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FeedOn-Air with Ron Schara this Saturday
Minnesota Bound's Ron Schara called and interviewed me this morning for a news segment that will appear on his WCCO Radio show Saturday morning. We chatted briefly about what’s cooking in the state Legislature this spring. Despite a $5 billion budget deficit, legislators still find time for bills on fish hatcheries, pike slots limits, dove hunting, or live coyote transport.
My personal favorite is a bill, brought forth by Republicans in the state House and Senate, to repeal the dedicated funding amendment. Joe Albert named the not-so-magnificent seven authors in his column in this week’s Outdoor News. My own state Sen. David Hann, R-Eden Prairie, is lead author on the bill in the Senate. You’d better believe he’ll be receiving a letter from this angry constituent.
Schara and I also chatted about Outdoor News and the greater outdoors media. I was hired here almost exactly 12 years ago, while Red River Valley floods were causing the incredible damage to Grand Forks, N.D. Today, the Red's potentially record high crest in Fargo dominates the nation's headlines.
Catch Schara’s Minnesota Outdoors broadcast at 5:30 a.m. this Saturday on WCCO Radio AM-830. He asked me to join him for another news update in few weeks.
Missing mug shot
Every two years, myself and the news staff at Outdoor News purchase the “Congress at Your Fingertips” guide from Virgina-based Capitol Publishing. The handy guide provides names, addresses, and phone numbers for members of the U.S. Congress as well as their staff. It also contains some limited general information on state demographics as well as legislatures and governors. All in all, it’s useful in the news business where we’re trying to track down government VIPs – often on short, deadline-driven notice. After two years, the 4- by 8-inch book is pretty dog-eared and beat up, and we’re happy to see the new ones arrive.
Normally, I wouldn’t waste blogging space on such trivial “inside baseball” details, but I did a double-take at Page 82 of the new edition, which shows a big blank square where one of our Minnesota senator’s lovely mugs should be smiling. It reads: “Vacant. This Minnesota Senate office is closed pending the outcome of the election between Norm Coleman and Al Franken.”
We’re into our fifth month since the election. Anyone else praying it will end soon, like immediately?!
