Chris Johnson

 would like to send a big congrats out to the McCook Central/Montrose Fighting Cougars Boys Basketball team for making it to the State Tournament in Sioux Falls next week. We havn’t had this good of a team since I was in High School and on the team! LOL  Ok, so I sat on the bench most of the time, but I did make a half-court shot my Junior Year which was pretty cool. I can’t believe we spring ahead this weekend. Don’t forget to set your clocks 1 hour ahead before you go to bed Sat night. At least if we’re going to lose an hour of sleep it’s on the weekend. And you know with next weekend being the start of spring, we’re sure to get a Blizzard! LOL Thinking about heading to the movies this weekend and checking out the new flick “She’s out of your league”. It looks pretty funny. I’m also supposed to go pig out on an all you can eat Crab Legs buffet too so that should be fun.

I’m so excited because spring training is underway and a new Major League Baseball season will soon be here. As an added bonus, my Atlanta Braves come to Minnesota to take on the Twins in Interleague play this year at the new stadium. I can’t wait to go! Besides, the Metrodome was a house of horrors for us, so I’m hoping for a better outcome this time. LOL Glad to see the weather shaping up too. I’ll take the rain over the snow any day. Headed for a road trip out to Rapid City as well this weekend to see my daughter. With all the lousy weather this Winter, we havn’t even been able to celebrate Christmas yet. How sad is that! On the bright side, it will be nice to get gifts this time of year. LOL

As you noticed last week, I took a couple of days off with a Sinus Infection/Flu/Cold all in one shot. That is no fun! I think I’m mostly recovered after resting all weekend. Just a little plugged in the nose yet. LOL Can you believe we’re already into March? That means spring is right around the corner, but remember, this is also normally the snowiest month here. Plus, doesn’t it seem like we get a blizzard every year around state basketball tournament time? Why is that? Oh, I spent part of the weekend looking at my sports card collection. It’s always fun to pull that stuff out when you havn’t looked at it in a while. It’s a pretty big collection of baseball, football, and basketball cards ranging from the 70’s thru the 90’s. And of course, I have lots of Braves and Dolphins ones! LOL Seems a shame kids either don’t want to collect them these days or can’t afford to. I can remember when you could get a pack for 20 cents plus that hard piece of gum. LOL  Today, a pack of 10 cards will run you 5 bucks. That’s crazy!

What a great week, we’re getting ready for the Winter Dance Party on Sunday, and yesterday we found out the line-up for this summer’s Corn Palace Festival. Don’t forget, tomorrow morning around 7:20am, you’ll have the chance to win front row seats to magician and illusionist Jason Latimer with opening act, Comedian Dick Hardwick. And Friday morning at 7:20am, you’ll have the chance to win front row seats to Bjorn Again which is an Abba Tribute show. If you saw the comedians last year, you know how hilarious they were. If not, you really missed out on a treat so take advantage of it this year. And how can you not like Abba! From Dancing Queen,

Take A Chance On Me, Waterloo, and many more! Break out your 70’s gear, the platform shoes, bell bottoms, polyester, and do that John Travolta dance one more time! LOL

Now that the “Big Game” is over, it’s time to focus on Valentine’s Day. Luckily, since I don’t have a girlfriend or wife right now, the pressure is off of me this week on finding that perfect gift. LOL  However, I did shop for my daughter. I got her a personalized teddy bear with her name on it, plus, a gift basket full of goodies. Of course Valentine’s Day itself I will be out and about at the Corn Palace for the “Winter Dance Party”! The show starts at 5 and it’s a tribute to Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens. You don’t want to miss this! Tickets are just $25 for General Admission Raised Seats and all the info is right on our website or at Corn Palace dot com. Hope to see you there and remember, you have a chance to win tickets all week on the Kool 98 Morning Show!

This winter weather is really starting to get annoying isn’t it? I know, we live in the Midwest so we should be used to it right? LOL The worst part is that I’ve been missing out on Bowling, Poker Parties, and more with my good friends over in Salem. Its not that I couldn’t drive over in this stuff, but why take a chance in this stuff on the road if you don’t have to travel right? Not sure what I’m going to do on Sunday yet for the big game. Sounds like there will be some good commercials this year, but I don’t think I’ll tune in for the pre-game which usually starts 5 hours before kick-off. LOL Should be a rocking performance by The Who at half-time too. Let’s just hope it’s a good game.

Fun night planned tonight as Renee, one of my co-workers is taking me out as a belated b-day present. We’re going to chow down on pizza, and then head to the movies and see When in Rome with one of my favorite actress’s, Kristen Bell. And yes, I do find her very attractive so if you know of anyone around here that looks like her and is single, send her my way ok? LOL Otherwise, tomorrow I’m headed to the Corn Palace to watch my hometown play in the Boys Hanson Basketball Classic so good luck to McCook Central!

