A break down about parks with Three Rivers Park District Board of Commissioner Erin Kolb

[00:00:00] Welcome to The Break Down with Brodkorb and Becky, a weekly podcast that breaks down politics, policy and current affairs. I'm Becky Scherr. And I'm Michael Brodkorb. We are going real local with today's interview. We are pleased to be joined by Erin Kolb.

[00:00:25] Erin serves as the District Three Representative on the Three Rivers Park District Board of Directors. And if the name sounds familiar, that is because she is the better half of the frequent breakdown co-host Jeff Kolb.

[00:00:37] With Erin, we're going to break down a recent hearing and ongoing conversations about Silverwood Park. We will discuss some concerns about future funding and the incredible showing at a recent hearing by Hennepin County residents sharing stories about what the park means to them.

[00:00:50] Next, Michael and I are going to continue our conversation about walls and abortion, but this time the discussion will surround his Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan. We will break down Flanagan's claim that she built her March Madness Bracket based on which states offer abortions.

[00:01:06] Then we will break down the recent news that Minnesota GOP members of Congress are asking for an investigation into Mary Moriarty's questionable conduct and what the rest of the delegation is saying. Lastly, we will break down the heartbreaking announcement that Princess Kate has cancer

[00:01:19] and break down the handling or mishandling of the PR sides of things. Thanks for joining us and enjoy the show. And now Becky, we did not discuss this. So if we want to cut this, we certainly can. But we did not discuss it.

[00:01:33] So let's just get into it. I got to go out last week. Yeah. Where did I get to go? You came to our Citizens League Civic Celebration. Tell our listeners about, if I may, what you're doing.

[00:01:46] Tell our listeners about your new role, the event and what was going on. Yes. This year joined the Civic Citizens League Board of Directors. The Citizens League really focuses on being a kind of nonpartisan organization, really focusing on things that can unite us rather than divide us.

[00:02:07] And it's a really, as we've been talking about over the last year and a half here, the ability to have civil conversations and to really work towards something and not just be against something. And the Citizens League has a really incredible history.

[00:02:21] I've been expanding some 70 years and working towards different studies and policies. They have a really great capital pathways program where they support minorities, people of color, indigenous folks being able to have internships with lobbyists and legislators and in different organizations up at the Capitol.

[00:02:41] And they do really fantastic work. And I'm really excited to be on the board and be part of, again, trying to find those things that can be in the middle, that can sit and span left and middle and really move that needle.

[00:02:57] And so yeah, I'm really excited to be a part of that. The company I work for, Velocity Public Affairs hosted a table there and you were able to join us. And so we are really grateful to have your support as well.

[00:03:07] The event is an annual one that the Citizens League does and we honored two individuals who, two women who have really great rich histories in their fields and nonprofit in really trying to bring us together, build together and make things better for tomorrow.

[00:03:25] I left really energized and excited and it's nice to have something, something to work on and new projects. So it's a three year term that I'm serving and I'm excited to be involved. And I really appreciate your support. First of all, thank you for inviting me.

[00:03:39] It was a wonderful night. And I hope that we can talk about more about what you're doing with the Citizens League. It was just a great night. It was a great night of festivities and events.

[00:03:47] And the message is so important, which is what I wanted to talk about. I wanted to highlight and congratulate you for taking on that leadership role. It was a great night. Nice to see some people. I do want to add one story.

[00:03:58] I did meet your husband that night. Yeah, I met your husband the night. Just an absolutely charming, delightful fellow. I will say he's a Packers fan. I just wanted to say for a second, very nice person, but it was a Packers fan. Yeah.

[00:04:13] And I was sitting right next to him that night. Hey, there's one of my mom, a Vikings fan. He knew his football and he had good intel. And I wanted just to compliment you both on the night. It was nice to meet him and he's a Packers fan.

[00:04:26] And that's great. Through and through. That's not great at all. No, it was a wonderful night. It was nice to meet him. It was nice to talk football. And contrary to what your husband thinks, I think we're going to have the

[00:04:36] Vikings are going to have a great draft night. That is, I always appreciate your optimism when it comes to all things, but especially Vikings. Best thing let me always say they like to sell as hope and you have bought

[00:04:48] in and I am here for it because what fun is it if you don't have the hope for your team that you're cheering for? I like to have hope. I think you certainly have more for the Vikings, but I'm here. All right, let's do it.

[00:04:58] Let's hopefully not need another handful of rebuilding years and we'll get that and get it done. Yes, it was a lovely night. Hope and opportunity, I think exist for the Vikings. And it was just a great night.

[00:05:10] And so just one of that opportunities to acknowledge the good work you're doing and also just again reinforce. I think the Vikings are going to have a great year. Contrary to what people in the Penicallary associated with the Green Bay Packers think.

[00:05:21] I really appreciate it and we'll have lots of time for football chat over the next few months leading up to the new season. But thank you. I really seriously am appreciative that you came out. It was a snowy night.

[00:05:32] I'm sure the drive home wasn't wonderful, but thank you for coming out. Thank you for your support and I'm glad you had a good time. And we'll talk about more what the Citizen League is about. I think it's a great organization.

[00:05:41] I can't think of anyone better to be on it than you. And it's a good discussion that we should have done because I think they're doing great stuff. Absolutely. Thank you. I'm excited to be joined today by one of my favorite elected officials.

[00:05:57] Three Rivers Park District Commissioner, Aaron Culp. Aaron, thank you for your first appearance on the breakdown with product from Rebecca. I'm sure you heard about the podcast before, but it's great to have you on. I'm happy to be here. Are you a longtime listener? I am. First-time caller.

[00:06:13] Say again? First-time caller. First-time caller. That's fantastic. Tell our listeners a bit about who you are, what office you hold and what you do in that capacity. Yeah, absolutely. My name is Aaron Culp. I am a Three Rivers Park Commissioner.

[00:06:29] Three Rivers Parks is a suburban Hennepin County Parks District. It's made up of seven commissioners, so I'm one of seven. Five are elected and two are appointed. And so I hold the elected office for District 3, which is the cities of Crystal, Robbinsdale, some Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center,

[00:06:51] St. Anthony and St. Louis Park. Explain to our listeners what the Three Rivers Park District does. Yeah, absolutely. So Three Rivers Parks, as I mentioned, is part of the suburban Hennepin County Parks System. So it's 27,000 acres made up of Hennepin County.

[00:07:07] And if you look at the map, it's located within the Three Rivers that just offer us the boundaries. The Three Rivers Park District was created by the legislature in 1957, primarily to operate as the suburban Hennepin County Park District.

[00:07:24] So why I say suburban Hennepin County is that when you think of Hennepin County that typically includes Minneapolis for all intensive purposes for this discussion, Minneapolis is not part of this discussion. So Minneapolis has its own situation.

[00:07:37] So anything that is related to Three Rivers, Minneapolis is exempt from. So we own and operate properties primarily within Hennepin, suburban Hennepin County, although we do locate and we do have properties outside of that as well.

