Everyone in this year’s St. Paul Winter Carnival Royal Family is going to have a “carnival moment.” Steve Doody guarantees it.

The ‘carnival moment’ is a perspective shift, he said. It’s the moment when people realize they’re more than a character in the carnival’s fanciful legend, when they’re overwhelmed and amazed by how meaningful the Winter Carnival is to folks in the community.

And if anyone can make sure the ‘carnival moments’ happen this year, it’s Doody. He was crowned the 87th King Boreas at this year’s St. Paul Winter Carnival Royal Coronation, held Friday at RiverCentre.

Steve Doody, Notos, Prince of the South Wind, and his wife Maggie are introduced at the St. Paul Winter Carnival Royal Coronation at the RiverCentre in St. Paul on Friday, Jan. 26, 2018. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)

Doody served as Notos, Prince of the South Wind, in the 2018 Royal Family. That year’s King Boreas, Tom Leonard, had been encouraging Doody to step into the role of ice king, Doody said. He didn’t seriously consider it at the time, he said. But now, after several years and a double knee replacement, he’s ready.

Preparing to become Boreas requires a completely different approach from the one he took to embody the South Wind price. Notos is primarily a theatrical role, he said, playing a spot in the broader legend.

Meanwhile, Boreas is a “community presence,” he said, tasked with facilitating “carnival moments” but whose approach to doing so is shaped by the man under the crown.

“The interesting part is, on the one hand, you’re a character,” he said, of the role of Boreas. “But on the other hand, (the public) wants to know who you are. What’s your mantra? That kind of thing.”

Jennifer Westerhaus 2024 Aurora, Queen of Snows, stands with King Boreas LXXXVII Steve Doody during the 2024 St. Paul Winter Carnival Royal Coronation at the RiverCentre in St. Paul on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Deep Roots in Service

So who is the new King Boreas?

At South St. Paul High School, class of 1980, a young Steve Doody was a four-sport athlete — football, basketball, track, tennis — and, in 2013, was inducted into the school’s hall of fame.

Then, as an engineering student at the University of North Dakota, he became captain of the football team, and later earned a master’s degree in finance from the University of St. Thomas. For the past 20 years or so, he’s worked as a financial adviser with the Edward Jones company.

And his family’s St. Paul and Winter Carnival connections run deep. His grandfather drove around the 1953 Boreas during that year’s carnival. His grandmother regularly served the Vulcan Krewe at O’Gara’s. His mother grew up on Blair Avenue, near the Church of St. Agnes, in a family that avidly searched for the Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt medallion, and his father grew up on Aurora Avenue in what was then the Rondo neighborhood.

When Doody was the South Wind Prince in 2018, his parents lived full time in Florida. They’re back in the Twin Cities now, he said, so he’s excited for them to finally be included in the festivities.

As Boreas, Doody succeeds former Vikings wide receiver and youth sports mentor Leo Lewis III — a man whom Doody, incidentally, knew long before either was involved in Winter Carnival.

At the University of North Dakota, several of Doody’s football teammates were the sons of Winnipeg Blue Bombers players, he said; Lewis’ father had spent 11 seasons as a star player for the team. Doody recalls seeing the younger Lewis at various events over the years and was quite pleased when he was announced as Boreas, he said.

As for Doody’s mantra as Boreas, he has chosen “Service and unity in the community — one snowball at a time.”

The phrase references a variety of “tips of the cap to some traditions,” he said, especially around the concept of service. Doody is active in the South St. Paul Lions Club, which is also his selected Boreas charity. His father served in the Navy. His wife, Maggie, would regularly take their late dog Franklin to local hospitals as a therapy animal. And overall, service and unity are guiding principles of the Winter Carnival, he said.

Speaking of animals, his Boreas crest depicts several: A goldendoodle, like Franklin and the family’s current dog Henry, to represent police K9s and service dogs; a lion for the Lions Club; and a bull, which is the emblem of South St. Paul High School and represents a strong stock market.

And “one snowball at a time” is a nod to Leonard’s 2018 Boreas motto, “Building strong communities one ice block at a time,” with an added reference to the “snowball effect,” which can refer to small steps adding up over time to make a bigger and bigger difference, he said.

Becoming Boreas’s Family

Returning every night to the St. Paul Hotel downtown, where the royal family and carnival leaders stay during the festival, often feels surreal, Doody said.

“There are nights when you get back, 11 p.m., to the hotel and just get a little lift because there are people there cheering for you,” he said. “And you just float to the elevator, and then you go upstairs and get to your room and just collapse, till 6 the next morning.”

King Boreas traditionally sets the tone and priorities for the year’s Royal Family. But up until Doody’s identity was revealed onstage at the coronation, not even the other Royal Family members knew who their leader would be.

After the ceremony, back at the hotel before they all went to sleep, the new legend characters met with Boreas to discuss the days — and year — ahead of them. A few days beforehand, he discussed with the Pioneer Press what he intended to communicate to them.

We’re going to have a blast, he planned to say, but we can’t forget our responsibilities to bring the carnival legend into the community and to promote service and unity. After all, those meaningful experiences are where ‘carnival moments’ are found.

He recalled what happened when his longtime Winter Carnival friends Bill and Julie Wearn had agreed to be this year’s royal coordinators.

“We all got together and had a little celebration,” he said. “Here we go! This is our life now!”

Fast Facts: King Boreas Rex LXXXVII

Who: Stephen W. Doody

Age: 62

Family: wife of 36 years, Maggie; son Steve (32), daughter Megan (30), son Sam (29), all of whom graduated from South St. Paul High School and live in the east metro

Occupation: Financial adviser at Edward Jones in South St. Paul

Boreas motto: “Service and Unity in the Community — One Snowball at a Time”

Boreas charity: South St. Paul Lions Club

Fun fact: Doody’s father, Stephen C. Doody, founded Total Tool Supply, a longstanding hardware and construction equipment company in St. Paul.

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