Well, the match-up is finally set, Indy vs New Orleans. I know that most people are picking the Colts because the Saints defense isn’t that good and Manning should be able to shred it pretty good. And, let’s face it, the Vikings gift wrapped the NFC championship to them. But I tell you what, I’m going with New Orleans to win it all. I’ve just got a feeling that with what that city went through with hurricane Katrina and everything, Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, and that entire team is going to will themselves to the upset.

Well, it’s time for me to pick the games for this weekend and they should both be good ones. In the NFC, I’m taking the Saints over the Vikings in a shoot out. Expect a lot of points in this game. Favre may have a little edge over Brees because of playoff experience and I think Bush and Peterson are pretty even right now. The Vikings have the advantage on defense but in the end, I think the Superdome crowd will be the difference. And Minnesota fans, you should be happy with this pick because I’m usually wrong. LOL  In the AFC, it’s tempting to take New York, especially when you look at all the subplots to this one. How ironic would it be if Indy loses after they basically let the Jets win just to get into the playoffs. I’m not buying it though, I’ll take the experience of Peyton Manning over a rookie quarterback anyday. The Colts are the pick here but I still think it might be close. I’ll be off the rest of the week, my b-day is tomorrow (Jan 20^th) so I’m going to slack off for a few days. See you on Monday!

You may or may not have heard me talk about this earlier in the week but sadly, someone actually superglued a cat to Interstate 90. Unfortunately, vets were not able to save it. A man from Yankton offered a $1000 reward to any info leading to the sick person that did this. After word got out, from my understanding, the donations started pouring in and now the rewards are over $10,000 for any info leading to the person responsible. Check out Second Chance Rescue in Sioux Falls if you have any info. Now, on a happier note, Mitchell Animal Rescue, which I’m very proud to be a part of, just had a recent meeting, and, if you’re interested in being a part of it, I’ve attached our latest newsletter below. Thanks as always for listeningJ

Hello all!

Thanks to all our new volunteers who came to our last meeting and to those that have been helping at our events.  We realize that you all have busy schedules and may not be able to attend events.

So, here are some other ways you can help:

1.  Spread the word- It is amazing how many people still don’t know who we are and what we do.  Many people still think we have a shelter somewhere. If you can, just tell people about us. I have attached an information sheet that you can print out, even if you can put them out at work or give them to people who ask. 

2.  We still have openings for our Dog Food and Behavior seminar.  This is going to be a great fundraiser for MAR but it will not happen if we don’t get enough people signed up.  It is very reasonable.  Just $30 for an individual and $50 per couple.  There is also a flyer attached for this.

3.  We have a program called SNIP (Spay and Neuter Incentive Program).  This is possible from a grant from the Mitchell Charitable Foundation and from matching funds raised by MAR.  This program helps people who qualify with spaying and neutering.  All they need to do is fill out an application.  If they qualify, they will get a voucher good at any vet clinic in Mitchell.  We need more people taking advantage of this great program.  A flyer for this is also attached.

4.  Many businesses have generously been donating dog and cat food.  Unfortunately, we don’t have the space to store it all and are having to turn it down.  We hate to do this, because if we ever get our own shelter we are going to need it.  So right now we have a trailer that Tessiers is letting us use.  We also have full garages.  If you know of anyone who feeds strays or needs some food, please let us know.  We would love to get this distributed to the people who need it.  Hopefully it will keep people from having to give up their pets in these hard times.  Also, we would love a storage unit to store it and to have a set time when we could open up so people could come and get food.  If you know of anyone who would donate the use of a shed, even if it was discounted, we would greatly appreciate it.  We will be getting together soon, to get the food out of the trailer so we can get it back to Tessiers.  We will send out an email when we are doing this.  If you can help, the more the better!

5.  We really need people that can spearhead fundraisers.  If you can think of anything that you can do to help us raise money please let us know.  We are planning a fundraiser on Feb 6 with Scentsy, a purse lady and maybe some others- with some of the proceeds going to MAR.  If you sell any kind of products and would like to participate, send us an email and we can get you mentioned on it invites.  We will be sending out invites, if you have anyone you think would like to come, we can send them one.

6.  Download the iGive toolbar.  It is amazing how fast this is adding up.  Once you download the toolbar, you don’t have to do anything.  When you shop at an online retailer that participates- a percentage is automatically sent to MAR.  It’s a free service, and you’ll never pay more when you reach a store through iGive. In fact, smart shoppers will enjoy iGive’s repository of coupons, free shipping deals, and sales. To get started, just create your free iGive account. And when you search the web, do it through iSearchiGive.com where each search means a penny (or more!) for our cause!
> Start iGiving at: www.iGive.com & www.iSearchiGive.com