MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — Nikki Haley will hit New Hampshire airwaves with an unusually long, three-minute TV ad on Monday, highlighting her foreign policy credentials in a spot that will effectively function as her closing message in the state.

The emotionally-charged ad features the mother of Otto Warmbier, a young American who was imprisoned while visiting North Korea in early 2016. He fell into a coma during that time and returned to the United States 17 months later in a vegetative state, only to die days later.

His mother, Cindy, spoke in February at Haley’s presidential campaign launch, praising her supportiveness while she was ambassador to the United Nations, a position to which she was appointed by former President Donald Trump.

“I will tell you about her strength, her compassion, and her belief that every human being is worth fighting for,” Cindy Warmbier says in the ad, which features clips of her speech at Haley’s campaign launch. “I will tell you that Nikki didn’t help me because it was her job. She did it as a mom, a friend, and a fighter who made my fight her own.”

The ad does not mention Trump, whose administration worked to bring home Warmbier. But Haley throughout her campaign has sought to contrast her foreign policy positions with her former boss, in particular highlighting her tough stance toward North Korea and China and criticizing Trump for taking a friendly approach toward Kim Jong Un.

While longer than the usual 30-second or minute-long campaign spots, Haley isn’t the first candidate to run an extended ad. Now-President Joe Biden in 2020 ran two-minute long ads in both the primary and general election.

In 2008, Barack Obama’s presidential campaign took out a 30-minute ad — essentially a political infomercial about his platform — that ran simultaneously on broadcast and cable television stations. In 1992, Ross Perot ran his own half-hour infomercials.

A spokesperson for Haley’s campaign did not provide information on how much money the campaign is spending on air time, or on which channels it will run. The campaign told POLITICO it will run across New Hampshire.

BRAINERD, Minn. — It’s full steam ahead for the 34th annual Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza.

The extravaganza will take place from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, on Hole-in-the-Day Bay, where thousands of anglers will gather in hopes of winning prizes and supporting local area charities.

And yes, the tournament is on as scheduled. Recently, a Facebook post announced the tournament was canceled, making the post look like an official Brainerd Jaycees announcement. That post wasn’t official and it wasn’t true.

The biggest obstacle right now would be ice conditions, but more than a week of frigid temperatures has ice conditions pointing in the right direction.

Katherine Thoennes, chairwoman for Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza, said they are excited to be bringing back their larger-than-life kickoff party for the first time in a few years.

SMALL FILE — MAX. WIDTH FOR PRINT: 4.7 INCHES — Katherine Thoennes, chairwoman for Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza, talks about the extravaganza on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (Tim Speier / Brainerd Dispatch)

“After COVID, we kind of didn’t go as large with our kickoff party in parts, because also we need committee members and our volunteers to be able to handle that,” Thoennes said.

This year’s sold-out kickoff party will feature Charlie Berens on his Good Old Fashioned Tour, on Feb. 2 at the Gichi-ziibi Center for the Arts.

Thoennes said the extravaganza chair often takes over and starts working around June, though this year she started a few weeks after the 2023 extravaganza ended as they had some changes and ideas they wanted to implement.

“We wanted to revise our rules to make it clear for our contestants,” Thoennes said. “We wanted to go ahead and revise our frequently asked questions to bring in things that we were continually missing that our contestants needed to know. Then we had some really passionate committee members who really wanted to bring back the kickoff party in a huge way. And oh, man, they pulled that off with Charlie Berens this year.”

One of the changes this year has been how the marketing team has approached the contest. Thoennes said they usually start advertising the contest in the fall, though this year they began selling tickets early with Father’s Day and Fourth of July sales to get the word out.

Mike Kuck, co-chair for Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza, said the marketing team has worked to advertise the contest outside of Minnesota to draw in new contestants.

Kuck said they are working on getting it on the map for the people who haven’t been to Minnesota, haven’t been ice fishing or people that wanted to experience something that’s crazy big.

SMALL FILE — MAX. WIDTH FOR PRINT: 5.3 INCHES — Mike Kuck, co-chair for Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza, talks about the extravaganza on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024.Tim Speier / Brainerd Dispatch

“If you’ve never experienced it it’s a completely new world out there,” Kuck said. And it’s turned into a bucket list item I’d say for so many people across the world.”