[00:07:51] And as the board, we oversee the parks and the operations of the properties that we own. So the Three Rivers Park Board operates separate from the county board of Hennepin County, correct? Yes. So it is Hennepin County does not have their own park system. We operate as that.

[00:08:13] So it used to be named Hennepin County Parks before a name change number of years ago to Three Rivers. And I think that was in part to help differentiate because we have our own taxing authority. So we are not part of the Hennepin County Park System,

[00:08:31] although in other counties in the state of Minnesota, they operate their own parks. But Hennepin County does not, as I mentioned with Minneapolis has their own park board and then the suburban Hennepin County is managed by the Three Rivers Park System.

[00:08:46] You have a history working with parks, starting in your home in the town you live, Crystal. What other kind of experience that kind of drove you to wanting to serve as a commissioner on this park board? So I attributed a lot to a fantastic amount of scope creep.

[00:09:04] So my husband and I, when we wanted to start our family, we wanted to be located in a community like Crystal, which is fairly small in size, but where you get to know a lot of the people that you can participate in local events with.

[00:09:20] So we wanted to feel like we were part of a community. And so he, when we first moved to Crystal, he joined the Human Rights Commission and then moved on to the Planning Commission and then later City Council. And then I joined the Parks Commission and maintained

[00:09:37] my Parks Commission volunteer role for about 10 years, helping to guide and establish what the park system within the city of Crystal would be. And when the opportunity came for Three Rivers, Dan Freeman, who was the prior commissioner, was retiring,

[00:09:53] he's moving down to Southern Minnesota, was approached with opportunity to run. And so there, I ran and was lucky enough to be elected last. And so I've been in position about a little over a year. To explain to our listeners the margin by which you want on.

[00:10:10] Yeah, you were elected with roughly 90 plus percent of the vote, correct? I was lucky enough to be elected with a healthy margin. Yes, healthy margin. Yes, roughly 90 percent of it. Now technically you ran out of polls, but you still won. That's still right.

[00:10:26] So while I appreciate it, I was also on a phone. I was going to disclose that. I was going to disclose that. I just wanted to make sure we got the in there a bit. Yeah, but about 38,000 people did actually fill in the circle,

[00:10:37] even though I was on a post. So that was something that was just personally just really it was very humbling. I want to disclose this, maybe should disclose it, but Commissioner Colb and her husband, the Honorable Jeff Colb, or Jeff's been on our podcast before.

[00:10:51] They're very good friends of mine. And I'll just say this, independent of their appearances or friend, what I just truly respect so much about you and to maybe to a lesser degree maybe your husband, but definitely to you, your commitment to just serving locally.

[00:11:05] And you are both just incredibly knowledgeable about and in your willingness to serve and be a part of your community and your role on the Parkport is just so fascinating. It's interesting. And it's one of the reasons we wanted to talk to you

[00:11:17] is because it's just a great dynamic, a great. I think it's not known. I live in Dakota County, so I didn't know about the dynamics of the Park District, particularly one thing I wanted to note, which is and I think you briefly mentioned

[00:11:28] it is that three members Park Board located wholly within Hennepin County. Correct? You do own some Park property outside of Hennepin County. Explain that a bit. Yeah, so I think the prior boards have made investments for a number of different reasons to acquire property located in outside

[00:11:47] of the suburban Hennepin County area. So we have some properties. We have a fantastic joint partnership agreement with Scott County for the properties that we own and operate there. And we continue to explore additional partnership opportunities with the other counties that we have properties in. Typically under the

[00:12:06] where the legislature created three rivers, although our taxing authority is only suburban Hennepin County, the language for which three rivers was created did include some language mentions of the regional participation. And so I think over the years as opportunities have arisen

[00:12:25] where people outside of Hennepin County really appreciate and know and understand three rivers mission to take care of natural areas and to have environmental stewardship. They've reached out to us for the opportunity to acquire these properties because they know that three rivers with the nature based program

[00:12:43] will continue to sustain those and to keep those natural areas. But there are some other recreational aspects to those properties as well. And that's unusual in relationship to other counties and relationships that have with their park boards, correct? I believe it is. Yes.

[00:13:00] I think three rivers is unique in a number of different aspects, which is part of the pleasure of serving on the board with learning the nuances and intricacies of how three rivers operates and how to perform as a responsible steward within those boundaries.

[00:13:18] One of the reasons I wanted to have you on it because I saw an article in the Star Tribune about a park going on with Silverwood Park in Ramsey County. Technically, technically, yes. And I thought it was a really interesting.

[00:13:31] It's one of the things that's great about having a podcast is you can just really get into the issues. Explain to our listeners a little bit about the issue at the park and your kind of approach again, speaking in your capacity as an individual,

[00:13:41] but not for the full park board, that dynamic and what you see are some of the issues there related to that park district, that specific park that's in Ramsey County. Yes, I will answer that question, but I'm going to take you a little bit back

[00:13:55] a bit of a journey just to level set on some of the history for that. So I'm a new commissioner. I've been on the board, as I mentioned, a little over the year. So I joined the board along with two other new board members.

[00:14:09] So the first part of my time in the first few months have been a lot of like education and level setting you're in. So things now I understand a lot more. So a lot of our study sessions and a lot of our first couple of meetings

[00:14:21] is really just to help the board understand all of the detail and the complexity for how three rivers operates. Part of that coming into the role, I had my own perceptions and ideas of what three rivers would be.

[00:14:35] I was in as a resident of someone who's in a first-ring suburb that does not have a lot of three rivers properties or participation within Crystal, at least. I was concerned that the areas that I represent don't have the geographic ability to have a massive amount of property

[00:14:59] for natural spaces for three rivers to operate in and therefore don't have a lot of the benefit. Now over the last 10 years or so, the Three Rivers Parks Commission and the district itself has made a lot of investments into additional municipal agreements.

[00:15:14] So like the Mack Park in Crystal and Sohockey Park in Robinsdale, Golden Valley. But from a general servicing, the cities that I represent feels like there is a perception in our community that there is some elements that are being underserved. So when I joined the Parks Commission,

[00:15:36] that was one of the things that I really wanted to focus in on is to help support the work that Three Rivers has been doing but also to just help expand that into providing additional services into the first-ring suburbs and understanding what that could be

[00:15:51] and how that could look like given the properties that we have and some of the constraints that we have. So on this journey, the first question that I had was so we have a lot of properties that are outside of Hennepin County

[00:16:05] that Hennepin County, suburban Hennepin County taxpayers pay for. About 80% of our funding comes from suburban Hennepin County taxpayers and they aren't receiving the benefit then maybe it is worth asking some questions to understand is this still the right path that we should be moving forward?

