Minnesota Snowboarder With Special Needs To Compete In X Games
MAPLEWOOD, Minn. (WCCO) -- If you've ever wondered who it is that cleans your hotel room when you leave, Steve Utgaard is at your service.
"You find stuff sometimes" when you're cleaning, said the 34-year-old from Maplewood. "Sometimes if you unroll a towel and it's a checkout you can find money."
Once, when Steve first started, he found $523 in a pouch under a mattress.
"But the people came back for it the next day," he said. "Ah, shoot."
Steve has special needs. He's been doing this job for six years now and says it's a pretty good one – most of the time.
"But I hate when people plug up the toilet," he said. "That really makes me mad."
Next week though, you can plug up the toilet to your heart's content. Because Steve is taking a little time off.
"He truly is someone I can say is genuinely selfless," said Darin Schluender, Steve's personal care assistant. "He cares about other people so much. So for something like this to happen to Steve, has just been so special for everybody around him."
What happened to Steve is even better than finding $523 in the mattress. On Tuesday, he'll head to Aspen, Colorado to compete in the X Games.
"I'm still in shock," he said. "It doesn't seem real."
What's he most looking forward to?
"Meet new friends, I guess," he said, as his smile turned into a grin. "Maybe there will be a cute girl there too."
Steve started snowboarding more than a decade ago.
"First time I went out there I wet my pants," he recalled with a laugh. "But that's OK, you know?"
It wasn't long, though, before Steve was winning medals in the Special Olympics.
"I'm a expert snowboarder, I guess," he said.
This, though, is an even bigger honor. He's one of only 10 Special Olympians picked to go. They'll each be paired with an X Games snowboarder, to compete side-by-side as partners, in a giant slalom race.
"I think the X Games is going to be really cool," he said. "I hope I get a medal. I'm going to try my hardest."
It's sure to be the experience of a lifetime.
And when he heads back home, it's probably a safe bet he'll leave his hotel room nice and clean.
Maybe leave yours a little neater next time too?
