John Collins is overjoyed and a little tired after finding the St Paul Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt medallion.
He talked with reporters Thursday at the paper's office, sharing what went down Wednesday night at Long Lake Park in New Brighton.
"I was getting a little cold, and after some random searching following the crowd a little bit, I decided to think a little bit smarter and used a couple of key words from the scramble. Ten paces in, and a few digs with my garden tool, it rolled right out and I didn't quite believe it."
The medallion was wrapped in a cereal box, and at first Collins wasn't sure if it was the real deal.
"I think the bucket list is basically all checked off," he said.
Collins moved to St Paul with his family from Chicago when he was very young. His father, Tom Collins Sr., was immediately intrigued by the treasure hunt, and got his son involved at an early age.
"I was four years old. We started about 1970. My parents would pile us into the Volkswagen and take us to Como Park, because you can make Como fit every year."
Collins is also a drummer with the St. Paul Police band and will march in this Saturday's Torchlight Parade.
The 1984 Hill Murray graduate is a medical device maker and currently works for Shoreview company VivaQuant.
This was the 68th year of the Medallion Hunt.