Good morning! Today’s Twitterview with @CathyWurzer is now going to begin. Welcome everyone!
Cathy: Hi Joel! Nice to join you in cyberspace.
To begin, share with us a little background about yourself. Where did you grow up and attend school?
Cathy: I’m a south Mpls native. Grew up a few blocks off Lake St. Proud grad of Mpls South High
What kinds of things were you interested in while growing up? Did you aspire to want to do TV and radio?
Cathy: Other than horses, I was always fascinated with the weather. I wanted to be the first TV meteorologist in the metro.
That dream was dashed by my utter inability to handle math and physics. I’m kind of an arm chair weather geek now.
Did I want to be in radio/TV when I was a kid? Nope. Had NO plans! :)
Would you ever try being a storm-chaser? After HS, what did you do and what was your first job as an adult?
Cathy: I’ll take the storm chaser question first. HECK YES I would love to chase and while at WCCO-TV did a little chasing.
I have never seen a tornado in person. I would love to. They are fascinating creations of Mother Nature.
Maybe when I get some time, I’ll head down to Tornado Alley and chase with one of the groups that do.
Your second question about life after Mpls South High? I went to college at UW-River Falls. Very good, small school.
I deliberately went to River Falls because I thought the U of M was a tad too big for me at the time and…
I really wanted to get away from home. @uwrf had/has a really good journalism program.
I was lucky that before graduating from UWRF I had a job at KSTP-AM radio. I couldn’t believe it!
My first job at KSTP-AM radio was as the Capitol reporter. That was one of the most fun jobs I’ve had!
Oh. You asked about first job as an adult? I guess the VERY first one was as a switchboard operator at…
Lets move forward a bit. When did you start at @wcco and then how long have you been with @tptAlmanac?
Cathy: I started at @WCCO in the late ’90’s. I’ve been doing @tptAlmanac for 18 years. I just called my producer to ask!
Also, what moved you to get into the worlds of writing and filmmaking ?
Cathy: Thanks for asking about my other “lives”–writing and documentary filmmaking. I LOVE history and always wanted to…
produce documentaries. I wanted to “test” myself in a sense to see if I could do such a thing.
@talesoftheroad was the result. I set out to do a historical documentary about Hwy 61 and wound up writing a book.
@talesoftheroad was a labor of love. I really didn’t have a clue about the amount of work both would entail.
The book and documentary were years in the making but it was such great fun, I’m working on a sequel!
Was book 1 about going North on Hwy 61 and book 2 is about going South? j/k So you like road trips?
Cathy: Of course, with a sequel, I’m really hoping the 1946 era Cadillac we used will be in fine motoring form and usable!
he book/documentary is about the whole highway in Mn. from Grand Portage to LaCrescent. The sequel…
…will focus on stories I left out. (RedWing Pottery, 3M in St. Paul, a haunted inn near the No. Shore.
Ultimately, I hope to do a longer form, multi-part documentary taking the road from Grand Portage, Mn. to New Orleans.
If I succeed in making it all the way down the road I’ll be a happy woman. Yes, I love roadtrips and…
Cathy: Do you like road trips Joel?? (Sorry, I’m used to asking questions…!)
Joel: Yes, when I have time for them. I’d love to do one from MSP through the Rockies. :)
What’s been one of your most memorable road-trips that you’ve taken? Have you ever traveled by train?
Cathy: One of the most memorable was a family trip, out west, in a pop-up camper. I’m shocked we didn’t kill each other!
That kind of trip was exactly what we did as a family. Quite memorable! You asked about trains? LOVE ’em.
Haven’t enjoyed train travel since I was a kid going to Chicago. Would love to take the Empire Builder out West.
Joel: I can imagine. :) I wish we had more time, but we don’t. Thank you for your time and comments today! Have a good week!
Cathy: Thanks so much Joel! I’ve had a ball chatting!!