Amid investigation into misuse of taxpayer funding, Hagedorn making news for potential FCC violations
After news broke Monday that Congressman Jim Hagedorn has spent the last year being interviewed repeatedly on a local radio station by “a paid vendor of Hagedorn’s campaign for re-election,” without disclosing their relationship, Hagedorn’s consultant-slash-interviewer has been taken off the air. The station’s co-owner – who was previously unaware of the ties – explained the decision, saying, “We’re going to make sure we take any possible bias off the table.”
The move comes as experts told the Minnesota Reformer earlier this week that the relationship – and its lack of transparency – are likely to add to Hagedorn’s ethics problems and draw attention from the Federal Communications Commission. Hagedorn is also facing ongoing questions and a likely Congressional Ethics investigation into his potentially illegal funneling of nearly $500,000 in taxpayer dollars to his staff and their families.
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Mankato Free Press: KTOE takes DJ with Hagedorn ties off air
By Trey Mewes
KTOE DJ Al Travis has been taken off the air after media reported his ties as a paid advertising consultant to Congressman Jim Hagedorn.
Travis, whose real name is Al Travis Thielfoldt, was taken off the air to avoid “a perception of bias,” Radio Mankato co-owner Matt Ketelsen told listeners Tuesday morning.
“We don’t want our radio stations to have that distrust,” Ketelsen said. “We’re going to make sure we take any possible bias off the table.”
At issue is whether Thielfoldt, who has been paid by the Hagedorn campaign in a consultant role since 2017, should have disclosed his relationship to southern Minnesota’s Republican representative on-air during several interview segments between the two during the past few years.
Aside from his job hosting “Al in the Afternoon,” Thielfoldt hosts the Minnesota politics show “Between The Lines” and runs his own marketing consultant business, Innovative Marketing Techniques. In that role, Travis has been paid $872,930 by the Hagedorn campaign for advertising-related work since 2017.
…Still, Ketelsen said Tuesday morning, the radio station decided to avoid any perception of political bias this election season by taking Thielfoldt off the air for now.
“We’re going above and beyond to prevent any perception at all of how we cover news here in the Mankato area,” Ketelsen said.
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