SCRAMBLE: The Twin Cities media loses two legends in the past week

Summary

Garage Logic – Weekly Scramble: The Twin Cities Media Loses Two Legends (May 14, 2026)

Host: Chris Reuvers
Co-host: Mike Fratelloni
Theme: Reflecting on recent losses in Twin Cities media, discussing current news (sports, government fraud), and sharing personal anecdotes and tributes.

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Episode Overview

This episode of the Weekly Scramble centers on two main themes: the passing of two legendary Twin Cities media figures (Belinda Jensen and Dave Ryan), and the repercussions of a major Minnesota government fraud report. Besides these heavier topics, hosts Chris Reuvers and Mike Fratelloni keep the pace lively with local sports commentary, personal stories, and occasional light-hearted banter.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Weather in Minnesota and Spring Sports Gripes (02:04–03:30)

• Both hosts lament the volatile spring weather affecting their enjoyment of golf.
• Quote:
  • “We haven’t had one of those gold star days yet.” —Mike (02:13)

2. Sports Talk: Minnesota Hockey Drama (03:30–10:00)

Wild Playoff Collapse

• Reuvers recounts the Wild blowing a 3-goal lead and being eliminated by the Avalanche.
• Emotional reaction tied to watching with his son.

PWHL Controversy: The Minnesota Frost Postponement

• The Minnesota Frost’s playoff game vs. Montreal Victory postponed due to team illness.
• League confirmed it wasn’t hantavirus.
• Both hosts joke about shared charter flights and speculate on the illness.
  • Quote:
    • "Could you imagine the Vikings traveling with the Bears, fighting the whole way?" —Mike (08:03)
  • Mike muses jokingly whether synchronized women’s cycles could have caused the issue, but the consensus is a stomach flu.
  • Discussion leads into sports league logistics and contradictions in treatment of men’s vs. women’s teams.

3. The NFL Schedule Release & Media Prioritization (10:04–12:30)

• Reuvers shares that the NBA allegedly avoided scheduling games to give prime TV space to the NFL schedule release.
• Mike expresses disbelief about such cross-league coordination.
  • Quote:
    • “They can’t. But they scheduled games during the draft! I don’t believe it.” —Mike (10:35)
• Local story: Vikings schedule release is trending news.
• Reflection on how low news volume means sports schedules dominate headlines.

4. Bombshell Minnesota Fraud Report (14:10–24:00)

The Report Details

• Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee's final report criticizes a “culture of tolerance” for fraud under Governor Tim Walz.
• Estimated $300 million in meal program fraud and up to $9 billion in Medicaid fraud.
• Democrats, including Ilhan Omar, allegedly non-cooperative in the investigation.
• Chris vents frustration over government incompetence and the recurring cycle of fraud, blame, and denial.
  • Quote:
    • “What I can’t stand is being lied to...and being told you’re just too dumb to figure it out.” —Chris (14:52)
• Mike emphasizes there’s bipartisan distaste for fraud; both agree programs are needed, but abuse is rampant.

Effects on People in Need

• Chris personalizes the story, sharing how real people needing help get caught up in tighter restrictions and bureaucracy due to fraud.
• Mike points out that while assistance should exist, it needs to be “a little hard” to access to prevent abuse.

Broader Social Commentary

• Veteran assistance as an example: many returned vets claim lifelong disability, creating another set of debates about eligibility, adequacy, and fraud.

5. Twin Cities Media Loses Two Legends (26:12–39:12)

Belinda Jensen – Kare 11

• Tribute to longtime Kare 11 meteorologist Belinda Jensen, who recently retired.
• Chris shares his experience working with her at Cities 97, emphasizing kindness and professionalism.
  • Quote:
    • “You’ll never hear a bad story about her. Why? Because she’s just a wonderful human being.” —Chris (27:09)
• Personal anecdote: Embarrassing moment parking his clunker car far from her holiday party.

Dave Ryan – KDWB

• Dave Ryan, KDWB morning host, also retires after 33 years.
• Chris talks about his early days at Cities 97, working in the same building as KDWB.
• Dave’s on-air antics and work ethic remembered fondly: "He was one of the hardest working people I have ever met in this business." (33:57)
• Mike recalls a notorious Dave Ryan “bit” involving feigned rudeness for viral effect.
• Both acknowledge how rare it is to last over 30 years in media—attributing it to talent, hard work, and being good to people.

Notable Moments

• Belinda’s 11-minute, uninterrupted on-air tribute.
• Dave’s legendary secret: Treating everyone as equals, even celebrities (“Hi, Dave Ryan. What’s your name?” — to Jennifer Love Hewitt, 38:43).
• Takeaway: Lasting legacies are built on both professionalism and personal kindness.

6. Lighthearted Closer: Next Major Vikings/Bills Game & Sports Fandom (42:25–44:30)

• Chris excitedly announces the Bills will play the Vikings on Monday Night Football, Nov. 9, 2026. A sports-fan moment of planning and anticipation.
• Banter over attending the game, seeking press passes, and reminiscing about previous Bills influxes to Minnesota.
  • “That weekend will be taken over.” —Chris (43:07)
• Light jokes about work excuses and sports rituals.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On sports heartbreak:

  • “Wait a minute, we’re going overtime. What the hell just happened?” —Chris, (04:24)

• On institutional fraud:

  • “The reason they lie is to cover their rear end. And also they know people will believe them and they’ll continue to vote for them.” —Chris, (15:36)
  • “Why is this a partisan issue? Everyone is mad about fraud. Are they?” —Mike, (17:09)

• On helping people vs. making it too easy:

  • “Shouldn’t it be a little hard though, Reuvers?...We want a safety net of people if they truly need something.” —Mike, (20:54)

• On media legends:

  • “You’ll never hear a bad story about her [Belinda Jensen]. Why? Because she’s just a wonderful human being.” —Chris, (27:09)
  • “You don’t last in this business...if you’re not a good person, and you work your rear end.” —Chris, (39:12)

• On playfully humbling a celebrity:

  • “Hi, Dave Ryan, what’s your name?” (To Jennifer Love Hewitt) —Chris recounting Dave Ryan’s bit, (38:43)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:04 — Spring weather gripes & golf
• 03:30–06:54 — Wild and PWHL playoff controversy (Minnesota Frost illness)
• 10:04–12:30 — NFL schedule release takes media precedence
• 14:10–24:00 — Minnesota government fraud report & impact
• 26:12–31:13 — Farewell to Belinda Jensen; Chris’s anecdotes
• 31:33–39:12 — Dave Ryan’s career & stories; what legacy in media means
• 42:25–44:30 — Prep for 2026 Vikings vs. Bills; sports anticipation

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Overall Tone & Style

• Conversational and irreverent: Lots of friendly banter, asides, and mutual ribbing.
• Occasionally critical: Especially around politics, fraud, and institutional competence.
• Warm and nostalgic: Particularly during the extended tributes to Jensen and Ryan.
• Minnesota-centric: Local references, sports, and personalities dominate.

