Longtime Radio Personality Marv Luten interviews guests, shares community updates, National and Local sports and more. The Marv in the Morning Podcast is a production of O’Quinn Media. For guest or sponsorship opportunities, email tracy@oquinnmarketing.com or marvinthemorning53@gmail.com
— Automated Transcript —
Welcome to the Marv in the Morning podcast. Now, here’s Marv.
Thank you again, and again we welcome you to the podcast. Our second in the month of June, brought to you by Shelter Insurance Agent, Dave Hallow of Richland, St. Robert Auto Supply, Seager Toyota, The Pulaski County Health Center, STR Glass of St. Robert, VFW Post 3168 of Laclede, TK’s Pizza, 3 Brothers Meat Company in Laclede, Bales Construction, The Bank of Crocker, and Paul’s Furniture.
Well, we’re nearing the mid-part of June with Flag Day, the US Army’s birthday, and the President Donald Trump’s birthday all coming up this Sunday on the 14th. There were several events scheduled for the White House for his birthday, including an MMA fight and other events through the rest of June, heading up to the Nation’s 250th birthday on the 4th of July.
With all the hubbub surrounding the President’s curman agenda, which does include the war with Iran, the East Wing ballroom, and Trump’s name being removed from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, just to name a few. Who knows what’s going to happen in DC? Again, those in the news business continue to thank the President for all the news stories that reporters don’t have to go out and find because the stories end up in their laps every day of the week, and they just keep coming and coming.
I was disappointed last week when I heard of the turmoil at CBS over their number one rated news magazine show 60 Minutes. For some reason, and I believe politics have a lot to do with it, they fired several of their correspondents who’ve been bringing the stories to their viewers for several years. Some of the more notable ones were Sharon Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega, and another was Scott Pelley, who was one of the main anchors, each of whom alleged editorial interference by CBS News management.
Enter politics. The network has strenuously denied those allegations. CBS also fired four of the show’s producers. Now, I don’t know if 60 Minutes will continue or not. 60 Minutes ruled Sunday night for many years due to their no-nonsense reporting and going after corrupt business owners, criminals, world leaders, and the like.
Back in the day, there was Harry Reasoner, Mike Wallace, Morley Safer, and Ed Bradley, who have all passed on to that network in heaven. Also, Andy Rooney, whose five-minute segment at the end of the show was one of the reasons even as a young viewer, I watched the program. Steve Croft was another excellent journalist who brought controversial stories to the program. He’s still with us, but has retired.
Several of the current reporters are staying on at 60 Minutes. If it continues, it may have a new look. I can’t imagine the network dropping the show. In a business where ratings determine advertising dollars for the network, it’s still going strong. I’m not sure who’s in charge of that network right now. But for many years, CBS has been in the ratings seller when it comes to the evening news, but 60 Minutes has held its own. Getting rid of one of the network’s money makers makes absolutely no sense. But if politics have anything to do with it, I understand why it would make absolutely no sense.
I’m not going to spend much more time on my babble this week because I have a very interesting guest this week in which we explore the world of fireworks, since the 4th of July is coming up soon. Owner of Premier Pyrotechnics in Richland, Missouri, Matt Sutcliffe, is coming up. And we’ll learn how all this firepower makes its way to Missouri. The huge number of shows they put on each year, and what’s new for the country’s 250th birthday. My former colleague in the radio biz and friend, Matt Sutcliffe, is coming up next.
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**Interview: Matt Sutcliffe**
Marv: On the podcast today, we have a return guest, Matt Sutcliffe from Premier Pyrotechnics, with us who is taking a little bit of time out of a very, very busy time of the year for Matt. Matt, thanks for joining us.
Matt: Marv, I gotta bring us back to the good old days. It’s marvelous Marv in the Morning!
Marv: Yes, it is. And fortunately I’ve been able to continue some of this in a different realm, which is now, yeah, which is now a podcast compared to the radio. The last time we talked, uh, let’s do it for the people who might have missed it the first time. Um, you own Premier Pyrotechnics, which puts on all kinds of fireworks shows all over the place, not only here in our neck of the woods, but you have several different branches and other warehouses. Tell us a little bit about your background, how this all got started. I know you started with your own fireworks stand many, many, many years ago.
