Celebrity Sighting.

Last night in Rice Lake, Rep. Sean Duffy held a town hall that I covered for the paper. No, no -- he's not the celebrity.

Standing in the back, with the camera crew, was a familiar female face -- turns out to be Jamie Gangel, television reporter, national correspondent with the Today show. Introduced myself afterwards, being with the local paper, and she in turn introduced me to her producer, Mr. (missed the first name) Gellis.

They had just flown in yesterday, and were covering Rep. Duffy for a spot that will run sometime in the coming weeks. (If we tell you a date, it will get changed, Gellis said. "News happens, things get bumped", I responded.)

Very nice people, gracious. Only later, when I was thinking what I would have recommended they do if they'd been staying in Rice Lake, did I think of the Indian Mounds at the park. Regional, peaceful, pretty this time of year.

Yesterday, today too, the weather's been cooler, after record-breaking heat last Tuesday. They picked the right time of the year to be up here, anyway. And I always wonder what people like that -- classy, in a good way -- make of our area, on first glance.

Hopefully, the questions and the people at the Town Hall represented well. An older group, like our population, skews rural and white. Very sincere in their financial concerns though, and very respectful in asking their questions from their point of view.

It bugs me that these conservative people (some Mennonite -- you can tell by the facial hair: beard, no mustache) sometimes get labeled as racists, backwards, or haters, just for their basic simplicity and lack of "diversity". Clinging to their Gods and guns -- nevermind how important those two are to the existing social and cultural fabric here.

Anyway, it was a nice thing meeting Ms. Gangel and Mr. Gellis. I hope they saw enough to maybe make them want to come back again to northern Wisconsin. Fishing or kayaking on their vacation time off, say. (Mr. Gellis, I was thinking more of, as he seemed younger and more inclined to have time.)