National Public Radio to broadcast live from MN’s 8th District

National Public Radio journalists interview Dan and Heather Hill, a miner and nurse, at the Hibbing Public Library. (NPR)

This Friday morning a team of journalists will broadcast live from Duluth, Minnesota, as part of National Public Radio’s Morning Edition. I’ll join the program as a local analyst.

Host Noel King and fellow reporters toured Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District all week. They’re not following the candidates. Rather, they’ve been talking to voters and learning their stories. Refreshingly, the goal is to understand what people actually think about the elections on the ground.

The 8th District gained a lot of attention for its political shift from a rock solid Democratic fortress to one of the most competitive swing districts in the country, a seat Republicans might win. But what’s happening to people? Indeed, that’s a much more important question, one that often goes unanswered after the klieg lights of Election Day go dim.

My friend and producer Heidi Holtan and I helped the NPR crew on their journey. We’ve both been impressed by their professionalism and the efforts they have taken to maintain balance in their reporting. They’re looking for nuance, not ignoring it. They will have talked to several dozen people across the district by the time Friday morning comes around.

I’m honored to be joining the broadcast. Obviously, it’s a rare big league at-bat for this bush league pinch hitter.

You can hear the story on Morning Edition, heard locally on Northern Community Radio (91.7 KAXE Grand Rapids and 90.5 KBXE Bemdiji) and on the news stations of Minnesota Public Radio. We air live on the eastern feed, about 3 a.m. central time. The segment will re-air throughout the morning. So, if you hear me on your way to work know that I’ll have already been up for five hours.

I’ll post a longer piece about the 8th District soon. Next week, we vote.

In one district that could flip from Democratic to Republican-held, President Trump is not front of mind, one couple tells me.

Follow me as I talk with voters in Minnesota’s 8th congressional district. pic.twitter.com/cQrZ7RycBt

— Noel King (@NoelKing) October 30, 2018