Matt: That’s true story. Uh, and it’s great to be back on uh, with you Marv. You know, I I look forward to our visits and uh, kind of getting us up to speed, and it’s just a good time. But so, yeah, a little bit of history real quick for the folks that missed it uh, which I bet they can go back and listen to that podcast ’cause I bet you it’s still on the interwebs. But uh, it started for me, uh, as a very young boy, uh, loved, loved fireworks. And I think a lot of kids do, but I just had like this obsession with things that uh, entertained people uh, by blowing up and and colors and sounds and. So, uh, 13, I started selling some fireworks out of a tent in my mom and dad’s front yard and, my mom and dad must have been so proud of that. But uh, going going forward from there, it was a really the the profit was a way to a means to support my pyro uh love. And uh, so by the time I was 17, 18, uh, I was coordinating some tents, the band booster fundraisers and what have you. And uh, then my folks bought Gasconade Hills here in Richland, Missouri in 1987. And moved to Richland, shot a show there. Uh, my first ever commercial customer was Mr. Bill Willard, who uh the late Bill Willard, uh, owner of Willard Asphalt and uh, and the Willard Quarries. And he also owned, uh, some folks probably wouldn’t aware of this, but uh, Bill owned uh, I-44 Speedway and Bolivar, uh, Speedway USA in Bolivar, Missouri. And so Bill was my first ever display customer right here in uh, Laclede County. Uh, he he called my dad and asked who was doing the fireworks at Gasconade Hills, and Dad told him I was, and went and met with him. And uh, did a Labor Day show at both of his speedways that year and then, boom, there you go. We were on uh, with with doing their shows. They they used to do a Memorial Day, 4th and Labor Day show at both tracks, uh, for several years. And um, so that kind of got me into the display business. Uh, worked for another company for several years. Uh, that company sold and uh, quit doing business in Pittsburgh, Kansas. And uh, in January the 14th of 1999, we incorporated uh, Premier Pyrotechnics right here in our hometown of Richland, Missouri. Uh, and fast forward 28 years later, uh, to this year, uh, we will produce uh, several thousand displays across the central part of the United States. Uh, with some of the best pyrotechnicians and and just great homegrown Southern Missouri uh, work values and and business values. And um, including locally, uh, the Fort Leonard Wood show. They’re at uh, Fort Wood. Uh, Waynesville is having a, sorry, Waynesville St. Robert is having a show this year. Lebanon, the city of Lebanon, is having a 4th of July show at the airport this year. And of course, our hometown show, which is always the Saturday after the 4th, uh, July 11th in Richland.
Marv: And when you started this, you were lighting the displays probably with punks or Bic lighters or something like that, weren’t you?
Matt: Yeah, we were. Uh, we were using uh, and it it’s still a common source of ignition for smaller shows is to use road flares, Marv. Uh, like you would see the highway patrol or first responders uh, used to use road flares at accident scenes or to divert traffic uh, patterns for some reason. Uh, they’re 30-minute road flares and you pull the cap off the end of it and use a striker and uh, we would light them uh, with road flares or uh, sometimes use a uh, like a little propane torch. I never actually lit shows with a Bic lighter, but that is a rumor and a story that that has a lot of great time, especially if you’re enjoying a cocktail.
Marv: I can imagine how far you have come uh, since those early days. Now basically, it’s all by electronics, isn’t it?
Matt: Uh, it’s it’s absolutely insane. So, not to take us down a rabbit hole, but in the early 80s, a man by the name of Ken Nixon uh, came up with, and this is of course, when computers were all MS-DOS based. He came up with a firing system uh, that was, as far as I know, in the entire world. Uh, Ken was the first person to create a firing system that was uh automated. Uh, it allowed you to pre-program a show, downloaded into a very simple EPROM-based firing controller. Uh, the the company, by the way, was called Pyro Digital, and it still exists today. Um, and uh, you could download the program, wire up the show and you pushed one button and and off it went. Uh, choreographed to at that time, well, the the claim to fame was, it was choreographed down to the second. And uh, and it used a uh, a device or a piece of software called Time Code, uh, which is basically just an audio track that ties together the soundtrack that people are listening to, which is the music and the narration and what have you. It gives it the fabric to tie together the soundtrack and you to be able to uh, put your fireworks in the air with the colors, patterns and frequency that the choreographer wants to match the music. Time Code, of course, is used in in the industry for many things for lighting, uh, video. It’s it’s basically a way to tie together any audio or visual effect that you want, uh, to have on a specific, uh, time frame in an event uh, in a show. Uh, so your big concerts you go to, they’re normally running Time Code that’s making the lights move at the times that the lighting designer wanted them to move. Uh, so it was it was a little bit of a plagiarism to pull Time Code into the fireworks business, but Ken Nixon was the is the granddaddy of um, of firing systems that put the ability for an operator to have a choreographed show that was timed down to the second uh, in in the fireworks business. That, of course, has advanced. Now there’s, I don’t know, probably two or three dozen manufacturers uh, of computer firing systems. And of course, the software uh, has progressed very, very, very uh, far compared to the to the early firing systems. Um, now, it’s um, it takes choreographer on a 20-minute show, it takes them around 12 to 15 hours, depending on the budget of the show, uh, to build it out and tie it to the music. And then uh, the field team goes out, sets it up and off you go.
