If a debate falls in the forest

Were you aware that Mark Dayton and Jeff Johnson had a debate yesterday? If you were watching the 10 p.m. news on KARE, you wouldn't have known. The topic never came up, although there was ample time for a long feature piece that detailed the musical career of a guy from Mound Westonka High School, who happened to be the classmate of the KARE reporter who filed the story, complete with a discussion of the sequined vest the reporter had worn during a school production of "West Side Story" back in the late 90s.

It's bad enough that the debate took place at 8 in the morning, when the chance for any audience was quite small. It's even worse when a major news outlet in the Twin Cities doesn't even bother to have a report on their late newscast.