It was no ordinary day at the Kissel farm on March 9, when a film crew and staff from CBC's Rick Mercer report made the drive out to shoot a segment that featured local country music star Brett Kissel, alongside Rick Mercer himself.
It was no ordinary day at the Kissel farm on March 9, when a film crew and staff from CBC's Rick Mercer report made the drive out to shoot a segment that featured local country music star Brett Kissel, alongside Rick Mercer himself.
According to the show's supervising producer, Tom Stanley, the idea for the show came about when Mercer and Kissel met at the Canadian Country Music Awards this fall.
The two hit it off, and as Kissel spoke about his experiences growing up on the family's ranch, which he still considers his true home, interest in a possible segment with Kissel grew.
And so, in early March, the Rick Mercer Report ventured out to Flat Lake for the day. Mercer was even given the opportunity to preg-check cows, thanks to the support of another local and familiar face - St. Paul veterinarian Dr. Craig Hellquist.
“It was a pretty special and pretty neat experience,&” says Hellquist, when speaking of the opportunity to be on the show. He adds that it's nice to see someone local, like Kissel, achieve the amount of success he has.
Hellquist says a lot of his family and friends have taken the time to watch the segment, which is now available on YouTube after airing on the Rick Mercer Report on March 24.
According to Stanley, the show has received good feedback from the segment.
Kissel, who is now putting the finishing touches on his second major label album, offered the Journal some comments via email on his experience with the CBC show.
“Words cannot describe how incredible the Rick Mercer experience was - not only for me but for my family as well,&” says Kissel. “We are definitely a light-hearted bunch, and we like to joke around a lot, so Rick fit right in.&”
Kissel said he was proud to see his family's ranch, which has been in the family for over a century, be featured on a national level.
“It was a big moment for our entire family.&”
Kissel says that even as he was texting back and forth and lining up the shoot, he still didn't believe anything would actually materialize with the show. But when the crew and Mercer, arrived, it turned into an experience the Kissels will never forget.
To view the segment, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QevJj5u1psM
