The Mike McFeely Mess

Bismarck, N.D., scholar Clay Jenkinson joins podcast host Mike McFeely to talk about the urban-rural political divide in America and how it might be bridged. Long story short: It ain't going to be easy.

State Rep. Pat Garofalo, a Republican from Farmington, has been one of the leading proponents of sports gambling in Minnesota since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized it a few years ago. That remains the case and Garofalo, and others, again have proposals to make sports betting legal in Minnesota. It's unlikely again, though, the proposals are going anywhere because of ingrained opposition in the st...

Humanities scholar and popular podcast guest Clay Jenkinson joins host Mike McFeely to wade through the post-election landscape in America.  Clay offers his thoughts on how America can pick up the pieces after four years of Donald Trump while Mike strikes a dark outlook on the future of our democracy.

Minnesota fishing expert Tony Mariotti joins podcast host Mike McFeely for an ice fishing update. With the pandemic, good ice conditions and little snow there is clearly an uptick in ice fishing. Lots of big fish houses and, at many places, lots of fish being caught.  Tony and Mike talk about that, as well as whether the DNR should start cutting back panfish limits. That's a road well-traveled by...

Forum and InForum reporter Tracy Briggs joins podcast host Mike McFeely to talk about Tracy's recent articles about local history. They've proven to be very popular with readers. They chat about how the idea came about, where she gets topics and what the future might hold for the series.  Topics of recent articles include serious things like John Thompson, the North Dakota man who lost his arms in...

Writer Michael Brodkorb, a former Minnesota Republican Party operative, recently wrote a column for the Minnesota Reformer website in which he said it is time for the party to expel "crackpots" responsible for heated rhetoric and the Capitol insurrection. He joins podcast host Mike McFeely to talk about the column and discuss where the MNGOP should go from here.

Matt Brown of the Extra Points Newsletter joins podcast host Mike McFeely to discuss all the changes rocking the Football Championship Subdivision and mid-major landscape. And there might be more to come. - Matt says there is likely more conference realignment coming for FCS. Find out where. - What the WAC/Southland changes mean in the big picture. - Was Augustana College in South Dakota a candida...

Vox.com journalist Aaron Ruper joins podcast host Mike McFeely to reflect on Rupar's job the last four years — to watch, comment and post on Twitter about every speech President Donald Trump made.  We first visited with Aaron a couple of years ago, but with Trump's presidency ending next week we thought it would be a good time to check in with him again and see how he survived — and what his next...

Podcast host Mike McFeely is joined by Forum News Service's South Dakota news director and reporter Jeremy Fugleberg to discuss all the things happening in the world of Gov. Kristi Noem: -COVID response -National profile -SD attorney general investigation -Legal marijuana -Challenging Sen. John Thune Anything else? Mike and Jeremy hash it all out.

Host Mike McFeely answers questions submitted for his podcast mailbag. Included are questions about his column on farmer welfare, walleye limits in Minnesota and addressing social injustice in rural areas.

Kyle Potter of Thrifty Traveler (thriftytraveler.com) joins podcast host Mike McFeely to discuss when U.S. airline travel might bounce back from pandemic depths and how travelers can take advantage of bargains available. If you're willing to look ahead a few months, there is affordable and even cheap airfare available for vacations whenever there might be a higher comfort level over traveling.

Podcast host Mike McFeely of InForum.com welcomes guest Clay Jenkinson, a humanities scholar and author, to talk about Donald Trump and Republicans' efforts to overturn the election of Joe Biden. Clay sees GOP efforts a little differently than Mike.  Also, the pair discuss former North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz and his struggles in the NFL this season.

Podcast host Mike McFeely of InForum reads a column he wrote in mid-December and provides some insight and analysis into his thinking about why North Dakota State's football team should seriously explore a move to the higher Football Bowl Subdivision. 

Bismarck, N.D., scholar and author Clay Jenkinson joins podcast host Mike McFeely to chat about the first debate between presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Both Clay and Mike were disgusted by the spectacle, which is not surprising, but Mike takes his disgust even a little farther.

Minnesota fishing guru Tony Mariotti joins podcast host Mike McFeely to talk about fall fishing. Walleyes and smallmouth bass are providing most of the action, but crappies might be returning to their familiar haunts, as well. 

After requests from listeners and readers, podcast host Mike McFeely welcomes in Clay Jenkinson to talk about the craziness surrounding President Donald Trump and the 2020 presidential election. The North Dakota scholar, writer, lecturer and radio host gives his thoughts on where the country might go under another Trump administration and how we can dig ourselves out of the mess we're in.

Minnesota state Supreme Court justice Paul Thissen joins podcast host Mike McFeely to discuss his race against Michelle MacDonald, a candidate who had her law license suspended and has faced discipline from her peers. Thissen says judgment matters and believes his track record separates him from MacDonald.

Minnesota fishing expert Tony Mariotti joins podcast host Mike McFeely to discuss mid-summer angling. Tony went to Lake of the Woods, Mike went to Devils Lake ... and both have stories to tell about an odd way to stumble into nice crappies.

Education Minnesota president Denise Specht joined podcast host Mike McFeely to talk about K-12 school re-opening. Specht says educators want schools to re-open in a face-to-face setting, but many questions have to be answered before they feel comfortable in that setting. 

North Dakota humanities scholar, author and radio host Clay Jenkinson joins podcast host Mike McFeely to catch up on four months worth of pandemic news. They also touch on the controversial company that's in the news for allegedly poorly building a border wall, Sen. Kevin Cramer and school re-opening.

Dr. Michael Osterholm, one of the nation's leading infectious disease experts who is based at the University of Minnesota, talked with The Forum's Mike McFeely about the coronavirus pandemic and the challenges of states like Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota having different policies in place to battle it.

North Dakota humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson joins podcast host Mike McFeely to discuss the social, economic and political disruption that could occur because the coronavirus. 

Clay County, Minn., historian Mark Peihl joins podcast host Mike McFeely to discuss the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic that devastated the Fargo-Moorhead area as it spread across the United States. Some good parallels between the situations, but some stark differences, too.

Minnesota Twins television broadcaster Dick Bremer joins podcast host Mike McFeely to discuss Bremer's new book, "Game Used: My Life in Stitches with the Minnesota Twins."  With the world on hold because of a global pandemic, don't we all need a little more baseball talk? Bremer and McFeely provide that for a half-hour respite from the real world.

Bismarck, N.D., scholar/author/radio host Clay Jenkinson joins podcast host Mike McFeely to discuss how North Dakotans are reacting to the coronavirus pandemic and what it means in the long-term.