Wall retired on a day I was very tired
Top story in Saskatchewan broke during dog days of summer, writes D.C. Fraser
The Leader-Post’s reporting team is looking back on the funny, heartbreaking, uplifting and surprising stories of the year that stuck with them the most. When reporters get together, drinks are often involved.
So was the case on a Wednesday night this August. A longtime friend from the city now working at CBC Toronto was back in town for a visit, and had gathered a gaggle of journos at a downtown pub to catch up.
There was a lot of catching up, with many — myself in particular — thinking the following Thursday, Aug. 10, would be a quiet one. News generally slows down in the dog days of summer and I had everything ready to go for my work the day ahead ... so I stayed up a little past my regular bedtime catching up with my old friend.
My phone first buzzed before 8 a.m. the next morning. That alone was enough to make me sit up in bed. The cryptic text from a source letting me know there was some big news coming prompted me to jump out of bed.
Phone in hand, I started messaging or calling everyone who I thought might know something.
I scrambled into the shower and put on my suit before rushing to the legislative building.
Next thing we knew, Premier Brad Wall posted a video to Facebook talking about a big announcement coming later in the day.
Within a few hours there was a good sense of what was coming: Wall would be announcing his retirement. It was a move most political observers knew was near, but that Thursday took many by surprise.
Since I moved to Saskatchewan in 2008, Wall had been the premier. Working at the Legislative Building every day, you get to know politicians in a way members of the public don’t.
You see they have a sense of humour, learn a bit about their family and, generally, realize that despite the important role they play in the outcome of the public’s day-to-day lives, they live fairly normal lives. People are just people, after all.
Some of those thoughts were running through my head as I stood in the Legislative Building rotunda, drinking what was probably my 10th coffee of the day. Nothing in particular was even happening at that moment. It was kind of the calm before the storm, knowing what was coming but just waiting for it to happen.
Soon enough we were in a news conference, where Wall made it official.
The rest of the day was, frankly, a blur. Tasked with doing a story on “Who comes next after Wall?” I spent the remainder of my day trying to talk with folks willing to share the hot gossip on who was eyeing the outgoing premier’s job. Phone calls, texts, emails — the story came together, thanks almost entirely to all those I’m fortunate enough to call sources.
(Five out of the eight people I named put their names forward to run, and I take pride in being the first to report Alanna Koch as a possible candidate).
As I filed my story, I remembered it was also the first day of the Regina Folk Festival ... an event I had signed up to volunteer at that night. I rushed home, changed into more comfortable clothes, hopped on my bicycle and rode over to the festival, where I volunteered for a few hours.
Exhausted as my shift was ending, a fellow reporter sent me a text: To decompress from a busy day, a group of reporters were getting together.