Well, the rumor has finally come true!

I can't tell you how many times over the past year that someone has come up to me and said "I hear that Shawn Cable is coming to KSFY. Is that true?" I would always say "that's news to me!"

But as you probably know by now, Shawn has joined KSFY and he'll be giving you the weather forecast during KSFY Live In The Morning and KSFY Live at 11:30 Monday through Friday beginning August 25.

I'm being totally truthful in telling you that I'm really happy to have Shawn here. I've never really considered him a rival because he and I have seen each other at several events over the years and I always thought he was a really nice guy. He's just the same in person as he is on the air.

I welcome his passion for weather, especially severe weather, and his upbeat attitude. I've had many positive comments from viewers who've heard about Shawn coming to KSFY

At the same time, I'd like to thank Patrick Griesgraber for his hard work and dedication to KSFY over the past 12 years. Good luck PG!

Do you remember your first time you ever went on a roller coaster? I don't remember my first ride but I've been on quite of few of them over my lifetime.

My twin boys, Luke and Gabe, had their first roller coaster experience this past week at Valleyfair near Minneapolis.

My wife and I really didn't know what to expect from our nearly three-year-old boys as we placed them into one of the cars on the "Mild Thing". Would they cry with fear or cry with joy?

Just one look at the picture I've posted and you can tell that they were loving every bit of it! (They're the ones in green shirts).

It's hard for me to believe that the little 5-pound peanuts I held in my arms for the first time in October of 2005 are now about 35 pounds each and hopping onto thrill rides.

Quite a few vehicles nowadays have the "Homelink" garage door opening system like the one pictured above. They're built right into the ceiling console so you don't have to mess with those more traditional remotes that you clip on the visor, etc. Those clip-on types tend to fall off or get misplaced so it's nice to have the built-in kind.

I have one of those in my van that I 've had for about 3 and 1/2 years and just a couple of days ago I had backed out of my garage and pushed the button as I've done hundreds of times. I didn't push it any harder than usual, but this time the little plastic button popped out and went up into the ceiling panel!

My first thought was, "no biggie, it can't cost more than a few bucks to have the service department replace the button and I'll be good to go again." So, I happily take the van to the local dealership the next day expecting to spend maybe twenty or thirty bucks and drive away with a working Homelink system.

Imagine my surprise when I was told that replacing that little plastic button would cost...get this....$1100!!!

Apparently, the whole console will have to be replaced which includes the digital compass and thermometer. Talk about your design flaw! Then again, maybe they designed it that way on purpose. Hmmmmm.

I would say that the chances of me paying over $1000 for a little plastic button are about the same as my chances of replacing Sam Champion as Good Morning America's weatherman.

It's time to dust off the old remote opener and clip it back on the visor!

Ever since I was a little kid, I've dreaded seeing that first "back to school" sale advertised in the local paper. Even though I didn't mind school, it made me feel sad to think that summer vacation was slipping away.

The reason I bring this up is that I saw one of those ads this past Sunday and thought to myself "Really? It's only July 13!"

I haven't kept track but it seems like the ads are getting earlier and earlier, just like Christmas ads starting up the day after Halloween now.

Obviously, I don't go to school any more but my wife is a teacher and three of my school are school-age so I get the same feeling for them that I used to get when I was a kid.

So you know what I did? I took every single "back to school" ad I found in the Sunday paper and put them in the recycle pile before anyone else could see them.

I always feel a sense of relief when a potential severe weather outbreak doesn't really pan out. And that's happened two straight days in our area! Thursday night, July 10, a tornado watch was issued for parts of north central and northeast South Dakota. While there were a few storms that produced some strong wind and occasional large hail, there were no tornadoes.

The very next day another tornado watch was issued for parts of northeast South Dakota and a severe thunderstorm watch came out for southeast South Dakota, southwest Minnesota and northwest Iowa as a strong cold front was racing across the Northern Plains. A line of showers and storms did develop in the late afternoon hours just east of Sioux Falls and moved into Minnesota and Iowa. Again, there was no heavy weather to speak of.

Now, we're all free to enjoy the cooler temperatures and lower humidity that's coming our way for the weekend!

We're about to enter the "dog days" of summer. It's officially the period from July 3 through August 11. According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, this time is named for the Dog Star, Sirius, which is visible with the rising sun this time of the year. Our ancestors associated this sky configuration with the usually hot weather that happened at the same time. Sirius can be identified as the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major which means "greater dog".

Well, you won't be seeing me on the old tube for a while. I'll be taking a week off for summer vacation. My family and I are going to be heading west to the Black Hills for part of the week. We've gone several times and it never gets old. We love to stop at Al's Oasis and Wall Drug on the way out. When we get there, we'll visit Reptile Gardens, Old McDonald's Farm, Cosmos, Bear Country...all that touristy stuff. I can't tell you how many times we gone to those places, but we look forward to it every year. It helps to have new eyes experiencing those places. Our twin boys are 2 and 1/2 years old now and they'll be seeing these things for the first time. We did take them with us last year but I'm sure they don't remember much of anything about the trip.

Of course, we'll go and see Mount Rushmore! Every time we get close to the Shrine of Democracy, my heart beats faster. I've been there more times than I can remember, but it gets to me every time. I can't wait to see the first glimpse of the Famous Faces as we're driving up the highway. I'm sure this year will be no different and I can't wait to see my twin boys faces as they see the sculpture for the first time!

My oldest daughter, Samantha, is 11 and 1/2 years old. That's the age where young girls are doing young girl things like getting into cheerleading, having sleepovers with friends and dreaming of meeting the Jonas Brothers. Haven't heard of them? Just ask any girl 15 or younger.

Anyway, imagine my surprise when Samantha came up to me a couple of days ago and asked, "Dad, what's my wedding budget?" I think my jaw dropped further than it ever had before!

It turns out she was watching some show about really expensive weddings on TLC or some such channel.

But it did get me to thinking about how fast the last 11 and 1/2 years have gone by since she's been in the world. I still remember like it was yesterday when I held her in my arms whe she was just a few seconds old. And before I know it, she will be walking down the aisle for real! And as far as the budget is concerned....let's get you through high school first, okay?

As you may know from a previous blog, I'm a fan of the Kansas City Royals and have been since around 1970. They had lots of success through the 70s and 80s but it's been a long dry spell since then. They've shown signs of improving quite a bit this year but a couple of nights ago they were the victims of a no-hitter. But you know what? It really doesn't bother me. As a matter of fact, it's a great story.

If you hadn't heard, the Boston Red Sox pitcher who threw the gem was Jon Lester. The amazing thing about him is that just two years ago he was diagnosed with lymphoma which is a form of cancer.
Not only did he beat cancer, he won a World Series game last year, his team won the World Series and now he's thrown a no-hitter. It's an inspirational story for all of us and I don't mind at all that my team was on the short end of an almost unbelieveable tale.

Another .05 of an inch of rain fell on Sioux Falls today, the 13th of May and that brings our total for the month to 1.81 inches. That's a little more than a half-inch above normal.

There's only been one streak of three days without rain so far this month and that was the third through the fifth. So I'm sure there are lots of folks out there, especially construction workers and farmers, who'd like to have several days in a row without any sort of precipitation.

There is some good news in that regard. Even though there is a chance for some light rain late Wednesday night and Thursday, it looks like Friday will be the beginning of at least five days straight without rain. And the latest 6 to 10 day outlook is indicating below normal precipitation.