‘Fox 10 News’
drowning accident. The child who died had been supervised by another youngster. Then the first person who reached the child didn’t know how to administer CPR.
“When I went to work the next day, I thought to myself I have the ability to do something here,” he says. “I have eyes and ears that watch and listen to me.”
So he began making personal appearances and handing out coloring books and stickers. He still makes the appearances, but dropped the freebies.
“I’m going to hand a kid with an iPhone a coloring book?” he asks. “The kids are a little more blase now.”
Still, for more than 35 years, his dedication has never wavered.
“I think that’s what really kept me going,” he says. “I got to give that message four times a day. That’s a good thing.”
Why retire?
Dave Munsey’s last broadcast will be 9 p.m. Thursday, June 1, on Channel 10. says it’s not complicated. On the business side of things, his contract will expire this year. And, quite simply, he thinks it’s time.
“It’s not that I’m tired of doing it,” he says. “More that I’ve been doing it a long time and I’m going to be 70 in September. There is a time in this business, you know? I was telling one of the employees the other day that there are two ways to leave this business: You retire at the top or they drag your (rear) out the door. It’s a good feeling to be able to make the decision.”
He doesn’t know what’s next. He wants to keep his hand in water-safety, whether on his own or in some relationship with the station. And there are other options on the table.
“I’ve got six phone calls that want to offer me something,” he says. “I know what a couple of them are, and the others I’m not sure about. But the thing is I don’t even know if I want to continue working. I do want to slow down. I do want to take that nap. But I’m sure going to listen to whatever anyone has to say.”
He’s not quite sure what his mornings will be like. Munsey is known for his collection of high-end cowboy boots — he has 18 pairs — and his immaculate taste in suits, which are all specifically tailored for Western footwear.
“One of the first things I think of is what suit am I wearing today, then what boots I’m going to put with it,” he says. “The boots may start to get a little dusty now.”
His immediate plans include spending more time in North Dakota. His dad, who is 95, still lives there, within 100 miles of his 88-year-old mother-inlaw. And he’s looking forward to spending more time at home with his wife. He recounts something she recently said one morning.
“I’m a little upset,” she said. “I don’t know what I’m going to when I don’t see you on TV anymore.”
Someone else told him: “I never say, ‘I’m going to watch the weather.’ I say, ‘I’m gonna watch Dave.’ ”
Recalling such instances makes Munsey start to choke up again. His last day on the air is June 1.
“A million people do the same thing that I’m going to do on the first of June,” he says. “I just don’t know if they loved their job as much as I do.”