Participating Dairy Queens across the nation celebrate the first day of spring with free ice cream cones. But the Dairy Queen at 24 8th St. S. in Moorhead took it one step further on March 20, taking a free will donation to benefit Max Zinter, a nearly 2 year old boy who spent his first 463 days in the hospital and requires special care. The ice cream shop encouraged patrons to donate the cost of the cone ($1.70) or whatever they could afford.

Customers responded with enthusiasm, with lines forming at every window for much of the afternoon, according to cashier Anastasia Domitrovich. “People like their cones and they’re donating,” she said.

MSUM students (clockwise from bottom left) Maurice Smith II, James Nguyen, Jinsol Lee, Yusuke Murashima, Josephine Agyeiwaa, Holly O’Hotto, Hannah Andrusko-Starks, Shiho Carrie Sawai enjoy ice cream cones at the 8th Street Dairy Queen on March 20. (Photo/ Alicia Underlee Nelson)