[00:16:24] So anyway, so that's just like how I was entering this world. A number of months ago, the commission had an opportunity to visit Silverwood Park last June. We had a study session there and we learned a lot about the beautiful property, the location, the different arts-based program,

[00:16:45] programs that are centered around Silverwood Park. And while we were there, we learned about the over 600 programs that we do for local schools and we do a lot for community events, especially in the summertime arts and music focused. And at the end of that conversation,

[00:17:05] we were trying to understand, so this is a value added park. There's a lot that's happening, but if it had 600 programs. Well, and I was just walking back from that, like if we had 600 programs, what would happen if we took again, just broadly speaking, like 200 of those programs

[00:17:23] and just shifted them to Sohaki? So that was like, so how could we think about taking the arts-based, nature-based programming out of Silverwood and extend that message into underserved areas like Mac Park and Sohaki? And so the other commissioners had some questions

[00:17:42] about what the amount of visitors were, where they came from, etc. And at the end of the day, we asked the staff to come back and have some additional conversations about what the properties to give us like a lowdown on.

[00:17:57] Tell us about these properties that are outside of Hanukkah County. Why do we own them? What's happening there? And let's just talk about each of those individually. So I want to pause there, I unpacked a lot. Any questions before I continue?

[00:18:11] So when you guys were during these initial conversations back in the fall, how did that go amongst your fellow board members? Were there others that saw better places to potentially put some of these funds or was it split down the middle?

[00:18:26] So I wouldn't presume to speak for the other commissioners. What I remember about the discussion is that we received some visitor reporting from the staff and Silverwood became one of the top points of conversation because there was such a high visitor ship.

[00:18:45] It's one of our most popular parks, it's our sixth most visited park. But that such a low percentage, only 11% of the visitors were actually from suburban Hanukkah County. And so that's where I took again from the seat that I was coming in at saying,

[00:19:04] well, if only 11% of suburban Hanukkah County which are the taxpayers are getting benefit, who else is receiving these assets and where can we think about shifting those percentages around a little bit to help make the park a little bit more equitable for the,

[00:19:22] and how we provide services to the rest of our system. There was a robust discussion. I think a lot of commissioners had various ideas. And I think perhaps in my professional life I'm a consultant. And so I tend to approach putting all ideas on the table

[00:19:37] even if it's a bad idea so that you can say, yes, we talked about that idea and we ruled it out for X, Y and Z reasons. So part of the discussion was like, what happens if we sell this property? What happens worst case scenario?

[00:19:51] Like just talking really extreme ideas that no one was really, I think seriously considering. And again, I don't wanna speak for anyone else but that wasn't really, that wasn't the target of where my line of questioning was but really just understanding what are our options

[00:20:08] and like how should we think about making the investments to the property going forward? So there were a number of ideas that were suggested or thrown out more just as talking or thinking through. And I think what we learned in that is that having such an open discussion

[00:20:25] or just like free flowing thoughts, I think it conveyed perhaps more of a negative intent than I think certainly than what I expected where the community around Silverwood was left from that hearing from that conversation that we were seriously considering closing the park which was not the direction

[00:20:45] that the board walked away with in that meeting. The meeting that you're referencing is our October board meeting where we left that meeting after discussing Silverwood was one of four properties that were discussed that day, directing staff to provide some recommendations and suggestions for how we can continue

[00:21:06] to operate in Silverwood and to help us going forward by exploring partnerships or how to think about programming differently, how we can leverage best practices that we've done with other properties like the landing where we've participated, excuse me, we collaborated with the municipalities,

[00:21:27] the historical societies, the Native American tribes to create a different level of programming. So part of my goal there was to see how we could bring partnerships to the table. I think it's really commendable of what you were trying to do.

[00:21:42] I don't think we see a lot in politics, at the legislature or in Congress of just having conversations to hash things out to ensure you guys are trying to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and the folks who elected you. And I think that having those conversations

[00:21:58] of putting it all on the table and sussing out what works for the people of your community is an important thing to do. And I think very often we see it where anybody expressing concerns or wanting to look at something instantly,

[00:22:13] like you mentioned, some people had a negative connotation and I think that's just how these things have been going for so long that anybody just saying, should we have a conversation about that instantly is against it or opposing something. I think that is a really,

[00:22:26] I would like to see more of that because I do think it's important and I think allowed you guys to get to a place, which we'll get to here shortly, that you guys learned a lot, your community learned a lot about how you're spending those dollars

[00:22:38] and what's important to those around you. So I love that approach. Yeah, I think we all learned a lot as commissioners just with that transparency and I think it's something that through your birds really prides itself on. I think the staff does many things

[00:22:51] that are over and above from like financial reporting and just the different methods by how we are communicating to our community to maintain that level of transparency. And some of it is just some good discussions. Like, I think that because our tax base

[00:23:07] is so heavily on suburban Hennepin County that it is fair to evaluate how we are providing services to that core constituency while also participating regionally, given that both are part of our mandate, if you will from the legislature upon the creation of three rivers.

[00:23:26] But I think I don't want to be so narrow focused on only the taxpayers of suburban Hennepin County. I think when people participate in parks, everybody wins. It creates great opportunities for everyone. And I think what is helpful about facilitating that discussion,

[00:23:47] which I don't think can be underscored is that this is also a nonpartisan role. And so I think one of the things that really draws me to parks is that parks is a uniter for people. It provides a lot of opportunities for people to explore nature

[00:24:04] where they otherwise might not have and the benefits of having a robust and healthy park systems in communities continues to pay dividends both in how people feel about the safety and security and the health and wellness benefits as well as just their interaction

[00:24:20] with the environment and the arts. So moving forward to present day, you had a hearing last Thursday where this was discussed a little bit more and article that Michael had mentioned, the start of your viewing, it was standing room only huge reception

[00:24:38] of folks wanting to come and share their stories of what this is important from your perspective. Can you share a little bit about how that day went? Yeah, I was really looking forward to the discussion. The space between October to the meeting last Thursday

[00:24:51] had a lot of opportunities to connect with constituents and those that lived outside of my represented area, just writing in to let them let me know and make sure that I had an awareness of the importance that Civil War Park plays in their day to day lives.

[00:25:08] And I think that was really impactful. We had a robust amount of comments that had come in over the last few months through our Let's Talk website as well as the communication to individual commissioners and this was a really good opportunity

[00:25:23] to have that all condensed into one hearing so that those who were passionate and activated through the discussion about their park had the opportunity to not only hear what the staff's recommendations were as a response to our request in October

[00:25:42] but then also so that they can just reinforce live in person with us, the value and the importance that not only Silverwood has a park place but also and not to be underestimated the impact of the arts to the arts community

[00:25:57] that this particular place has and has grown to be. So it was a fantastic meeting. We had a lot of very passionate speakers who took the time out of their day to drive to our facility, participate in the meeting and share their stories.

