Calling the story an "urban myth," an Clear Channel Minot cluster manager bristled when Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) once again railed against the alleged lack of any on-duty personnel at a six-station radio cluster in Minot ND during an overnight train derailment involving hazardous materials. Market manager Rick Stensby says overnighter Jerry Michaels was on duty that night, and that there were other factors beyond Clear Channel’s control that contributed to problems getting the word or the disaster out to local citizens. Prime among them was the failure of the local police to have their EAS equipment hooked up. Stensby said station personnel did react promptly to the emergency, and in the aftermath helped get the police department up to speed on EAS. Stensby has offered to meet Dorgan to discuss the incident. In a letter to Dorgan, he said he is not a stockholder in the Clear Channel and plans to remain in Minot, not with the company, once it has completed its planned sale of the Minot stations. "There may be a lot of things wrong with all the corporate ownership in America but I can tell you that on the night in question, Clear Channel has gotten a bad rap," he wrote.
