Mark Fischenich: Ask Us: 'Chit and Chat' song goes back decades

Mark Fischenich, The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.
·3 min read

May 22—Q: The tune introducing the Chit and Chat show on KTOE Radio — was that written and sung by Mankato's City Mouse?

A: A very good guess, but not quite on the mark, according to Billy Steiner.

"The 'Chit and Chat Starting the Morning Right' song was recorded by the Lost Walleye Orchestra," Steiner said. "Dave Pengra, bass and vocals; Ronnie Arsenault, vocals and guitar; Dale Haefner on piano; and yours truly on vocals and harmonica. And, boy, it was recorded quite a while ago."

All four can be heard playing with City Mouse to this day.

While Steiner didn't give a guess on how long the recording has been in existence, he offered a few details on the signature tune for KTOE's "Morning Blend" radio show that would suggest the tune is probably at least 30 years old and could be approaching its 40th birthday.

"Jim Johnson from Mankato penned the song and we recorded it in the studio with Dick Dietz, I believe ...," Steiner said of the former employees of KTOE and KDOG, now Radio Mankato.

Q: Wanna know what the new area code is going to be in southern Minnesota?

A: Self-described "area code guru" Lincoln Madison has the answer for what number, in the next three years or so, will join 507 at the front of phone numbers in these parts.

Madison contacted Ask Us Guy after reading the column on the looming date when southern Minnesota's 507 area code would exhaust the last of its available phone numbers.

Staffers at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission said they were aware that the 507 region of Minnesota is projected to run out of numbers in the second quarter of 2025. When the time nears, the PUC told The Free Press, public opinion will be sought on whether to overlay another area code on top of 507 or, alternatively, to divide southern Minnesota geographically — with one portion transitioning to a new area code and the other getting the 507 numbers.

First off, Madison predicted there would not be a geographic split with, say, Rochester and points east getting a new code and the rest of southern Minnesota keeping 507.

"They may give pro-forma consideration to the possibility of an area code split, but it is pretty much a foregone conclusion that it will in fact be an overlay," Madison wrote to Ask Us Guy. "Simply put, the last area code split in the United States was in 2007; since then, it has been all overlays."

So, that means people seeking a new phone number in southern Minnesota in about three years will likely see a new area code at the beginning of the number. And people making calls, even local ones, will have to dial all 10 numbers because the phone system won't be able to assume every seven-digit number in this part of the state is a 507 number.

Now, as for what the new area code will be — drum roll, please ... .

Actually, in this case — dial tone, please ... .

924!

Madison clearly explains the reasoning behind his prediction, but it's sort of complicated and involves eliminating options for a variety of reasons.

"That leaves you with only two possibilities, 924 or 958," Madison concluded. "958 is a 'code of last resort,' because it is used in many places for network testing. That leaves you with one obvious candidate, 924."

Contact Ask Us at The Free Press, 418 S. Second St., Mankato, MN 56001. Call Mark Fischenich at 344-6321 or email your question to mfischenich@mankatofreepress.com; put Ask Us in the subject line.