Groom of Arranged Marriage at Mall of America Dies

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The groom who said ``I do'' to a woman he had just met in a well-publicized wedding at the Mall of America nearly 20 years ago has died of colon cancer. David Weinlick was 48.

Minneapolis City Council member Steve Fletcher, a friend who helped arrange Weinlick's marriage to Elizabeth Runze in June 1998, says Weinlick died Sunday night in hospice care in a Minneapolis suburb.

David Weinlick was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer in March 2017. He and his wife renewed their vows at the Bloomington mall last August.

Weinlick told relatives and friends he would be married June 13, 1998 _ even though he didn't have a bride in mind. Friends chose Runze from among hundreds of interested women to be his bride.

The couple has four children.