Have you ever listened to your inner voice, that guiding whisper leading you to make a pivotal career decision? Join me as I sit down with Elizabeth Ries, a seasoned broadcaster and host of Twin Cities Live, who shares her remarkable path from her Apple Valley upbringing to becoming a television sensation. This conversation is a treasure trove of inspiration, as Elizabeth opens up about the mentors who shaped her journey, the inner guidance that directed her steps, and the early days of her career before the digital buzz of social media and podcasts took over our airwaves.
Embarking on a career in the spotlight isn't without its hurdles, and Elizabeth and I tackle these head-on. We reflect on the value of humility, the illusions of effortless success, and the real behind-the-scenes sacrifices. In an industry that never sleeps, we address the art of juggling demanding work schedules with personal life, especially when parenting enters the stage. Elizabeth's personal anecdotes serve as comforting reminders that in the whirlwind of professional pursuits, self-care and setting boundaries are not just necessary, they're crucial for survival.
Finally, we round out our chat with a heartwarming look at the intersections of parenting, community engagement, and those kitchen experiments that bind us all. Elizabeth brings us into her world, sharing the joys and complexities of motherhood and the synergy between her family life and her audience. We even dive into her strategies for cultivating a love of diverse foods in her children, proving that a little butter and salt go a long way. So tune in for a conversation that's as nourishing for the soul as it is for the mind, and who knows, you might just find yourself inspired to listen to your own inner whispers a little more closely.
Have you ever listened to your inner voice, that guiding whisper leading you to make a pivotal career decision? Join me as I sit down with Elizabeth Ries, a seasoned broadcaster and host of Twin Cities Live, who shares her remarkable path from her Apple Valley upbringing to becoming a television sensation. This conversation is a treasure trove of inspiration, as Elizabeth opens up about the mentors who shaped her journey, the inner guidance that directed her steps, and the early days of her career before the digital buzz of social media and podcasts took over our airwaves.
Embarking on a career in the spotlight isn't without its hurdles, and Elizabeth and I tackle these head-on. We reflect on the value of humility, the illusions of effortless success, and the real behind-the-scenes sacrifices. In an industry that never sleeps, we address the art of juggling demanding work schedules with personal life, especially when parenting enters the stage. Elizabeth's personal anecdotes serve as comforting reminders that in the whirlwind of professional pursuits, self-care and setting boundaries are not just necessary, they're crucial for survival.
Finally, we round out our chat with a heartwarming look at the intersections of parenting, community engagement, and those kitchen experiments that bind us all. Elizabeth brings us into her world, sharing the joys and complexities of motherhood and the synergy between her family life and her audience. We even dive into her strategies for cultivating a love of diverse foods in her children, proving that a little butter and salt go a long way. So tune in for a conversation that's as nourishing for the soul as it is for the mind, and who knows, you might just find yourself inspired to listen to your own inner whispers a little more closely.
You're listening to another episode of On Our Best Behavior and today I'm so excited to tell you about my guest. My mom would have been so proud and happy about her today. She is widely known for her work and host and co-executive producer of Twin Cities Live, also the podcast co-host of Best to the Nest, and she also reports dirt alerts for MyTalk 107.1 and also has her own blog called Home to the Homestead. Elizabeth Reese, what don't you do?
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, there's plenty I don't do. I'm not a good knitter. I really want to become great at knitting. I don't do that. I would like to have a cow. I could milk my own cow. I don't do that, but you know we'll get there. There's only so many hours in the day.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having me. Thank you so much for being here with me. This is great.
Speaker 2:You are so welcome. I love podcasts, I love listening to podcasts, I love making them. I just there's just something so cool about them and when I think about my early days in broadcasting, like I would have, there wasn't even a thing as a podcast, so I would have never known what it was, and then it's turned out to be just one of my favorite ways to connect with people and I kind of want to talk about this.
Speaker 1:but you, you got here when there wasn't like a social media prominence, when there wasn't like a social media prominence. So I feel like you took the hard road you know. Versus now, anyone can just get on the internet and put themselves out there.
Speaker 2:So that's true, it was a hard, thank you, Kelly.
Speaker 1:It was a hard road, Okay. So fun fact I learned this about you is you were born in Cambridge, Minnesota. I was, yes.
Speaker 2:I was there for like a hot minute.
Speaker 1:I grew up in East Bethel, so that's like next door neighbors to me. So I was like this is a fun fact. Oh, that is very funny. I grew up in Cambridge, or.
Speaker 2:I was born in Cambridge. I grew up in Apple Valley yeah, my parents. When they moved to Minnesota, my dad was a Lutheran minister and he was called to a church in St Francis and so that's where they moved. And then I was born in Cambridge because that's where the hospital was, but we actually lived in St Francis. And then my parents moved to St Paul shortly after and then ended up in Apple Valley, which they've been in the South side.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you grew up there, right, you spent most of your life there, yeah, which they've been in the South side ever since. Yeah, you grew up there right.
Speaker 2:You spent most of your life there. Yeah, yes, yeah, I did. We moved there when I was going into first grade.
Speaker 2:So I was going into first grade. So then I was there all the way through and my dad moved around a lot when he was a kid. His dad was a pastor too and moved from church to church and so they were really big on wanting us to be in the same school from all the way you know, from beginning to end. And so we were, and it was a great place to grow up. Apple Valley was really wonderful. I have amazing friends from Apple Valley still.
Speaker 1:So this podcast was born because my son wanted to do a YouTube channel. This was our compromise, so he will pipe in in the beginning and the end, but anyway. So we started when he went to middle school, so seventh grade, and now he's in high school. I don't know how that happened, but anyway, one of the conversations that we have daily is what do you want to be when you grow up? So you know, when did you decide what you wanted to do as your career path and how? You know what inspired you? How did you stay driven? Because you've been doing this.