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For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This Weekly Scramble offers a powerful blend of local color—touching on media transitions, government scandals, sports drama, and everyday life. Reuvers and Fratelloni use storytelling and humor to honor two broadcasting legends while venting real frustrations about state mismanagement and embracing their community’s resilient, common-sense approach. The episode captures the spirit of Garage Logic: “a place where common sense prevails, the 2-car garage is revered, and cigar smoking is allowed.”

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

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[A]

Jeez, it's hard.

[B]

This is the Weekly Scramble, a place where we chat about life over a cold one or two. It's time to belly up to the pod with Mike Fratelloni host Chris Reivers.

[A]

That's right, it's time for the Weekly Scramble podcast. My name is Chris Reivers. With me as always. His name is Mike Fratelloni. Hello, Michael.

[B]

How you doing, Reivers?

[A]

Doing well? I'm doing well. Nice steamy day out there too. By the way, I just ran out to my truck. My Holy crap.

[B]

Nothing's perfect yet.

[A]

What do you mean?

[B]

Can I bitch a little bit?

[A]

Please?

[B]

It's a little windy and then yesterday it's the nighttime gets a little cloudy and a little windy and then it gets nice again. We haven't had one of those gold star days yet.

[A]

I thought didn't we have one?

[B]

Wasn't Sunday we had one like a month ago.

[A]

I thought Sunday was almost a gold star day.

[B]

Not really. For Mom's Day, it was. Okay.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

It wasn't. It wasn't 79 degrees sunny, perfect. No wind, no stuff getting in my eyes. I don't know.

[A]

You're like the mayor. You like it when it's really nice and warm and a nice calm day. Because I think it's the golf part of both.

[B]

That's exactly what it is.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's played late last night and there was a bunch of wind. Played poorly. Wasn't as fun as I thought it would be.

[A]

Damn. You win. Okay, so I wanted to get into a bunch of different things today because that's the beauty of the show that we provide here on a weekly basis called the Weekly Scramble Podcast, is we talk about stuff that interests us. Absolutely. And whether it's. We dabble into the political scheme, we dabble into the lifestyle things because we're both fathers and family guys, we get into sports. And that's where I wanted to start. Are you familiar with the controversy surrounding the world of hockey?

[B]

Which one?

[A]

Well, you might be thinking that I'm talking about the Minnesota Wild blowing it with a three goal lead last night.

[B]

That was tough.

[A]

That was hard to see, but that's not what I'm talking about. No, no, no. And to be honest, I was bummed because here's the thing, it went from. And my son had a kind of a later baseball practice last night. So we get in the car and I flip on the radio, it's three nothing wild like, all right, he had a chance. Let's go.

[B]

He had a chance at three nothing.

[A]

Here we go. And I even said on GL yesterday, I could see them winning one more. One, one more game. And how cool would a Friday night on West 7th, game six. How cool would that be?

[B]

It would have been great.

[A]

So we get in the car, it's three nothing. All right, we stopped, got some fuel, went to quick trip, got some fuel, come back, grabbed some things and come back in the car. It's 3:1. I'm like, well, we're going to give a boy every now and again, right? Drive back, still listen to the game, get home, get out of the car, take a quick shower. Okay, let's grab something to eat. And all of a sudden, like, wait a minute, we're going overtime. What the hell just happened? And then, of course, then I'm glued to overtime on. You got to be bleeping kidding me. It is what it is.

[B]

Great season. Good for them. I think if we would have said at the beginning of the season we would have made it through the first round of playoffs and then hit the Avalanche and lost 4 1. We would have been okay, right?

[A]

That's not where I'm going. Oh, where are you going with this story? Are you familiar with our team, our two time champion Minnesota Frost hockey team?

[B]

I am.

[A]

Are you aware of the controversy surrounding the team?

[B]

Do we have some male players?

[A]

Nope. Nope.

[B]

I was going to say that would be funny though.

[A]

Excellent guess. In 2026. So they were in the semifinals. I heard this story against Montreal and forgive me, I don't know what the nickname of the Montreal team is. Don't. I saw. I. I know you so well.

[B]

Yeah, I have a theory on this. I have a theory of what happened.

[A]

So for those of you unfamiliar, they were knotted at two games apiece and a decisive Game five was set to take place in Montreal. Dateline Montreal, Canada the Professional Women's Hockey League postponed a playoff game Monday night due to player safety concerns related to illness. The Minnesota Frost and the Montreal Victory were supposed to play a decisive Game 5 Monday, but the game was postponed two hours before its scheduled start. The decision was made following consultation with medical personnel and in accordance with the league's commitment to the health and well being of players, fans, staff and all those involved in competition, the PWHL said in its initial statement. The league, which launched in 2024, said it would announce the rescheduled date once medical guidance determined it is appropriate that it is appropriate to resume play. Roughly four hours later, the PWHL announced on X that Game 5 would be played Tuesday at 7pm at play spell the victory's home arena and still will host the game. Ultimately, the Frost ended up losing that game and their season is over. The PWHL has not announced which illness the postponement of the Frost Victory game, but it did disclose that medical assessments determine the illness. Symptoms are not consistent with hantavirus, which is the first thing I thought of.

[B]

I thought of another thing.

[A]

Total let's not go there because I know you too well.

