The Good Life – July-August 2017
Featuring WDAY Reporter Kevin Wallevand - Fargo's most famous storyteller. Local Hero - Navy Veteran, Shane Tibiatowski. Having a Beer with Dilworth Mayor - Chad Olson and more in Fargo Moorhead's only men's magazine. Featuring WDAY Reporter Kevin Wallevand - Fargo's most famous storyteller. Local Hero - Navy Veteran, Shane Tibiatowski. Having a Beer with Dilworth Mayor - Chad Olson and more in Fargo Moorhead's only men's magazine.
BY: ALEXANDRA FLOERSCH • PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA For more than three decades, Kevin Wallevand has made a living chasing down stories and bringing them to life for WDAY-TV, the Fargo-based ABC affiliate. From tales of lifesaving procedures to heroes who sacrifice everything for the good of those around them, he has heard and shared both inspiring and heartbreaking tales that have shaped the man he is today. But in April, the 55-year-old became the story himself. After tests revealed elevated PSA levels. An MRI and biopsy confirmed the results, doctors diagnosed Wallevand with prostate 18 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com cancer — a disease that runs in his family. With his cancer battle just beginning, the TV newsman found himself at the heart of a familiar story he’s told viewers many times throughout the years. Thanks to the many stories of hope he has witnessed over the years, Wallevand found strength in arguably some of the most trying days of his life. He attributes this strength to those individuals who were brave enough to tell their stories. "All the stories I've done on people battling cancer, living through it, surviving it or not — I think back to what they went through and I'm like, ‘Hey, come on. I can suck it up through this surgery,’” he said. “I'm kind of channeling all these people that I've talked to and interviewed over the years. I'm very fortunate to have something that appears to be treatable." Practicing for the Future Even as a young boy growing up in small-town Henning, Minn., Wallevand was fascinated by journalism. “We were watching TV at a crazy
time,” he said. “In a way I think that was critical because I grew up in a house where you watched the news at 6 p.m. and sometimes 10 p.m. I was intrigued by Watergate, coverage of the Vietnam war, coverage of northern Ireland. I remember these conflicts." To get into character, Wallevand would use a cardboard box to create his own set, impersonating his favorite TV anchors to report the latest news. He wasn’t afraid of people. "I think growing up in a little town helped me. I grew up around family — everyone was urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 19
- Page 2 and 3: CELEBRATING FOUR YEARS OF THE GOOD
- Page 4 and 5: 06 NOT IN MY FAMILY - PART ONE OPIA
- Page 6 and 7: BY: BRITTNEY GOODMAN “Dead Overdo
- Page 8 and 9: 18 months they “have really seen
- Page 10 and 11: MR. FULL-TIME DAD The Toddler Diet
- Page 12 and 13: BY: MEGHAN FEIR • PHOTOS BY: URBA
- Page 14 and 15: are thriving. Thirty days later, th
- Page 16 and 17: 16 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia
- Page 20 and 21: PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY: KEVIN WALLEVAN
- Page 22 and 23: to a refugee camp in Angola, Africa
- Page 24 and 25: BY: MATT LACHOWITZER PURCHASING A U
- Page 26 and 27: 26 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia
- Page 28 and 29: CO: “Legally Blonde.” I don’t
- Page 30 and 31: BY: BRITTNEY GOODMAN Shane Tibiatow
- Page 32 and 33: were brought aboard our ship and sp
- Page 34 and 35: His Navy friendships are valued:
BY: ALEXANDRA FLOERSCH • PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA<br />
For more than three decades, Kevin<br />
Wallevand has made a living chasing<br />
down stories and bringing them to<br />
life for WDAY-TV, the Fargo-based<br />
ABC affiliate. From tales of lifesaving<br />
procedures to heroes who<br />
sacrifice everything for the good of<br />
those around them, he has heard<br />
and shared both inspiring and<br />
heartbreaking tales that have shaped<br />
the man he is today.<br />
But in April, the 55-year-old became<br />
the story himself. After tests revealed<br />
elevated PSA levels. An MRI and<br />
biopsy confirmed the results, doctors<br />
diagnosed Wallevand with prostate<br />
18 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com<br />
cancer — a disease that runs in his<br />
family. With his cancer battle just<br />
beginning, the TV newsman found<br />
himself at the heart of a familiar<br />
story he’s told viewers many times<br />
throughout the years.<br />
Thanks to the many stories of hope<br />
he has witnessed over the years,<br />
Wallevand found strength in arguably<br />
some of the most trying days of his<br />
life. He attributes this strength to<br />
those individuals who were brave<br />
enough to tell their stories.<br />
"All the stories I've done on people<br />
battling cancer, living through it,<br />
surviving it or not — I think back<br />
to what they went through and I'm<br />
like, ‘Hey, come on. I can suck it up<br />
through this surgery,’” he said. “I'm<br />
kind of channeling all these people<br />
that I've talked to and interviewed<br />
over the years. I'm very fortunate to<br />
have something that appears to be<br />
treatable."<br />
Practicing for the Future<br />
Even as a young boy growing up<br />
in small-town Henning, Minn.,<br />
Wallevand was fascinated by<br />
journalism.<br />
“We were watching TV at a crazy
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