For those who have not been ice fishing and are looking to try their luck, one only needs a pole, a hook and some bait, Kuck said. Oh, and some proper warm clothes.

“One of the most incredible things are the people who come to our contest who’ve never been out on the ice,” Thoennes said. “We have people flying in from other countries who come out. And it’s a, ‘Well, what do I need?’”

Proper gear includes bundling up, dressing in layers, using hand warmers, wearing heavy boots and knowing where the Mr. Buddy Heater ticket tent is when a quick warm-up is needed. The beer tent is heated as well.

When it comes to fishing the contest, just a bit of luck is needed and anyone has a chance of winning it big. That big winner in 2023 was 13-year-old Zac Padrnos from Hutchinson, who took home a brand new Ford truck with a 9.45-pound walleye.

Anglers competing in the contest should remember to bring a pick or chisel with them to reopen the holes they will be fishing out of.

“Some people say you have to fish in the deep, some people say you gotta go in the shallows,” Kuck said. “Or just pick a spot because you never know where the fish are going to be.”

Thoennes said they will continue to offer shuttle services from Brainerd International Raceway, including a handicap shuttle as they want everyone who wants to fish to be able to do so.

The event is family-oriented, Thoennes added, and the Youth Ice Olympics will be on the ice for kids who are looking for something more to do.

The Youth Ice Olympics is described in the rules book as a free event that educates and entertains children while they’re waiting for the extravaganza to begin. There are stations designed to teach children about ice fishing and the first 100 participants will win an ice fishing bucket full of prizes from several ice fishing vendors courtesy of Fleet Farm. The Youth Ice Olympics will be located near center ice from 10-11:30 a.m.

The extravaganza is completely volunteer run with the money raised being donated back to the volunteer groups helping to run the contest. Last year Brainerd Jaycees raised $137,866 for local charities.

Those looking for a complimentary ticket can volunteer to pre-drill holes before the contest.

Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza tickets can be purchased online at icefishing.org/shop or at any Fleet Farm location prior to Feb. 3. To find more information, visit icefishing.org.

Related Articles

Minnesota DNR doubles down on invasive carp battle

Minnesota DNR to offer 200 summer internships

10-year-old angler lands massive muskie on Lake of the Woods

1 dead after ATV breaks through ice on northern Minnesota lake

Citizen scientists needed to see what happens in trout streams in winter

It was on the same stage in the same room and in the same setting — the end-of-season wrap-up — when Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles said a year ago that he would have to be blown away to use the No. 1 pick in the draft on a quarterback.

Ultimately, Poles wasn’t moved to choose a QB, and one he passed on, C.J. Stroud, is leading the Houston Texans into the wild-card round of the playoffs this weekend. He’s going to be the runaway winner for offensive rookie of the year after throwing for 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns.

In a similar media session Wednesday afternoon, after another last-place finish in the NFC North, Poles explained it was his call to retain coach Matt Eberflus for a third season. He listed reasons he’s confident the team will attract quality candidates to replace the majority of Eberflus’ offensive staff that was fired, including coordinator Luke Getsy and quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko. Poles championed the idea of continuity and pointed to an improving roster on a young team that performed better during the second half of a 7-10 season.

It remains to be seen how convincing Poles, Eberflus and President/CEO Kevin Warren, who spoke for a combined 90 minutes, were for a fan base that fears the organization could remain stuck in a cycle of drafting a quarterback, firing a coach, hiring a new coach for the QB, mixing in a new GM and then starting all over again. Rinse. Repeat.

It’s a fair concern. The Bears own the first and ninth picks in the draft, and there’s a strong chance the team will use a high selection on a quarterback. If tangible gains aren’t made in 2024, will the team be in the hunt for a new coach to pair with a young quarterback entering Year 2? We’ve seen that movie — and the multiple sequels — and we know how it ends.

“I’m not worried about the history of different things,” Poles said. “It’s a different situation. This roster is built on really solid ground. It’s a little bit of a different situation in my mind.”

He pushed back at the idea the Bears necessarily made an error in evaluation when it came to Stroud, whom the Carolina Panthers passed over before the Texans took him at No. 2.

