There were a variety of interesting moments and close calls while covering a vast territory of central South Dakota.
- One winter I had a shoot out in the middle of nowhere near Lake Oahe; although I was driving a four wheel drive vehicle through foot deep snow - at one point it became "high-centered" meaning my tires were no longer in contact with the ground because the snow became that deep. This is pre-cell phone service. I had a "radio" of sorts that had no connection and seemed to be out of luck when some hunters in a bigger four wheel drive came upon me - attached a nylon cable to my truck and pulled me free with theirs.
- Searching for the perfect, or at least unusual, camera shot led me to try many things. The camera I used cost the station $13,000. For a story on state highways one time, I found a quiet stretch of road, opened the driver's side door and held the camera about a foot of the ground as I drove along to get a shot of the rubber meeting the road. Later, when I was editing the story I noticed something flash on the screen. When I slowed it down - I could see the rock kicked up by the tire and rocketed off screen - missing the lens by that much.
- The state's number one game was pheasant. It was so popular that pheasant clubs sprung up where hunters could legally hunt year-round. For one story, I was perched on the corner of a field in the back of a pick-up truck (it was parked) while hunters approached from across the field. Everything was fine. Until, the shot started flying in my direction. I beat a hasty retreat.
- Actually, I think if I ever became a hunter, it would have been to shoot pheasant. The shooting couldn't start until noon - the weather was frequently nice - and the shooting would be a challenge. I never did, however.
- When Matthew was born in 1987, the state was already promoting and preparing for the Centennial including a plot of land outside Pierre christened the Centennial Acre. The gang at KELO-TV in the newsroom chipped in and bought Matt his own piece of land, in the Centennial Acre. I think it's big enough to stand on, but not dance.
- Another winter story - shooting a story on Ice Fishing on Lake Oahe (the Missouri River flows through the lake) near Mobridge I drove my KELO-land News truck onto the lake and parked next to five other trucks of the anglers I was shooting and interviewing. It was one of those great winter days - the sun was out and temps 40... above zero. But, when the ice started cracking as the temperature climbed, it sounded like the crack of gunfire. All I could imagine was going down into the River (not good for me if you remember my swimming story) and/or losing the truck and all the camera gear.
- But, the closest of calls came when I was part of the news team flown to Fargo, North Dakota for a news seminar during the drought. KELO flew about ten of us on the company plane from Sioux Falls. A King Air, I believe. It was summer and very, very hot. On the way back to Sioux Falls the heat rising from the land below was creating strong air currents of rising hot air. It felt like a bad roller coaster ride, like we were falling ten feet at a time in air "potholes." We tried to put on a brave face in front of our colleagues... but I think for a long while there we thought we would be leading that evening's Big News for our part in a spectacular air crash.
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