[00:26:13] And at the end of it, I think the comments that were there were very supportive of the staff's recommendations. And I think we are all aligned on maintaining that passion and the servicing at Silverwood but then also being really aware that there are some operational changes

[00:26:33] that the staff can make in order to help assert some of the concerns that we as the board had related to the involvement of suburban Hennepin County but then also thinking about those practices and how the methods that Silverwood has the programming to take some of that

[00:26:53] and bring that deeper into the community to expand and raise the impact and pass that on throughout the rest of our three reverse communities. I wanna follow up on something that you said that is really important to Becky and I

[00:27:08] and touch on a little bit, which is partisanship. You mentioned that your role as a commissioner on this is technically nonpartisan. If someone goes and votes, you're not an identified Republican, identified Democrat or any other party. Explain to our listeners a bit

[00:27:21] in this kind of hypercharged political environment not to pass judgment on the kind of throwing of the mud that goes on all the time but how important is that to you that this is a nonpartisan role and when you're viewing it through the lens

[00:27:36] of being collateral because that's something that Becky and I really talk a lot about in this podcast of having discussions with people independent of their personal political beliefs or any other books that they have but just having discussions with people. It seems to be something that type of

[00:27:50] the role that you have in that is something that is very interesting to you and you appreciate expand on that for a little bit and talk about how you approach this in this type of hyperpartisan day of just talking about parks and engaging in collaborative conversations.

[00:28:04] Yeah, I think having a nonpartisan role really in my humble opinion allows you to focus more on the topic or the issue at hand instead of going into your corners and referencing the bullet points or the talk track or so that it feels like it's a more

[00:28:22] honest, transparent and reactive conversation about what is really affecting communities and at the end of the day much like a municipal things that should be and remain nonpartisan because it has such a high impact to your day-to-day life is to working with municipalities

[00:28:41] that I think it's just for me it's fair to not have the outside influence of a political party dictating what the party line should be rather than coming up with practical and real solutions that can benefit everyone. Again, I think the difference is that parks

[00:29:02] are also a uniter of people so it doesn't, it's even is outside of politics which is something that I think is really helpful particularly in a time where things feel so polarized is to spend some time out in nature it always helps me like reset

[00:29:21] and to appreciate what I've been fortunate enough to experience and just being able to focus on how to share that feeling with other people as much as possible in a fair and equitable way. That's great, where can people follow you to learn more about your website?

[00:29:41] Where can people follow more about the Three Rivers Park Board and what you do and what other what the entire board is doing related to this process? Yeah, absolutely. So the in any search engine if you type in the Three Rivers Parks and Park District or commissioners

[00:29:55] any kind of combination of that we have a robust amount of information that's publicly available. Our board meetings we have one every month on the fourth Thursday located in our administrative center implement those that open to the public. We have a let's talk opportunity

[00:30:11] to have people submit their feedback through the website that I mentioned there before from Three Rivers and then also in there finding a commissioner that's located near you and reaching out to them directly. Commissioner, it's wonderful to speak to you today.

[00:30:26] This is exactly again why we do podcasts to have people on with just unique, knowledgeable life experiences that inform our listeners. And I just thank you for taking some time today to come on and talk to us. I'm glad that some of the horror stories

[00:30:41] that you heard about the podcast did not dissuade you from coming on and I appreciate you coming on. We hope to have you back on again, talking about other issues that they developed. But I just really appreciate you taking some time today

[00:30:52] to come on and explain this issue and just talk about what you do as a park commissioner. I appreciate that. Thanks for the invite. Thank you. That was a nice change of pace. I think I always love local issues here and anytime like I mentioned,

[00:31:09] I do really think it's a good strategy of looking at everything on the table and ensuring that you are spending money in the most appropriate way. There's a lot of needs out there and it seems that this approach that they did worked for them.

[00:31:24] They had a successful hearing. I'm also a big proponent of folks standing up and making their voice heard if they believe in something. And it really showed a recent hearing that had 30 speakers, two overflow rooms. That's huge for park board meeting. That's massive.

[00:31:41] It really goes to show how important this park really is and so I appreciate it or coming on to share a little bit more about that. She's wicked smart. She's got a great title, commissioners are great title. I will also say I'm a huge fan of the Colbs,

[00:31:53] both the commissioner Colb and the honorable Jeff Colb and their entire family, just a wonderful family. Ever since I met Jeff, I've known that his wife has had just an absolute passion for parks and it's great to see her serving in office.

[00:32:10] I think she's got a wealth of experience. It's a passion of hers. It's also why I love doing podcasts because we get someone like her, subject matter expert. We can sit back and let them talk and our listeners get to hear that perspective. It's just so wonderful

[00:32:24] and it's just another reason why I love doing podcasts is because we get to have these conversations and we get to learn so much from experts commissioner Colb and talk about facets of government that our listeners don't know and in some instances I didn't know.

[00:32:38] I did not know about the kind of the true specifics of kind of what the three rivers park board did until I'd heard, since Erin commissioner Colb, excuse me, was elected and it just was a great conversation. It is a change of pace

[00:32:52] from some of the aggressive partisanship that's going on right now, which we'll get into. But it's nice also to speak to someone like commissioner Colb because it is a nonpartisan office and she approaches it as she said from the standpoint of being solutions and talking about the problems,

[00:33:08] not to say anything from partisanship because you and I both have traveled in that circle immensely. But it is a nice change in pace and to have someone come on in a nonpartisan role, I really enjoyed it. And I'm glad that she came on

[00:33:21] and I hope to have her on again to talk about other issues because I do believe parks are something that, I live in Dakota County, I live in Egan. Egan has a great park system. That's part of the reason I moved to this town.

[00:33:32] My wife and I moved to this town. It was just, and so I think she's, it's just, I was just great, happy for the interview and I'm a big believer in parks and I think commissioner Colb is a great ambassador for parks in this state

[00:33:45] and the exact type of person that we wanna elevate and have on this podcast. And so I appreciate you taking some time away from having a little bit of change to pace and then having her on. I appreciate it. Absolutely, thank you for arranging it. Thank you.

[00:33:59] And because we can never step away from partisanship too much, we're gonna get right back into that. Yes. We are gonna go chat a little bit about related to last week's conversation. We spoke a lot about Governor Walz in his recent interview with Caitlin Collins on CNN

[00:34:19] about abortion, men needing to stand up and listen to women on this. This week, Lieutenant Governor, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan had a little bit of a different approach. Going for it, she tweeted on Thursday about her March Madness bracket and said,

[00:34:35] I filled out my brackets based on whether those schools are located in a state that protects access to abortion care. By this measurement, it's only fair that Minnesota did not make the tournament because they'd have been a favorite for that title. Your take.

[00:34:51] I hope I'm not falling for a trap. I'm hoping I'm not falling for a trap. And so please, I'd like you to revert back to a role which you're very comfortable with, which is criticizing me if I need to be.

[00:35:02] First of all, this is my read of the situation and please tell me if you think I'm wrong. We spoke last week about the governor's statement in response to what he was asked on Katelyn Collins. By Katelyn Collins on CNN, both said that his answer was A plus.

