I like my job, however there was a time when I loved my job. I was once a radio announcer, a most enjoyable occupation. I ended up in a conversation with Chris Melbye, also a radio alumnus, about a month ago. We both gushed to one another about how we enjoyed our radio days and I made a note to share a few stories about my radio career in my column.

First off, the radio you see isn’t always the radio you hear. As a young sports announcer in Fosston, Minnesota, I would arrive well before the game to string cords from my spot on the bleachers to a phone in the Athletic Directors. That is how we go the audio feed back to the station for broadcast. I used up lots of duct tape and the knees of my pants taping hundreds of feet of cord to a gymnasium floor. I would then try to scrape off the dust and sweat and transition into the relaxed sports announcer you might have heard on your radio, circa late 80’s.

Sports announcers must possess stamina; I recall one Saturday schedule that included a volleyball tournament in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, the “Coaches Corner” show in between volleyball matches then finishing up my day standing on a van in a snowmobile suit announcing a football game in Plummer. We used to mount a twenty-five foot antennae mast to the station van when I announced football games at the old Fosston station. Imagine standing on top of a van, trying to counter the leverage from a tall mast in heavy winds, all the while trying to remember twenty-two different players on the football field.

Working at the studio was also a challenge, like the first night I operated the Fosston station in 1987. Small-town stations typically had lots of local programming at the time. I had to read the local news, connect with the Bagley and Mahnomen news correspondents by phone, read the public service announcements and the obituaries all in my first hour. The station manager appreciated my anxiety at that moment and told me I would do fine, then scurried to his car to listen to me slowly die on the air. It actually went pretty well, but I would have “dead-air” dreams the first few weeks of my employment. People listen to radio to hear something and “dead-air” is when the announcer fails to provide for that need; it can be a nightmare. The people were good to me there and it was a nice place; although maybe a bit lonely for a 19 year old. I learned a lot about radio and myself in Fosston.

I hit stride when I worked at KKAQ in Thief River Falls. I was the sports director in addition to my duties as announcer. I was comfortable on the air and country music was finally getting back to its traditional roots. I also had people like Danni Halvorson and Kevin Nelson to help me with sports play by play by adding their color commentary. I really enjoyed my on-air shift and would imagine that I was talking to a family member, which made it more comfortable for me to talk and for others to listen. I started out at KKAQ working from six to ten at night. My friend, Mike Anderson, would come by during the last hour of my shift to visit, help me pick out music and then go out for the night. It was really nice.

Later I worked a regular day shift, the only time in my life when I haven’t had to work at night. On the week-end; I would arise at five-thirty in the morning, call the transmitter by phone to get it warmed up, then dash into town to arrive at the studio ten seconds before my shift, kick the transmitter into “broadcast mode,” turn on the news and collapse into my chair. Sundays were even better; I just made sure the church services were on the air and I could sit in the sun of the front lobby buried under the blanket I brought from home.

Al Melbye (that’s Chris Melbye’s dad) always used to tease me that I used my “radio voice” when I answered the phone at work. I don’t believe much of that polished delivery is left when I speak, however the memories still linger. Radio was a good job.

(my radio program just posted on www.ruralreflections.net 2:55 pm-GN)
 

I picked up my TRForward community survey this week. TRForward appears to be an organized collection point for proposals of what should become of Thief River Falls, Minnesota. I’ve had several different ideas about Thief River and the survey helped me sharpen them up to a point that I want to share them today.

First off, get the survey and spend a little time filling it out. The simple act of filling out the survey will make you more involved in what happens to Thief River. The survey asks for your ideas on specific projects then follows up with two questions, “should taxes be used to build” and “should taxes be used to maintain and operate” these projects. It forces you to prioritize your concept of how Thief River should grow and entertain itself. I found myself tending more towards small projects that would enhance the activities people are already engaged in on a regular basis. The recent poor economy has forced us to focus on goals that are less expensive such as personal wellness, both physically and financially, and this should be reflected in how we play. I’ve always thought Finsbury Park would be a great place for a fenced dog-walking area, and the addition of Porta-potties by the dam during fishing season would be fairly inexpensive additions.

The survey has a section about whether we like the restaurants and retail stores in town. I think our retail stores are solid. I recently compared my trip to a Grand Forks lumber yard to one in Thief River. Although, I spent a little less in Grand Forks, it was not a pleasant experience and the employees their could offer me no advice as their average age was 12. I think the main strong point for TRF businesses is experience, service and long term contact -I consider many of these people to be friends. One problem I’ve noticed is a resistance to change. My wife and I have ordered items from the corporate hub of a local franchisee and then had the item delivered to the local store. We both were then lectured by the store owner that they “don’t get a dime” from the purchase. Our visit to the local store was generated by the technology of the internet and would have been an excellent opportunity for the retailer to deepen our relationship, or sell us something else while we were at the store.

Downtown is a problem, it’s a frequent topic. The downtown businesses seem quite strong but the empty buildings overshadow the fact; downtown Thief River reminds of a gorgeous, healthy woman with a really bad hair cut. I love old buildings, however if some downtown buildings are too inefficient to support business maybe they should be torn down. Look how much better downtown East Grand Forks looks after the flood forced them to re-build. I think downtown Thief River is in the midst of a flood caused by a changing economy and a change in the scale of the stores in which we shop. It is exposing what works and what doesn’t work downtown.

I think downtown should become more residential. It will take a fair amount of initial cost but your first loss is most often your best loss. Tear down the freestanding buildings for which there is no tenant and make them into downtown parks or a town square. Downtown is strong, just remove the dead weight it‘s carrying. Empty first floor stores might be made into town homes. Even a large, empty department store could be made into condominiums with individual utilities so no one has to maintain old boilers and water heaters. These might make great entry-level homes for young couples. All of this would take money, but empty stores depress downtown, invite vandalism and vagrancy plus they cost money too.

I compare Thief River to our nation’s economy-we’re at a crossroads. Much like our nation, we are also at a time when a little effort, creativity and initial cost could pay huge dividends when played out into the future. This area needs ideas. I’ve always said it takes 100 ideas to make ten good ones, and it takes ten good ideas for one that makes money. Let’s get some ideas, go fill out the survey.

Here is a link to some more information on the TRFoward survey.

www.trftimes.com/index.php