"They're like the Super Bowl of trapping"
I pulled this story from kare11.com but it was originally an AP story.
http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=144709&GID=R7GTMThRZiyk/jQRYeQvHGIZcpSMyUv15/RDMAWYq24%3D
Coyotes have adapated to life in urban areas, prompting efforts to trap and/or relocate the animals to a more rural setting. "They're like the Super Bowl of trapping," said Gary Meis of Bruno, Minn., president of the Minnesota Trappers Association. Apparently Coyotes are wily and proving difficult to trap and control. While no attacks on humans have been reported as of yet, metro citizens are getting nervous about their small children and pets. One woman reported that a coyote killed a deer in her backyard. Eagan alone reports 90 coyote sightings a year.
A challenge in this story is what is the news value. The star Tribune and Pioneer press as of yet have not filed a story dealing with the growing coyote nuisance. So are coyotes a nuisance, no one has been attacked yet. This story is kind of a cute broadcast piece. A clip of a coyote running through downtown looks interesting and is novel. I believe this story is a direct result of the coyote found in a downtown Chicago Quiznos restaurant. I don't expect this story to receive a whole lot of attention until someone is attacked.
I compared this story with an abbreviated one from the local fox affiliates web site: http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=2968706&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1
This piece focuses on Chanhassen specifically. It kind of reads like an advance, simply stating there could be news here in the future. Kind of a heads-up to editors and reporters to keep an eye on coyote news. The AP story like always is much better, it is broader, has more statistics, and has really great quotes. Especially the super bowl quote and this one, "The last two things that will walk the earth are a coyote and a turkey," Gary Meis of Bruno, Minn., president of the Minnesota Trappers Association. If I were going to write a story about anything related to trapping or animals in general I would go back to this guy.
I thought this was interesting to read but not all that captivating. The only reason we're even hearing about it is because of the Chicago incident. I would wager that this will die off until something more tragic happens between coyotes and humans.