KSTP's Rosendale will live his NYC dream

Somebody at KSTP-TV has to be breathing more easily with word that Gus Rosendale is leaving. The anchor-reporter is going home to NYC to work at a station which he is not allowed to divulge. I hear it's WNBC.

"I got a chance to get an on-air gig in New York, and Hubbard Broadcasting [the ABC affiliate in the Twin Cities] let me chase that, and I'm pretty psyched about that," Rosendale said when I talked to him Wednesday. "Management, Lindsay Radford [news director] and the Hubbards let me chase this dream."

He's been in the metro about 13 months. "My last day is Friday. I start in New York in a couple of weeks. I was really happy here and enjoyed my time in the Twin Cities." But NYC has been a dream.

"Whenever I've been looking for a job, never gotten one. When I'm happy in a place, a job opens up."

This move helps Rosendale complete his two career objectives.

No. 1: "I got to work in the town where my idol, Paul Magers, worked," said Rosendale of the former KARE11 über-anchor, who took his talents to Los Angeles in 2004.

No. 2: "Like Paul, I now get to go home," said Rosendale. He has always wanted to work in his home of New York, where his mother, Lori, a teacher, can turn on the TV and watch him.

"I made it clear to my colleagues it was a very dim-lit venue," Rosendale said of our first meeting at the Animal Humane Society's "Whisker Whirl," where he was being squired around by his equally handsome dog, Max, another blond. Gus also complained on Twitter about me gushing over some other guy; I can't even remember who that was.

So you've got a thing for the only blond anchorman in the Twin Cities? averred a friend who shall remain nameless. Yes, and as a result I was watching perhaps too closely a few months ago when there was what looked like the horrifying, intentional darkening of Gus's locks!

"We tried some different colors. I'm platinum blond, that's my natural hair color. There was some concern that my hair was too bright for the [set's] bright blue backdrop. It was more optics -- not a philosophical issue.

"I'm back to being blond. My mom's very happy about that," Rosendale said.

Me, too, but this news breaks my heart.

"I moved here from a small town [in upstate New York]. He's gotten used to city life. He's more social than I am. I think he likes hanging out at the dog parks. So many hydrants to sniff -- a lot more in New York."

I have told Gus that, except for him, Hubbard Broadcasting has not hired a good-looking male anchor (and maybe reporter) since Randy Meier, now of Fox 9. Rosendale disagreed: "My mother watches us online, and she's mentioned that she thinks we have a good-looking news team, and she mentioned that Bill's a handsome guy."

That would be anchor Bill Lunn, whose mother probably also thinks he's a handsome guy. But as we know, our parents' vision does not always remain strong.

I figure Lunn is the one who should be most relieved by Rosendale's exit, as broadcast insiders have told me Gus had looked like the biggest threat to Bill's Twin Cities career.

Political Twitter

"Mitt Romney officially won the Iowa caucus by eight votes, which means Octomom's kids could one day decide who is running for President."

Move over, Guy Fieri

Young Brent Ryan's NYC dining experiences were never complete until he met the chef.

Chefs were happy to oblige after learning the 12-year-old St. Louis Park Junior High student was competing in a parent-kid cooking contest on the "Rachael Ray Show." The first episode is scheduled to air at 1 p.m. Jan. 13 on KARE11.

"Every restaurant he had to meet the chef, including the hotel we stayed at," said Court Ryan, Brent's dad. "Once they heard we were going to be on the Rachael Ray show it was gratis -- everything was taken care of for us. They flew us out there from a Sunday to a Thursday evening. Tuesday we had all to ourselves, so we went down to 911, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and just toured New York. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"Lori took video of Brent and I when were skiing in Vail, Colorado. We did a father-son cooking video edited to music and put it up on YouTube, just for the family," said Court. "The segment coordinator [for Rachael Ray's show] was looking for contestants, I guess, and contacted us. We went through an interview process and they ended up picking us. It was crazy," said Court, who has closed his mortgage business and just started an e-commerce business, Security Products America.

The video is viewable at youtu.be/906qucFTUl4.

"I had to sign a whole bunch of stuff, legal documents, about what we can talk about, what we can't, because it hasn't aired," said Court, who couldn't tell me why he kept breaking up in laughter every time he recalled bits of Brent's TV appearance.

"What am I laughing about? Anything goes when you have a 12-year-old for the first time [on] a major production. Experiencing that whole thing with him was unbelievable. You just never know what a kid's going to do. That's why I'm laughing."