[00:35:20] My reaction when I saw the Lieutenant Governor's statement was, ugh, like, I don't think that's what he meant, but I don't know if I'm falling in for that trap because as I articulated, as I explained what I viewed the governor's statement on abortion

[00:35:39] was that old white men need to stop legislating on this issue and start listening to women on this issue because women are voting on this and this is a top issue to them. Okay, I get that, I get that.

[00:35:53] But see, this is, and so when, if you put this poll out, it's not necessarily about abortion per se in terms of policy. It is, and it's just, I think I'm gonna sound like an old white guy so that's why I'm, please stand in

[00:36:09] and criticize me if that's what I'm telling you about. When I first got involved in the party on the Republican side, but also observing the Democrats, one of the things that I did pretty extensively was observe, monitor, and track what Democrats did working in opposition research.

[00:36:22] I never felt that the Democratic Party was necessarily pro-abortion, that they celebrated it, they recognized it and understood that it was something that should be protected, that a woman's access to abortion. So I grew up at a time when Democrats were messaging on it

[00:36:41] being safe, legal, and rare. I understand that's not reality in terms of what the position is. And so I can respect and appreciate the political message that the governor said on CNN about that old white men, to some degree like me, need to listen to women on abortion.

[00:36:58] And I certainly have an opinion on it, but I think particularly, and I hope you can attest to this on this show that my approach has been somewhat similar to what the governor said. So when I see this poll come, when I see her do this bracket,

[00:37:13] to me it's, it gets into more of a pro-abortion, celebrating abortion type stuff that I just didn't react well to me about it, but I like to get your take. I hope I'm not falling into a trap of being an old white man, criticizing a woman on abortion.

[00:37:30] It's just you taking a poll, taking a college March Madness poll and determining it and viewing it through the lens of abortion, isn't my, isn't the way I would do it. But again, maybe I should just be listening. So I'll listen.

[00:37:49] No, I tend to agree with you on that. I, a lot of times within working in communications for elected officials or candidates, you do try to find some cutesy little ways to be relatable in some respect. You wanna, you post some things for holidays

[00:38:07] and like when I was in Emmer's office, we were big on finding different kind of niche ice cream day and different cute ways to put posts out that were non-political, that were just, I am a person too and bringing that humanizing nature back to our elected officials.

[00:38:25] So I feel like this in my, from my view, it just feels a little miss the market. It feels a little too cute trying to be like, this is the inserting of politics and it just feels weird. I get what she was doing.

[00:38:40] She, if the goal was to make news and to rile people up, she certainly did that. This tweet was what the kids these days would say ratioed. She got 100,000 or 100,000, over a thousand comments on it, 270 some retweets, which does not mean that they're all good retweets

[00:39:00] and some 330 likes on this. So by far more comments than likes and retweets and I just really feel like it's a chance for you to show I'm like you, I fill out March Madness, I like college basketball. And then you inserting the politics,

[00:39:17] especially when it comes to abortion, you just cut yourself off at the knees and alienate some other people who maybe thought this was cool that you were doing it. We know she is pro-choice. We know she is plural abortion. That is her prerogative to be that.

[00:39:32] I just don't like it. I just don't like it. I don't think politics need to be inserted in everything. Correct. Can I ask you a couple of questions? In my following, now, I didn't go out on social media and blast this. You and I shared some messages

[00:39:48] about discussing it on the show, but we haven't worked out who was gonna say what on this. But my reaction was, ugh, I just, I wasn't, it just seemed like what I thought last week, and I understand they're two separate politicians

[00:40:01] and two separate agendas, and I get all that. I thought that last week, I thought that the governor's comments, as we discussed in my last week, I thought he hit the mark perfectly. I think that this is not the type of message

[00:40:17] that I think is where I think most people are comfortable, and that's fine, I get that. I don't have to agree with everything that the lieutenant governor or the governor does. I just think the message was off, and I think that there was a lot of,

[00:40:32] you and I think probably talked more positively about the governor than we ever had before, particularly about that comment. And so I wanted to revisit it from the standpoint that I think it missed them. I think the lieutenant governors missed the mark.

[00:40:45] Also, a reason why I wanna discuss it was because of politics, because I don't think politics should be involved in everything, which is a subject that we've talked about. We've talked about before, and I think we both agree on this. Again, I don't speak for you,

[00:40:56] but please tell me if you disagree. We've talked about the Oscars and people using that as a platform to discuss their issues that they think, and you brought up some good examples of where some of those messages missed the mark.

[00:41:09] I do think that politics doesn't have to be every place, and it's just fun to have, just to fill out a March Madness Bracket. And not have to, and so a part of me is, and I guess this is a question I would throw back to you,

[00:41:21] not because you're a woman, but because it's just political. Are there people who really fill up March Madness Brackets based on any type of, are there people, let's set aside abortion for a second, but are there people that sit down and say,

[00:41:37] I'm only gonna submit a March Madness Bracket based on potential political contributions or statements that the coaches have made, or do people do that? Because this is the first time I've seen something like this before. I've never heard of it. I have never heard of it.

[00:41:55] The goal is to have some fun and see how far you can get. And I think what would have been great here is if walls in Flanagan both filled out a bracket and went head-to-head, and let's see who can have the best bracket and get those bragging points

[00:42:09] and then the other one has to cook them dinner or something, whatever. Those are the kind of things I like with these kind of opportunities. But I do wanna circle back real quick to your comment about how walls we were applauding them so much in

[00:42:22] and here with Flanagan, I feel like she's poking people in the eye a little bit with it. So when I look at where Democrats need to gain votes ahead of the 2024 election, in particular if we're thinking for Biden, where they wanna pick up some votes,

[00:42:38] where they want some folks to come out. Where I think that they can make inroads, there is certainly some movement to be made in rural Minnesota. I don't think, like you said, I think safe legal and rare can work with the rural Minnesotans.

[00:42:51] I don't think poking folks in the eye of pro-abortion all the time, this sort of thing, this sort of messaging, I don't think resonates with those voters that they're trying to get over in the Twin Cities Liberal Corp. Sure, great.

[00:43:07] I'm sure she got a lot of really fun text messages and stuff from supporters in that base. But when we're looking at the actual base of what Walls did in his message, I think really could grab some of those folks who maybe are not Trump voters

[00:43:23] but would consider coming back over to the Democrat side. And I just think, plan again is, this I think is just a lot in your face of the pro-abortion side of things, which I think as you said, it has certainly evolved over the years

[00:43:35] from that safe legal and rare. So yeah, I don't know that Governor Walls was super, or his team was maybe super jazzed about it. We'll see. I guess that I'm speaking out more too, and this discussion has helped frame it up.