Speaker 2:I mean, you started pretty young out of high school, didn't you? Yeah, well, I started, so I started in television when, I was 21.
Speaker 2:I had just graduated from the great University of Wisconsin. Madison is where I went to school and I loved it so much and I I really go back to I. I think I was about 13 and I remember I mean, I might've even been a little bit younger than that I remember watching the news and just like watching TV news and I and it was a local station, I'm sure it was probably, you know, could have been KSDP, maybe it was WCCO, who knows and I remember having that little voice inside of me that said I can do that, I can do that and it was really interesting. And I have had a few moments in my life where I've heard that still small voice. You know a lot of people will refer to it as that still small voice, which I love that, or as the voice of God, however you connect with that voice. But what's interesting to me is always that when I hear that voice, it's my own voice talking to me and I was just talking to my sister about this because it was kind of it's my own voice talking to me and I was just talking to my sister about this because it was kind of it's it's when how I was raised in a Lutheran church was always I felt a lot like the voice of God was always going to come from way out somewhere. You know, there was a lot of, and I maybe it was just like how I interpreted it as a kid but like a lot of like heaven is so far away and hell is so far away and we're so fine, god is everywhere. But that to me felt really far away. And when I finally was able to understand that that still small voice within me was my own voice but I really felt like that was a divine voice, it was a big shift for me. So when I look back at that now, I just feel really grateful that I listened to that little whisper and that I was able to hear like I can do that, I can do that. And it wasn't ever like I mean, I guess I didn't feel in that moment like, oh, I'm going to love this. I just felt like I can do that and that was really empowering to me.
Speaker 2:So from that point on I really seeked out mentors and it was kind of funny because then the following year my mom's cousin so my mom has about 150 cousins I mean she had like my grandparents were like one of 11 and one of 11. And then everybody had five kids. So you know, there's like millions of them, I wouldn't even be able to count all of them. But she had a cousin, rachel, who I'd never met before. And Rachel happened to pick for all reasons, I don't know why to come to college for a year at Concordia, st Paul, and so my parents, who had a connection to Concordia for a long time, kind of took her in because she moved here from Tennessee. She had no, like she didn't have a winter coat. So my mom, like took her, we went and got a winter coat and she came and we would go and see her and we would visit, take her to dinner and like all these things. Well, rachel wanted to work in television, and so Rachel and I became really close and she was, you know, she was probably 20. I was 15. So I like idolized her and she became one of my most important mentors in my life.
Speaker 2:And then, when I was in high school at Apple Valley, we had a program called the mentorship program and it was absolutely incredible because you would, you would take, you would take a trial. We had trimesters. So, like the first trimester you would. You would do all of this research on the field that you were interested in. And I was interested in broadcasting, and so you did all this research and then they helped you pair up with a mentor and then you would work with that mentor and go to that person's workplace like multiple times a week.
Speaker 2:I mean it's it's really quite a commitment. But my mentor was Amelia Santanello at WCCO, so all of those things just kind of kept falling into place and I would just I would just end up with opportunities. My cousin, rachel, ended up working in Madison. I went to school in Madison and so she was able to connect me with her news director her former news director and then got me an internship. It was just sort of, you know, I worked really hard, I did a lot for no money, and not that I recommend that, I think interns should be paid, but you know, whatever, back then that was not the case.
Speaker 2:Back then that was not the case and I, um, and I just kept plugging away at it and I think I I had an expectation, um, that it was going to be hard. And it was hard and I, my parents, their life was hard. You know, when we were little my dad was a minister. Like they had $0. Here's a newsflash Don't go into the Lutheran ministry if you want to make cash flow. But that was really good preparation for me, because I understood hard and I understood moving far away and kind of having to forge my own path and then I was able to continue. That was a long answer to that I am so sorry.
Speaker 2:This is what I do on these podcasts. I love podcasts because on TV I always have a producer in my ear telling me to wrap it up, and on a podcast I've got freedom, kelly.
Speaker 1:I'll still tell you when you're here, but everyone will be able to hear. It's okay.
Speaker 2:You can be like just give me the wrap sign.
Speaker 1:One of my questions that you kind of answered was getting your being mentored by Amelia Santanello. I mean, that's a huge deal and that just kind of happened for you Right, just kind of fell in your lap. You didn't like seek that out.
Speaker 2:I did seek it out. Yeah, she was I. I was able to kind of put like a short list of people together who I really wanted to work with and at the time, you know, I mean good for me, amelia wasn't really Amelia. Then you know, she had just she had moved to town recently, she was anchoring the weekends and she had just moved to anchoring weekdays and she was dating Frank.
Speaker 1:So I remember like he would send her flowers, like that was like very fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that was like very fun, yeah. So I remember that. And so I went in with my teacher, mrs Potts, who was like this tall, regal, she had like a perfect reddish bob and glasses and she was Southern and she was always dressed like perfectly, but she was a teacher at Apple Valley High School. She was amazing, and so she took me down there for my interview with her and Amelia agreed to meet with me to see if it would work, and and she, and then she said yes, and I'd also asked Joan Steffend. Joan Steffend, who was a legendary anchor, who who I adore and who I know very well. Now I'm going to see her and her husband in a couple of weeks, but Joan was too busy and Joan said no, everybody's got different things going on in their life. I'm sure Joan had she probably had little kids at the time. Amelia didn't have kids at the time and she just let me come in and it was amazing and Amelia and I have coffee regularly.
