AUSTIN, Minn. - Plunging for Pink is the first event for Austin's Paint the Town Pink campaign, a series of events between now and mid-April. Roughly 200 people jumped into East Side Lake to raise money for breast cancer research at the Hormel Institute.
This is the 7th year for the plunge, and emcee Cody Anderson and event coordinator Toren Biers have been a part of it since the beginning. They think this may be the coldest plunge ever. "I don't remember it ever being this cold and I don't remember the snow before either but that's what makes it exciting," says Anderson. "That's kinda part of being in Minnesota in the winter and doing a plunge is jumping into the ice cold lakes, so we weren't going to let the cold slow us down or apparently the snow either," adds Biers.
To keep everyone safe, they moved the plunge closer to shore so that jumpers didn't go as deep into the water, and didn't have as far to run back for warmth. The Austin Fire Department was there, and there were two warming tents for jumpers to heat up after their plunge.
Plunging for Pink raised around $60,000 last year, and they hope to beat that this year.