by Dennis Dalman
The Chris and Vicki Stoeckel family of St. Joseph will be guests of honor at an “Ales for ALS” fundraising event from 1-7 p.m. Saturday, June 3 at the Bad Habit Brewing in downtown St. Joseph.
Chris Stoeckel, husband and father of three, was diagnosed as having ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).
The Bad Habit Brewing Company is located at 25 College Ave. N. All are welcome to attend the event. There will be food, music and a kids’ play area. There will also be pints of “ALS” Cream Ale available. The “Ales for ALS” program is under the aegis of the ALS Therapy Development Institute.
ALS is often called Lou Gehrig’s Disease because that great baseball player, dubbed the “Iron Horse,” noticed he would get muscle weakness on the ball field for no apparent reason. It came to the point he had to quit baseball. The entire nation mourned when Gehrig died at the age of 37 in 1941, two years after the onset of ALS.
ALS is a rapidly progressing neurological (nervous system) disease that belongs to a group of disorders known as motor neuron diseases.
The Ales for ALS fundraising program was founded in 2013 by a hop-farming family in the Yakima Valley. Since then, the program has raised more than $5 million for ALS research at the ALS Therapy Development Institute. Beer brewers from 47 states and six countries have participated in Ales for ALS by brewing beers while raising awareness of ALS.
Bad Habit Brewing Company in St. Joseph is one of six Minnesota companies that participates in the Ales for ALS program.
