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AFTER HAZELDEN, MANY STAY IN MINNESOTA FOR RECOVERY

CENTER CITY, Minn.  - Thousands have flocked to Minnesota over the years to seek treatment for chemical dependency at Hazelden.

Now more and more, including many from New York, are choosing to stay in Minnesota to continue their recovery.

Andrew Zimern established himself as a prominent chef in New York City before a drinking problem left him sleeping in an abandoned building.

"Drugs and alcohol complicated my life in a way I never imagined," he said.  "I tried to drink myself to death because I thought I was a loser."

A friend helped him come to Hazelden for treatment, where he sobered up before spending five months in a St.  Paul halfway house.  Hoping to avoid the same pitfalls that plagued him in New York, Zimern chose to stay in Minnesota, looking to start a new life.

"I wasn't willing to take the risk," he said.

Slowly but surely, Zimern worked his way back into the food industry.  He became a chef and, eventually, a food expert for various media.

Now 13 years later, the 44-year-old hosts a local radio show, writes for Mpls.  St.  Paul magazine and appears on television specials for the Discovery Channel.

He also got married and has a family, giving him firm roots in Minnesota.

"Once five years sober, my life was so fabulous, I thought, why should I move?" he said.

Like Zimern, Morgan Thorson got caught up in chemical abuse in New York, where she dropped out of a dance career after falling victim to heroin and cocaine addiction.

"I couldn't function much beyond finding $20, $30 or $40 and figuring out how I was going to get high," she said.

After a second trip to Hazelden, Thorson went to a halfway house for women in Duluth, attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and taking college classes.

Like Zimern, she decided to stay in Minnesota and quickly became involved in the local arts community.  She has resumed dancing and teaches dance at the University of Minnesota.

Matt M.  is yet another New Yorker who came to Hazelden for treatment.

"Loving, caring family and friends put me on a plane," said Matt, who asked only to use the initial of his last name to honor the rules of Alcoholics Anonymous.  "My response was: 'Thank God.  I couldn't keep this up any longer.'"

He found a comfortable network of transplanted New Yorkers in Minnesota and knew if he went back home, only trouble would be waiting for him.

"I knew I'd get drunk on the plane," he said.  "Everybody in AA told me if I stick around, it will all fall into place and make sense."

Ten years later, Matt still attends AA meetings and sponsors other recovering addicts.  He lives in St.  Paul and is vice president and part owner of a Minneapolis-based consulting company.

"I'm married," he said.  "I have two kids and one on the way.  I'm playing with the house's money.  It's just a dream."

He enjoys going to Twins games, where he says he often bumps into 20 or 30 fellow New York transplants.

"They're all in recovery," he said.