Thank you to all the happy couples who have shared their Love Stories with KIWA and our listeners. All of the entries are listed below. Please enjoy reading the Love Stories sent in by our listeners.
Congratulations to our winning couple, .Shelby Underwood & Hunter Irwin of Primghar!! They’ll receive our Valentine Love Story Grand Prize of; Dinner for Two at the Train Station II, a bouquet of flowers from Blossom & Brides Boutique, a bottle of red wine from Stammer Liquor and a bottle of white wine from Highway Liquor and Smoke Shop, a certificate for the gourmet cheesecake of your choice from Truly Scrumptious in Sheldon, and a one-night stay in a King Suite at Holiday Inn Express in Sheldon.
Happy Valentine’s Day!!
_________________________________________________________________________________
My wife Lois and I met in the 7th grade when I moved to Little Rock. On our first date we went to The drive in movie at Worthington. We graduated and got married. Been married for 42 years. Kenny & Lois Schilling
_________________________________________________________________________________
Our story began the summer of 1994. One of my classmates from LPN school set me up on a blind date with her boyfriends brother. We played board games and talked. At the end of the night the two of us went for a walk down the gravel road. The next night he called me and asked me out on our first official date, which was the demolition derby in Sibley. We have 2 children. Communication and supporting each other is important. We have been married for 24yrs. I am blessed to have Bert in my life. Bert and Gayle Vander Plaats
_____________________________________________________________________________________
We actually first met at figure 8 races in Rock Rapids when I was racing in 1982. She was with a group of friends that knew one of my friends. And this was a brief meeting so we didn’t connect at this time. Then in 1985, one of my best friends and one of her best friends were married. On the morning of the wedding day was when we actually made eye contact for the first time. Before the reception, she actually told her parents she saw someone and said I know he will be giving me a ride home. Well we sat by each other at reception. And had a great time. And I did give her a ride home. We finally got together about a month later. And we went to the same friend’s house for some food and games.
On Christmas Eve 1987, I proposed and she said YES. We were married in June of 1988. So this year will be our 37th Anniversary. – Joe & Sandy Schilling
_______________________________________________________________________________________
We met on a blind date September 1 of 1990. Our first date was to movie theater in Sioux City. We were married October 2 1993 and are currently still married. – Greg & Chris Van Beek
________________________________________________________________________________________
Mike and I met at Hy-Vee where we both worked while in high school and college. It took Mike about three years to figure out what a catch I was, and he finally asked me on a date in December 1989. The big spender took me to the movie “Look Who’s Talking” in Le Mars and then to McDonald’s. I must have really wanted to impress him because I ordered chicken nuggets rather than my all-time favorite Big Mac. We’ve been together ever since–celebrating 34 years of marriage this June. – Mike & Karen Christians
_____________________________________________________________________________________
I was working, at the YMCA in Worthington MN. I happened to be playing in a volleyball tournament with a group of ladies, one of which worked at the the newspaper here in Sheldon. After the volleyball tournament, one of the ladies started joking on how I should meet this guy. He’s so funny you guys would get along. Can I give him your number? I said no way I don’t need a man. Either way, she gave him my number and he ended up calling and we talked on the phone for for a while. And then we decided to meet….. Well, as most of you know, I have a very low voice on the phone and he canceled on me for our first date and then came up to Worthington to the YMCA to see if he could find me and see what I looked like….. I was going to go to school at Morningside and then I decided to stop in at the newspaper and see what he looked like….. So I stopped in and he came up the stairs and a whole bunch of people came up, and that is how we first met when I came back from visiting the school. We went out for a drink. And after that, we went on our first date, the following weekend, and we went to a movie in Worthington. Had a great time. And we’ve been together ever since so. Altogether, we’ve been together for 30 years. This year will be twenty five years married on the twenty fifth of march, so it’s our golden anniversary. – Lane & Blanca Struyk
___________________________________________________________________________________
My husband and I met at a mutual friend’s house two days before I graduated from high school. Our first date was cruising the loop in Paullina, IA. We will celebrate our 25th Anniversary in September. – Adam & Barbara Besaw