“I think you have to take in what’s best for your team,” Poles said. “So when you look at that situation and how it ended up playing out, to have DJ (Moore), to have Darnell (Wright), to have (Tyrique) Stevenson, to have the first overall and to have the second (-round pick) next year, I feel like that’s the best for our organization.”

That’s all part of what the Bears hope makes the roster attractive to candidates they want to speak with to fill out Eberflus’ staff. They’re going to put an emphasis on adaptability as they meet with candidates, and the Bears should be ahead of teams seeking a coordinator as part of a staff turnover. The club improved in a lot of areas from the first season under Poles and Eberflus, and which will give the new coaches and quarterback they wind up with a better opportunity to succeed.

Poles and Eberflus had positive remarks about Justin Fields, which is to be expected. They can’t say if Fields will be in the mix in 2024. If he’s not, they would like him to have solid trade value. If Fields had thrived, they wouldn’t have fired Getsy and Janocko, and Poles wouldn’t essentially made no comment about what’s going to happen with the fifth-year option in the quarterback’s contract. A decision on that option is due May 3.

“We love where Justin is right now,” Eberflus said. “He’ll continue to grow as we grow as a football team.”

Added Poles: “I did think Justin got better. I think he can lead this team. But at the same time there’s a unique situation.”

Fields was in the bottom third of the league in too many key statistical metrics for the Bears to commit to the idea of trading down from the first pick for a bundle of future assets and then building around him. It’s a time for information gathering, with Poles making it clear the most significant piece of the puzzle is learning what makes the prospects tick and getting to know them thoroughly.

How this plays out — with a new offensive staff and Eberflus needing to continue showing upward trajectory — will be something to watch. Poles originally sold the McCaskeys on a methodical process to establish sustained success. No one should have been expecting that at the end of Year 2.

“We’re playing the long game,” said Eberflus as he cited emerging young players.

Said Warren: “We’re impatiently patient but we also understand the importance to build a champion, it does take some time. I’m not saying a lot of time but I strongly believe that going into this third year is going to be a critical time for us to take a major jump.”

Warren was asked how he felt about the changes — and the big ones that were not made.

“Fortunately, I’ve been here,” he said. “My first year in the NFL, we were 5-11 at the St. Louis Rams. Second year we were 4-12. Then the third year we ended up going 16-3 and winning the Super Bowl. And I remember many of those days having conversations with John Shaw, our president, Jay Zygmunt, our executive vice president, coach (Dick) Vermeil, is that the questions that I would ask them of making sure the worst thing you can do on an organization that is making progress is to turn around too quickly.”

Those 1999 Rams happened to find a Hall of Fame quarterback who was sitting on the bench. Eberflus has some important decisions, and staff hires will be key. One way to ensure the Bears escape the cycle that has plagued them, well, just about forever: Pick the right quarterback come April. The right coordinator and quarterback coach are going to help. Another big-time wide receiver would be great. A better center is required.

The key to sustained success is fixing the quarterback position, and the Bears are, indeed, in a unique situation. Poles is right: The roster is better than it was when he held the No. 1 pick a year ago — good enough that this team could be a contender with the right guy.

()

Help wanted: Offensive visionary needed urgently at Halas Hall.

This is a chance for an ambitious coach to mold an up-and-coming offense around their preferred playing style or, perhaps, an opportunity to create an offensive style around the group’s personnel. Experience is a plus but not required. The position will require long hours, significant patience and an ability to collaborate. Among the most important traits needed will be teaching ability, creativity and play-calling prowess.

That’s essentially the ad the Chicago Bears sent to the football world Wednesday, venturing into an opportunity-filled offseason by announcing several major changes to their coaching staff — most notably the firing of offensive coordinator Luke Getsy — while also cementing one major non-change with the retention of Matt Eberflus as head coach.

The latter decision, which was confirmed after two days of meetings and methodical deliberation inside team headquarters, left a large segment of the Bears fan base disoriented and disappointed. Those who were envisioning a total restart with the team’s head coach-coordinator-quarterback trio now must accept Eberflus as the chief in charge of elevating the Bears offense to a new level.

