia Ann West Kingsbury, great-great-grandmother
BIRTH 13 Mar 1835
Michigan, USA
DEATH 17 May 1922 (aged 87)
BURIAL
Crown Hill Cemetery
Preston, Fillmore County, Minnesota, USA

John M. Kingsbury, great-great-grandfather
BIRTH 12 Jun 1828
Boonville, Oneida County, New York, USA
DEATH 8 Sep 1910 (aged 82)
Preston, Fillmore County, Minnesota, USA
BURIAL
Crown Hill Cemetery
Preston, Fillmore County, Minnesota, USA

Bertha “Betsy” Hilestad Larsrud, great-great-grandmother
BIRTH 16 Oct 1849
DEATH 12 Sep 1932 (aged 82)
BURIAL
Henrytown Cemetery
Henrytown, Fillmore County, Minnesota, USA
Father’s Name: Knud Hileslad
Father’s Birthplace: Norway
Mother’s Name: Sonneva
Mother’s Birthplace: Norway

Ole A. Larsrud, great-great-grandfather
BIRTH 15 Feb 1829
DEATH 11 Jun 1907 (aged 78)
BURIAL
Henrytown Cemetery
Henrytown, Fillmore County, Minnesota, USA

Nettie McCaffree Campbell, great-great-grandmother
BIRTH 3 Sep 1856
Illinois, USA
DEATH 18 Aug 1925 (aged 68)
Polk County, Missouri, USA
BURIAL
Humansville Cemetery
Humansville, Polk County, Missouri, USA

Harvey B Campbell, great-great-grandfather
BIRTH 8 Jul 1855
Fremont County, Iowa, USA
DEATH 23 Sep 1935 (aged 80)
Dexter, Dallas County, Iowa, USA
BURIAL
Humansville Cemetery
Humansville, Polk County, Missouri, USA

Elizabeth Row Arnold, great-great-grandmother
BIRTH 19 Dec 1844
Holmes County, Ohio, USA
DEATH 25 Dec 1929 (aged 85)
Dexter, Dallas County, Iowa, USA
BURIAL
Dexter Cemetery
Dexter, Dallas County, Iowa, USA

Jacob Arnold, great-great-grandfather
BIRTH 13 Mar 1850
Holmes County, Ohio, USA
DEATH 28 Jan 1930 (aged 79)
Dexter, Dallas County, Iowa, USA
BURIAL
Dexter Cemetery
Dexter, Dallas County, Iowa, USA

Margaret Van Slyke Kingsbury, great-great-great grandmother
BIRTH 1809
DEATH 1 Mar 1842 (aged 32–33)
Boonville, Oneida County, New York, USA
BURIAL
Boonville Cemetery
Boonville, Oneida County, New York, USA

Israel Kingsbury, great-great-great grandfather
BIRTH 8 Sep 1800
Boonville, Oneida County, New York, USA
DEATH 24 Jan 1889 (aged 88)
Boonville, Oneida County, New York, USA
BURIAL
Boonville Cemetery
Boonville, Oneida County, New York, USA

Anna West, great-great-great grandmother
BIRTH 13 Mar 1799
DEATH 13 Jan 1898 (aged 98)
BURIAL
Hesper Public Cemetery
Winneshiek County, Iowa, USA

Abram West, great-great-great grandfather
BIRTH 1787
DEATH 1864 (aged 76–77)
BURIAL
Hesper Public Cemetery
Winneshiek County, Iowa, USA

Sophia DeFreece Campbell, great-great-great-grandmother
BIRTH 7 Apr 1826
DEATH 28 Apr 1909 (aged 83)
BURIAL
Sidney Cemetery
Sidney, Fremont County, Iowa, USA
PLOT Sec 2 Row 17

Aaron Campbell, great-great-great-grandfather
BIRTH 25 Dec 1820
DEATH 5 Jul 1897 (aged 76)
BURIAL
Sidney Cemetery
Sidney, Fremont County, Iowa, USA
PLOT Sec 2 Row 17

Emily Jane Morgan McCaffree, great-great-great-grandmother
BIRTH 1 Apr 1830
Kentucky, USA
DEATH 14 Dec 1885 (aged 55)
Sidney, Fremont County, Iowa, USA
BURIAL
Sidney Cemetery
Sidney, Fremont County, Iowa, USA
PLOT Sec 4 Row 14

