Journalistic Excellence...

Today I am happy to bring to you an exclusive bit o' content! My first interview with Laura McKinney, the woman of Dugan's dreams.










Laura is a recent graduate of Iowa State University, where she majored in Elementary Education, with a double minor of History and Poli-Sci. While in school she played Intramural Softball, participated in the InterVarsity campus fellowship, and was chairwoman of the Young Republicans chapter for ISU.

She is currently working as a staff intern at the Governors Office, but one day hopes to be a stay-at-home mom. And she dreams of spending her honeymoon in Ireland and England, because Europe is "Dirty."

Interview: Part 1

Cox: "Laura, thanks for talking with us. So first off, what's your favorite part of working at Governor Pawlenty's office?"

Laura: "Well, it's actually been pretty exciting lately, with all the budget and stadium stuff. We get a lot of angry senators coming in, and I love to see those DFL'ers one bill away from a coronary."

Cox: "So you are obviously interested in Politics, but how much of a part does it play in your day to day life?"

Laura: "Well it's not like I watch Fox News all day and do nothing else... I just like to be informed on the world around me. I mean, you can't trust that the opinions of the people around you are accurate or even intelligent. So I try to get information from a variety of sources, keeping in mind their biases, and come up with a relatively accurate picture of the state of things. But in order to do that, I do have to read blogs, online publications, and other non-traditional media. And I try to have discussion with intelligent people to make sure I have the whole picture."

C: "What about when you're not doing that, any hobbies?"

L: "Well, this might sound corny, but I still try and fly my model rockets at least a few times each summer. And I love the St. Paul Saints. When I moved up here I was kind of frightened by the whole "Major League Sports Teams", cuz we don't have them down in Iowa. But the Saints felt like the local Bear League my dad played in. Plus, I'm actually spending a lot of time looking for a Bible-believing church to get involved in. I've been to Wooddale, Open Door, Grace, but they all have scary Singles Ministries they want me to join..."

C: "So aside from church hopping, is there anything you'd like to add to your schedule?"

L: "Haha, I guess I'd like to find somewhere to shoot again. I used to go out into our back 40, at the house I grew up in, and my dad and me and my little sister Leslie would shoot at tin cans with a .22. So I'd like to start doing that again regularly. And I heard Minneapolis had a good music scene, so I might start looking for good shows to go to. I mean I like Rock and Roll, just none of the punk-rock. I't got to be a little melodic, with soulful vocals."

Continued in the next issue...