Marv: And the music is another thing. Who coordinates the music for your shows?
Matt: Well, you know, that’s a certainly a case-by-case basis with your customers, but that has been a personal love of mine. Uh, I was a music major. Uh, music and fireworks literally go hand in hand. They are, they’re they’re just one and the same. Strawberries and chocolate. They’re perfectly together. Uh, because a good fireworks display has got a good rhythm, uh, it’s got the visual element, uh, much like a live concert. And um, still to this day, it’s one of the few entertainment mediums that you cannot put a fireworks display on a three and a half by five inch screen and have anywhere near the same impact as sitting outside, light breeze, warm summer night, and being completely surrounded by a a fireworks display that triggers all your senses. You got sight, sound, smell. You can even uh, feel the concussion. I mean, it literally triggers all your senses. And you still don’t get that off of a off of a small electronic device. We’ll say a phone.
Marv: From our last interview, if I remember right, you have what, three locations for Premier Pyrotechnics?
Matt: Well, Premier is headquartered here in the Mark Twain National Forest, just south of Richland. This is our uh, national headquarters. And then we have got satellite magazines, uh, set up in multiple locations. Um, if you start from the Canadian border and go south, um, our territory, the the area that we service is Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, uh, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, continuing South, Missouri, uh, Oklahoma, Arkansas, uh, Western Louisiana and uh, just a hair uh, northern part of Texas. And so in each of those states, every state I just mentioned, we have at least one office and one magazine location. Uh, magazine simply refers to the type of structure that, it’s an ATF, uh your Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives uh, regulatory group, government agency. Uh, a magazine is an approved structure to store explosives in. And um, we’ve got those set up all across uh, the the United States in the territory that we work because the product has to be stored in a magazine until it’s out to be used on a fireworks shoot site. And then um, you know, you have a show, you might have three or four or five things that don’t go off, and they have to be returned to a magazine, uh, if you don’t shoot them uh, on the site. So having those those properties set up all over uh, allows us to keep the shoot teams from having to drive long distances uh, to return the product or to pick it up to go out to do a show. So, uh, how many Marv? That’s a good question. We just added four more this year for for uh, our operational area. So I think we’re getting pretty close to 30, uh, 30 or 31, uh, facilities, uh, not including Richland. All of the product starts in Richland. It comes in uh, in full cases of of uh, shells and and multi-shot cakes and what have you. And then our team here uh, that works year round, uh, literally 52 weeks a year, well, I give them off Christmas. So 51 weeks a year. Preparing uh, for shows. And uh, that team works here, they pull the product, they pack the shows to the specs of uh, the client. And then they are shipped and staged in those storage magazines until it’s showtime for that particular customer.
Marv: So how many shows do you have scheduled for this year? If that’s even a feasible number you can grasp.
Matt: Well, I can tell you how many we we had scheduled as of Monday. Uh, of course, this would include the shows that we’ve already done. Um, a lot of people don’t realize how much fireworks are used and consumed and desired away from the 4th of July. Of course, 4th of July is our peak season. Monday, uh, we were just a little over 3100 shows uh, nationwide in our in our operational area. Um, however, you’re right, it is very hard to quantify that exact number because we booked somewhere around 15 shows uh, since Monday morning. And I’ll give you a perfect example. One of my office girls just came down, we got a call just a few minutes ago, uh, from a show that is requesting a uh, show tomorrow night. And so we’re trying to, this is a process. You have to get a permit for the display, we have to get the insurance issued through our our uh, agency. And we have to have a shoot team, we have to pull the product, we have to make it go. Uh, luckily, it’s very close, it’s a local show in Laclede. And um, I’m not sure why they waited until the day to call us. I think it could have been a situation where one person thought the other person was doing it, and today they had a meeting to finalize and nobody had called.
