MVL students get interview with Ventura

Interview is

project for

government class

By KEVIN SWEENEY

Journal Editor

NEW ULM -- Gov. Jesse Ventura released a rating of his four years as governor on Monday, a report card that gave his administration pretty good marks -- maybe not A+, but well above average -- on his "Big Plan" accomplishments.

A group of Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School students are hoping Ventura will help them get top marks as well on a government class assignment.

Angie Unke, Brita Schultz and Jenny Sonnenberg, accompanied by teacher Lisa Klockziem, spent about an hour Tuesday afternoon interviewing the governor for a newscast they were assigned to do for their government class.

Unke said the interview -- something most regular journalists would give an arm and a leg to get -- came after she e-mailed the state government's web site, asking for permission to come and tour the Capitol and interview some people.

"I said the ultimate would be to get an interview with Jesse Ventura and Tim Pawlenty," said Unke on Tuesday, after returning from the Capitol.

Unke first got an e-mail response that read like a form letter, thanking her for her interest in state government. She thought the tour idea would be a washout.

"But my Dad said I had a message on the answering machine. It was from Paul Mohr, (Ventura's chief of communications). I called him back, and he told me to forward my e-mail to him, and he would print it out and show it to the governor."

The governor, to the students' surprise, agreed to be interviewed. They were given an appointment for 2 p.m. Tuesday to spend a half hour with the governor.

"It was an amazing experience," said Unke. She and her classmates were nervous knowing they would be talking to someone big.

They were escorted to an outer office next to Ventura's office. They could hear his voice inside as he interviewed judicial candidates, said Unke.

"My ears were pounding and my heart was racing" as they waited for Ventura, said Unke. When the governor did appear, Unke said she was impressed by just how big he really is. "I'm six-two, and I was wearing three-inch heels, and he was still a good inch-and-a-half taller," she said.

But during the interview and afterward, Ventura was very talkative, going into depth as he answered their questions. He was also very sociable afterwards, inviting the girls into his office (where they saw a Hermann bobblehead doll) on his desk), signing autographs and talking. The half-hour appointment turned into about 55 minutes, said Unke.

Some of the questions they asked included how he felt when he found out he was elected (He wasn't expecting it, he said. When the race was called in his favor there were still 40 percent of the votes uncounted); the biggest perk of being governor (You can park in front of any building in the state without being towed) and his advice to his successor, Pawlenty (Be yourself and stay true to what you believe in).

Unke's group, which also included Danielle Kramer who couldn't make the trip, will now take their tape, edit it and add in some commercials and other material they had prepared, and present it to their class. They are hoping for an A+.