Okay, I have a bunch of things to get to, not to mention the new podcast starring Mitch Davis, of the Regina Davis'. If that is all you want to see or hear, just click on the link to the right or CLICK HERE and you can listen to the Podcast that does not suck.I need to first get some mail out of the way. Steve Iverson, of the Moorhead Minnesota viqueen loving Iverson's, sent me a letter and some pics from his fight with the Red River last week.
As you all know, some of TundraTalk nations members have been under attack from the flooding in Fargo and Moorhead. Ivy is one of them and he took time out of the fight to take some pictures and share with the rest of the nation. Here is his note...
Chris,
Here are some photos of the “levee” we constructed at my friend’s house at 3131
Rivershore Drive in Moorhead. I haven’t checked since Sunday, but there were views of this and his neighbor Mark Vanyo’s place on CNN.com. Pic 15 was a week ago today, when the requirement was to have temporary levees built to 41.
Pic 17 is looking straight back from where pics 15 and 18 were shot – beside the fish house on the deck. All joists were mounted to the existing 2x12 joists on the deck that are in turn mounted to the foundation wall of the house. Pic 18 is shot at the same place as 15, except Saturday afternoon with the temporary measures built to 43. Note
bracing, additional 1” plywood, and awesome detailing of lath finished nailed into the top 2x4 to hold the poly. And the water approximately 4” above where we left off in pic 15… In Pic 17, note the patio level below. The elevation of the door into the basement down there is 32’. So when the river was at its high point, there was just about 9’ of water above you if you were in the hole checking pumps and heaters. Now THAT was eerie.
His permanent concrete dike is good to 39’, so it appears they will thankfully make it pretty much unscathed.
Respectfully Submitted,
Steve Iverson
Holy crap Ivy. That shit is amazing. It is just unbelievable how hight that water got. I am
thinking, maybe this summer you come up and build me something in my backyard. Maybe an extension on my deck, a shed, or hell, just an addition to the house? Sounds good? Good. See ya this summer.In the picture on the right is a pic of Grand Forks. That cement pilon in the water is where the high
water mark was from the flood in 1997. In GF they have installed some huge walls to keep the water back since 1997 so as far as I know they have stayed mostly dry. In the pic on the right is one of Cabelas on the other side of the wall. Pretty amazing how bad ass that river is. These pics were taken by Darin Buri.Shannon Just, Nick Chase, and Todd Holdman also battled the flood so I am looking forward to an update from them.
NEXT: Mitch Davis, of the Regina Davis', jumped into the podcast that does not suck and gets some right away. He did not shy away from smaking the others. In fact, he took a swipe at TundraTalk legend, Marty Frey. Yeah, he did.
GO AND HAVE A LISTEN. It is 12 minutes that you will not get back, but you might enjoy it. Oh and Marty, you are next so get your game face on, cause I don't play.
NEXT: From the, as Chad Walker (of the Toronto Walkers) calls it, 'Only you Peterson', file. Last week I had a few, as they say, moments. You know the ones, the ones where you just have no idea why you do something but you do it and it just does not work out.
Anyway, the first 'incident' happened on Wednesday. There was this stand off in the hood here in Regina. Some dude got shot in the incident. So as you know this is big time stuff for TV news. Big time. Bleeds it leads. Anyway, I was dispatched to set up for a live shot from the hood. I always love to go to the hood. It is beautiful this time of year.
So as I was setting up the dish out of the corner of my eye I see a couple (girl and a guy) walking toward me and more importantly in front of the transmitting dish. You see the dish sends out microwaves that are probably not that healthy for you. So me being the nice guy I am I tell them not to walk in front of the dish. They go around and as they do the dude, who I might add looked like a hoodlum (I am bringing that word back), said "What is that?". I informed him what it was and I added that "It really isn't good for your baby." At this point he walks away and I go back to work.
About three seconds later he pops around the back of the van and says to me "Did you say baby?". I said yes, and he yelled at me "Dude, SHE AIN'T PREGNANT!"
Uh, sorry. At this point I am thinking that I am short for this world so I tell the engineer on the phone to stay on the line in case I get shot so he can call the cops. What a freaking idiot I am. I totally did not look at the girl that close, I just glanced and from a glance she looked preggo. Now that I know she is not I looked again and realized my error. Maybe I need to get my eyes checked.
Okay, so that story is funny, and yes, I am an idiot, but that one pales in comparison to the next one. Thursday morning I am sent to a press conference at the Lawson Aquatic Centre. The mayor of Regina and some smarmy MLA were announcing that they were going to spend some of my taxes on some repairs. The Lawson is a swimming pool. They set up the presser next to a door since the light in there sucks. They have a podium that I could not get my mic to sit on so I duct taped it to the podium. When in doubt, duct it.
The Mayor walks up to the podium and says "First thing. Whose duct tape is this?" I of course raise my hand. Real men are not afraid of admitting they use duct tape. He says "Nice work." Really sarcastically. He then moves on and the show ends.
I was in no hurry to stick around so I made my move to get out of there. As I went to pick up my jacket I squeezed behind a lady who was taking a picture. It was a tight fit because there was a pole behind her. On this pole was a button. I did not see the button. I proceeded to push the button with my ass. Well, here in lies the rub.
Apparently, the button turns on a shower. Which the lady who was taking the picture was standing right under. Yup, she got wet. Man am I a clutz. Needless to say the Mayor LOVED this. He was just gut laughing up a storm and asking everyone if anyone got video of it and basically humiliating me for my bonehead move.
I have to admit that it was kinda funny, but not really. The Mayor asked if I was sticking around and I said "Nah, I am just gonna have a shower and get out of here." That got a big laugh from the crowd and I just skulked out.
Well it did not take long for the story to get out, thanks Jenna, and later my boss called me to his office. Yup, I thought I was going to get it. Nope, he just wanted to have his kick at the can and wanted me to tell him the story myself. He laughed his ass of and said "We can't send you anywhere." Nice.
So there you have it. My week that was. I hope you enjoyed the stories. I will hopefully not have any more to share any time too soon.
Make sure you have a listen to Mitch's podcast. It is good. Oh, and have a great Easter Weekend.
Now, GET BACK TO WORK!!!!