Marv: I want to get into some of the um, I guess the money situation, not how much the show’s cost, because I know that is different depending on where you are and how much you want. But you have to order your stuff like a year in advance. Last year when we talked, you were ordering stuff for this year. And we talked about the tariffs. The tariffs were not in real effect. All your stuff comes from the Far East, China, Taiwan, probably Hong Kong, and that area. Is that correct?
Matt: Yeah. So Marv, we could probably do a two-hour uh, conversation about just this topic. Uh, but yes, most of our product, not all, uh, most of our product is manufactured outside of the United States. Um, unfortunately, uh, the US is in a situation when it comes to display fireworks where number one, we do not have all of the raw materials that it takes to manufacture display fireworks. Uh, it’s just simply not something that that uh, is available in the US. So our local or our in-states manufacturers have to purchase that product from the places that have it. Uh, one of the things that has made China such a prominent manufacturer of both consumer and display fireworks is that they do have all of the elements, the raw materials available in country uh, to manufacture that product. And so that is a a big advantage they have. Um, uh, if I was putting percentages down, I would say that 85% comes from China. Uh, 5%, maybe 7% comes from other uh, Middle East or Asian companies. Uh, Taiwan is certainly a a super high-end manufacturer. Uh, not a lot of volume, but the product they make is incredible. Um, Japan, same thing. They uh, have got an incredible product line, but the volume is simply not there available for purchase, ’cause they don’t have the capabilities. Malta, uh, and Spain are both big, big manufacturers of uh, their domestic or for their own uses. And they export a minimal amount. And uh, as I told you last year, Mexico is slowly ramping up. Uh, there’s several fellows down there, uh, well, I shouldn’t say fellas, a couple of ladies that I know, uh, that have expanded their manufacturing operations. And uh, you know, we would like to see the uh, the Mexican product line or Mexican manufacturers continue to evolve and develop uh, both their quality and the capabilities, their their quantity, how much they can make. Because it’s clearly easier to truck that product from Mexico into Missouri. Uh, it’s it’s a, it’s a lot shorter process than simply putting it on a ship. Uh, to get product here from from China, uh, there is one state, it’s called the Hunan Province, uh, and one city specifically, called Luoyang, and the majority of the manufacturing in China happens in that city and that state. There’re several million people that’s lives for many generations have been manufacturing uh, fireworks. And so when the product leaves Luoyang, it has to travel a uh, fairly cantankerous river. Uh, not nearly as big as the Missouri, but certainly larger than the Gasconade. And so there are times when the product leaves Luoyang uh, on the river that if it is low, they can’t get the container, they call them river or feeder vessels that are that are hauling maybe eight or 10 containers at a time. Low river, can’t get ’em out of there. High river, can’t get ’em out of there. Uh, so that comes down the river, makes its way into Shanghai. Shanghai, they load ’em onto uh, ocean vessels, uh, which either leaves then Shanghai directly or through Hong Kong. And then that comes into a port in the United States. Typically that has been Long Beach or Newark, New Jersey. Long Beach is uh, outside of LA. Newark is very close to to New York. And so there are then transferred to a train, and the train brings the container to a local inland port like Kansas City, uh, or Memphis or St. Louis, and then we truck that product here. So, that very long story, which probably could be considered boring, uh, is literally as long of a process as it just took me to describe it. So we’d like to see that Mexican manufacturing facilities uh, start to step up. It is a long process. I mean, first off, you have to develop a customer clientele that will financially support what you’re doing. And second off, you have to be able to do it. And so, uh, for right now, we rely a lot on those um, Middle Eastern countries. And then roll all the way back to in the United States, uh, there is maybe 10 commercial manufacturers of display fireworks left in the United States. And their total employee base is less than 50. So, 50 people uh, in the United States manufacturing, our primary factory we use, which is in Jiangxi uh, in China, the primary manufacturer factory that we use employs around 6500 people. And they manufacture for us, one other company in the United States, and one company in Europe. So you can see the problem, Marv.