[B]

You know what it is.

[A]

I do know what it is. Fears of another pandemic arose after the rodent born Andes Hantavirus killed and infected several passengers on a cruise ship earlier this month. Utah State epidemiologist Leisha Nolan previously told Death News that she does not have concern of this infection spreading widely. Unlike Covid, hantavirus is a disease that has been around and studied for years. This means we know how it transmits and how to stop it from Spreading to additional people.

[B]

I love when they say we don't think it's going to be an issue. That just makes me think. Because I don't believe anybody anymore.

[A]

Nope.

[B]

Makes me think 100% it's going to be an issue.

[A]

Correct.

[B]

But I know what happened. Reivers. Can I first just give you one more. I didn't know there was more.

[A]

Birthday story.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Two anonymous sources told the Associated Press that. But the illness is limited to just Montreal. The two teams travel together by charter plane for Montreal to.

[B]

Oh, I didn't know that they shared a plane.

[A]

Well, they're on a budget. You know, there's a newer league you're trying to get. Get things going. That'd be like, could you imagine the Vikings traveling with the. With the Bears or fighting the whole way. Exactly.

[B]

They're doing their hair. Anyway.

[A]

Stop.

[B]

I don't know. Whatever.

[A]

Stop.

[B]

Maybe checking out lipstick colors.

[A]

So that just caused me to go. What if. Let's just say last night. Let's just say the Wild said, hey,

[B]

we got Montezuma's revenge.

[A]

We're not doing it.

[B]

We're not doing it. We can't. Can't commit to the ice. What if we got the squirts on the ice?

[A]

Because we're just not going to be able to do it. We need another day.

[B]

We need another day.

[A]

Like, there's no way any other league would have allowed that.

[B]

Well, they. The problem was they couldn't field 12 players. Right. They didn't have, like. Yeah, but I mean, they couldn't even do two lines. They were like, hey, everyone.

[A]

With four players.

[B]

I mean, that would have been really, really tough. I think there's two things it could. All right. When women spend a lot of time.

[A]

No, see, I knew you were gonna go there.

[B]

I mean, is that a possibility? I don't think they'd not play because they all had their periods at the same time. Probably because it would have been third period plus their period. That would be a lot of problems. I don't think that's the answer. But if they would have had some kind of stomach virus, that explosive diarrhea, that would be shameful to make girls play boys. Who cares?

[A]

Mike is not saying this. Despairing. Whatever. Whatever that was. I love women's hockey because. Well, no, you live in a house full of women.

[B]

Yeah. And I love. I'm not ripping on women's hockey. I'm just as likely to watch a woman's hockey game as I am a man's hockey game. Right. I'm going to tell you that. But yeah, that's a tough one.

[A]

But to the point where the everything in sports now always has a purpose behind it. Because I thought about that. I thought, well, they wouldn't move the Wild game like let's say to tonight. Did you hear this? And I am. I said this to Joe a couple of days ago because he wondered why, you know, there's basically they were the Wild and the Colorado's were playing every other night. He says, well, I wonder why they're not going to play Thursday night. And I said, well or no, I'm sorry. He asked that about the NBA, not the NHL. But I said, well, the NBA specifically didn't schedule any games for tonight. And I'm not joking. Do you know why?

[B]

Why do they not do it for tonight? Because it's the fifth anniversary of something. What is it?

[A]

The NBA. I'm not making this up. I saw this written somewhere. I also heard this on a national show that I listened to.

[B]

I believe this is valid.

[A]

I 100% believe it because I don't think the show that I listened to would have just randomly spewed this out there into the ether. They specifically did not schedule a game tonight because today. The NFL schedule releases tonight on primetime television.

[B]

You've got to be kidding me. They can't. But they scheduled games during the draft. I don't believe it. That can't be true.

[A]

I'm just going with what.

[B]

I don't even have a show. Do they? Does the NFL say Hey.

[A]

Oh, Michael. Oh, you ignorant.

[B]

Oh, is it. Is it all encompassing?

[A]

The. Are you familiar with the show Good Morning Football?

[B]

I think so.

[A]

So our former colleague Jamie Erdol, she used to work down the hall with us at 1500 ESPN. She is now the host of the show. And I don'. Because all of that kind of changed. I know ESPN acquired NFL Network and some of that stuff was moved around, but they now work in concert with one another.

[B]

All right.

[A]

And ESPN owns ABC or ABC owns ESPN or one of those two Disney. All that stuff is all now together. Channel 5 is running good Morning football in prime time this evening to announce the.

[B]

That's not true.

[A]

Look up.

[B]

Are you serious? It's not on Channel 5. Decinco. It's not like it's not only Am

[A]

I serious, Michael, but you're watching. You might look at me a little different.

[B]

Do you have a party plan for tonight?

[A]

No, not a party.

[B]

Are you going to go to a

[A]

bar and watch it? No, because we do have baseball this evening. But however, I promised my sons I would DVR it so we could watch it.

[B]

So you can find out who the Vikings play first and then second, do they do the first week of NFL games? It will be the Vikings against the Packers. The second game is the.

[A]

Well, I said this earlier because Joe was wondering we had gotten into the fraud conversation. We're going to do that here in the next segment. But I told them that on the Star Tribune's website they always have what's trending, the latest and most popular stories that is being featured on their website. And the number one story was Viking schedule release. I think it was a Ben Gessling piece, was the number one.

[B]

This is a low news time if that's what's making it.

[A]

But also the story we're gonna get into is a major story relating to fraud in the state of Mississippi.

[B]

People have lost their lives when it comes to fraud. We can't even feel that matters anymore.

[A]

Hey, let's speak of sports. Let's talk about Quick links Golf and QuicklinksGolf.com we are smack dab the middle of the golfing season. I don't need to tell you that right now, ladies and gentlemen. So here's the deal. How about this? How about save time and practice at home with Quick links golf and quicklinksgolf.com it's pretty cool. You don't just use it in the winter. You're going to save time right now at home instead of heading to the driving range or between kids sporting events. You can practice with realistic feedback, instant video recording, or just play the courses that all of the pros play. In fact, Joe wonders, can I play Pebble Beach? Hell yeah, you can play Pebble Beach. And you know what? I'm gonna scream at you to hit it in the water.

