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Shawn Neisteadt
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 It’s funny, as the years add up, more and more memories of childhood disappear. However, there are just a few that stick vividly in my mind. One of those is going to the races weekly at Huset’s Speedway. But two other memories hang tough, perhaps because they’re also family traditions. Those memories: watching “Captain 11” and KELOLAND News.Oh yes, who can forget watching the captain, dressed from head to toe in a flashy blue and gold suit, or those special trips into town to be on the show? The excitement of flipping the switch on those colored jewels, or seeing if you could last all the way to “both hands and both feet.” Oddly enough, I also recall always watching the news on KELOLAND. That station seemed to always be on at home, and even while visiting my grandparents. Yes, I grew up while “The Big News” team was dominating the local airwaves. Steve and Doug delivered the news while Dave (who had a remarkable resemblance to “The Captain”) chimed in with weather. “First these messages from Old Home Bread, and then we’ll talk about it.” Plenty has changed since my childhood in Hartford, and not just on KELOLAND. I graduated in 2001 from West Central High School. Then I packed my bags for Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota. While there, I spent four years working the campus radio and television stations, and spent three years working for KKCK and the Marshall Radio Family. I graduated with honors from SMSU in 2005, then moved to the Sioux Falls area. Just months after graduation, I accepted a job at KELO-TV as a production assistant. It didn’t have much glamour, but it paid some bills and got my foot in the door. By December of 2005, I found myself reporting on the station I grew up watching. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of flying with the Blue Angels, rush of joining a “Hot Shot” crew in the middle of a forest fire and received an Emmy Award for contributions to the regions top-rated morning news show, “KELOLAND This Morning.” Away from work, you’ll find me doing more work. I announce for several area racetracks including Huset’s Speedway just outside Brandon, and Jackson Speedway in Jackson, Minnesota. To relax, I like to fish, golf, bowl, and tinker with my radio controlled race cars. I married my longtime girlfriend Hillary in October of 2007. We now have two kittens that run our household. If you have story ideas, drop me an e-mail. Follow me on Twitter |
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