What We’re Talking About

Actor and comedian Tim Allen turns 66 today (Thursday). Allen has had starring roles on TV’s Home Improvement, the Santa Clause movies and as the voice of Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story series.  I’am a HUGE Home Improvement fan, so I found a You Tube video that has every single grunt from Home Improvement…YES EVERY TIM TAYLOR GRUNT!  Enjoy!  -EK

I’m sure someone, somewhere will disagree, but in my experience, any time I’ve ever had a flat tire, it couldn’t have happened at a more inconvenient time. I’m in a rush, I’m in the middle of nowhere, I’m in a sketchy neighborhood, the weather is horrendous…you know the routine. Well, here’s some positive news: The tire company Michelin says that we may be driving on airless tires by 2024…which would mean no flat tires…ever. They announced last week that “UPTIS”, their ‘unique puncture-proof tire system” goes into testing this year, and if all goes well, airless tires could be in use on passenger cars in 5 years. The tire features a “rib” design between the aluminum wheel and the outer tread. It is made of composite rubber and high-strength resin-embedded fiberglass that offers the give and durability that a vehicle tire requires. Michelin says besides the advantage of never experiencing blowouts or flat tires, airless tires would also mean we never have to carry a spare, resulting in lighter and more fuel-efficient cars on the road. There would also be an environmental benefit, as fewer tires would be scrapped as a result of blowouts, and there will be fewer emissions at the manufacturing level, because no spare or replacement tires would need to be made.

(My son has been driving around on airless tires for 2 years…on his trike!)

(Has anyone told the police that they are going to have to come up with a new idea to replace their spike belts?)

(For sale: One used tire gauge…)

-DigitalTrends

If you have kids…Brace yourselves..The trailer for Frozen 2 is out.

It’s set to hit the big screen just before Thanksgiving, on Nov. 22.

Check it out below!

If you want to keep the mosquitoes away this summer, start jamming to Skrillex! Researchers have found that playing electronic music resulted in a lower chance of getting bit by skeeters. Researchers noted that in insects, low-frequency vibrations facilitate sexual interactions and make them less likely to bite. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still says the most effective way to avoid mosquito bites is to use insect repellent, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants, and to empty any items that may hold standing water.

Take a listen to some Skrillex below…sounds like it could keep a lot things away ;)

Seventy-five years after he jumped out of plane on D-Day, a 97-year-old veteran paratrooper repeated the feat in the same area of northern France. In June 1944, Tom Rice was serving with the 101st Airborne Division. Rice was part of the massive D-Day invasion that put Allied troops on the ground in Normandy. He called that jump the worst one he ever had. Take a look at the video below:

Question: What is June 3rd?

That’s the correct response to the answer: This is when James Holzhauer’s winning streak on Jeopardy will end.

That leaked clip was the real thing. Holzhauer has gone down after 32 straight wins. We know this because Jeopardy has already aired in a few markets in the eastern part of the U.S. He lost by $22,000 to a librarian from Chicago named Emma Boettcher.

He’d gotten within $60,000 or so of record-holder Ken Jennings‘s total winnings — although it took Jennings more than twice as long to amass his $2.52 million back in 2004.

Holzhauer gave Boettcher a high-five after she won, and said in an interview after the taping, “Nobody likes to lose. But I’m very proud of how I did, and I really exceeded my own expectations for the show. So I don’t feel bad about it.” (The New York Times)

She’s a current judge on America’s Got Talent, she’s done movies, she was a dancer on Dancing With The Stars…… do you remember that Julianne Hough tried the country music thing about 10 years ago? She had some minor success on the charts, her debut self-titled album did hit #1 on the country charts in 2008. She’s hasn’t done much with singing since….probably busy with other projects. Take a listen to her songs below!

There was a scary moment during last night’s Chicago Cubs game when Albert Almora hit a foul ball that struck a young girl in the stands. Witnesses say the girl was conscious as the parents rushed her away. Almora was visibly shaken and appeared to be crying when he later went over to the area where the girl was hit and was comforted by a security guard.

Take a look at this crazy video shot last night outside of Montezuma, IA. It looks like a tornado building in the background, and a group of kids still warming up for a baseball game. Love the dedication, but would not recommend that.

Love Baseball?? Know Baseball?? Play Baseball Trivia every weekday morning just after 6:30! If you answer correctly, you win a pair of tickets to any La Crosse Loggers home game. Wake up early and WIN from La Crosse Loggers and KNEI Bluff Country!