Marv: Wow. I’m just finding this, that may be long, it may be, you know, explanatory, but I’m finding this just fascinating. What kind of route would they take coming out of China? They would probably take the South Pacific Sea, go uh, past Japan, toward Hawaii, and then come in, like you said, to Long Beach. I cannot imagine uh, taking all this all these fireworks on a boat and coming into Newark, New Jersey. They’d have to go through the Suez Canal. That would be even a longer route.
Matt: Yeah, and I know that I have, excuse me, I have watched some of our container ships. It’s unbelievable the navigational coordination, just the logistics. But uh, yes, the short answer is, yes. And these are container ships that are hauling, of course, they’ve got more than just fireworks on them. If if you’re truly interested in this, Marv, let me add an incredibly neat detail that most people don’t know. You see a container ship coming in with, let’s say a thousand 40-foot containers on it. And that container ship hauling explosive hazardous materials is only allowed to do what they call top shelf outer ring. So, let’s say you’ve got 10 containers stacked on top of each other in rows and columns, the top tier of that ship and the outer ring is the only place that they have the capacity to haul uh, explosives. And you probably would never imagine why. Well, you might, I’ll give you an opportunity. Do you know why that is?
Marv: No, I do not.
Matt: Uh, your listeners can look this video up. But for years, maritime rules and laws have required them to carry their most hazardous cargo in the easiest jettison place, in the unlikely event that you have a uh, an issue, an emergency at sea. So the Hyundai Fortune is the most recent uh, example of what I’m telling you. Uh, and that ship was underway, they were seven days into their 14-day voyage, and the engine room caught on fire. And the ship began the emergency jettison process, and that is simply to jettison the most volatile hazardous containers. They dump them into the sea in an attempt to keep from total loss of life on the ship and potentially to save the ship and keep it seaworthy enough that it could be repaired. That happened many, many years ago. I I wish I could tell you when exactly, but uh, it was probably 10 to 12 years ago. And so that’s why top shelf outer ring. Uh, two workers on a ship with a they’re basically hand-jacking these hydraulic poles. They drop ’em in between the outer ring container and the next container, and it takes them about 30 seconds to roll your 40-foot container off and, boom, into the sea it goes. So, while the route is long and the journey is is perilous, uh, they do require and and everything I just told you also limits the amount of space. So when you’re going backwards to the original question, statement, ask about ordering the product, you cannot wait until April or May to begin receiving your product because there’s simply not shipping space available. Um, obviously, we’re not just talking about fireworks, both consumer and display, but any of the hazardous materials that are flammable, explosive, uh, that come into the United States on shipping containers are are dealt with in the same manner. So, yeah, it’s a trip.
Marv: I guess planes are absolutely out of the question, aren’t they? I mean, you can’t take a pack of matches on a plane.
Matt: Right. Uh, there is uh, some theatrical or close proximity uh, product that can be flown if they’ve got airworthiness certificates, uh, air air cargo certificates, but it’s very, very limited. Uh, and that is small like stage pyrotechnics and what have you. But no. You don’t get to call uh, overseas and say, hey, can you air freight me 10 cases of red, white, blue peonies? That’s not gonna happen.
Marv: Okay, we’re going to take a quick break, and we’re coming back with Matt Sutcliffe from Premier Pyrotechnics in a moment.
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**Interview: Matt Sutcliffe (Continued)**
Marv: We are back with Matt Sutcliffe from Premier Pyrotechnics. Our guest on our podcast today. This has been so interesting. This is the 250th birthday of uh, the United States.
Matt: Happy Birthday America.
Marv: You bet. Is there anything uh, that they have manufactured that’s going to be different this year because of the 250th birthday than they had last year?
Matt: Oh Marv, good question. Uh, it’s almost like I fed these to you, but listeners, we did not. We didn’t talk about this interview. Uh, that is truly uh, something that I’ve been working on for the last five years. So Premier Pyrotechnics began the ramp up for the 250th uh, celebration five years ago. We started stockpiling additional product. Two years ago, uh, I approved a specific, it’s called a show in the box. Uh, it’s a specific product that I had made uh, for the 250th anniversary. And it is all about the red, white, and blue, baby. And of course, a lot of noise. Uh, so it’s a uh, large single fuse, you light one fuse, goes on for about uh, 75 or 80 seconds. And it uh, basically for our smaller shows, uh, the ship show customers where we’re sending them the product, and they are shooting their own display. Uh, this will be the signature piece that uh, that folks go, wow, that was really cool. You guys put a lot of time and effort into it. And that’s what we want them to believe and and know that their shoot team at their local fire department or Kiwanis, VFW, whatever, the civic organization that’s that’s doing your show, uh, we want them to be very, very impressed with the work that was done, uh, specifically high-lighting something that you and I’ll never see again. I mean, I, maybe you will, Marv, you’re gonna you’re gonna live forever, but it’s highly improbable that I will get to be a part of the 300th celebration of the United States. Uh, I did catch the 200th, but, you know, I was pretty young and didn’t really remember much about it.