[00:43:48] I guess what I'm speaking out more to is, not necessarily, obviously she viewed it through the lens of abortion. But I guess what I'm more speaking out about as you've listened to you talk about it is just viewing things always through the lens

[00:44:02] of a policy issue or politics, when it's just a March Madness bracket. Now I'm a white guy, so I obviously don't have to think about abortion sometimes in the same context that other people do, but at least for me, and it's something that we've talked about,

[00:44:17] I don't, I'm not interested. I don't make a decision on what movie I see based on which actor or act based on their political affiliation. I just wanna go see a good movie. I don't, same with music and other types of stuff. And anyone who knows me knows

[00:44:32] that I'm not a very hip individual. But when it comes to the March Madness stuff, I just, I couldn't imagine doing that is the same way I couldn't imagine filling out football picks, my fantasy of football or anything else that I take very seriously

[00:44:44] through the lens of politics or abortion in any type of way. I think that the governor hit a good mark. I think she missed the step a little bit. I also will say to you, it also I think validates something that we've talked about,

[00:44:56] which is that she provides the governor with some progressive credentials that he did not necessarily, which was a concern. And I think which makes their ticket such a strong ticket electorally is that he has much more, at least when as I said when he was running for Congress

[00:45:16] proceeded as much more ideologically a centrist. He's governed differently than that. But in terms of his, in terms of progressive credentials, Peggy Flanagan has that in just growth and just has extensive amount of progressive credentials. And so when she does this type of stuff

[00:45:32] and goes a little bit farther than I think the governor would have done, I think the net result is to, it's good for her politically. And I think the governor's not gonna be critical of it. And so I think we're left to just discuss it

[00:45:47] and analyze it, I think. I agree last I can stay on it is I feel like if I remember correctly, I feel like in Obama's early years, he was one of the first politicians who put out his bracket and really stood behind that

[00:46:02] and like he's a big basketball guy. And I just, I like seeing those things from different members. I loved seeing Congressman Emmer play in the hockey tournament in DC. I like seeing our elected officials be real people. Of course you like basketball or football

[00:46:18] or softball or whatever and do these things. I just wanna see that sometimes without the lens of the politics in it, right? Let's just be, I'm like you, I like these things. I'm gonna show you this because I wanna relate and I mean to each their own.

[00:46:32] It's obviously fully within her right to do this. It just, I'm with you. It was, eh. Got it. Good job. Next up we are gonna continue our conversation about the Mary Moriarty. I'm just gonna keep calling it debacle, controversy, whatever we're gonna chat about it.

[00:46:49] This last week representative Michelle Fishback who represents Minnesota 7th Congressional District announced that she and the rest of the Republican members of the House or members of Congress are asking the House Judiciary Committee to investigate the conduct of Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty

[00:47:08] and they are asking that she be also be removed from the case. This is on the tales of, they wrote a letter to Governor Walls last week about their outrage of the continued prosecution informing the governor that they're gonna be asking

[00:47:21] to hold a congressional hearing on this case. What are your thoughts on this? Is this surprising to you or do you think it's a good step for these members? I think it's a good step. First of all, I'm surprised by it but it's a great step.

[00:47:33] I applaud the leadership of everyone who has spoken out in this. Congressman Fishback led the charge along with as you designated the other members of the congressional delegation. This is, first of all, it's good on policy. It's good on politics. It makes sense.

[00:47:48] And I think that we've had a number of discussions over the course of doing this podcast with both Democrats and Republicans who are generally concerned with the criminal justice approach of the Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty. I will say to you as a resident of Dakota County

[00:48:05] and someone who's been a victim of crime in the last year, I am, and we can talk about that more next month but as someone who's been a victim of a crime, how no one is ever thankful to ever be a victim of crime.

[00:48:17] No one is ever excited about being a victim of crime but one of the benefits of being in Dakota County is the leadership that exists at the county attorney level in Dakota County versus what's going on in Hennepin County. I discussed that a number of times with people

[00:48:36] after I was hit by a car, what would have happened into the prosecution of that had it been in Hennepin County? And I don't understand, I'm obviously, I'm not part of law enforcement. I'm not lawyer. I don't live in Hennepin County but it's been pretty universal, Becky,

[00:48:49] on this podcast of people on both sides of the aisle who've raised concerns about it. And I think that Congresswoman Fishbach is another voice in a very important discussion on this issue and it's not going away. And we'll see what role Moriarty continues to have

[00:49:08] in this case as it proceeds but there are a number of concerns here on both sides of the aisle about Moriarty's approach to this case. Absolutely, I do really appreciate these Republican members stepping up but I do also wanna give credit

[00:49:22] to like you said, both sides of the aisle here. Angie Craig came out in a statement saying, it's clear to me that it's time for state leaders to take over or reassign the Trooper Lundrigan case from the Hennepin County Attorney Office.

[00:49:35] Dean Phillips said, in light of the circumstances I believe in the best interests of our community for the case to be transferred to Attorney General Ellison's office. And then we get into some of the other ones. Omar said, members of Congress who don't represent Hennepin County

[00:49:49] should not be weighing in. The voters in Hennepin County, including myself have placed their trust and confidence in Hennepin County, and Attorney Mary Moriarty to do the job she was elected to, taking away the case since the bad precedent and disregards the will of Hennepin County voters.

[00:50:04] I'm gonna stop there. I'll come back to the other ones later. What's your take on, Omar came out swinging with this one. So just to be consistent on some of the subjects, we've discussed at length Congresswoman Omar's statements in particular commenting on forward policy.

[00:50:18] I'm unaware of the fact that she represents she represents any portion of the Middle East in Congress. And so if the, let's be intellectually consistent if we can, her concern is members of Congress who don't represent Hennepin County should not be weighing in on this. Great.

[00:50:34] It must, her new policy must be that she's only gonna comment on things going on, particularly in Hennepin County. And based on some of the concerns I've heard from people who about her being, serving in elective office, that would be a refreshing change

[00:50:46] because she seems to comment on everything. And so here's the point I would say of all the statements that are on this on both sides, I find hers Congresswoman Omar's to be the least credible, simply because of what she's saying. Members of Congress who don't represent Hennepin County

[00:51:01] should not be weighing in this. That's ridiculous. Members of Congress have constituencies in their district, they have constituencies across the state. And as you know better than I do Becky they have national constituencies, correct? Since you actually worked for a member of Congress and worked in Washington. Absolutely.

[00:51:19] And I think there's, I think the rest of her statement, having taken out that while I don't agree that the voters put their trust and confidence and that means that she should just keep the case. And if she just went in and said, listen, voters spoke,

[00:51:32] she is our county attorney, the sense of dangerous precedence and left it at that. But you're exactly right on your comment that we just had a conversation about the Minneapolis City Council voting their pro Palestine, pro homos resolution, right? So they can comment on the Middle East

[00:51:48] from a city level, but we can't have these folks as in, and again, including a member of leadership in the House of Representatives. This is a really big situation. Here are Angie, Craig and Dean Phillips having these. It's not a partisan issue.