The Indianapolis 500 is coming up this weekend and, no, you’re not the first person to ever wonder what happens if the drivers have to go to the bathroom during the race. While drivers are sick of hearing the question, some of them shared. Since it gets hot in the cars, drivers have to stay hydrated, but the water has to go somewhere. Some drivers go as close to the start of the race as possible, while others try to hold it in until the end of the race. Reigning series champ Will Power admits that he pees himself in the car, while others say that’s not as easy as it seems, with Graham Rahal saying he waits until he’s on the straightaway to do it.

If you want to party like it’s 1999, you may have to wait nearly 300 years. Experts now say that we may not be living in the year 2019, but 1722. They say that recording of historical events from the 8th to the 11th centuries is very haphazard, as if dates were simply made up, and large chunks of time are missing. One theory is that Emperor Otto III, Pope Sylvester II, and possibly Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII fudged the dates so that history would show they ruled during the landmark year of 1,000 AD. It’s also speculated that there was some confusion when the pope switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar in the year 1582.

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (AP) — A judge has refused to delay sentencing for a northern Iowa farmer who appeared on ABC’s “The Bachelor” and who was involved in a fatal crash.

Thirty-seven-year-old Chris Soules pleaded guilty Nov. 13 to a reduced charge of leaving the scene of a serious injury accident. His lawyers had sought the sentencing delay, citing the prosecution’s lack of response to a motion regarding a presentence investigation. The judge denied the request last week and said the sentencing will be held Tuesday as scheduled in a Buchanan County courtroom in Independence.

Soules appeared on “The Bachelor” and “Dancing With The Stars” in 2015. He was arrested after he rear-ended a tractor on April 24, 2017, killing 66-year-old Kenny Mosher. Soules called 911, performed CPR on Mosher and waited for first responders but left before officers arrived.

NEW YORK (AP) — Coca-Cola drinkers will get a chance to relive one of the company’s darker chapters as New Coke makes a comeback under a partnership with the Netflix drama “Stranger Things,” the companies announced Tuesday.

Season 3 of the show will take place in the summer of 1985, when Coca-Cola changed its formula for Coke. New Coke was considered one of the biggest marketing blunders of all time and the new version was dropped after 79 days, though sales of the original Coca-Cola rebounded.

“The summer of 1985 did in fact change everything for us with the introduction of New Coke, which was also arguably one of the biggest pop culture moments of that year,” said Oana Vlad, director of Coca-Cola Trademark, Coca-Cola North America.

Workers had to retrieve the New Coke recipe from the safe for the “Stranger Things” partnership.

“All told, everything took about six months and was top secret,” said Peter Shoemaker, director of sparkling category commercialization.

Workers also had to recreate the logo and the slightly different Coke red for the cans from more than 30 years ago.

“The partnership with Coke gives Netflix the opportunity to reach a massive audience via one of the most recognizable brands in the world in a deeply authentic way,” said Netflix Head of Global Partner Marketing Barry Smyth.

Beginning Thursday, Coca-Cola will release a limited number of cans of New Coke as part of a “Stranger Things” package. An “upside-down” Stranger Things-inspired vending machine will also pop up in select cities this summer to dispense free cans of New Coke for a limited time.

Movie theater seats have gotten more comfortable over the years, With reclining and cushioned seats, but now a Switzerland movie theater is taking comfort to the next level. The theater has 11 beds which double as seats. The theater opened a week ago, and tickets cost $50. They also have gourmet food & a champagne bar. They even promise to make the beds between each screening.

Photo Credit: CBS

Tomorrow is the big day! Musikk Fest in Spring Grove! Yesterday we featured Mark Chesnutt….today Tyler Farr! Enjoy a few of his hits below and we’ll see you there tomorrow!!

Musikk Fest is this Saturday in Spring Grove! Country legend Mark Chesnutt will there along with Tyler Farr. I featured Mark on The Early Morning Double Shot…Enjoy some of his hits below!

While Starbucks gets flack for its pricey drinks, a California coffee shop has nothing on them, after it recently offered — and sold out of — $75 cups of coffee.

Klatch Coffee is the family-owned and operated business responsible for bringing an exclusive coffee called Elida Geisha Natural to the U.S.

The java won first place in the 2018 Best of Panama coffee competition, where it sold at $803 a pound.

Elida Geisha has always been one of the most expensive, complex and interesting cups of coffee, according to Klatch Coffee’s Heather Perry.

There were only 100 pounds of this particular type of coffee available worldwide, and Klatch brought 10 pounds of it to the U.S., according to the company.

The Elida Geisha Natural sold on the company’s website for $75 for 20 grams — the equivalent of one cup of coffee.

Klatch held three separate events, two in their Rancho Cucamonga location, and one in San Francisco, where they brewed the special coffee for customers.

According to Perry, customers were amazed.

“You taste the coffee and you know almost immediately, ‘Wow this is different,'” Perry told ABC News.