[B]

You can play a bunch of Minnesota courses too.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

Very cool.

[A]

So Quick Links Golf works with contractors to add spaces to home floor plans or create fun spaces for your employees at your office. But check their website out today. It's really cool. And it's a company based right here in Chaska, Minnesota. Quicklinksgolf.com you can see all sorts of very cool past projects that they've been working on. And you can book your free consultation today. But book your appointment at Quick Links Golf. And please do me a favor and mention that you heard about him here on the weekly scramble podcast. We will be right back. So I mentioned that the Vikings schedule release was obviously the number one story that Minnesotans were caring about here in the great state of Minnesota. And I Don't know if you saw this bombshell that dropped and Joe kind of not necessarily pooh poohed it, but Joe, it's funny when you present a story to sushery because it's like, well, we already knew that. I said, okay, I get that, I get it.

[B]

But there's more to it.

[A]

But now this is almost like it's official. So I had the KSTP piece and I apologize because I did want to give Tom Houser credit, but I'm gonna. The only one I have pulled up right now is the Fox News piece, but I will read this to you. A comprehensive final report released Tuesday by the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee concluded its work for the current session and it takes aim at a, quote, culture of tolerance under Governor Tim Walz that it says allowed serial fraudsters to fleece taxpayers for billions of dollars. The 84 page final report, singles based, which you by the way can click on and read through. I got to vote to page five and went, nothing good's gonna come of this. I'm either gonna get more angry or more confused or a combination of the two. I digress. The 84 page final report, which follows two dozen hearings and hundreds of whistleblower tips, paints a grim picture of state government malfeasance, incompetence and the active suppression of internal warnings. The committee concluded that the scale of fraud in Minnesota is massive and unprecedented, costing taxpayers an estimated 300 million now in the federal meal program fraud and up to $9 billion in Medicaid fraud. The report asserts that the total amount stolen across multiple programs, including childcare and snap, is significantly higher than previously believed. Quick side note. This is exactly what Joe Thompson said roughly a year ago before he stepped down. He said, I don't think we realize just how bad this actually is. And he 100% nailed it. The report. Excuse me. The report cited several examples of what it characterizes as walls failing to act on fraud, including a situation reported by Fox News Digital where he tried to blame a court order for failing to stop payments to defeating our future fraudsters. However, the presiding judge later issued a public statement clarifying that he never ordered the state to resume payments, asserting that the Walz administration did so voluntarily. It's just now I have to stop because I'm getting mad. What I can't stand is being lied to and being told you're just too dumb to figure it out. No, I'm not. I'm one of the few people in the state that's actually paying attention to this, because basically that's my job. But the problem is, and I said this on Tuesday, I'm going to say it again right now. The problem is the reason the likes of Walls, Ilhan Omar, you name it, whoever it is, the reason they lie is to cover their rear end. And also they know the people will believe them and they'll still continue to vote for them. That's why they do it.

[B]

Why is this a partisan issue?

[A]

I couldn't agree with you more.

[B]

Right. One of the lines in this story says everyone is mad about fraud. Are they?

[A]

Well, you had every single House Democrat that voted against this in the first place.

[B]

Why?

[A]

And every Democrat was unwilling to participate in this, including Ilhan Omar, who refused to turn over any information.

[B]

Totally get why she'd do that.

[A]

Well, of course, because she's a hunting expedition, because she's complicit. That's why she did it. Potentially is, I will use the word allegedly, but I don't believe something any more than I believe.

[B]

I just don't get like my liberal friends and you know, I'm liberal part way, I'm right in the middle. Right. My Republican and liberal friends, Democratic friends, we all dislike it. We dislike fraud. Why would you not want to attack fraud? Get it out of the system? It would release funds to truly help people. So if you were on the left, like I might be sometimes on some issues, I think we could spend more to help people. If they were truly spending the money to help people, we'd be more than happy to do it.

[A]

And here's what the problem is. So I don't want to name this person because I'm the one that chose this line of work. I know someone very close to me that deals with case management and things like that. And I know someone personally who has had to rely on assisted living. And this is not an old person, this is a younger person and someone that has had to rely on the state for help due to medical issues and things of that nature. Right. And so that's why I always say anytime we bring this up, whether it's any type of government assistance, any type of food, whatever it is, I completely know that these programs need to exist. But the problem is there's too many loopholes now and there's far too many people taking advantage of the system. And I'll cite a specific example, this person that I'm talking about had to go to, I believe six different places just to even get an application because everything's full.

[B]

Okay?

[A]

And then having this conversation, I apologize, I Just took a big drink of water. Royce, like gas attack. And this same person had said, well, not only is everything essentially full, you get put on a waiting list. And again, most of these places are providing legitimate care and there are legitimate people using these services. Okay? So I'm not accusing any of these places of being indicted in the fraud by any means. That's not what I'm saying. So these programs exist, but the problem now is because of what has happened, they're making it even more difficult for the people who actually need this service because of the rampant fraud that is taking place with all of this. And we are at ground zero. It's us, it's California. And earlier Today, Vice President J.D. vance was in Maine saying, you guys realize you've got one guy that ripped you off for $15 million. And the service he was supposed to provide was what? And I know this will shock you. He's Somalian. He was supposed to be providing interpreter services for illegals. He got paid by the state of Maine. $15 million. Guess how many times he provided that service.

[B]

It's either gonna be a million or 000.

[A]

He never provided it one time, yet he walked away with $15 million through his organization.

[B]

Not a bad job if you can get it.

[A]

I know, but that's the problem. So now what's gonna happen is the overcorrection, at least. And again, unfortunately, even though I know people personally relying on these programs, it sucks because they're gonna make it so much harder for these people to get the care that they need.

[B]

Shouldn't it be a little hard though? Reivers.

[A]

That's what I'm saying.

[B]

It shouldn't be slam dunk easy.

[A]

Nope.

