bars

Levitt
Launches-Fair Starts-Biz Team Tells Stories






Jodi
Shares Journey of July-Start of August






Jessie
Schmidt—BBB—Working to Keep us informed & Safe






Mr.
Austad-Shares Who is Tiger, Sanford, Golf in Good ole Summertime






Ron
Nelson—Working to Keep it Fresh






Meet
the Music & One of the Blind Boys of Alabama –Yes Listen Too!!






Diana
Patterson Shares RN, LPN Career Opportunities





It this show doesn’t give you some
inspiration—then re-listen.




Levitt launches tonight with Blind Boys of
Alabama—just two of them left-after 7 decades. Grammy’s –the White House—now an
all American story that touched me.




I spent 4 years in Alabama working television
and as one of the original shareholders of Raycom Media. That was in the 90’s.
I was just a country boy who grew up in Northwest Iowa—worked television in
Iowa, New Mexico, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee.




In the 1990’s I helped Selma—and Montgomery
re-live the
Bloody Sunday episode that had marchers beaten on the Edmund Pettis Bridge. We
did a live two hour television show bringing the white community and the black
community together. It was so painful for the Mayor of Selma –who was in charge
on that Sunday—and still was in mid-90’s. He was truly beaten up by audience
and when we went to the break after the first hour – he wanted to leave. He
said he just couldn’t take it.




I turned to Joe Smitherman and simply said –please
Mr. Mayor don’t leave. You have all of these reporters in all forms of media in
the audience. If you leave –it will be a signal to them that “Selma and Alabama”
haven’t changed. Joe I’ll help you thru it.




He stayed – and we did. When we finished—he turned
me and said, “Bill—you just saved me and my town. Thank you.”




That has stuck with me thru the years. In
1997 Raycom sent me to Sioux Falls to help fire the General Manager at the ABC
Station. They asked me to serve as the Interim GM. Seventeen weeks into – the wanted
me to stay—but I said no—“Cows are walking over barns in South Dakota—and when
I hear the song on radio “Sweet Home Alabama” it’s a reminder I still have a
job to do. I stayed with Raycom until the summer of 2000. I had just set up a
television newsroom in a Gray Property newsroom in Knoxville, Tennessee—and
they sold it to the ABC Station. At that point I took a job as director of the
Red Cross – stationed in Sioux Falls –the Nakota Red Cross served all of South
Dakota and Nebraska.




So for me – those stories have me smiling as
the Blind Boys of Alabama come to Sioux Falls tonight. You’ll meet Ricky McKinney—a
singer and former drummer with the group at 9:45.




Before then—Jodi reviews the stories of the
week – as only she can.




Jessie Schmidt—BBB of South Dakota—tries to
equip us with the latest story on scams and her time is always worth its weight
in gold.




Ron Nelson—Nelson Commercial Real Estate—keeps
breathing the fresh air instead of the closing brick and mortar at 9:32.




9:45 you’ll meet Ricky McKinney—Blind Boys of
Alabama – and hear one of their songs.




We close the hour with Diana Patterson—career
opportunities for RN’s and LPN’s at Sanford. My wife—with full disclosure – is still
a practicing RN – she works at Sanford after working in Amarillo, El Paso,
Midland Texas, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Montgomery, Alabama, and Knoxville
Tennessee. She is probably a far better nurse than I am broadcaster – she understands
– you take care of the patient first.




This weekend Carolyn and I will return to the
place we were married almost 50 years ago. Believe it or not we will have
picture in that church near Carroll, Iowa with the same wedding dress and suit
that I wore October 5, 1968. Our journey as the Blind Boys of Alabama sing has
us “Almost HOME”.

Almost Home!!!

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