“If you want the best coffee in the world, it’s our mission to give you the opportunity to have that experience.”

The new flavors are listed below:

S’mores: Based off of a campfire classic, this flavor will feature two graham cracker like cookies, with chocolate and marshmallow in between.

Oreo thins latte cream: This flavor was made for all of the coffee lovers, with “java flavored cream.”

Marshmallow Moon: These oreos will come in glow in the dark packaging with stickers, and the cookies will have 3 space themed stamps on them. The filling will be marshmallow flavored and “galactic purple” in color. They will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.

Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip: Summer is a great time for ice cream! Oreo will partner with Baskin Robbins to release these mint chocolate chip flavored cookies.

Maple Creme: Last but not least, these Oreos will have a golden oreo outside with maple creme on the inside.

The nominees for the CMT Music Awards were announced this morning.

Brothers Osborne, Maren Morris, Zac Brown Band and Jason Aldean collected the most nominations with three each.

Brandi Carlile, Carrie Underwood, Cole Swindell, Dan and Shay, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Florida Georgia Line, Julia Michaels, Kacey Musgraves, Kane Brown, Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Sugarland and Taylor Swift received two nods each.

Fan voting begins today at CMT.com and wraps at 11:59 p.m. on June 4th.

The CMT Music Awards, hosted by Little Big Town will air live from Nashville on June 5th.

Video of the Year
Carrie Underwood – “Cry Pretty”
Chris Janson – “Drunk Girl”
Cole Swindell – “Break Up in the End”
Dan and Shay – “Speechless”
Dierks Bentley feat. Brothers Osborne – “Burning Man”
Eric Church – “Desperate Man”
Florida Georgia Line – “Simple”
Kacey Musgraves – “Rainbow”
Kane Brown – “Good as You”
Keith Urban feat. Julia Michaels – “Coming Home”
Kelsea Ballerini – “Miss Me More”
Luke Combs – “She Got the Best of Me”
Maren Morris – “Girl”
Zac Brown Band – “Someone I Used To Know”

Male Video of the Year
Cole Swindell – “Break Up in the End”
Eric Church – “Desperate Man”
Jason Aldean feat. Miranda Lambert – “Drowns The Whiskey”
Kane Brown – “Lose It”
Kenny Chesney – “Get Along”
Luke Bryan – “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset”
Thomas Rhett – “Life Changes”

Female Video of the Year
Brandi Carlile – “The Joke”
Carly Pearce – “Closer to You”
Carrie Underwood – “Love Wins”
Kacey Musgraves – “Space Cowboy”
Kelsea Ballerini – “Miss Me More”
Maren Morris – “Girl”
Miranda Lambert – “Keeper of the Flame”

Duo Video of the Year
Brothers Osborne – “I Don’t Remember Me (Before You)”
Dan and Shay – “Speechless”
Florida Georgia Line – “Simple”
LoCASH – “Feels Like a Party”
Maddie and Tae – “Friends Don’t”
Sugarland feat. Taylor Swift – “Babe”

Group Video of the Year
Eli Young Band – “Love Ain’t”
LANCO– “Born to Love You”
Little Big Town – “Summer Fever”
Midland – “Burn Out”
Old Dominion – “Hotel Key”
Zac Brown Band – “Someone I Used to Know”

Breakthrough Video of the Year
Ashley McBryde – “Girl Goin’ Nowhere (At Marathon Music Works)”
Jimmie Allen – “Best Shot”
Jordan Davis – “Take It From Me”
Mitchell Tenpenny – “Drunk Me”
Morgan Wallen – “Whiskey Glasses”
Runaway June – “Buy My Own Drinks”
Tenille Townes – “Somebody’s Daughter”

Collaborative Video of the Year
Brantley Gilbert and Lindsay Ell – “What Happens in a Small Town”
Darius Rucker feat. Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Charles Kelley – “Straight to Hell”
Dierks Bentley feat. Brothers Osborne – “Burning Man”
Jason Aldean feat. Miranda Lambert – “Drowns the Whiskey”
Keith Urban feat. Julia Michaels – “Coming Home”
Sugarland feat. Taylor Swift – “Babe”

CMT Performance of the Year
Boyz II Men and Brett Young – “Motownphilly” (Crossroads)
Luke Combs and Leon Bridges – “Beautiful Crazy” (Crossroads)
Maren Morris and Brandi Carlile – “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” (2018 CMT Artists of the Year)
Brett Eldredge and Meghan Trainor – “Let You Be Right” (Crossroads)
Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman and Gladys Knight – “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night” (2018 CMT Artists of the Year)
Zac Brown Band and Shawn Mendes – “Keep Me in Mind” (Crossroads)

Thomas Rhett’s Dad had some big hits in the mid 90’s himself! He is today’s double shot artist.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum treated media, industry insiders and Keith Whitley’s family and friends to a sneak preview of its new exhibit, Still Rings True: The Enduring Voice of Keith Whitley.