[B]

It should be, hey, you gotta file out this form. You're gonna have to come back. It's gonna take you a little while. I mean, we want a safety net of people if they truly need something. Right? We need to do that. But if. Oh, you're living at your family's house for a while. Okay, let's. You got a little bit of time. We want you to talk to this counselor. We want to get you this. It can't just be a slam dunk. We can't just give it away. Right? We'll just run out of other people's money. We'll just run out of. And the problem is, I was listening to NPR earlier today and they were talking about fraud in the Trump administration, which. There's plenty of fraud in the Trump administration. Right. He's a frauder in chief too. Right. Doesn't mean the president before him wasn't either. It doesn't mean all of that. Don't get me wrong.

[A]

You can't believe anybody.

[B]

You can't believe anybody about anything. And the guy said, the speaker said, hey, if we could stop this fraud in the federal government, we'd have more assets to allocate to food, to shelter, to education. I thought, wait, education's getting enough food, might be getting enough housing, might be getting enough. Because it must be, because people are frauding the crap out of it. So there must be excess funds. Could we take it down to 10% of the total and just say, this is what you get because you have to prove you're needed? If you really look, one of the biggest areas where people are really going on social services is returning vets, right? There's a huge population of vets that are permanently disabled. Not necessarily permanently disabled because an IED blew off their leg. It's permanently disabled. They were a truck driver in Louisiana and now they're permanently disabled. It's like, how, how are you now permanently disabled? Right? And it's becoming a huge percentage of the returning vets are on lifetime disability. And what sucks about that for these poor guys, guys that are doing that. Right. I'm not saying they don't deserve it. They might deserve it. Not all of them, but many of them might. The problem is you're getting 2,000 bucks a month for the rest of your life. You're never going to get ahead on $2,000 a month. You just can't do it. And if you go make some money doing something else, that $2,000 a month goes away. So they get stuck in this lower tier dollar lifestyle and they're like, here's where I am, this is what I have. And it's just not good for anybody. It keeps a permanent PO class in our country when we do that to people.

[A]

And just to quickly digress from that, I know of someone that used to work at the va, the veterans hospital, right? Did I say that right? The va. Yeah. Okay, sorry. And the stories that that person would tell me were just mind blowing. And this is not fraud related, but the number of hoops that a lot of these poor vets had to jump through just to get the care that they so desperately needed was truly heartbreaking. I mean, these are people that, that fought for this country, that risked their lives to keep the likes of you and me safe and keep us safe to the point where now people can just randomly come to this country and rob us blind. It's really great. I feel really great for those guys.

[B]

Don't you just feel good?

[A]

Oh, I just.

[B]

We gotta talk about fun stuff. We just talk about chicks.

[A]

I will.

[B]

Can't we just. Because now it's summer. Like you could drive by a lake and there might be people laying out. I tell you tan. But then they get skin cancer. Okay, you got a good story.

[A]

Let's do that. After I tell you about our friends that we are nuts.

[B]

Oh, that sounds good.

[A]

And we are nuts. In fact, I was at the St Peter Quick Trip on Monday and I got a couple of jars. I got the original toffee peanuts and I got the maple bourbon toffee almonds. Because right now, ladies and gentlemen, we are nuts is partnering up with Kwik Trip for $0.05 off per gallon of gas through the end of the month of May. And you know what, It's a really cool deal. And like I said, I stopped in at the St. Peter location after my kids baseball game and stock that up. But here's the deal. You do have to be a quick rewards member. That is key. You gotta have that quick rewards card and then you're gonna save 5 cents per gallon of gas on a future fuel purchase. With wearenuts and wearenutsmn.com it doesn't matter what you're looking to buy. The toffee almonds, the cashews, whatever they got in stock that'll get you that $0.05 off per gallon through the end of the month of May. I think. Did I say March by accident? I meant to say the month of May through May through the end of the month of May. Let's not go back to March. But you can get them at all of your fratern hardware in garden stores. Cub Foods, Lunds and Barleys. Colburn's is now carrying them. Kowalski's Markets, Mac's Hardware. Like I mentioned, kwiktrip, I'm missing something. Jerry's Foods I know carries those but you can see the entire lineup on their website which is wearenutsmn.com youm can also place your order and please do me a favor and mention that you heard about them here on the weekly scramble podcast. And we will be right back.

[B]

Can I make one correction before we go? Because I don't want to have you think that military people I think are frauding. Of course. And of course yes says the Google said less than 1% of veterans do not make fraudulent disability claims. Okay, but it's costing the United States government $193 billion a year. For the claims that are made out there. But there are confirmed, solid, good claims. Right. And I know that's a really growing facet. There's a lot of people on that, but they only had 200 cases of fraud claims last year.

[A]

Gotcha. Okay, you mentioned something fun and I'm glad you mentioned that because I did want to finish the shows this segment of the show with a couple of shout outs. So earlier this week, and then I believe a week prior to that, the Twin Cities media lost two massive, massive names in broadcasting. And the reason I bring this up is I had the chance to work with both of these people, but I believe, was it last week. I only saw the clip online, Belinda Jensen. So I'm sorry I didn't see it live, but I saw the wonderful tribute that Kara Levin did for you. She. The thing is, when you see a tribute like that done for someone that's in the media, I mean, think about this. The story they did at the 6 o' clock news was almost 11 minutes long. That's unheard of.

[B]

Almost all of the news time.

[A]

Right. And I'm saying it was never interrupted by a commercial break. And that's the kind of person Belinda is.

[B]

People love her. She's.

[A]

You'll never hear a bad story about her. Why? Because she's just a wonderful human being.

[B]

I heard she swears all the time. I'm not kidding.

[A]

Did you ever hear that?