Speaker 2:I would always update her on every job, everything I was moving, you know, every place I was moving, and it was just a real. It was a real amazing opportunity and I think it just solidified, you know, finding connections with other women is very important to me and that, and so I would seek out women who I felt like could offer me something and who I could learn from, and and always in a way, you know, I think there's a way to do that where you're not coming in going like we've had interns, who've who. I've been like, well, what do you want to do? And they've been like I want your job.
Speaker 2:I'm like okay well, that's one way to go about seeking a mentor.
Speaker 2:I think there is something about coming in with a bit of a humble nature and saying this is what I'm really excited about and what I'm really passionate about, and I would love to learn how you've been able to do it.
Speaker 2:And then the bonus of that, too, is because I was able to build these relationships. I would love to learn how you've been able to do it. And then, you know, the bonus of that, too, is because I was able to build these relationships, I was able to really always get a very realistic perspective of what it was going to be like, which is not easy. And so I remember even some people from college who graduated from college and got jobs in small markets, and I don't know if they'd ever had a relationship with someone to give them that straight talk about how hard it was going to be and how cutthroat it was going to be, and so they bailed on the business, and it's certainly not for everybody to stay in. So there's no shame in moving on to something else. That being said, I think if you're prepared for the toughness of things, you're just not so shell-shocked when it happens, right Expect the worst hope for the best kind of situation.
Speaker 1:Kind of, I mean, I think that should happen with marriage, with pregnancy like all these things.
Speaker 2:I mean just having a realistic view. I'm so grateful for so many things, but it's that idea that everything is supposed to be sunshine and rainbows and fulfill me at every moment. And, oh my gosh, I'm going to, you know, become a mother and it's going to bring me such great happiness.
Speaker 1:Well, you know what Like at three in the morning, when you're awake again, like you're not very happy and you know if you, if you go into it sort of understanding that the trials are part of the journey and that you're strong enough to move, but yeah, you don't see behind the curtain, you don't see all the behind the scenes and what it takes to get there, and so, yeah, you make it look easy because you're good at what you do. I mean, I know you're a humble, but I'm just going to say that's what I think, and I think that's the case with a lot of people who are successful in TV, music, movies. All that stuff is because they do the hard work, they put it in to make it look easy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's a lot. I mean, there's definitely a lot behind the scenes, for sure, and there's a lot of just kind of, as I've gotten older, there's a lot more sort of, you know, like maintenance on myself that I have to do to make sure that I can keep it. And I'm not talking like shooting up Botox or things like that. I'm talking about, you know, really being thoughtful and managing my energy levels and the time that I'm spending on myself and all of those things. Because when I started in TV, I was 21. I started in TV news. I worked in TV news for about seven years before I moved over to lifestyle TV and got the opportunity to come over to Twin Cities Live. And then I've been at Twin Cities Live for almost 15 years and my life has changed a lot in those 15 years.
Speaker 2:I just had a moment this weekend where I was texting with my sister and I just said I cannot absorb everyone's emotions in this house. I am tapped out on. I feel like everyone in this house gets to have a meltdown and a breakdown and a like I'm unhappy about this and frankly, it happened after my son refused to go to swimming lessons because there was a different teacher and I just had no patience. And so I just said like, okay, we're going to go home, and I just couldn't even like, sometimes I can make it a game and make it really fun and be like, okay, we're going to go home and I just couldn't even like, sometimes I can make it a game and make it really fun and be like, okay, how can we overcome this? You know, how can I manage this with my three-year-old?
Speaker 2:I was done, I was tapped out, I had no more to give and I wasn't going to make it a game. I just said, okay, we're turning around and we're going to go home. I'm not, I don't have it in me. And then my sister, who was also at the swimming lesson with her son, was like, are you okay? And I said I just, it's just too, it's just a lot and it's and you know, I think a lot of moms can relate to that feeling that, like everybody gets to break down except for you, because you have to be the one holding all the pieces together, yeah, and so when I do that at home and you know, that's just the season I'm, that's the season that I'm in but that means that I have to manage my energy to be able to then deliver at work.
Speaker 2:So there's a lot more of that than I you know. I used to be able to, Kelly. I could go out for cocktails multiple nights a week. I mean, I could be out until midnight, wake up and then figure it out and make my, you know, do a TV show and be just fine. These days are behind me.
Speaker 1:I hear you, I and I'm fine with that. I'm like, how did we do that? You know?
Speaker 2:how did I do that? Yeah, it's just your bandwidth changes, you know. You just um, I think I am a lot more efficient at a lot of things. You know there's just work things that come so much more easily. I can crank out scripts. I can manage things much. I mean I can bust through a show and be ready and prep to do the show in five minutes. I mean it really like where I used to be staring at scripts for an hour going through them. I mean this is like a totally different game. Scripts for an hour going through them. I mean this is like a totally different game. But that increase in efficiency I think also comes at a cost, which is I do have a decreased bandwidth for just sort of, you know, running myself ragged or just go, go, go. I can't do those things anymore. So it's a trade-off. You know there's positives and negatives.
Speaker 1:I have a funny story, because when you said like at 3 am, you know, sometimes your kids aren't everything you know sunshine and rainbows. I have a friend who she just had a baby and her baby just got baptized, and so she there was a picture of her baby, like you know, in her like Christian dress and she just looked so angelic and I'm like, oh my gosh, she looks like a true angel and she goes not at 3 am, yeah, and I was like, oh, I remember those days you know, but they, they do end fast.
Speaker 1:What do they say? Days go by slow, but years go by fast.
Speaker 2:Yeah days are long, the years are short, and that is yeah, that is absolutely, that is absolutely true. But that's for a reason because if those days went on forever, you'd die. I mean these people who are like, oh, I had 10 kids and so I was just like awake for 20 years. I'm like I don't, I can't. I mean, I have three and that's great, although every time I see a baby, I'm like Jay, we should have one more. He's like find somebody else.
