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Edina man gets new kidney, then gets new Mustang

Joel Stegner won the car after entering a sweepstakes. He picked it up just weeks after undergoing his second kidney transplant.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — In a 30-day period, Joel Stegner has been on the receiving end of two phone calls bearing good news. 

The 70-year-old from Edina was in need of a new kidney for the second time in his life. After 15 years, the transplant he received from his brother needed to be replaced.

"The kidneys, they just kind of wear out," Stegner said.

Then Stegner, who has polycystic kidney disease, got the call he'd been waiting for.

"Just by my luck, I guess, this very well-matched organ became available," he said.

Credit: Joel Stegner
Joel Stegner (left) with his siblings. His brother, Mike (middle), gave Joel a kidney in 2003.

Stegner underwent the surgery on January 10. But his luck didn't stop at getting a new kidney. 

Stegner, who says he's not one to gamble, took up a hobby in retirement: Entering free sweepstakes. 

"It's a perfect way to waste time, [because it] doesn't cost any money," he said. "I never anticipated actually winning anything."

But win he did, after entering the Mustang 5.0 Fever sweepstakes, put on by Ford and its Motorcraft parts brand.

Stegner picked up his new car at the Freeway Ford dealership in Bloomington Friday afternoon. 

 Stegner is grateful for both the kidney and the car. 

"It's like a cherry on top of the sundae," he said of winning the Mustang. "I think when good things happen to you, it's pass it on. So that's what I'll do to pay back for these two blessings."

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