[00:52:03] It is about the facts of the case and the controversy surrounding her conduct. And it absolutely needs to be looked at and I'm glad that they are doing that. And if they find that there was no misconduct or wrongdoing, that's what an investigation would find.

[00:52:18] I do wanna round it out by saying McCombs says this as a state issue. I trust the governor to handle it. Nice fence sitting there, gotta love that, pass in the buck. And then Klobuchar and Smith did not respond

[00:52:29] to comment on this issue, which is not overly surprising. I thought maybe Klobuchar, she's usually pretty good at having a, you can write a statement that says not a whole lot if you want to. So I think that they are probably gonna have

[00:52:43] to comment on it sooner than later. But you would agree based on, it's one of the issues that we've discussed before. Case of this particular prosecution of Trubin Lonergren is going to be a political issue. It's gonna be fought in the courthouse and through legal proceedings,

[00:53:01] but it's also being fought out on partisan lines. Mariary was a D.F. Lendorce candidate for Hennepin and Cowanity Ernie. One of the discussions that we've had about this is that her policies are very progressive policies on the criminal justice system. One of the benefits of them,

[00:53:17] not for victims of crime and not for law enforcement, but politically she is creating an opportunity, a political environment by which particularly Keith Allison looks incredibly reasonable on crime. And the net effect of her policies, particularly if the governor chimes in, if a case gets brought over

[00:53:35] to the Attorney General's office is she is making the Attorney General Keith Allison look very reasonable on matters related to crime and criminal justice, which shows. Yes, and it shows how extreme and out of step she is now. I do think it's fair and I will say this,

[00:53:54] she is governing as, she is leading as a county attorney exactly like she said she was going to. So I do, unlike other situations that we've discussed, I don't assign any marks against her. I think there's a truth in advertising during the campaign, correct? Yeah.

[00:54:12] I thought out of all the statements, and again just great work on the script, but I thought Omar's statements when I saw them like, goodness gracious, that's just ridiculous. Of course. I have to imagine we're gonna be talking about this case for quite a while.

[00:54:23] I am grateful for Fishbok and Emmerer, Stabber, Finstead for stepping up and trying to move this along ensuring that it is conducted and how it's supposed to be. Oh, I should also mention that Governor Walz did voice a little bit of concern he has with it as well.

[00:54:38] He did say something to the effect of not quite understanding why you would not use your own use of force expert that you have hired. And I think we'll be seeing a lot more from Walz. I wouldn't be surprised if it does get transferred.

[00:54:53] I know there's been some questions about whether this is something that the Attorney General's office can take over or how that would work. We'll be chatting about it and giving updates as it goes, because like I said, it is not going away. And then our last topic today.

[00:55:08] We are going across the pond for a quick little conversation. At the end of last week, we got our first visual of Princess Kate Middleton. Where is that her last name anymore? Princess Kate and she has been off the grid for the last couple of months.

[00:55:25] At the end of last year, it was announced that she was undergoing a surgery for a planned abdominal surgery and that she would be back around Easter time. Since then there has been a lot of controversy and different theories spurring about because she has not been spotted.

[00:55:42] And so we did get a video. Unfortunately, there was some heartbreaking news in that. She is a young woman. She's a young mother. And she announced her cancer diagnosis. Unclear exactly what that cancer that she has is, but some abdominals during the abdominal surgery,

[00:55:58] they found something they previously thought was not cancerous that they determined was now cancerous. So she's gonna be undergoing some treatment and we wish her well. And it is anytime that there is obviously a diagnosis of this sort, it is really sad and as a young parent

[00:56:15] it breaks my heart for her. Wishing her full well and speedy recovery, but what we're really here to chat about is the PR dynamics about it, right? We're gonna break down what's been going on the last couple of months and what we think maybe could have been done

[00:56:30] a little bit differently. What's your thoughts on the matter? First and foremost, there was a terrible news to hear about Princess Kate, the Princess of Wales on the news. What I found so just sickening was the lead up to it. And I think in large part

[00:56:49] what drove the statement that came out was social media conspiracies and the way social media handled this. I understand, I'm gonna rephrase that, she is both a public figure and a private mother. She is a public figure and a private wife.

[00:57:07] She has to balance both of those roles. And the social media over the last few weeks about Princess Kate has just been appalling. And it's just a shame. And I think what we have seen on social media is really sadly one of the best or worst

[00:57:27] in this situation is the best worst example of the damage and the terrors and the misuse that social media is. My wife is the subject matter expert on a lot of subjects, but in our household she is a subject matter expert on all things royal.

[00:57:42] And she's incredibly informed on just the history and the current dynamics of what going on. And she never once engaged in any type of conspiracy about what was going on with the Princess of Wales. And when the news came out and the reaction

[00:57:57] and how the impact it is on social media, it's just terrible what people have been doing on social media, the conspiracies. Now that being said, I do think that the picture kind of gaff which we can talk about a bit more, the picture gaff

[00:58:13] I think falls into that conspiracy. And it's just boomerang'd and ping pong'd all over social media. This picture that was released and some other things where she was, what she was doing. At the end of the day, this is a human being.

[00:58:27] She obviously has private roles and public roles that she has to balance. But everyone should be treated with a level of respect and accommodation, particularly on matters related to health. And I don't think social media allows for those types of places.

[00:58:44] I think there are a number of people who need to revisit their approach to social media, how they choose to spend that time and how they choose to engage in the use of social media because it was really bad. Again, there's opportunities from a PR perspective

[00:58:59] to learn about this, but that doesn't excuse people all across the world engaging in just a goon squad of rumors about what was going on with her and had the potential to maybe in some ways, complicate her ongoing recovery and dealing with years

[00:59:17] for having to address things publicly. It's just horrible. Yes, I agree. This certainly got spun out of control and some people were just really wild what conspiracies we were hearing. And like you said, it is a unique dynamics of having to try to, I can't imagine

[00:59:38] having a serious surgery like we've heard she's had getting through the holidays, being a mother, being a wife and having to worry about all of this noise. And so balancing that and especially in light, there's a lot been going on with Harry

[00:59:56] and Megan leaving and trying to navigate what we've heard as a pretty crazy news agency news system over there with tabloids and all of that. But when we take a step back from that, I do think that what we saw is a reason

[01:00:15] why there needs to be some strategy around everything when it comes to powerful folks in this world and in this situation, this is the wife of the king. This is the future king. Future king, yeah. And so she is a very high up individual

[01:00:33] in the monarchy and in the system. And so I think it was a long time. It was spanning three-ish months between when she had been spotted. There was no photos, there was no videos, not that again, folks, there is this actual demand

[01:00:52] that this happens, but it did start getting a little suspicious that we were not hearing anything. Then we get this photo that is put out and has to be pulled by the wire because they say we can no longer verify. This has been edited, this had been manufactured.

[01:01:07] The princess then came out and said that she did that. She takes her own photos, which we have seen over the years. And so there was certainly controversy around that. So it really got spun up in two, she had died, she had left, everything had been kidnapped.