Speaker 1:Wait 20 years to be a grandma. It'll be fine. We should have one more. He's like find somebody else. Wait 20 years to be a grandma, It'll be fine.
Speaker 2:I know it's been, it's it's good.
Speaker 1:So now I want to talk about how you started your journey with Twin Cities Live.
Speaker 2:Oh, this is great. Well, I so I started Twin Cities Live. I started filling in on the show, and that was another sort of like divine intervention thing, where I had moved back to Minneapolis to take the job at KSTP to report for the morning show and I moved in with my parents. So my parents live in Burnsville and at the time my dad was working in St Louis and so he had a condo there and so they were commuting back and forth. So, like my mom would go there for you know she would go there a lot of Thursday through Sunday and so it worked out great because they had an empty house most of the time and so I could move in and the rent was very reasonable, it was free, it was great, I would buy groceries and that was awesome. And for all those years you had been interning for free, you know you needed to make that up, oh gosh.
Speaker 2:Well, and yeah, I worked in Duluth, I worked in Green Bay. I mean those were jobs but they were pretty much like for free. Yeah, it was tough. So to catch a break like that was really great. To be able to come home and kind of breathe a little bit was after you know, by that point I'd been in the business for about six years and I was like okay, just tired. So I got the job at KSTP. I started filling in on Twin Cities Live because the show was started by two hosts, john Hanson and Rebecca Wood, and John was, interestingly enough, was also from Apple Valley, so he was five years older than me. So I didn't know him in high school, but I knew that he was from Apple Valley and I knew that he had this job. So, and my parents' neighbors knew him Small world yeah.
Speaker 2:So one day I'm walking out to the parking lot after my morning show shift and he was walking into the building and I was like, hey, you know, I introduced myself and I was like, you know, I'm Elizabeth Reese, I just started on the morning show and I was like, but we know someone in common. I went to Apple Valley and you know my parents' neighbors, and he's like, wait a second, where do your parents live? And it turns out he had moved home from Las Vegas to take the job and he was living at his parents' house, which was directly behind my parents' house.
Speaker 2:I mean it was wild. So John and I became buddies because we had no friends, because he, john, just had no friends, and he will agree with this if he ever listens to this.
Speaker 2:That probably continues to this day. I am probably one of his only friends and um, and then he, uh, and then a lot of you know my friends a lot of them had been here for a long time, like some of them were already married and a lot of them kind of had their lives set up. So I was just kind of dipping my feet back into Minneapolis and figuring things out. And so John one day said, hey, could you Rebecca's out sick, could you come and fill in? And so I got to come and fill in and it went really great and it was very fun. And then they started asking me to do some live shots for the show, because I was done working the morning show and then I could stay. I mean, but I would literally like I would get to work at three in the morning and then I would do the morning show, and then I would sometimes like go home for a little bit and take a rest, or I would just go up to the Twin Cities live office and sit there and then go do another live live shots at 3pm. I mean, it was like nuts. You know, these are things that, like this is what you do when you're young and you're hungry and you just want to do it.
Speaker 2:But I loved. I loved the show and you know my real love of television was always live TV. So I love live TV. I think it is so fun. Nothing replaces it. It's just such a rush. There's a preparation and execution, that feeling of anything can happen, that really that nice finality that once it's done, it's done and you move on to the next thing You're not sitting there, obsessing over it and editing and all that garbage, I mean that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2:Live TV, to me, is so much fun. And so, as I started to realize, what did I really love about TV? Reporting on the news wasn't it, and really hadn't ever been it. I loved telling stories, I loved connecting with people, I loved meeting people and I loved live TV. So it became pretty clear through kind of a multitude of things that I was in the right business but not in the right fit, and the right fit was taking its toll on me.
Speaker 2:And so I knew that Twin Cities Live was looking for a reporter. They were on the hunt for somebody, but it was kind of like a tricky political move to try to move over to that show. You know, once you're in the newsroom they don't really want it. Now it's different, but then it was like. You know, now there's an amazing relationship, but at the time, you know, the show was sort of seen as like this what is this junkie lifestyle show going to be and what's it? You know, it just didn't. It didn't have the respect. 15 years ago, I mean, nobody thought it was going to make it. Everybody thought the show and everyone in the building thought the show was going to be canceled. I mean, it just wasn't, wasn't what it is now.
Speaker 2:And so, um, I met the executive producer of the show out for a happy hour one night and her name is Mandy Totic she's still my boss, and Mandy and I met up and I said, listen, I've got, I want to work on your show. I love this show, I love the team. I would love to be the reporter for the show and if I am not, if that's not going to be in the cards, then I am going to quit KSTP and I'm going to apply to be a barista at Caribou Coffee at Byerly's in Burnsville, because I stopped there for coffee there. I stopped there for coffee all the time and they seem very, very happy there. And at that point I honestly I didn't really care which one happened, because my other favorite job was working as a barista in high school I like, loved.
Speaker 2:I worked at this little coffee shop in Apple Valley in the Target parking lot. It was so great and and I knew I was just done I was done with news at a few moments where I was just like this isn't. I remember very specifically looking around the newsroom at amazing reporters, like people who you know I'm biased, but I always. I think we've had the best reporters in town for so many years. I mean, they're so good. And I looked around at them and I thought I'm not getting the same thing out of this that they're getting, like they're getting something out of this that I am not. And so, mandy, we had to kind of make it work that I was going to have to go tell my boss in news that I wanted to move and what was that going to be like? And it turned out it wasn't that great, it was like a whole thing.