Marv: Well, I’m just happy to be along here for the uh, 250th ’cause when I was younger, I didn’t know whether I would see the 200th, much less the uh, 250th with my lifestyle. Have you have you explored drones yet?
Matt: We have. You know, we went down that uh, that path several years ago. Uh, the drone light show technology is absolutely amazing. It’s incredible. Um, cost to purchase was also incredible. Um, I do know that those prices as as drone shows are becoming slightly more mainstream, uh, the prices have backed off. But Marv, the problem with this thing is, you’re going to invest for uh, a moderate-sized drone show. So, how do you determine the size of a drone show? How many drones are you flying? So a really small drone show would be somewhere in the 150 to 225 drones. Moderate-sized drone shows are somewhere between 450 and 600. And large drone shows are over 600. Well, if you’re gonna invest in being able to do one drone show at a moderate size, you’re laying down a check for somewhere between 1.5 and 1.8 million dollars.
Marv: Puts it out of range.
Matt: And so, it really becomes difficult for our customers to justify. Now, by the way, that’s the purchase of the of the equipment and the product. Then you have to have a technician who is specializing, their expertise is in designing drone shows, because you are not just downloading an AI-generated picture and saying, hey, drones, go do that. Um, there’s a very, very expertise-driven uh, specialty market uh, from for designing drone shows. And then, lest we not forget, you can do one a night. And actually, you can really do like one every other night, because you have your your show day, uh, let’s say it’s let’s say our show day was tonight. Well, the team was there yesterday, setting up. They’ve charged all the drones, they’ve they’ve tested the site, and then they do the show. Well, they tear down. Now, if you have invested in what’s called a charging trailer, which literally means that your drones are packed in cases, and those cases go on shelves that are connected to a large power system, and that trailer is charging the drones while you move to your next shoot site, then you could do another one in two days. If you don’t have a drone trailer and you have to recharge everything, might be looking at a every three or four-day option. And so it really financially uh, for our customer base, it wasn’t our specialty, and and it was a bit out of reach for for most of our customers.
Marv: Well, your specialty has certainly uh, entertained a lotta, lotta people uh, here in the Ozarks, and I just can’t imagine 3100 shows so far uh, for Premier Pyrotechnics. What a busy, busy, busy time of the year it is for you and your crew. And my gosh, you know, hats off to you, Matt.
Matt: Well, thank you, bud. You know, I have to tell you that uh, going back to the radio days, which I spent a a very short period of my early life uh, subsidizing my financial well-being in radio. Uh, you and I got to work together for just a short period of time. Uh, Gary, I I can’t even remember everybody’s names, but uh, that was a good time in my life, and it was very influential. I learned from everyone, even when they didn’t know I was watching. I was looking at work ethic and hoping that one day I could get there. And uh, with the help of a lot of great folks, you included, you may or may not realize it, but it made an impact.
Marv: Well, I’m so happy I was able to be just a small part uh, of your world because I’ve really enjoyed the fact that we were able to and still uh, keep in touch and get a chance to do this and shoot the breeze and kind of reminisce uh, from the old days.
Matt: Good old days.
Marv: You bet. We are out of time. I I find, yeah, I find this just so fascinating. And I wish you and pray for the all the safety uh, it takes ’cause I know safety is the number one priority at Premier Pyrotechnics.
Matt: Number one, that’s the that’s the absolute number one focus. Hey, we can’t get off here without inviting everybody to come out. 250th year celebration, find that list of shows. Fort Leonard Wood’s gonna be a banger this year. Uh, headliner is Nico Moon. I don’t know if you’ve heard that yet or not, Marv, but he is a fantastic country guy.
Marv: And everything is on your website?
