Manhattan weather forecaster Dan Casper’s friends remember him as a beloved weatherman who always put the community’s needs first.
Casper, the founder of the Manhattan Weather Channel, died Feb. 21, at age 60, according to his obituary.
Fox 32 meteorologist and close friend Mike Caplan said Casper was a figure in the Manhattan community and a weather forecaster people heavily relied on.
“He really cared about the community,” Caplan said. “Just the fact that so many people in Manhattan and the surrounding towns knew who he was. Really relied on him for a lot of weather information. It’s a huge testament to the success of what he was doing.”
Manhattan Mayor Mike Adrieansen and his wife, Laura Adrieansen, said Casper died a week after he was hospitalized for complications with RSV and lung cancer, with his prognosis only becoming known to supporters days into his hospitalization.
“Dan’s wishes were that he did not want any one of the public to know that he had cancer until it was confirmed,” said Laura Adrieansen, who posted updates on Casper’s condition on his Manhattan Weather Channel Facebook page. “So I had to respect his wishes until last Wednesday, when I was told by the oncologist that it was cancer.”
Casper was hospitalized Feb. 13. The following day he gave Laura his health care power of attorney. The next day, he was on a ventilator, she said.
The Adrieansens started a GoFundMe for Casper shortly into his hospitalization to help cover some of his medical expenses, raising mroe than $28,000.
The funds have covered some of Casper’s bills while he was hospitalized, and will partially go toward his cremation and funeral arrangements, Mike Adrieansen said.
Casper, a passionate dog lover, was also a strong supporter of Cache Creek Rescue, a no-kill shelter located inside Alsip Nursery in Frankfort. A portion of the proceeds raised through the GoFundMe will be donated to the shelter in his honor, Laura said. Caplan also plans to make a donation to the rescue in Casper’s name.
Casper was a graduate from Lincoln-Way Central High School in New Lenox. He attended the School of Columbia majoring in meteorology and studying under Tom Skilling, WGN-TV’s chief meteorologist who retired in 2024, according to Casper’s obituary.
Casper started the Manhattan Weather Channel in 2011 to keep the area safe and informed on hazardous weather, according to his LinkedIn page.
Outside of forecasting, Casper owned and operated Midwest Video Productions, a studio where he filmed a wide range of weddings, dance recitals, commercials and music videos, according to his LinkedIn.
Caplan recalls it was not long after Casper established his weather channel that the two met.
Caplan was hosting a live weather segment on social media when viewers alerted him to a tornado warning in Will County. Caplan said he was monitoring the National Weather Service and no warning had been issued.
“I had no idea who the heck he was, and he had told his viewers there’s a tornado warning in effect because he saw with his own eyes what he thought to be a tornado,” Caplan said. “I contacted him via Messenger or something. I was like, ‘Hey, do you realize that you do not have the authority to issue tornado warnings?’”
The next day, the National Weather Service did a damage assessment and determined a weak tornado hit in the Manhattan area, Caplan said.
“I reached out to him that day, and I said, ‘Hey, I disagree with your methods, but you provided a very helpful service to your followers, and that’s to be commended,’” Caplan said.
Soon after, they started a friendly banter on social media, Caplan said.
Their exchanges led to a friendship with coffee meetings, forecast discussions and, though they often disagreed on predictions, a shared mutual respect, Caplan said.
“He had the safety and information delivering interest of the public in his mind,” Caplan said. “There are other people, I call them armchair weather people whose, in my opinion, primary purpose is to get clicks on their social media page so that they can make $4. Dan was not that.”
At the Manhattan Irish Fest, Mike Adrieansen said he and Laura asked Caplan to drive Casper’s storm chasing van through the parade.
While in the hospital, before being put on a ventilator, Laura said Casper continued posting weather updates from his phone. His final posts Feb. 14 included several weather updates about snow moving into the area, along with updates on his condition.
His last post reads, “Who’s getting snow?”
Mike Adrieansen said Casper also used his platform to promote events in the Manhattan community.
The couple said their friendship with Casper started in an unusual way, as Casper was supporting one of Mike Adrieansen’s opponents in the 2013 mayoral election.
Laura’s sister-in-law, who was tight with Casper, urged the two to start speaking.
They soon became fast friends, Laura said.
The couple is working on ways to continue to honor Casper. Laura said they hope to place a bench with engraved with Casper’s name at a dog park the village plans to build.
Another idea, suggested by Kevin Schuster, co-owner of Midtown Bar & Grill in Manhattan, is to launch a portion of Casper’s cremated remains into space through Celestis Memorial Spaceflights, Laura said. His remains would orbit space for years before re-entering Earth’s atmosphere as a shooting star, according to the organization’s website.
Visitation will be from noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 2, at Forsythe Gould Funeral Home, 507 S. State St., Manhattan, according to Casper’s obituary.
smoilanen@chicagotribune.com