Speaker 2:But at the time then, ksdp happened to be adding a couple of newscasts, so they were expanding, so they hired a couple of other new anchors to come in and the management sort of put everybody in a hat and was like all right, let's start from scratch and look at who are all the people that we have on air, and where will they be the best fit? It turned out that they thought Rebecca Wood, who was the host of Twin Cities Live, that she would be amazing on the morning show. And she was. She was a great anchor. She'd anchored for a long time. She's a wonderful human being. And so they said we're going to move Rebecca to the morning show and we're going to make you the host of Twin Cities Live. And I was like what?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's the dream come true.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was really shocking yeah it was shocking.
Speaker 2:I mean it was complicated because I knew that that wasn't necessarily the move Rebecca wanted to make, even though I mean and again, like she was just the most gracious and this is where I just feel so lucky that I've just run into so many incredible women where Rebecca could have been very easy for her to be very nasty to me and you know it might've been justified, like you know it's I wasn't going after her job. She fully supported me going after the reporter job. She, I know she wanted me on the team. But I remember in the office when I went in and I met up with Rebecca for the first time once that happened and she said to me she grabbed me and she hugged me and she said you're going to be great at this job. Yeah, I mean, that's like, that's like next freaking level.
Speaker 1:And I love that, like women, lifting each other up, supporting each other, helping each other, you know, being on the same level, versus trying that competitiveness that you just see so much and that cutthroat and just being rude and crazy. So, yeah, yeah, that's great.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that's kind of how it happened. So it was sort of a wild whirlwind then, and then we started to really get to work and started to build something that has certainly turned into an institution that I'm so proud to be part of.
Speaker 1:So how do you find continent every day, I mean to be, live every day and be like this is going on or we have this person doing this. I mean, I know that we live in a great city and there is. I mean, even if you're on like a blog or a website, it's amazing how many events are happening, and especially since 2020, like that, we're building the city back up but it is amazing what you can come up with.
Speaker 2:You know that was a big concern at the beginning of the show was is there going to be enough lifestyle content in this town to support a show that's an hour long every single day? And it's never been a problem. It's so fascinating, it's always been. It's just always someone telling us about something or we drive by something or we think of an angle on something. We have a really amazing stable of contributors who come on the show regularly and that helps a lot. That's significant.
Speaker 2:But I always joked with Mandy. I would always say listen, when this thing hits 10 years, you and I got to have a backup plan because we're going to get canned. I mean there's just no way that this is going to go on, because Good Company, which was, you know, the predecessor of Twin Cities Live it was a local powerhouse for 12 years in the 80s and early 90s. It lasted for 12 years and so I was always like there's no way we're going to surpass Good Company. I mean it'll be a miracle if we hit five years. It was like that's how scrappy it was, you know. And when we hit 10 years we were told that they wanted us to do another half hour. I was like, well, that's not what I thought was going to happen there. So then we expanded from three to four, 30.
Speaker 2:You know, I think that the the thing is that we live in a community where there are so many stories to be told, there are so many people doing interesting things and, um, and things are evolving all the time. You know, there's always things closing and opening and different um, different chapters for different people and different organizations and businesses, and so there's just always something to cover. And we have a really unique relationship with our community here. You know, people are so obsessed with Minnesota, like they want everything in the shape of Minnesota. You know, we, like we're very, almost disgustingly, proud of what this place is, you know, and and I don't think you really find that everywhere. So we were able to really tap into that and we're able to get a response which means, you know, from a financial standpoint, it's huge, because it means that when we allow advertisers on the show and I say allow because that's exactly what it is that we go through a process of making sure that any content that is associated with an advertiser is content that we would do editorially anyway. So our partnerships are taken very seriously.
Speaker 2:The show did not make money for a long time because of that, because we would not just put anything on the air, it had to have entertainment value. And that was an absolute mandate from our general manager, rob Hubbard, which was there's no way the show would be successful without that decision that he made early on. And so we were able to, you know, build a relationship and earn the trust of our audience, and then our audience in turn supports the partners that support us. So it's a really beautiful. It's a beautiful thing it's.
Speaker 2:You know, I it was interesting because working with clients on a television show was so foreign to me, because I worked in news for so long, where there's such a, such a separation of church and state. You know, you have, you don't do anything with an advertiser. But when I first realized what a difference it made was when I remember I covered, we did this fun little series where we would go to these restaurant patios and we would do these events with them. We'd do a story on it and then we would go and do an event on the patio on it, and then we would go and do an event on the patio.
Speaker 2:And this one little restaurant in Marine on St Croix, which is very cute, by the way. It's so cute over there, I would really love to live over there sometime. But there was a restaurant and this family, the guy had run I think he had like opened a bunch of buka de bepos, like he'd worked in restaurants for a long time but never had his own thing. And there was this place that had been sitting vacant. It was a restaurant and it had been sitting vacant for a couple of years and he decided to take the plunge and open his own thing, and so they didn't have much money for advertising. They bought into the show, they partnered with us on one of these events and stories, and so I went out there and did the story and met the family and he made these amazing lobster rolls.
Speaker 2:The lobster rolls were so good and I love lobster rolls, it was so good and I was like this is really great. And so I raved about it on the show and I said this is so delicious, you got to come and get this lobster roll. And then a couple of days later I got a note from them and they were like we sold 200 lobster rolls. Like we can't believe it. I mean, normally we would sell like 30 of them. You said that and everybody came and I thought, well, this is like the most rewarding thing ever that I was able to experience something, meet people who were doing something really cool, who were like wanted to bring an independent great restaurant to a community Like what's better than that? And then make delicious food. I tried it, I loved it, I shared that authentically. And then they get all of these people who come and then they had put their finances into supporting this show and that was a real eye-opening experience for me of like, oh my gosh, this is a whole different deal than I thought.
