In many ways, the tale of how Jasmine and Jeffrey Newland met and got married is a typical American love story.

Oh, this is a good one.

You and your grandma.

They met in high school, started dating in college and got engaged a few years later.

What makes their story unique, though, is they would have never met had it not been for one man who extended a helping hand in a time of need.

Jasmine's parents moved to Iowa as part of the historic Tai Dam refugee resettlement that began in the 1970s.

My grandma, this was when she was in Laos.

Jeffrey's grandfather is the late governor Robert Ray, the man who made that possible.

Their story is one borne of an immense amount of love, trust and hope.

As America retreated from the war in Vietnam and Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese in 1975.

A flood of refugees would fan out across Southeast Asia.

One group known as the Tai Dam would flee Vietnam to Laos and later seek refuge in America.

As they escaped the brutal communist regimes consolidating power in Southeast Asia.

Their story kickstarted Governor Ray's most pivotal legacy.

Welcoming refugees to Iowa.

It starts with the Tai dam relocation.

They'd already been relocated out of Vietnam and Laos, Thailand, and then were in the United States, and they petitioned every one of the 50 governors to please allow them to come to their state as a group.

But the Tai Dam, were going to be scattered all over.

And they had their own distinct religion, their culture, their religious beliefs, their kinship.

And they said all of that's going to be lost for us because they're not many of us, and we're going to be scattered all around.

And we won't be able to keep any of this intact.

So they wrote letters to all the American governors.

So I responded thinking maybe we could do that.

And to my amazement, I was the only governor who responded.

Were welcoming people.

Were open minded people.

Were honest people.

Were good people.

We have a heart.

And so Iowa did its part and led the nation Last fall, 633 Tai Dam refugees flew into the Des Moines Airport from their resettlement camp in Fort Chaffee, Arkansas.

Iowa had offered the Tai Dam a home.

They came seeking a new life in a complex society.

Very different from the one they had known.

To preserve this culture and closeness.

Iowa has offered a home to all Tai Dam refugees who have come to America.

Jasmine's mom, Pastor Somkong Vong was born in Laos and moved to Iowa when she was eight years old.

She later met Jasmine's dad, Nib at Hoover High School in Des Moines.

They got married in 1990 and had three children, including Jasmine.

Sam Khong sadly passed away in 2021 after a ten year battle with ovarian cancer, but not before leaving a tremendous impact on those who knew her.

She taught me how to look at the good in people and to not judge people by their cover.

Through watching his grandfather, those same life lessons were taught to Jeffrey.

No matter where we were.

Or what I do in today's world.

You know, I don't judge a book by its cover.

I treat everyone kind of as family.

And I certainly believe that he always did that.

And I think I think the Tai Dam Refugee relocation is a big part of that.

He taught me the importance of respect.

Being loyal and being honest, I think are the big three that I could see through him growing up.

And that's resonated with my life moving forward.

Though they had known each other for years, Jasmine and Jeffrey didn't realize the significance of the history behind their relationship until they were in college.

I didn't appreciate the magnitude of it, probably until the latter half of when we started talking a little bit more, and she started inviting me to Thanksgiving parties with her family.

Her aunts would come up to me and, you know, first time meeting them, it's like they knew me for ten years.

It was it was pretty remarkable.

And that's when I learned, you know, their path getting here and how my grandfather influenced that.

So that was full circle and pretty incredible stuff.

In August 2023, the Newlands had their wedding reception at a fitting venue, the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, which is located on Robert D. Ray Drive.

Down the street is the Robert D. Ray Asian Gardens, a public park that tells the story of Iowa's Asian community.

Just as it didn't start with them.

Both Jasmine and Jeffery know that their story doesn't end with them.

By volunteering with local cultural organizations, making traditional Tai Dam dishes and sharing their story, the Newlands hope to preserve and carry on the intertwining of their cultures.

It was a coincidence, but I also think that it was very meant to be.

It's special to us.

We didn't think it was special on a kind of a regional or global scale.

But I think the message I would like to demonstrate here is, you know, the sacrifices you make can have a lasting impact decades later.

And you may think they're minuscule or irrelevant, but doing the right thing, being respectful, I mean, that can alter generations moving forward and really form communities.

And set people up for success.

So I think that's the main message I like to portray here and show that there's still some good in the world.