He lights up her life with marriage proposal

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- A little help from high technology at the right time and place never hurt anybody when it comes to marriage proposals.

With thoughts of a future life together, Jason Wieland took his girlfriend Beth Olson on a date Wednesday evening.

Before arriving at their final destination, Wieland stopped the car in the parking lot behind Citizens Bank in New Ulm. The couple got out and Wieland guided her to a spot where she had a good view of the the bank's lighted, digital display.

There, Wieland's plans turned into a modern-day, high-tech love story -- very appropriate for the night before Valentine's Day.

Unbeknownst to Olson, Wieland, who is the Internet and Personal Computer Coordinator at the bank, pre-programmed the bank's digital display screen above the rear drive-through to include the messages "Hi Beth," "I have a question for you," and "Will you marry me?"

Wieland got down on bended knee, pulled out an engagement ring and asked her to marry him.

She said "yes" and cried a little bit.

They hugged and kissed.

"I was totally shocked," Olson admitted.

The couple enjoyed dinner at The Kaiserhoff after Wieland's proposal.

Wieland is a 1997 New Ulm High School and 2001 computer science graduate from the Minnesota State University at Mankato.

Olson, a Mapleton native, is an insurance clerk at Immanuel-St. Joseph's Hospital in Mankato. The couple has been dating for three years. They met while they attended college in Mankato.