And while Eberflus and general manager Ryan Poles must eventually crystallize their quarterback plans, their first order of business will be to hire a new offensive coordinator, a replacement for Getsy, a leader who can galvanize that entire unit, players and coaches alike.

“You want to have somebody who’s a great teacher,” Eberflus said Wednesday. “I think that’s important because he has to coach the coaches to coach their position. That’s the No. 1 trait of any great coach.

“You also have to be able to have the innovation (skill) to really look at the players you have and be able to help enhance and put those guys in positions to succeed.”

Both Poles and Eberflus expressed supreme confidence in their ability to attract top talent for the opening.

“Our phones have been blowing up with people trying to contact us,” Eberflus said. “So, again, we’ll work through that process as we go.”

Still, on the surface, there are dynamics attached to the offensive coordinator opening that leave some around the league wondering if the Bears’ candidate pool might be somewhat restricted. For starters, while the team may opt to use the No. 1 overall pick in April’s NFL draft to select the quarterback prospect it deems as the cream of this spring’s crop, the Bears also haven’t ruled out the possibility of sticking with incumbent starter Justin Fields for next season.

Won’t that, perhaps, create an unnecessary level of ambiguity as the current Bears leaders try to unite on a vision with a new offensive mastermind?

“Any good coach knows how to adjust and adapt to the quarterback,” Eberflus said.

Echoed Poles: “The ability to be adaptable to the talent you have is critical.”

But what about the risks in possibly asking Fields to learn a third system under a third play-caller in his fourth NFL season?

“Justin’s very smart, very intelligent,” Eberflus said. “He’s able to adapt and adjust. So I don’t see that being a problem at all.”

Beyond that, some prospective candidates may have reservations about coming to work at Halas Hall due to long-term job security fears, anxiety that stems from an outside curiosity on whether Eberflus himself could be on thin ice if next season falls short of expectations for the Bears.

Poles, though, said he didn’t believe that would be a deterrent to interested candidates for either open coordinator position.

“I think they’re going look at our roster and see there are a lot of young, talented players that they’ll really want to work with,” he said. “That’s going to elevate that platform and elevate our team to be a championship-caliber team. And when you win championships, there are a lot of really cool things that happen with everybody. So I think (candidates) are going to see this as a good opportunity.”

The Bears, of course, won’t be the only team seeking to hire new coordinators. They will have competition during a frenzied hiring process this month. As of Wednesday night, seven NFL teams had begun their respective searches for new head coaches, which by extension makes those organizations alternative landing spots for coordinator candidates, too.

Eberflus stated Wednesday that he was already working off a shortlist of preferred targets for the offensive coordinator opening. He emphasized that he would be open-minded when probing applicants about their preferred offensive system.

But he will also have to do his part to sell candidates on the attractiveness of this opportunity, which many around the league believe would be far more appealing if the Bears were committed to starting over at quarterback rather than attempting yet another audition season for Fields.

It will become clearer in the days ahead who is on the Bears’ radar. So as speculative candidate lists fly around with names like Kellen Moore, Greg Roman, Darrell Bevell, Brian Callahan, Kevin Patullo and Frank Reich as possibilities, Eberflus and Poles will work to dial in on a coach who fits their established culture and vision.

The Bears finished this past season ranked 20th in total offense, 27th in passing yardage and 18th in scoring. On the plus side, they had the league’s second-ranked rushing offense while also finishing in the top 13 in third down conversion rate and red zone efficiency.

But Getsy’s inability to unlock something greater within the offense and specifically from Fields led to his Wednesday morning dismissal. Also fired: quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko, receivers coach Tyke Tolbert, interim running backs coach Omar Young and assistant tight ends coach Tim Zetts.

Remaining on the offensive staff: line coach Chris Morgan and his assistant Luke Steckel; tight ends coach Jim Dray; and quality control coach Zach Cable.

Asked specifically about Getsy’s shortcomings in overseeing the offense, Eberflus nodded.

“The growth and the development of the offense needed to be better than what it was,” he said. “To me, you look at the passing game (struggles) and certainly that’s one aspect of it. We decided to move on. Again, that was my decision.”

Eberflus’ next big decision — with guidance and direction from Poles — will be finding a new coordinator to help the entire offense level up. That decision will prove significant toward resetting the team’s direction.

()