Speaker 1:And that's the best way, right when you can be authentic about something that you promote. Yeah, it doesn't get better than that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it doesn't, and it's a real. And then you realize too the trust that comes with that. You know you can't. I don't promote anything that I don't love. I don't promote anything that I don't use. Certainly, my relationships with different sponsors and advertisers changed over the years, but there isn't a single one that I would be like, oh gosh, run from them. And I take that really seriously. And I don't know if everybody does. I don't know. I mean, I think I would like to think that people do, but that might be the journalism background in me. I took a lot of ethics classes in college.
Speaker 1:Well, ethics is a thing that not a lot of people have, so that's good.
Speaker 2:You find that out, don't you? Yeah?
Speaker 1:Unfortunately. So back in November, December-ish, you did this alpaca interaction and I was so jealous in a good way.
Speaker 2:I love that guy Oliver.
Speaker 1:That is so amazing, so that's one of my recent favorites. So what is your favorite Twin Cities Live experience.
Speaker 2:Oh gosh, and I know there's been 15 years. 15 years Sometimes I don't even remember that I've done things, isn't that?
Speaker 1:hilarious, I'll be like that did not happen. And then someone on the team will be like.
Speaker 2:Here's the video that absolutely did happen. Well, I would say I mean probably the most meaningful thing. So when I was a kid, everything that's super meaningful on the show really goes back to the things that meant something to me as a kid. You know, it's so funny how that happens and how your childhood is so short, but how it just informs so much of what you value for the rest of your life. So when I was a kid I idolized Amy Grant, like idolized her, oh my gosh. I mean. And you know, when I was a kid it was like my dad was a Lutheran minister and so I would have to yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, they loved her they did.
Speaker 1:It got a little controversial at parts, but you know who hasn't had a tough time but she.
Speaker 2:I would sing her songs in church. So I would sing solos in church. Oh, good.
Speaker 2:Because I was free labor, kelly. I mean it seems like such a sweet thing, but I was really just free and available and forced to be there, so I'd sing solos in church and I just loved her. So fast forward a few years ago and Amy Grant is coming to the Twin Cities to do a show and our producers arranged that I could go and not only meet her but sing El Shaddai with her, which was like the song I love so much, and so it was the most nervous I've ever been. The whole day I was like I can't go, I cannot go, I'm going to throw up.
Speaker 2:I made Kelly, our reporter, come with me. I've never made Kelly come with me on a story in my whole career and I was like I'm going to need to ask you something, like I think I need you to come with me on this. I don't think I can do this by myself. Our executive producer got me a voice lesson so I could tune up a little bit before, which was very helpful, and then I went and sang with her and it was like full out life changing. I mean, that's one that I have saved and if I watch it I will be sobbing, because it was just super meaningful to me. It was amazing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, another great thing I wanted to mention to you is my mom watched you faithfully and I probably wouldn't have even known about Twin Cities Life if it wasn't for her, and she'd be like, guess what Elizabeth is doing. Like you guys, like she knew who you were. Elizabeth is having another baby. Elizabeth is going to be back soon. Oh my gosh, I wonder how she's going to. You know, come to work and have two kids or three kids, and I was like I'm sure she's fine, mom. Oh man, so with that, like you have, like your whole life, and, like you said, your changes of being a single lady, being an engaged lady, being married, baby, baby, baby, all these changes are all captured on live TV.
Speaker 2:I know, Isn't that terrifying? It's a lot. I mean, it could be a good thing, but I mean for you, I mean when you're like do any day pregnant.
Speaker 1:I'm sure that's kind of hard to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there, you know, there's a real vulnerability to those things and I think you know, the vast majority of people who watch the show are like your mom, and that's so incredible People who feel like we're friends, and I hope they feel that way and they feel a part of something when they're watching the show and they feel connected to their community. They feel connected to who they are. I think it's such an amazing privilege and I mean it's 98% of people are just incredible about it. The 2% are hard and that can make things very difficult and I think when you're in a vulnerable position.
Speaker 2:My daughter just the other day she's very into Googling, like she wants to know what everyone looks like if she hears their songs on the radio. So she's like, can we look up this person? Can I see pictures up this person? Can I see pictures of this person? So she wants to see pictures of people so she can connect. And so I'm like, okay, but you know the internet is a scary place. So I'm like, yep, I'll sit here with you and I'll watch this. And she's like, well, if we look up you, will, we see pictures of you? And I'm like, yes, you will. And she's like, okay, well, can I do it? And I was like okay, and then I start thinking this is not a good idea. And then I didn't listen to myself and she sees pictures and she can see pictures of like me and Jay. She can see pictures of me on the show, me and Ben and whoever you know and um, but then she sees in the Google, you know, when you Google someone's name, you can see what people are Googling.
Speaker 2:And there was one that she read out loud to me and it said pictures of Elizabeth Reese, because she was looking up. Pictures of Elizabeth Reese is what she looked up and someone had typed in to Google and Google remembers everything, my friends pictures of Elizabeth Reese before she got fat. That is what it said, and my nine-year-old read that out loud to me and you're the first person I'm telling about this, kelly. Isn't this exciting?
Speaker 1:And I, my body is tingling because as a mom, like as a person, let alone as a mom having a daughter- it's not great, I'll tell you that.
Speaker 2:You know, and no matter how much work you do on yourself and no matter how much, um, I'm a very big believer in, like, my body is in a different season at different times. I'm not a person who's just consistently at a same weight or a same shape all the time. There's different reasons for different seasons for me, and that is how, that is just how I am, and I, um, and I'm very much okay with that Like I can look back and be like oh, that was that time, or that was that time where, like you know it, it is what it is. You know, it would be better for my closet if I would stay one size, because then I would not have to have as much stuff. But you know, that's that's another story. It's okay, there's space, we can make it work. But I think you know it was like, oh, shoot, man. And then she, she saw that and I said, boy, isn't that tough.