[01:01:21] You could find controversy or conspiracies run the whole gamut. I will say my favorite one that I saw related to this on TikTok was a woman who lived in the UK who said, all y'all Americans care way more about this than we do. We are not over here.

[01:01:41] We are not that spun up about it. She had surgery, she said she had surgery. They said that they'd see us around Easter. If Easter comes and we don't see her, then let's have a conversation. Which kind of is fair, right? Correct. They explained what was going on.

[01:01:56] Major surgery is to be had, see you in three months. Give her three months. Let's get to that deadline. If we still don't see her, then we can ask some serious questions. I'm trying to understand why Americans have any right in being outraged about this.

[01:02:11] We did go to war with England a few times. Not to say that we're not partners and allies, but we have had an adversarial role in the past. I don't understand. I can't, and honestly, Becky, I can't imagine spending time on social media, obsessing about these conspiracy theories

[01:02:27] and what's going on. It's just ridiculous. Now that being said, I do think there were better ways in which the royalty or the institution of the monarchy could have handled this from a PR perspective, but let's not forget that social media

[01:02:43] is just a ravenous crowd of just ghouls who are looking for conspiracies. There are people out there today that are still pushing a number of conspiracies about the video and other things, and let me just say this to you, to those who are doing it. What's your point?

[01:02:58] If you're right, who cares? She is a human being who is entitled to a level of privacy to deal with this privately. And if you're an American, read a history book. Just mind your own business. Think of something else. Find a way to better your life.

[01:03:12] And I also just share something. I don't think I've ever disclosed this before. And in no way am I equating anything related to anything I've done in life, to anything to the stage of royalty. But I will also point out to you something

[01:03:23] that I don't think I've ever publicly disclosed before. I was involved in a drinking and driving-related incident in January 2013. Then when I was rushed to the emergency room, there was a media circus that followed me to the hospital when I arrived. There were members of the public

[01:03:39] that showed up that night were attempting to gain access to information about my status, medical records. They were presenting themselves as friends or associates. The hospital was being inundated by calls from the media, trying to find out what was going on. And there were a number of attempts

[01:03:56] to gain access to private information about me and the status of what was going on and the severity of my injuries. That at one point in the evening, there was a total lockdown placed on all information related to me, and there was enhanced security

[01:04:12] around my room, access to information. And some of those safeguards are still in place today to prevent the type of intrusion that can happen sometimes when there is a media circus and things happen. And I'm just a little old me.

[01:04:28] I am not in any way trying to equate the kind of the public tension or the animosity, but I will say to you as someone who has had a health issue, my crash, in a very public way where there was a little bit of media circus on,

[01:04:43] I can't imagine what was going on across the pond as you would say. But these type of circumstances can bring out the worst in people. And it was appalling what went on that night. I've heard from my family members and my wife

[01:04:57] and people who were there, my sisters and other who were just trying to make sure that I got the best care and they had to work with hospital and administrative staff to get my files locked down. So people just couldn't gain access to me. It was just appalling.

[01:05:10] And so I can't imagine having just in a very brief time in my life for completely different circumstances had to go through something like that. I can't imagine what that family and she's a human being. And one of the other things I will say that,

[01:05:24] and I've talked not in other cases about this but celebrities are human beings. And people are human beings. And she is a celebrity, she is a human being. That's most important to me. And everyone is entitled to have, should be entitled to have a safe private space

[01:05:42] to get the help that they need. Mental health, physical help, any type of health that they need to be the best that they can be. And guess what? It's nobody's damn business. It's nobody's damn business. And I think people who have spent time

[01:05:58] working themselves up into a lather. Any point about what's going on with the Princess of Wales I think is just people need to look inside themselves. I wish her the best, speedy and healthy recovery as I wish anyone who's going through a health crisis to go through.

[01:06:15] But it's just terrible. And I think this is another mark. And I'm getting some of that, that righteous indignation from hearing my wife talk about this, particularly about social media and just the pitfalls and evils of social media. And we've seen some of the worst of that

[01:06:29] over the last few weeks. I appreciate you sharing that story. That is really horrific and really just tough to hear that's something you had to deal with, your family had to deal with and just a step too far beyond means. Just absolutely wild.

[01:06:45] And you're right, she certainly needs to be able to have, to be able to focus on this and focus on her time and focus on her health and not have this added stress and chaos that's swirling around her. Could they have done stuff differently

[01:06:59] to try to really reassure folks that she was like, it felt a little bit to me like a free Brittany 2.0 that people thought that she was being held against her will and this was some big dramatic thing and they were trying to be righteous and fighting for Kate.

[01:07:14] I don't buy that. I really think people are just have a little too much time on their hands. That's exactly. And it's just, it is just in bonkers of what folks put on social media and have the time to dive into

[01:07:25] because man, you can go down a rabbit hole. You could spend days, I think probably waiting through all of this different stuff that was going out there. End of the day. Oh. And I just want to say to you, do you wonder what's going on?

[01:07:39] Just imagine for a second, you spent the last few weeks just spending your time, not you particularly, I was just speaking, imagine being one of these someone who has spent their time just obsessing in the United States about what is going on with the Princess of Wales.

[01:07:56] Can you imagine just that's what you want to get into is you want to gossip and you want to be focused on what's going on. That's the hill you want to dine. Let's assume that, let's, best case scenario, you're right. What are you going to do with that?

[01:08:10] You're going to win some Pulitzer for or something. Just imagine that. Yeah. Just imagine that. Wild, wild world out there. I have to say, I appreciate the fact that we've gone through a couple of media crisis over the course of this podcast.

[01:08:26] And we've all, I'm glad that I'm glad that I hope it was reassuring to see me not diving and going down this rabbit hole of what's going on with Kate Middleton. I appreciate your level headed approach and I always appreciate your willingness to just discuss this step back,

[01:08:40] talk about it from the human perspective and then talk about it from a PR perspective because I think that's a very interesting take and I'm glad that you gave us some latitude to do that today. The truth always comes out

[01:08:51] and so I'm always a firm believer of that. Sometimes it doesn't, Becky. There's people that still- You need to talk to my mom. We always find out. Yes. I will say to you, yes. Your mom, that's who your mom's take is. Oh yeah. I will say to you,

[01:09:05] there are people that I know who never, who believe we did not land on the moon. Oh, we might have to save that one for another day. Yes, we might have to. Becky, thank you again for an action packed episode. It's been a good one.

[01:09:18] All right, we'll see you next week. Bye. We want to thank you for listening to the breakdown with Broadcore and Becky before we go show some love for your favorite podcast by leaving us a real and Apple podcast, Spotify, or on the platform where you listen.

[01:09:35] You can leave a review or give us a shout out on our website or across all social media platforms at bdbreakpod. The breakdown with Broadcore and Becky will return next week. Thank you again for listening.