Muted SD teen completes around-the-world flight

Photo: Limitless Horizons Facebook page.

What Matthew Guthmiller did while you slept last night is a pretty big deal, becoming the youngest person to fly around the world alone.

You won’t hear much about it, however, because in 2014, it’s all about the cash, and NBC’s Today show has paid the family to be quiet about it.

Guthmiller, from Aberdeen, South Dakota, was greeted by about 40 people when he landed near San Diego, following a 16-hour flight from Hawaii. His mother had flown in from South Dakota, too. And a few people in the media were on hand to record his words.

“It was a lot of fun,” he said. Ah, then. That’s one small step for checkbook journalism.

The San Diego Union Tribune says there was a reason for the brevity. His mother says the family signed an exclusivity contract with NBC.

He’ll tell his story on the program this week, then head home to South Dakota to continue his obscurity.