Speaker 2:Sometimes people say stuff about your body and it might not feel good, and this is this is why I think it's important to just maybe not make observations about other people's bodies.
Speaker 2:So that part of it is hard, I think there are always going to be people who think I'm annoying or think whatever. But the real growth I think that I've achieved, particularly as I've gotten to my 40s, is really just looking at people who lash out with something mean is to just look at them with empathy, because the reality is is that, you know, no content fulfilled person would lash out at somebody else like that at all. I mean, we all have the potential to be jerks, right? I mean, kelly, you could yell at somebody in the car. I mean it doesn't mean like that you're a mean person, but like there's nothing within you, if you are a settled human being, that would cause you to look at someone on TV who you don't know and lash out at them about anything because you just don't care. And you might even think it, you might even be like well, that was kind of annoying what she said, but there was just nothing in you that would like I need to get that to that person.
Speaker 2:So, I have right, I mean, and so then, when I, when, when I look at it like that, from a place of having empathy and understanding, boy, if you are that broken, what is your everyday like? Like, if this is the way that you are finding joy, if this is the only thing that you can do to ease the self-hatred within you is to lash out at me, what must your days and nights be like? And I would not wish that on anyone. And so that perspective shift has been important to me, and it's not me.
Speaker 1:There was not that long ago. There was a situation where an individual had said something not nice about you and you talked about it on the show live and that was so appreciated by so many of us women watching that I think we all were like thank you, thank you for saying something versus pretending that it just doesn't happen.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean it's kind of funny because that was the Be a Julie versus Maggie movement, that sort of happened. That went viral when I posted about emails that I'd gotten about a pair of jeans that I was wearing, actually at the Home and Garden Show which I'm going to be there tomorrow Isn't that funny Full circle. And I was just out there reporting in jeans and a cute little green jacket and whatever, and I got an email from a woman named Julie who said, oh my gosh, elizabeth, I love those jeans. Would you mind telling me what they are? We have similar body types and I think that I'd love to get those. So I wrote back. I was like, oh my gosh, yes, they're Hudson, I'm a size 31. Whatever works for you. And then I got another email from a woman named Maggie who wrote to me and said something to the effect of you either need to get to the gym more or you need to wear something that covers your butt. You look terrible.
Speaker 2:And it was so interesting to me because that was like a real, it was like a tale of two perspectives and it was, and it kind of started this be a Julie movement which, if you know, you know, and I ended up like talking to Kelly Clarkson about it. It went, I posted about it on Instagram after some thought and then it went. All I mean it was on people, it was on Yahoo, it was like international deal. So it obviously resonated with a lot of people, but a lot. The reason why I talked about it was because of my daughter, because I'd been thinking about it after that happened, you know, and I got those emails during the show, because I'm checking emails, because I am in communication with producers, so I'm checking things and I get that, and then I have to still do the show and it feels bad, you know, it just feels bad. So I um, so that next morning I'd been thinking about it and I'd sort of been like typing out like some of my thoughts about it.
Speaker 2:And then I remember seeing my daughter now Bernie at the time I think she was five, and she was like dancing through our bedroom and she was staring at herself in the mirror and she was like look at me, look at me, I mean, and she just had such pride for herself and her body and she thought she was so beautiful and she is so beautiful and but more importantly, she thought that about herself. And so in that moment I remember thinking like at some point someone's going to take that from her, Someone's going to take that from her and it's inevitable that she's going to have that taken from her. Because every single woman I know remembers when that was taken from her and remembers the moment that she felt like she wasn't enough and that what she looked like wasn't good enough. And I thought like I'm going to fight back for her, because I am. If there's one thing that I can do to just delay that or to just try to save one little girl from experiencing that or push it off as far as possible, then I'm going to say something.
Speaker 2:And then I did. And then I was like, oh, shoot Cause. Then I saw it get shared like hundreds of thousands of times. I was like, well, dang it.
Speaker 1:No, it was good, though I got myself into a situation. Did you tell the show you were going to talk about that?
Speaker 2:No, okay, well, I didn't tell them I was going to post it, okay, and then I posted it and then it was like okay, now we have to talk about it. And then you know, my co-host at the time, and I've been so fortunate I have just these, this band of brothers, of these guys that I've gotten to co-host the show with, who are just like, they've all been great, so great, and they are my fiercest protectors. I mean, they just are incredible and there's just such a special bond with them. There's such a special bond even my husband has with them, which seems so funny. But he just he always says, you know, when they say, like, what's been like, do you like Ben Jay's, like anybody who makes her day better makes my day better, and he and they, you know, there's just such a sweetness to it. And so Steve um, steve was the one who was really like I want to talk about this. We got to talk about it and he kind of led the conversation and he just did a beautiful job, because he's a beautiful human.
Speaker 1:Yes, All right, I have a few listener questions. Oh my gosh, you do and we are going to do fast answers. Elizabeth Dang it.
Speaker 2:That's my worst. I'm not good at that, though. That's your it. That's my worst. I'm not good at that, though.
Speaker 1:That's your weakness.
Speaker 2:That's my total weakness. Okay, all right, I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it for you.
Speaker 1:Some of them we actually already talked about, so we can probably just skip those, but I'll just tell you what they are anyway. All right, first one is favorite takeaway from your mom's kitchen as a kid.
Speaker 2:Oh gosh, I think her chicken pot pie. I loved chicken pot pie or her fried chicken Really good, my mom's from Texas.
Speaker 1:Or her enchiladas. You love to cook so much and spend time in the kitchen. Did you get that from your mom?