Despite the brevity of his career, Keith, who died at age 33, produced many significant country hits over the course of his four albums. His music continues to influence today’s country singers, including Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Alison Krauss, Tim McGraw, Dierks Bentley, Blake Shelton and others. The exhibit opens to the public on May 3 and runs through April 5, 2020.

Items featured in Still Rings True: The Enduring Voice of Keith Whitley include stage wear, instruments and personal artifacts from Keith’s childhood and music career.

Today’s Early Morning Double Shot features Shane Minor! Remember him? He had a few minor hits (No pun intended) in the late 90’s. He was actually a Los Angeles police officer and a rodeo bull rider before he got into recording songs. He has wrote or co-wrote tons of songs for Diamond Rio, Kenny Chesney, Craig Morgan, Luke Bryan, Justin Moore and many others! Today he turns 51. Enjoy his “minor” hits below!

Remember The Wilkinsons? They were a Canadian Country Music trio founded in 1997. The group consisted of lead singer Amanda Wilkinson, her brother Tyler Wilkinson, and their father, Steve Wilkinson. They had some hits in the late 90’s, Amanda eventually went solo with little success.

Below are the two songs I featured on the Double Shot.

Today (May 1st) is Tim McGraw‘s birthday!  Enjoy some Tim videos!

A seagull photo bombs a traffic camera…funny stuff!!!

Erik & Kathy bring you “Who Said It” every weekday around 9:40! Win a $10 gift certificate to Little Miami in Freeburg MN!

How long have you owned your couch? 

A new survey found that the average American couch is six years old. Other couch facts: The typical American couch has been napped on 36 times, hosted 32 catch-ups with family and friends, been cried on 17 times and helped us through 21 sick days. 30% of those surveyed said they were ready to get a new couch – but the same survey also found that the average person hasn’t bought a new piece of furniture in the last three years. (SWNS)

The anti-vaccination movement has been using an old episode of the Brady Bunch to downplay the seriousness of measles — and star Maureen McCormick isn’t happy about it.

In the 1969 episode “Is There a Doctor in the House?” the Brady kids catch the viral infection but are thrilled that they get to stay home from school. At one point Marcia, played by McCormick, says, “If you have to get sick, sure can’t beat the measles.”

Anti-vaxxers use the episode in a promotion called “The Measles Couldn’t Kill the Brady Bunch.”

The actress tells NPR, “I think it’s really wrong when people use people’s images today to promote whatever they want to promote and the person’s image they’re using they haven’t asked or they have no idea where they stand on the issue.”

She says that when she had the measles in real life it was “not a fun thing.” She adds, “As a mother, my daughter was vaccinated.”

A host of former Hawkeye players including Waukon, IA native Parker Hesse went undrafted over the weekend. Where will they end up? Click the link below for more details.

Today is Arbor Day! A good day to plant a tree, or hug a tree … or just be around some trees.

Remember the old TV commercial for The National Arbor Day Foundation featuring John Denver??

You can be a couch potato, or you can actually stay inside a giant spud! Airbnb has a listing for a “potato hotel” in Boise, Idaho, that can be rented for $200 per night. The six-ton potato structure was created for the Idaho Potato Commission, but when they stopped using it for their promotions, tiny house developer Kristie Wolfe converted it into an Airbnb. The potato house features chic bohemian décor, a queen-sized bed, air conditioning, an indoor fireplace and hot water.

Merriam-Webster has added 640 new words and meanings to its dictionary this year. Among them are, ‘Gig economy,’ ‘stan,’ ‘gender nonconforming’ and ‘snowflake.’ While snowflake isn’t a new word, it can now mean someone who is special or overly sensitive. ‘Gender nonconforming’ is an individual who exhibits traits not typically associated with their birth sex, while ‘gig economy’ refers to freelance or temporary jobs and ‘stan’ is to obsess over a character or celebrity.

Kimberly Dunn will be performing at Musikk Fest in Spring Grove on May 18th! She’ll be there with Tyler Farr and Mark Chesnutt.

For more details on the show: https://musikkfestmn.com/

Erik & Kathy chatted with the talented Kimberly Dunn!! Take a listen!

I was going through the KNEI archives and found some old artist interviews on vinyl recently. These date back to the early 90’s. A lot of great stuff from Eddie Rabbit, Doug Stone, Earl Thomas Conley, Alabama and more! Here’s a clip from Sawyer Brown’s Mark Miller. He’s talking about their latest single “The Dirt Road”.

-EK