C.J.: FOX 9 meteorologist Ian Leonard recovering from removal of a third of his lip due to cancer

Fox 9 chief meteorologist Ian Leonard will return to work beard-free and, more importantly, cancer-free after surgery to remove squamous cell skin cancer from his lower lip.

Leonard informed 14,000 Twitter followers on Aug. 10 that he'll be off work a few weeks. I am thinking that means he'll miss the State Fair. Between healing from cancer surgery, reconstructive plastic surgery, needing to regain strength after reportedly taking meals through a straw, I wouldn't expect to see him at the fair. But he's crazy, in the fun sense, and feeds off the energy of seeing the fans, so who knows.

"This summer I noticed a small painful red bump on my lower lip," Leonard wrote. A July 20 biopsy confirmed it was cancer. It took five hours of surgery and seven surgical procedures "to remove the cancer from my lower lip ... a third of my lower lip. [The next day] I had plastic surgery to repair my lower lip with over 40 stitches inside/out and eventually, in a few weeks, I will be back on air ... hopefully in time to perform the corn roast dance at the State Fair!"

"I've been told to limit my speaking," he wrote, noting that "my amazing wife and daughters ... will love that!"

A week after the surgery Leonard wrote that the stitches were out, "the cancer is gone and the pain is fading. Talking is still very frustrating and at times almost impossible but life is great. I found out today that they removed a third of my lower lip during the surgery so that might be why it's hard to talk :)"

Leonard doesn't have full lips, so a third is a lot. "Everyone who has seen it says it looks great," he wrote. "Now onward to healing and speaking."

Leonard thanked "the incredible doctors" at Dermatology Specialists in Edina, especially "my cancer surgeon Dr. Sachin Bhardwaj [and] my plastic surgeon Dr. Peter Hilger from Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Specialists, arguably one of the best plastic surgeons in the nation and a very cool dude." He also thanked the pre-and post-op nurses at Regions Hospital saying "you are rock stars! This has been a life changing experience and yes, even after all of this, life is great."

Leonard ended the first missive he posted with "See you all soon, wear sunscreen."

Via Twitter I told him to keep his chin up and his lip iced.

He replied, "I have an awesome beard going, 'cept for the gray patches."

That's what dye is for — not that we are likely to see Leonard's boyish face covered with a beard on TV. I did ask for a photo, but nothing yet.

According to the St. Paul Police Department, two officers went to Shane Maguire's residence to respond to a call around 10:40 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 14, when he was having a custody dispute with TV's "Rehab Addict" Nicole Curtis.

Maguire, one of the Gold Guys, and the HGTV star had a disagreement over parenting time regarding their toddler son. After police arrived and mediated the dispute, the parents agreed to exchange the child at 9 a.m. Monday. No official police report was necessary, I am told, because the officers' assistance and recommendation were accepted.

Last week, Maguire's Detroit attorney, Gerald Cavellier, updated me on the celebrities' latest custody skirmish: "More drama over the weekend with Nicole calling the police and the police telling her to go home."

"Who may have given him those pills?" asked "CBS This Morning" anchor Norah O'Donnell Monday while discussing the Star Tribune's story about Prince.

That is The Question. I'm guessing the person who knows the answer is feeling extremely nervous as more information trickles out about Prince's drug overdose in April. Authorities believe Prince took pills from a container that was mislabeled.

"It's going to get very interesting as we start to get closer and closer to [the events leading up to] his death," said Kevin Frazier of "Entertainment Tonight," who has relatives in St. Paul.

O'Donnell and Frazier, who was guest hosting on the morning show, were reacting to Michelle Miller's report that Prince may have taken a more powerful drug than he intended.

C.J. can be reached at cj@startribune.com and seen on Fox 9's "Jason Show" and "Buzz." E-mailers, please state a subject; "Hello" does not count. Attachments are not opened.