Moss thought he knew Jackson well but was learning he didn’t know much.
Steve was a hard worker with creative ideas on building a radio audience and a talented on-air personality. Moss thought Jackson truly deserved the opportunity to work in Milwaukee and was happy for him.
Now he had to find someone in Jackson’s family and share the bad news.
By the time everything was done at the hospital it was late and he was too tired to drive, so the three stayed in a couple rooms at a nearby Holiday Inn Express.
Pete was working on his second Diet Mt. Dew of the morning when Jean and Emjay walked into the hotel’s breakfast nook.
“Good Morning, ladies.” Pete stood to welcome them, giving Jean a quick kiss on the cheek, “Did you manage to get any sleep?”
“Not much, I’m afraid,” said Emjay. “But who can sleep? This is so sad. I was going to write something for the news but realized we don’t know Steve’s family or where they live or if they know the news yet. This isn’t a story I care to break.”
“I’m with you on that, Emjay. If nothing else, I’m hoping we have something in Steve’s personnel file at the station, maybe an emergency contact person. Did you update folks at the station?”
“Not yet, I wanted to talk with you first.”
Pete nodded and took another sip of his Diet Dew.
“Well,” Jean said, “I think before leaving we should contact the funeral home in Roseville and have them claim the body as we start making arrangements. We can’t do much, but I don’t want to leave without doing all we can.”
“Mom, that’s good. When we don’t know to do, let’s do something to help.”
“Jean, can you make that call? I’ll call Kevin Storm, tell him what happened and ask him to only tell the people at the party last night and advise them to keep quiet. Kevin might know if Steve has family. If he does, I’ll let them know. It’s possible the State Police already took care of this, but until we know for sure, let’s do the work.”
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Dr. Straw and Ken Records found success and a bit of fame with their daily Covid-19 updates. In addition to Roseville, stations around Wisconsin signed up for their syndicated features and the two-hour Saturday program.
Ken noticed most of the time was spent dispelling rumors and calming fears. Straw enjoyed educating listeners and reaching areas around the state where former clients lived.
Straw was busy off-air helping at the clinic, usually consulting on cases. He loved helping and making a difference. He was glad most people around Roseville were following precautions. So far there were few cases in Rose County. He hoped to play a part in keeping it that way.
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The next morning, after her morning newscasts were over, Emjay walked into Pete’s office.
“I had an interesting call this morning. It was Jack Jackson. He lives in Ironwood, Michigan. He’s Steve’s nephew. The State Patrol found him after five days of looking. He’s going to call the funeral home. He learned Steve was a friend of yours and wanted to learn more about his uncle. Jack is coming down next week to arrange the funeral and meet with a lawyer. He wants to see you.”
Pete took off his reading glasses and rubbed his chin. “I’d be glad to, Emjay. Do you want to call him, or if you have his number, I will.”
Follow the link to catch up on the story of Roseville.
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