Matt: We do not keep our list of shows on the website because if there is a change, we are not able to update it in real time, and I don’t ever want anybody to be disappointed. However, all you gotta do is search Facebook or Google, fireworks display near me, boom, stuff pops up everywhere.
Marv: Sounds great. Matt, you take care of yourself. Thank you so much for taking time uh, to visit with us today on the podcast.
Matt: See y’all on the 4th, Happy Birthday America.
**Sponsor Ad: Shelter Insurance – Dave Hallow**
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**Sponsor Ad: 3 Brothers Meat Company**
Narrator: In sports brought to you by Three Brothers Meat Company at Laclede, where your grill is still waiting for the delicious cuts of meat featured at Three Brothers Meat Company, including their huge selection of brats in many flavors, a sure pleasure for your family and friends at the cookout. Licking wildcats made their 11th appearance in the States Final Four and ended up taking third place in state this year under Coach Cole Roark. After taking the district title, the wildcats defeated Forsyth in the round of 16, knocked off Fair Grove in the quarters, lost to the eventual state champ in class three, Blair Oaks in the semis, then came back to beat Scott City 6 to 1 for third place. Congrats to the cats, a perennial baseball power in the Frisco League. Now, I don’t know how many of you watch hockey. I have since my days in St. Louis where I actually played the game. I was not a great skater, but I could hold my own. I attended many St. Louis Blues hockey games since the Arena called the Checker Dome at the time is where they played, and it was somewhat close to my house. I fell in love with the game and that’s continued. This year’s NHL Stanley Cup finals have been nothing less than incredible. They don’t start out great, but by the halfway point of the third period, the games take on a whole new flavor. If a team’s trailing by three or four goals, don’t turn off the tube thinking it’s over, because this year’s two finalists, the Las Vegas Golden Knights and the Carolina Hurricanes, are making this one Stanley Cup Final that will be talked about for years, and that was just after the first three games in the best of seven series. The NBA Finals got more interesting Monday night when the San Antonio Spurs won game three in New York. The New York Knicks stymied 7’4″ Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in the first two games in Texas and fell behind two games to none before the finals moved to New York for game three Monday. The Spurs kept the Knicks from going up three games to none and made a series out of it. I still think the Knicks win this when everything is said and done as we drop this podcast at midweek. Who knows? The President made an appearance at Madison Square Garden for game three and security was beefed up even more, but that didn’t seem to matter because after the game, New Yorkers caused havoc in the streets, forcing the police to use tear gas to disperse the unruly crowd. Can’t imagine what will happen if the Knicks actually win the series. The New York Police Department will be ready, and that’s sad in itself. No matter the outcome, the New York fans will go berserk and the cops will have to deal with the aftermath. We don’t know where the St. Louis Cardinals will end up by the end of September in the NL Central division or if they even make the playoffs. Right now it doesn’t matter. For a team that’s in a rebuilding year with no big name pitching or hitting, just watching or listening to the Redbirds is exciting. They’re almost never out of the game. And if you give up on them prior to the eighth or ninth inning, you may miss the best part of the game. Coming into this week, the Redbirds were five games back of first place Milwaukee in the NL Central and in second place and remain seven games over .500. Not too shabby for a rebuilding year. Well, that’s some sports this week brought to you by Three Brothers Meat Company at Lin Creek. We’re back after this with the wrap up.
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**Sponsor Ad: VFW Post 3168**
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**Wrap-Up**
Marv: That’s it for this week’s episode brought to you by Shelter Insurance Agent Dave Hallow of Richland, St. Robert Auto Supply, Seager Toyota, The Pulaski County Health Center, STR Glass of St. Robert, VFW Post 3168 of Laclede, TK’s Pizza, Three Brothers Meat Company at Lin Creek, Bales Construction, The Bank of Crocker, and Paul’s Furniture. Thanks to those sponsors. My producer Tracy for applying the glue, putting this all together. And thanks to you, my podcast listeners for allowing me to come into your life for a short period of time each week. If you’re enjoying the Marv in the Morning podcast, we invite you to leave a review on whatever app you’re listening on. We would also love for you to share the episode with family and friends on your social media accounts. Be sure to follow our podcast on Facebook on the Marv in the Morning podcast page, and you’re also invited to join us on Facebook on the Fort Not Lost in the Woods podcast group. This podcast is a production of O’Quinn Media. Until next time on the Marv in the Morning podcast, be safe and stay cool. Later.