[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 11197-11198]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              S. RES. 492

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Madam President, I rise today to honor ``A Prairie 
Home Companion,'' which for 40 years has shared with its listeners the 
comings and goings of the good people of that most Minnesota of towns, 
Lake Wobegon--where as everyone knows, all the women are strong, all 
the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.
  Only 12 people were in the audience for that very first broadcast on 
July 6, 1974, at the Janet Wallace Auditorium at Macalester College in 
Saint Paul. If those dozen people got there by car, they paid 55 cents 
per gallon to fill the tanks of their Ford Pintos or Plymouth Valiants. 
If they stopped for a McDonald's burger afterward, they paid 30 cents.
  How things have changed--and not just the price of gas and burgers!

[[Page 11198]]

Today, 40 years later, more than 600 radio stations carry ``A Prairie 
Home Companion'' to four million listeners every week from the historic 
Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul.
  It has won a Peabody Award and has broadcast from nations including 
Canada, Ireland, Scotland, England, Germany and Iceland and nearly 
every State in the Nation. It has inspired a movie by the same name, 
which won four international awards. It has helped make Minnesota 
Public Radio and American Public Media household names.
  And it has certainly made its creator and host, Garrison Keillor, a 
household name! Mr. Keillor has won Grammy and George Foster Peabody 
awards, not to mention the National Humanities Medal.
  But one thing has not changed at all from that very first broadcast: 
This little variety program resonates with people. It has warmed our 
hearts with its stories, songs, poems and jokes. It has made us laugh, 
made us cry, and made us sing along. And it has given its millions of 
listeners a hometown they can call their own--right in the heart of 
Minnesota.
  Madam President, I would like to congratulate Minnesota Public Radio, 
American Public Media, and the cast and crew of ``A Prairie Home 
Companion'' on 40 years of radio excellence. This is one show that is 
most certainly above average.
  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent the resolutions be agreed to, the 
preambles, where applicable, be agreed to, and the motions to 
reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc, with no intervening action 
or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolutions were agreed to.
  The preambles were agreed to.
  (The resolutions, with their preambles, are printed in today's Record 
under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')

                          ____________________