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  • State Sen. Mike Parry, R-Waseca, is combining his employment history with “Inside the Senate.”

    Parry

February 27, 2011

Parry returns to radio

The Free Press

WASECA — Waseca Sen. Mike Parry started as radio broadcaster, moved into station management and ownership and was eventually elected to the state Senate.

Parry is now combining his employment history, at least once a week, with a radio show focused on activities in the Republican-controlled Senate. His voice will be familiar to longtime listeners of KTOE, where he filled in for vacationing broadcasters when he served as station manager.

But listeners to the new show, produced by the Senate Republican Caucus, will tune in to KOWZ AM-1170 out of Owatonna. That’s currently the only station airing “Inside the Senate,” although Parry said stations in St. Cloud and Winona are interested in the show and expects more to follow.

Parry worked mostly in management in the final 10 or 15 years of his radio career, but he said there was little rust with the first show taped Thursday night and aired Friday at 10 a.m.

“You never lose the knack,” he said. “It’s just ‘Give me a microphone and here we go.’”

The “we” is likely to be predominately fellow Republicans as Parry said the focus of the show will be explaining legislation that’s reached the Senate floor — a criterion that will weed out Democratic proposals that don’t have GOP support in committees.

Parry said, however, that he’s open to including Democrats on the show as the major disagreements over budget decisions and other topics come to a head later in the legislative session.

“I could see both pros and cons of a budget, sitting down at a microphone and having a debate like that.”

It’s also possible that stations airing his show will package it with Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton’s weekly program, which is still being developed.

“Inside the Senate” is being put together in two 25-minute segments, which will give stations the opportunity to devote either a half-hour or an hour of air time, Parry said. The show may eventually go to a live format, the tradition established by Independence Party Gov. Jesse Ventura and Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty — something that allows for comments and questions from listeners via telephone or e-mail.

Currently, people can still ask questions in advance via e-mail at insidethesenate@gmail.com.

Parry, elected in a special session just over a year ago and re-elected to a two-year term on Nov. 2, has offered a strongly conservative voice in the Senate. He said, though, that his program aims mainly to offer information instead of opinion.

“I think that’s very important to give the citizens the opportunity to hear it straight from the lawmaker.”

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