As a person with heart disease and a pacemaker/defibrillator that will permanently be part of my life going forward, stories about lives being saved hit a little closer to home, especially when it involves the heart. Just a few weeks ago, social media was abuzz with a heartwarming story from Spokane, Washington. Comedian Drew Lynch was doing his act at a comedy club when a man collapsed. Members of the crowd spang into action saving the man. Less than two weeks later, Hastings had their own heart-warming story to share. A customer at Dugarel’s collapsed due to cardiac arrest and thanks to the quick actions of guests staff, the customer survived, but the events that led up to that point are what hit home for so many.
April 7, 2016 is the day that this branch of the story tragically started. Former Raider Chase Passauer was murdered in the St. Paul law office where he was working as a law clerk, by a Woodbury man who had recently become a client of the office. Ryan David Peterson took Passauer’s life and later admitted that Passauer was not his intended target. The death shocked many at the time and ultimately, Peterson was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Friends and family of Passauer turned the tragedy into an amazing memorial that started with two scholarship funds at the University of Minnesota through the U of M Foundation where Passauer graduated from at the age of 21. According to the foundation’s website, cap34.org, “the first Chase Passauer Memorial Golf Tournament was held [in 2017] with proceeds going towards the establishment of these scholarships. Although these scholarship fund goals have been met, direct gifts to the University of Minnesota are still being accepted.”
In 2018, Chase’s close group of friends started the Chase Passauer Memorial Scholarship and took on the emotional but rewarding challenge of choosing several Hastings High School seniors to receive scholarships to further their education. Following another successful tournament in 2019, the CAP Foundation took over funding these annual scholarships, with 18 awarded through May 2024.
2021 is when the story took a local, positive turn that would pay off last week. The proceeds from the 2021 golf tournament were used to start a fund for Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) for local businesses. The foundation worked with both Allina Health and Al Storlie at the Hastings Fire Department and the first three AEDs were placed in Hastings at Dugarel’s, The Busted Nut and Starkson Family Life Celebration Chapel. Since then, additional units have been placed at the 2nd Street Depot, Carbone’s Pizza, Hastings Child Development Center, Lock and Dam Eatery, Spiral Brewery and Almquist Farm.
This was all led by Chase’s father Chris who championed a way to honor his son who was looking forward to a life spent helping others. That came full circle on September 25, 2025.
According to a social media post on the Dugarel’s Facebook page, during dinner Thursday evening a customer went into cardiac arrest, collapsed and lost their pulse. Thankfully, a paramedic was there for dinner and immediately began chest compressions. At the same time, a staff member retrieved the AED for the paramedic, and the customer was able to be revived before Hastings EMS arrived.
As the emotional post shared, “That AED was here because of Chris. That AED was here because of Chase.”
The post outlined much of what was presented above, Chris’s mission to honor Chase’s life by helping others.
“Last Thursday, that mission came full circle. Because of Chris’s efforts to honor Chase, a life was saved right here at Dugarel’s,” the post concluded. “If you’d like to help continue this important work, donations can be made here: https://cap34.org/aed. Chris, in honoring your son, you gave our community a gift that cannot be measured. From the bottom of our hearts - thank you.”
With two emotion filled rescues of strangers by strangers hitting my social media the last few weeks, it brings forward the reminder that we are all in this together. No matter what our differences, there is someone willing to jump in and save lives. I would love for you to go watch the 10 minute 15 second video on Drew Lynch’s Facebook page. See the raw emotion of a man there just doing his job of comedy in front of a crowd, a crowd that suddenly needs to come together to save a total strangers life.
For those 10 minutes, those people were nothing more than humans helping another human, and I’d venture to guess, the video from Dugarel’s was similar to that from the comedy club in Washington. For those ten minutes in Spokane and Hastings, the focus was on saving a life and that was successful here in Hastings because of a tragedy from nearly a decade ago.
Where this continues is simple: A challenge. I am challenging you to join me for two things. First, take the time to read about the steps to using an AED. The Red Cross has a simple web page with the basic information we all should have about these wonderful life saving devices. It is seven steps and a quick read. Just having this basic information in the back of your mind can help you be more confident in a life-saving situation.
Second, let’s get CPR certified. There are online certification classes that you can take at your leisure, and the Red Cross has some in-person classes scheduled within 20 miles of Hastings. If one out of four people reading this story joins me in getting CPR certified, I am willing to bet that one of us will end up saving a life because of this story and that will allow us to continue the Passauer mission of helping others.