Speaker 2:Yeah, a lot of it from her and a lot of it from just. The more I learned about food, the more I wanted to make great food. I always just feel like you have a finite number of meals before you die. You want to make everyone good. Yeah, at the end of my life.
Speaker 1:I don't want to be like dang it, I wasted that one. Show you look most forward to every year? Oh, like a Twin Cities live show? Yeah, because you guys have like standing specials.
Speaker 2:Thanksgiving cooking episode. For sure, our Thanksgiving cooking episode is the most fun because it's like a frenzy, sort of like a restaurant Like I really did, like working in restaurants, and it's just wild. There's always like stuff going on. There's things like clanking in the background. It's festive, it's preparing for a fun holiday. I love it.
Speaker 1:How do you handle negative feedback?
Speaker 2:Empathy yeah. With empathy yeah, we can therapy and an energy healer, a sauna walks and a good cry on the show.
Speaker 1:Have you ever tasted something awful, and how did you like? Pretend it was okay, or did you show that it was awful?
Speaker 2:Most things are great. Almost everything is great, because we only invite people who are really great cooks on the show to cook. But I've tasted bad stuff because they make me do these stupid TCL taste tests where I have to taste all this crap. And so sometimes they're like here's this fruity gummy garbage that we know you're going to hate and you're going to have to eat it. Here's some like artificially flavored pumpkin spice concoction that came out of a lab that we know you're going to despise but we're going to make you eat it. And then I just say just say this is not good.
Speaker 1:It's no good. I love that you're transparent and don't try to hide it.
Speaker 2:No I can't.
Speaker 1:Has there ever been something that you had on the show or on live TV that you thought I could make this better?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, probably. I mean anything that's not spicy. I'm always thinking like I could put some hot sauce on this. That's probably good, and I think I do. And what I love is like a lot of our chefs I mean, that's what they're so excited about. They want people to take the recipes that they come up with and then use that as inspiration and then make it your own, and I think that's wonderful. That's exactly how I am with every recipe that I share of mine. I love hearing from people who are like oh, I did this, I took, I used yours, but I added bacon. I'm like great.
Speaker 1:All right. Last question how do you get your kids to eat like, not just mac and cheese and chicken tenders?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's hard. I have two that are well one that's the best, one that's the middle and then the one that's the worst, and they're not in that order. They're in flip-flop order. I really try to expose them to as many things as possible. I try to make things taste good. So, like on vegetables, like I'm putting a lot of butter and salt on vegetables so that they're really delicious and I don't think there's anything wrong with butter or salt, especially when it's well sourced butter and well sourced salt. So I also just understand that they will like things in time and there's going to be certain things that they're just not going to love.
Speaker 2:And I simplify the options is a big thing too. I mean, we, I just have a few things, like my one son who is the most picky out of all three of them. Um, I won't name his names, it's Franklin. Okay, franklin, love you so much, but he's the most picky.
Speaker 2:But I just if he always, if he doesn't like what we are having for dinner, I will always make him scrambled eggs and I always have really great eggs.
Speaker 2:We have chickens in the backyard, so we always have really great high quality eggs and I just am like you know what? Because what I want him to eat is something with like good protein, some good fat, and then I always have sourdough bread around and he loves sourdough bread and I want him to have like something good and fermented and that's it. So if he eats scrambled eggs and toast every night, you know, my parents always had the option that if you don't like what we're having for dinner, you can do cereal, and I don't do cereal in my house at all, and so I we don't have that option, so I just always do eggs and toast and that is completely fine. I also keep like really good thousand hills grass fed hot dogs always at the house and and he loves those, and so those are two options that like it's not. It doesn't take me a long time to make something else. It's one little extra thing because I'm not going to make three dinners for everybody, but it's been an okay compromise in this season.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a lot of my friends. We talk about that, like why do I feel like a short order cook? Everyone in my family doesn't like this and I like this and I don't like this and yeah, so it's a challenge, I know.
Speaker 2:And, just being honest, like I'm the one that's doing the cooking, like I work, I buy the food, I prep the food so that this is what we're having, and that's how it goes.
Speaker 1:I do like the option of, like I get my eggs from my neighbor in my backyard.
Speaker 2:Yay, has chickens, yes.
Speaker 1:So I'm just ready for more yes. So I love that idea Like that seems like a fair alternative.
Speaker 2:It does, because what are you trying to achieve? You're trying to achieve something that's nourishing and that's delicious and that's going to fill up their tummies. And I don't really obsess about vegetables. I mean, my kids are pretty good with like smoothies too, so we'll do lots of smoothies and things like that. So I don't really obsess about fruits and vegetables because I just figure like we're getting those in, but I want them to have like those good nutrient dense foods and I consider scrambled eggs, sourdough and butter to be super nutrient dense, and so that's what I'm trying to accomplish.
Speaker 1:I like it. I'm going to bring that one home. You can do it. Elizabeth. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast. It was so great to chat with you.
Speaker 2:Thanks for making it work. Now we're lifelong friends. I 100% agree. I have really loved our conversation. You're doing a great job and it's very relaxing to be the interviewee. I feel very calm. Maybe I should arrange. I got to flip flop some stuff.
Speaker 1:I'm sure if you put it out there you get a lot of people asking you to come on.
Speaker 2:I love podcasts and thanks for what you're doing. I love the motivation of the show too, with having those conversations with your son. I think seeing our children as humans and full people and being interested and curious about who they are and who they're becoming is one of the greatest gifts that you can give your kids, and it just makes being a parent so much more fun rather than just thinking like all I'm here to do is like wipe bums and shuttle you to hockey and tell you no right, yeah, right Right, all right, you have a lovely afternoon and I will see you later.
Speaker 2:Great to meet you, Kelly.