_______________________________________________________________________________________
My husband and I met in 1967 through his cousin. We met at a Hartley Iowa pool bar. He asked to take me home, oh and by the way i was 8 months pregnant, which he was aware of since he had been going past my house several times but never got the nerve to stop. He followed the right model and color car but that was not the right one. He was in the country and I lived in town. So I consented to let him take me home . From Hartley to Sanborn. He told the reasons he admired me and somewhere between Sanborn and Sheldon he asked me to marry him. I thought he was out of his ever loving mind; I was 8 months pregnant, we were two very different religions, and struggling financially living at home with my parents. What the world was this?? But he was relentless. This happened in March, by April 4th we were engaged, and April 11th a son was born. He took on full responsibility and has never looked back. That was his son !! Now a proper engagement was 6 months, so on my grandparents 40th anniversary, October 4, 1967 we were married. As we walked out of the church he stated, “If we can’t talk about it we certainly aren’t going to argue about it.” Fast forward 57 years and he’s never spoken a cross word to me, not that I’ve not given him plenty of reason, but he never has. We had a wonderful relationship and if you believe he is a marvelous husband, that doesn’t even hold a candle to his abilities as father and papa. He has made me queen of everyday and I have tried to make him King. There is not greater love than unconditional love. If you know our family you could not even imagine which child is adopted. Thanks for letting me share of this great love of a man for a woman. – Wayne & Chris Jungers
__________________________________________________________________________________
We met through the Army National Guard which we both serve in currently! On our first date, we went to Sioux City to shop for home items as I had just purchased my first house, and then we had supper at Buffalo Wild Wings! We started dating July 29, 2023 and were married this past summer on August 9, 2024! – Colt & Hanah Hoffman
______________________________________________________________________________________
We met at church, went to the same youth group, and played softball for our church teams. We spent endless hours practicing softball and playing several games a week, and of course eyeing each other. We went on our first date to the Worthington movie theatre. We have been blessed with almost 39 years of marriage. – Mark & Sharla Vander Pol
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Ken and I met at Northwestern College my freshman year in the Fall of 1988. Ken was a junior and his roommate was my best friend’s brother. I was immediately smitten. Our first date was to NWC’s theater production of Godspell. We were great friends for the next year until Ken pulled the trigger and thought “hey, I really like this goofball who’s been pining for me for a very long time.” We got married in June 1992 after I finished college. Two awesome kids, and a great son-in-law later we will celebrate 33 years this June. – Ken & Karla Ven Huizen
________________________________________________________________________________________
We met at my friends party, he was new in town. At first I thought he was a little strange. One day he was walking past my sister and I told my sis come look there he is the guy I was talking about. Well my sis asked him to come in and we sat and visited most of the afternoon. We never really had an official what you call “date.” It seemed everywhere I would go he was there, like we were meant to be together. David asked me to marry him three times before I finally said yes. We have been married now for 44 years. I guess God knew what He was doing. – David & Cherie White
________________________________________________________________________________________
Two years ago this month, I briefly met an elderly, newlywed couple. They told me they met on eHarmony and then strongly encouraged me to give it a try. After several days of trying to dismiss that conversation, I gave in, created an account, and then instantly chided myself for doing so. But before I could go back in and delete my account, I had a response – a “wave” from a guy right here in Sheldon. It happened to be Valentine’s Day. We ended up communicating on eHarmony for several weeks before agreeing to meet up. I told Roger we could not meet up in Sheldon, nor the neighboring towns, so he asked if we could meet at the Prime Rib in Spencer. We hit it off instantly and learned we only lived five blocks from each other. We went public as a couple at Rise Fest that year. Fast forward to January of last year. Roger took me back to the Prime Rib. He had a special evening planned, complete with singing me a song, reading a poem, and then a proposal. By this time we had the attention of the rest of the restaurant and when I said, “Yes”, the restaurant broke out in applause. We were married just two and a half months later so we will be celebrating our one-year-anniversary next month. – Roger & Linda Hibma
