Fun, prizes in store at ‘Price is Right’
From left, Owatonna natives Lucas and Alex Arndt have been putting on game shows for family since they were children. On Sept. 17, they’ll do a “Price is Right” style event to raise funds for the Owatonna Independent School District No. 761 Foundation. Submitted photo
While growing up in Owatonna, Lucas and Alex Arndt used to love staging game shows.
Now the brothers are putting on a show to help raise funds that will benefit students in the school district from their alma mater. The “Price is Right” style event happens at 7 p.m. on Sept. 17, in the Owatonna High School auditorium.
“My brother and I started doing game shows for our family and extended family when we were around 12,” Lucas Arndt said.
They went on to do shows for family weekends at Minnesota State University Mankato.
“Now, it’s progressed to where we’d look to partner with organizations to help them raise some money,” he added.
About a year ago, the brothers pitched the idea for a show to the Owatonna Independent School District No. 761 Foundation. Lucas sits on the board, which is holding the first fundraiser in the Foundation’s 25-year history.
The Foundation awards grants each year to teachers and principals for programs and activities that aren’t funded by the school district, as well as more than a dozen scholarships each year. Awards have gone to Link Crew, the Alternative Learning Center, special education programs,
Ag Education programs in Medford, Blooming Prairie, and New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva (NRHEG) also receive support. (Funds for those programs came from Robert Chladek, a Clinton Falls farmer who left 70% of his estate to the Foundation, asking that a significant amount go toward agricultural education in Steele County.)
Fundraising is “kind of a big step for us,” Arndt said. But while the Foundation awards $120,000 in grants each year, it receives over $250,000 in requests. The game show event proceeds will help grow the grant program.
And those who attend will have plenty of fun making their contributions.
The stage will be set up with games familiar to fans of “The Price is Right,” the longest running game show in the U.S. While Alex plays host, Lucas will act as the announcer, calling people to “come on down” and play games like Plinko, Punch-a-Bunch, and Cliff Hangers.
Ticket holders should arrive about a half-hour early to get registered. You can decide at the door whether they want to register for a chance to play games on stage. But those who are a little more shy, Arndt said, can also buy a ticket to a “second chance” drawing for prizes that weren’t won during the evening’s games.
And oh, what prizes they are–about $11,000 in total value, including a 75” television, a trip to the Wisconsin Dells, a Blackstone griddle, InstaPots, air fryers, and up to $4,000 in cash.
“We encourage to wear t-shirts like they do on the show… and to get out and just have a good time,” Arndt said.
Tickets for the fundraiser are $20 each, open only to those 18 years and older, and available at 761foundation.com. Those who would like to make a donation apart from the fundraiser can also do so there or contact the Owatonna Public Schools District Office.