I was honored to be one of the presenters at Bismarck State College’s recent ‘80s seminar, participating as a panel member in a discussion of the infamous Gordon Kahl case of 1983. And I will admit, I learned a lot from the other panelists.
My “after lunch” presentation dealt with how news reporting has changed since the ‘80s. For me, it was a bit bittersweet, because news on radio has declined since then – thankfully, not on Prairie Public. (Ironically, Radio Ink recently published a study showing local radio is the most trusted source for news.)
That allows me (yes, presumptuous) to give a shoutout to two colleagues who are retiring after stellar careers in radio news: Don Haney of KFGO and Dan Gunderson of MPR News. Two absolute professionals and great storytellers. I’ve been proud to call them colleagues, and prouder to call them friends.
My most memorable news stories
Back to the seminar: I was asked about the most memorable stories of my career. I mentioned the Gordon Kahl incident, and the disagreement between Governors Allen Olson (R) and George Sinner (D) in late 1984, about when the new Governor takes office. The issue was the appointment of a state Supreme Court justice.
But now that I’ve had time to reflect, three other stories come to mind.
First, the COVID-19 pandemic – something that affected all of our lives (and still does, to an extent). Second, the flooding in the Red River basin in 1997, and the heartbreak of seeing Grand Forks under water. Third, the floods of 2011 in both Minot and Bismarck-Mandan. I spent a lot of drive time on US-83 between the two.
I’m still watching the flood control efforts in the Souris River Basin, as well as the work to bring Missouri River Water to Minot and the Northwest. I am hoping to take some time, and do stories from the Northwest Area Water Supply project, and give an update.
One more thing from the seminar: We had a presentation from Lisa Napoli, who has written books on the “founding mothers” of NPR, as well as the beginning of CNN, which is what she presented on. And it was fascinating.
We both talked about how the all-news television concept has changed with the addition of panel shows, where people give their opinions about the news. I’m an old guard person – I long for the days of the old CNN, which, in my opinion” was more akin to an all-news radio station.