It’s a high-stakes Thursday on the Need to Know Morning Show as hosts Kevin Flynn and Alex Taylor balance the beauty of a sun-drenched forecast with the “lunacy” of the modern political landscape. With host Scott Hannon still away in Norway, the team dives into the mysterious “found” suicide note of Jeffrey Epstein, the unhinged rhetoric at Pete Buttigieg’s town hall, and the massive exodus of billionaires from blue states.
On the local front, we gear up for the Minnesota walleye opener with “Main Man” Steve Carney, who announces a very special combat veteran as the winner of his annual fishing trip. Clay County horticulture expert Jill Patru joins to save your spruce trees from winter die-back, and Kathy Diekman from the Chahinkapa Zoo previews a summer of 100th-anniversary celebrations. From AI cheating on the farm to the “R2-D2 of Death” in the Gulf, it’s a packed episode about common sense, conservation, and why you should probably ignore your “TDS-suffering” neighbors.
🎧 Standout Moments & Timestamps
[00:02:20] – The Epstein “Suicide Note” Mystery Kevin and Alex break down the suspiciously timed release of a purported suicide note from Jeffrey Epstein. Ripped from a yellow legal pad and unsigned, the crew remains skeptical: “Why wouldn’t this come out sooner?”
[00:03:35] – The Concentration Camp Question The team reacts to a viral town hall clip where a woman asks Pete Buttigieg if he can stop gay and trans people from being sent to concentration camps. “How unhinged can you get?” Kevin asks.
[00:10:29] – Taxing the Rich into an Exodus A deep dive into the “creepy and weird” video from New York’s mayoral push to tax luxury penthouses. Will Kane and Dave Rubin discuss how these policies are driving billionaires like Elon Musk and Ken Griffin to red states with zero income tax.
[00:12:45] – AI: The New Hired Hand Ag expert Bridgette Readel discusses how 2025’s “Top Producer of the Year” uses ChatGPT as his primary management tool to analyze a decade of agronomic data in seconds.
[00:22:45] – Saving Your Spruce Trees Jill Patru from Clay County Extension explains the “needle cast” fungal disease currently turning local spruce trees brown and orange, offering preventative tips to stop the spread.
[00:27:48] – Ilhan Omar’s Document Deadline The crew discusses the deadline for Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to turn over documents related to the $250 million “Feeding Our Future” fraud scheme and her wildly fluctuating reported net worth.
[00:35:05] – The Walleye Opener Winner Steve Carney announces Ryan Verlerud, a combat-wounded Purple Heart veteran from Perham, MN, as the winner of a special guided fishing trip with his son.
[00:41:05] – 40 Years of Tal the Orangutan Kathy Diekman from Chahinkapa Zoo previews “Blue Goose Days” and the upcoming 40th birthday party for Tal, the popsicle-loving orangutan.