[B]

Well, it's funny, she has quite the

[A]

mouth from what I heard. And I'm going to transition to another goodbye too. But so I used to work with Belinda when I produced the morning show at Cities 97. And we would do weather hits with her every single day. So I had to dial her up, get her connected. And I would have to call her because I think her hits were at 6:45 and 7:45 every morning. And so I'd always call her and she would always say, chris, make sure you call me a couple minutes beforehand just in case I oversleep. So I always call her at, let's say it's 6:40, we're playing another U2 song or whatever. All right. Hey Belle, It's Reavers at 6:40. She's like, thanks, sweetie. I'll just dial in, we'll be good to go. And I could hear her because you hear a little when you hear the ISDN line connect. So it's like, all right, Belle's there, we're good to go. But I would call her twice a day, every day, for God, what was it? Three and a half years or whatever. But I gotta tell you a really funny Belinda Jensen story, so. Oh yeah, there would be a time where she would say, and she was awesome. So Belinda had, I think she went public with this. So she had an in home accident which required something done facially. I did not know that she slipped and fell in her shower. It was horrible. I mean, we were all worried about her, but her spirits were great. We all went and visited her when she was laid up and she was wonderful. But shortly after that, maybe a year or so after that, she had a Christmas party

[B]

at her house.

[A]

So keep this in mind.

[B]

You were in her house.

[A]

So she's very successful.

[B]

Beautiful home.

[A]

Beautiful home. The whole shooting match. And so me, I was a poor morning show radio producer, Right. You're stealing food out of the refrigerator. It's funnier. So Jess and I were just dating at the time. And I was driving a 1987 Pontiac Bonneville. Love it. And it was rusted to the hill. It was a piece of crap. My dad bought it brand new, but by the time I got done with it, it was done 275,000 miles. Like this thing was a CR, right? And so me and my Jess and I, you know, we're just boyfriend and girlfriend at the time. So we pull up to this beautiful home and car, the, and there was a lot of people coming and all these wonderful like hundred thousand dollar Mercedes and everything. And she said, dear God, park down at the end of the block. We can't get close. So what I did, because it was obviously winter, it was Christmas time. It was either a Christmas party or a New Year's party. I can't remember which one it was. So I dropped her off.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And then went and parked like six blocks away.

[B]

Oh my goodness.

[A]

And then I, I, I think I did eventually tell her that I can't remember if I did or not because I was so embarrassed. She's like, nobody would have cared. I go, I would have cared.

[B]

Yeah, you would have cared.

[A]

And I'm thinking, Belinda, what if this thing breaks down in your driveway, you know, dripping loads of oil in her driveway? That would have been worse than Rookie parking at Joe's house. And Joe and Rookie were like buds.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Good friends. Totally different.

[B]

So that's fun. That's nice that you had a good experience with her.

[A]

I, she was awesome.

[B]

I did the care morning thing for a while.

[A]

Saturday morning, she could not have been cooler. Yeah.

[B]

And very pretty.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Like it's, let me say this, I'm a solid Five on tv. I think I'm a solid three and a quarter.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Right. I mean, I just look horrible on tv. People that can look good on TV are exceptionally pretty in person.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Right. Because it is way, way, way harder to look good on tv.

[A]

Yes, it is.

[B]

So I, you know, when my five to a four to a three and a half, the older I get, I don't want to be down into the twos. I just don't want to be down in the twos. But that's, I was very excited to see her. You know, I get not wanting to do that job because didn't she work every night?

[A]

Oh, I mean, well, basically think about this. I mean, you're working because she had said Saturday mornings you're working six days a week.

[B]

Six days a week.

[A]

And granted, I know you're not roofing a house, you're not digging a ditch. So I'm not down.

[B]

Yeah, but you did nights, right?

[A]

Yes. It's different even doing morning radio for the number of years I did, you're tired all the time.

[B]

But nights, you can never go to a dinner. Nope. That starts at seven because you got to be there at nine o'. Clock.

[A]

I mean, think of how many things you've had to say no to. Like, you know, if your kid has a baseball game or there's a birthday party or whatever. You just like, well, I can't. I can't be out at 11. Yeah, sure, I'll hang out.

[B]

And then the dumbest thing that care 11, we're like, I need to go outside and tell you that it's negative 15. Why? We understand you don't have to be standing outside freezing.

[A]

Oh, that's freezing. But you're not wrong. You're 100% not wrong. And the other one, and this just happened, was it yesterday or the day before? But longtime morning KDWB host Dave Ryan decided that he's also going to call it a career. And what I find fascinating is I believe both of them have spent 33 years on the air. Yeah.

[B]

How cool is that?

[A]

I thought, well, I wonder if he did that intentionally or whatever. But the one thing I found it interesting is Dave has had a successful morning show for a long time now.

[B]

Almost 33 years.

[A]

Yeah. And I remember again when I was at Cities, KDWB and Cities were in the same building at the Butler Square Building. We shared like the same floor together. It was really cool because that was like, I remember when I interviewed for that job and then ultimately got the job. And I remember Walking the other like, this is the coolest thing, you know. I was 22 years old, just got done with school, no money, I'd received an internship. And I finally got. And I'm like, oh my God.

[B]

God, Dave, Rock.

[A]

It's kdwb. Like, this is the big time. But I remember walking down the hallway and, you know, my first, you know, show up for work, right? I'm wearing the nice buttoned up polo and I'm like, this is it. I'm in the big time now. I remember seeing everybody's in sweatpants and like radio. That's fine. And I'll never forget this. I don't think Dave would care that I'm sharing this story. Cause he was a freaking goofball. But the thing. I will say this about Dave before I tell the funny story. The thing that I always respected about Dave is he had the Persona on the air of kind of being a goofball and kind of. And being a fun. I mean, when you listen to him, he had the great pipes. He had the great. Sorry, has. Has the great pipes, has the great radio voice. And he kind of has that goofball Persona with, you know, the call in stuff he would do and whatnot. That guy was one of the hardest working people I have ever met in this. What I've heard, and I'm not joking, it was, was, you know, okay, the Show's over at 9. And he was in that. Because they had this little corner studio office and honest to God, because I would stay there because part of my job was I would do commercial production. So I would do a lot of the ads and stuff. And I would be there till, you know, I would get there at about 4 in the morning or so. I was still there till like 4 or 5 o' clock in the afternoon. Dave was still there working. Yeah, you know, he's got a show to put together the next day.

[B]

Working on his skits, working his things.

[A]

He was 100% one of the hardest working. Joe is the same way too, by the way. Joe and Dave are very similar in that they're two of the hardest working people I've ever seen in this business. Which is probably why they've lasted as long as they have.

