Terminally ill man becomes Minneapolis Mayor for a day

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - Mayor Betsy Hodges granted a special Minneapolis wish for a man with terminal cancer.

Thursday afternoon, Mayor Betsy Hodges declared David Weinlick "Mayor for the Day" Thursday afternoon.

Weinlick grew up in the Wedge neighborhood in Minneapolis and always felt a strong connection to the city. He taught writing at the University of Minnesota and was an educator at Calvin Academy and Kaplan Test Preparation.

Weinlick and his family gathered at a fire station in north Minneapolis to commemorate the moment with Hodges and the Nice Day Foundation.

Weinlick slid down the fire pole and got to ride in the fire truck around the neighborhood.

They capped off the day by planting a tree at Mueller Park where he used to play as kid.

In 1998, Weinlick made national headlines when his friends chose a wife for him out of 300 prospective brides through a contest at the Mall of America. They chose Elizabeth Runze, who he is still happily married to today.