Simeon McCaffree, great-great-great-grandfather
BIRTH 13 Sep 1822
Kentucky, USA
DEATH 10 Jul 1890 (aged 67)
Sidney, Fremont County, Iowa, USA
BURIAL
Sidney Cemetery
Sidney, Fremont County, Iowa, USA

Mary Gardner Arnold, great-great-great grandmother
BIRTH 30 Mar 1817
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, USA
DEATH 9 Feb 1905 (aged 87)
Holmes County, Ohio, USA
BURIAL
Arnold Cemetery
Mount Hope, Holmes County, Ohio, USA

John Arnold, great-great-great grandfather
BIRTH 1 Jun 1817
Holmes County, Ohio, USA
DEATH 4 Jan 1894 (aged 76)
Mount Hope, Holmes County, Ohio, USA
BURIAL
Arnold Cemetery
Mount Hope, Holmes County, Ohio, USA

Susannah Sheneman Row, great-great-great grandmother
BIRTH 22 Sep 1812
Tuscarawas County, Ohio, USA
DEATH 4 Feb 1884 (aged 71)
BURIAL
Zion United Church of Christ Cemetery
New Bedford, Coshocton County, Ohio, USA

Andrew Row, great-great-great grandfather
BIRTH 1815
Pennsylvania, USA
DEATH 25 Mar 1863 (aged 47–48)
Coshocton County, Ohio, USA
BURIAL
Zion United Church of Christ Cemetery
New Bedford, Coshocton County, Ohio, USA

UMD Students Encourage Gardening in Morgan Park

Just beat the rain on the rooftop in White Bear Lake

The Bulldoge in her native habitat

Thanks for the orchids I can’t kill

Sasha with Brian and Patti @ Saint Dinette

Congrats, Carter (and thanks for everything, Trisha – it was soooooo good)

Long time, no see

Way more progress than I was prepared for…

New Bulldoge apartment ✅

None too happy, this one

Don’t get the entire crew very often

Punch, Grand Ole Creamery, Como Zoo and Conservatory

DK Mix @ Candyland

Thank you, Acacia

Happy Mother’s Day 2021

Poor Peter Pup – always alone with no night light

Made another run at the Grand Casino Hinckley Black Orchid ($15K top progressive)

…with CK @ Mystic Lake

She’d really say that (if she could talk)

Easter Sunday in Lowertown 🐣

SK and Snol in Minneapolis

Luna taking a little break

The OG Carbone’s on Randolph

March weather in 2021 has been an A+ (so far)

SK visit tonight in Minneapolis

Breakfast with my Bulldog at Duluth Grill with “Winners” on the speakers

A beautiful arrangement from a beautiful soul

Lil’ Snoop Snol-E Snol

Thank you, LK, BK (and PK)

If you know, you know

Looks who’s back, back again

Thanks CK!

We famous, yo

Wut

The very clever series of commercials for Grand Casino (developed by the talented Chad Germann and his team at Red Circle Agency) has always made me feel like I should have one of those experiences at some point. Sadly, I’ve never had a large jackpot at Hinckley or Mille Lacs, but today my daughter and I at least had something happen that might qualify as a true Grand Story:

Hinckley has a ton of my favorite game, Black Orchid, often with unusually high progressives. The first machine I played today had a large frog progressive, so MK pulled out her lucky frog (a handmade clay pin) and set it on the machine. A few minutes later, boom, $78.43 frog jackpot. On our way out, we saw another Black Orchid that had a very large butterfly progressive that we tried to hit (unsuccessfully). Just before giving up, though, we hit a smaller $30.61 frog jackpot that put us back on the positive side of the ledger for the night…

Sport that pink, Peter Pup

Rent-a-Snol, Holiday Edition

Brown & Greene Floral, Linden Hills

More perks from having a kid at Candyland

This is so great – thanks, CK

The “new zoo” has been impacted in unique ways by the pandemic, so we were happy to help support them via the drive-thru Nature Illuminated experience that runs through January 17. Prices vary by day, with discounts for zoo members (we paid $50 for our car of four people). The inflatable animals and lighting are set up in the eastern parking lots (near the school that SK and MK attended), which you enter and exit from the main zoo entrance on McAndrews. There is an audio program you can stream from your phone that ties in with the sequence of the animals, who are grouped much like the zoo itself. You are asked to drive with just your parking lights and the leisurely pace was just right, allowing for photos and an overall time of about 40 minutes.

With the whole fam too

First day @ Candyland

That doge likes his peanut butter

That’s a good sink doge

Such a solid joint

“The best phone in the family”

Howdy, Pookie

That’s a good boy 🐶