[B]

Yeah, I think you're even shortchanging Dave Ryan because he had the number one top 40 as a percentage of the population per capita listening to him than anybody in the nation. For a while, it was the number one show per capita. A higher percentage of people listen to it then Z100 in LA. Or, you know, I mean, it was really, really weird. I did think there was a moment of me when I saw that online. I'm like, it's a bit. It's a bit. Because he is known to do. Do you remember that bit that he had where he said someone was videotaping in a restaurant and he was being super rude to the waitress and people lost their mind over.

[A]

It wasn't a phone call or something?

[B]

No, it was like someone said, I saw Dave Ryan at the restaurant. And like it was like a secret recording from the booth next door.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And Dave's like, if you can't bring me the right food, why do you even work? I mean, being super rude to the waitress. And it was all a bit. But like they had. Because I know people at iHeart too, like, you do. They were getting call ins, like, you need to fire Dave. And he just let it go, let it go, let it go. And then at the end said, it's a bit that was Fallon or whatever recording me. And he let. And I thought, if this is a bit, which I don't think it is. If it is, I'm done. I'm. I'll be so pissed because I had a moment of.

[A]

Oh, man.

[B]

That's another guy that I listened to for a long time on the radio, right. Who I enjoyed and has a great personality. And, you know, he's. He's been doing stories about teeny boppers. He's well into his 50s, late 50s, early 60s or something. Right. And he keeps doing it. He keeps doing it. But if it's a bit, I'm mad. Better not be a bit.

[A]

So this is. Let's see, how many years ago was this? So this was back when, like I said, back when we shared the area of Butler Square. And this just showed me the kind of guy he was. So we used to have these. Well, they still do, but we used to have these in studio performances. So it could be anybody from just kind of an up and coming nobody to. Sometimes, like, I know when Tony Fly was still working there, he would get Prince to come in and record because he and Prince were really tight, which was pretty cool. And I'll never forget this. So again, I'm still kind of raw. So. Not that I would. I was like nervous to be around a celebrity, but I was like, well, that's a pretty big deal.

[B]

Yeah, it's kind of fun, it's exciting.

[A]

And I'll never forget this for as long as I live. So this is about 2002, 2003, maybe even 04 somewhere in there. We've brought this up on the air before because I don't know why she would have come up, but I mentioned the fact that she attempted a singing career. Jennifer Love Hewitt. Do you remember this?

[B]

Oh, yes.

[A]

And she was as big a star as there was, right?

[B]

Biggest star.

[A]

Wow. Two of the biggest stars.

[B]

Love her beauty.

[A]

And even more stunning in real life. So I knew she was coming in. So she had obviously had a pretty big security detail. And do you remember the. You remember the Butler Square building? Right. You could come in and you could see up. See up in the studios, and there was no security. You could just walk into the Butler Square building. You couldn't get up to our floor without a badge, but whatever. So, I mean, people had started to flood into this building.

[B]

She was huge.

[A]

Knowing that she was gonna come on and they were gonna play. They were gonna play her song on Katie. I mean, this was. What was it? It was like, how do I deal? Is that the next one?

[B]

We had looked this up. Exactly.

[A]

I think that's what it was. Cause it did get some airplay. And I will never forget this for as long as I live. And he did this completely on purpose. And it made me respect the living crap out of him so much. So it was almost a Ricky Gervais moment. So she's got, you know, like two massive security guards and she's got her agent and then her handlers. I mean, it was a team of like 10 accompanying her. Right. And so Dave comes out of the studio. She's standing like in the green room area and they were sectioning it off so no one could walk by. But I could hear everything that's going on. It was from, you know, not quite me to ua, maybe a little bit farther. But I'm doing my editing thing at my little computer and Dave walks out. So on the morning show at that time was Dave, I think Pat Ebert was still his producer, and Angie Taylor. And Angie Taylor was his co host. And Angie's awesome. I frickin love Angie. And so Angie walked out of the studio maybe to go use the bathroom or grab a cup of coffee or something. She walks by me and of course Angie's like, don't be sneaking over here, Reivers. No one wants to deal with your perverted ass or something like that. Because that's just what we did. We always gave each other crap. I'm like, shut up, Angie. I'm not gonna walk over there. She laughed or whatever. So Dave walks out of the studio. He's like, hi, Dave Ryan. What's your name? To Jennifer Law. No, he did it. You know why he did it? He knew exactly who she was.

[B]

Why would he do that?

[A]

Because it sets the precedent of. Oh, that's right. You know, I. I know you think you're a big deal. It was. Was she actually. Hey, she laughed.

[B]

Did she?

[A]

Okay, yeah, she laughed. She thought it was funny.

[B]

Okay, good.

[A]

But I just. I just went, oh, my God, that's awesome.

[B]

Okay. Because she knew she was dragging people. People were there to see her.

[A]

And, I mean, you're. You know. But it told me everything I needed. Like, oh, I'm setting the tone for this. You know, it was one of those moments. Like, it was awesome. I. I remember he had no chance

[B]

with her anyways, so he knew he might as well insult her.

[A]

But no, I mean, honest to God, you don't last in this business for as long as those two do. Whether it's Belinda Jensen, Dave Ryan, Joe Sucre, Royce, whoever you are, you don't last that long if, A, you're not a good person, and B, you work your rear end. And that's a tribute to all four of those people, in all honesty, because. Because not saying that Joe's leaving, and that's not what I'm saying at all. But you don't last as long as you do without being a good person and being good to people and also working your butt off. So just a cool tribute to both of those people. So one quick thing before we get to your deal, I do want to talk about our friends at Harmony Spirits. I'm rocking the Harmony Spirits shirt. Nice. You see that right there?

[B]

Great quarter zip.

[A]

Oh. Honest to God, even if you don't like alcohol, if you gave it up, go buy. Their shirts are amazing at the tasting room. They really are.

[B]

The best part about it is the smell of the shirt has, like, a little bit of bourbony. It's like, oh, so if you gave it up, you're like, I still got a little sense of the bourbon.