___________________________________________________________________________________
My wife Kasey and I’s first date was a blind date in Livingston, Montana. We had seen each other once before briefly, she whistled at me as she drove past me. Mutual friends had arranged the blind date. We both showed up and were quite surprised. We went to a fishing access on the Yellowstone River for our first date. A while later we exchanged our vows in August of 1998. This year we will cross into our 27th year married. She has stuck with me through my time in the military, and now for our latest chapter here in northwest Iowa. Looking forward to many more adventures with my bride. – Chris & Kasey Mazur
______________________________________________________________________________________
My wife and I met and became friends in the summer of ’86. A couple months later while cruising the square in Sheldon on a Sunday night, things just clicked for both of us. We started dating after that night and were married in April of ’88. While dating I carved a heart with our initials into a tree. 20+ years later, the gentleman that cut the tree down saved that chunk for us and I still have it in my man cave. – Brett & Lynn Koontz
________________________________________________________________________________________
44 years sounds like a long time, but in reality it really isn’t. In a moment I can be transported back to the time when I met my wife. We were both 19 years old, I was in Phoenix Arizona going to school and Kimberley was visiting a former classmate who happened to live in the apartment below the one I had rented. Our first date wasn’t a conventional one. A group of mutual friends had arranged a late night movie outing and ditched us leaving us alone. Although the evening didn’t quite end as a date probably should, our interest in each other had been piqued. The very next night we had a late meal at Peter Piper’s Pizza, and then drove up South Mountain to view the Phoenix lights. That is where I first kissed her. It was magical. This July we’ll have been married 44 years. So many things have changed over the years but that kiss is still magical. – Richard and Kimberley DeBoer
______________________________________________________________________________________
My name is Shelby Underwood and I am 22 years old. My boyfriend’s name is Hunter Irwin and he is 24 years old. I am from Nebraska and Hunter was born and raised in Primghar, Iowa. We met through tinder. I had previously just gotten out of a long relationship and one of my friends convinced me to just have fun. So I decided I would download tinder and go on a few dates, but not looking for anything serious. That’s when I matched with Hunter. We had been talking for quite a while by this point and decided to actually go on a first date. Where I grew up was an hour away from Sioux City, which was perfect because it was half way for both of us. We went out the day before Easter. We met at the mall parking lot and went on a few errands first. Then we went back to the mall and watched the movie “uncharted”. After that we went to Texas Roadhouse to eat. Our date was longer than I thought it was going to be. After our date we both went back to our homes. We kept talking more and more each day and I decided that I was going to go stay with him for the first time. I felt extremely comfortable with him. He eventually asked me out and we kept going from there. The whole first year we were doing long distance. He was living here in Primghar, and I was in Columbus, Nebraska finishing my last year in college. After I graduated college I moved in with him. He had just bought a house so we were patiently waiting to move into that. Right as soon as we bought a house, I ended up taking in my nephew as my own because of some family issues. So we were wrapped into a family right after the first year together. So far we have been together happily for 2 1/2 almost 3 years in May. We are really happy! We have a beautiful house, a 5 year old little boy, and a 1 year old puppy. Hopefully a ring in the future. – Shelby Underwood & Hunter Irwin
_______________________________________________________________________________________
My husband Ron and I met almost 26 years ago at band practice. Ron was in the band with my best friends husband. She would get board going so she dragged me along to keep her company. I went to practice for about a year before he finally got the courage to ask me out (only cause his friend threatened to ask me out if he didn’t.) When I received the call I happened to be busy all the dates and times he threw out. I suggested that I would just see him at their next show. So that was where our 1st date took place. That night he actually called his Mom and told her that he had met the girl he was going to marry. That turned out to be true and we were married in September 2004. We have been married for 20 years now. – Ron & Michelle Noack
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Our paths crossed many times over 2 years from 1984 thru 1986. We both lived in Texas in 1984 for one year but never met. His father was a friend of the family and still never met. His fathers wife in 1987 needed help making supplies for a wedding so him and I volunteered to help. After many hours of cutting and sewing and talking with each other a chemistry between us formed. Our first date was a movie “Batteries not included”. – Tony & Sandi
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