[A]

Yes. So, anyway, go to Harmony Spirits. It's a wonderful time to stop in at that tasting room. My God, that patio's gotta be just packed on a day like today where it's nice and warm and you can try those craft cocktails that have that rotating menu down there at the tasting room. And say hi to Larry, and you can say hi to Damon and the entire Harmony Spirits crew and get yourself a four pack. Those four packs are legit, and I am a sucker. Now I probably have to make another drive down the BlackBerry lemonade that they make. There's nothing that compares to it. Now, keep in mind it's a little strong. So that's the one you have at home, but it's so freaking good. And you pour it over ice, Michael. It's a perfect summertime drink. I am not joking.

[B]

My mouth is watering.

[A]

It's so good. And I even told them, I. I said this thing. You need to find a way to start to sell this in stores because it's spectacular. It really, really is that good. So there's that. It doesn't matter. Gin, vodka, rum. Mike mentioned the bourbon. It's all wonderful stuff, and it's made from grain to glass. So if you can't go to the tasting room, go into your local liquor store, ask for the Harmony brand by name. That's how they continue to grow their product. And, oh, by the way, we have some exciting news coming for those of you that aren't able to either make it to the tasting room. You can't say anything yet, yet, but we've got some exciting news coming, I think probably next week, if not maybe a little bit sooner for our friends at Harmony Spirits. But go into that local liquor store, ask for the Harmony brand by name. That will help out our friends at Harmony Spirits. Before you say what you're going to say, Michael, I have to share something with you.

[B]

Should I tell you a quick thing real quick?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

How do I deal? 1999, top 59 on the Billboard 100. Jennifer Love Hewitt came out in 99. In 2002, Barenaked hit number 25 in the mainstream top 40.

[A]

Maybe that was the one.

[B]

Six in Australia, eight in New Zealand.

[A]

Just. I'm gonna give you a homework assignment.

[B]

Yes. Type in Barenaked Jennifer Love.

[A]

No, there's a YouTube video associated with both of those songs.

[B]

Yeah. Watch them.

[A]

You should probably watch those, ladies and gentlemen. And I want a full report on the Frat Pack 5000 Facebook fan page.

[B]

I'll send you some pics.

[A]

Yeah. Okay. We do have some breaking news. I need to know you've got your calendar in front of you.

[B]

I do.

[A]

Yep. What are you doing on Sunday, November 9th.

[B]

Okay, hold on. I bet you anything I'm booked. What? This is the thing that people always ask me, like, what do you do November 9th? I'm like, ah, I'm 90% sure I'm booked. Well, that's a Monday.

[A]

No, November 9th. I've got November 9th of 2026. It's a Monday as a Sunday.

[B]

That's a Monday. Oh, is it the eighth?

[A]

Maybe it's the eighth.

[B]

Okay, whatever that dates, I'm totally free. Monday, I had some stuff.

[A]

Well, you put it down in there. 7:00pm Sunday, the 8th. November 8th. Why?

[B]

Michael, don't tell me it's when. The schedule for the 2027 season. What is it?

[A]

Even better.

[B]

What is it?

[A]

Your Buffalo Bills come to play your Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football. And I'm just preparing everybody right now. That weekend will be taken over.

[B]

You sure it's not Monday Night Football? You're sure they're not playing football?

[A]

Oh, my God. You might be right.

[B]

Yeah, it's Monday Night Football. How you not know that? You watch the show.

[A]

Well, that's what I'm saying. I just assumed it was a Sunday night game. It's a Monday Night Football, so that means. Okay. Hey, I'm taking the day of the show off. That's for sure.

[B]

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

[A]

I'm gonna have to take Tuesday off to recover. That's definitely for sure. I'm gonna have to get a hotel room downtown. Oh, man. Maybe I'll just sleep here.

[B]

Do you. Can you get press passes for that? Do you press?

[A]

I could, but you with the Vikings, it's kind of different than the twins because they have so many people that cover the team.

[B]

Couldn't you say you. You help Royce out?

[A]

No, help him.

[B]

Help him get trustworthy.

[A]

The twins knew by giving me a BS Press pass. They knew what they were doing.

[B]

They knew what they were doing.

[A]

Just like we're just letting Reavers get in the door. We don't care. He loves baseball.

[B]

That would be a fun way to do it. Watch it from the press box.

[A]

No. Why you gotta be sober? Oh, I'm not doing that.

[B]

I thought they used to have booze in there for those guys. No, not in a long time ago.

[A]

I'm just telling you right now, ladies and gentlemen, that Monday Night Football. I didn't realize it's a Monday.

[B]

Yeah, it'd be fun.

[A]

That is gonna be freaking mayhem.

[B]

We're gonna have our little guy throwing the ball all around. That'll be fun.

[A]

Yeah. The last time they came to this area, I had a bunch of friends that had never been to our new stadium. It was Josh Allen's coming out party and this town. But this town just became overrun by the Bill's mock. It was awesome. It was so much fun because they're

[B]

not afraid of the cold.

[A]

So they'll come here November 9th, they'll still be 50. Yeah.

[B]

And they'll come here they won't care. They're not afraid of the cold. I'm reversing. Yes. My wife got so mad at me for using my phone.

[A]

How mad did she get?

[B]

She tossed it across the room. Reverse. Oh, no. Luckily, it was on airplane mode.

[A]

Oh, Jesus.

[B]

Ah, the best Reavers. That joke was the best. And you are the best.

[A]

Please do us a favor. Thank you, Michael. Do us a favor and rate and review the show wherever you happen to be listening to the weekly Scramble podcast. It helps others find the show. It helps us out as well. And we appreciate each and every single one of you. His name is Mike Fratelloni. My name is Chris Reivers. Thank you so very much for listening to the weekly Scramble Podcast. We'll talk to you again next time. And until then, cheers.

[B]

Everybody talked about it since I first moved to Oregon.

[A]

The big one.

[B]

The earthquake that trashed the whole West Coast. Total destruction.

[A]

Officially calling it the largest natural disaster in American history.

[B]

I just didn't know what would help me next. So I took it all. Even the gun. It was time.

[A]

Cello see why American Afterlife is the number one fiction and drama podcast in America. Presented by pair of thieves. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows available now.