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Celeb Studded Gala at the World’s Largest Wildlife Museum

September 21, 2017
by RURAL RADIO SiriusXM Channel 147
· Bass Pro Shops · Music & Entertainment · People · Programming · Uncategorized

September 21, 2017

Nashville, TN

The world’s largest wildlife museum opened in Springfield, MO last night. At 350K square feet and ticket price of $250 million, the Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium is the largest facility of its kind, surpassing the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in D.C., and will be the largest, most immersive fish and wildlife attraction in the world. Celebs, past presidents, outdoor enthusiasts, alongside fish and wildlife jammed into a tent outside of Bass Pro Shops flagship location in Springfield on Wednesday, September 20th for a gala and grand opening event to kick off the new museum.

Bass Pro Shops founder and CEO, Johnny Morris created the venue in the heart of America’s conservation capital in Missouri’s Ozark Mountains.

“I am proud and excited that this special facility dedicated to those who love the outdoors will open in the heart of America in our hometown, Springfield, Missouri,” said Johnny Morris. “We are deeply grateful to the many remarkably talented individuals and world-class conservation organizations that have come together for the past nine years to help make this vision a reality. It is our shared hope that the tremendous investment of time, energy and resources will have a profound, positive long-term impact on the future of hunting, fishing, and conservation in America.”

Morris went on to say that the gala “is celebrating the sportsmen and women in this country. The anglers and the hunters, who really from the time of those who came before us, the Native Americans, and the time of Roosevelt and Audubon … the impact they’ve had not just for hunting and fishing, but for all our nature.”

Attendees included former presidents, Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush, NASCAR racing stars Chip Ganassi, fishing legends Billy Dance and Jimmy Houston, actors Kevin Costner and Mark Wahlberg (who did a live diving demo), and country music stars Dierks Bentley, Craig Morgan, Luke Bryan Easton Corbin, Chris Janson and Tracy Byrd.

The Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium took almost a decade to build with a cost of $290 million. The all-new 1.5-million-gallon aquarium adventure showcases 35,000 live fish, mammals, reptiles and birds, and an immersive wildlife museum that brings visitors eye-to-eye with the greatest collection of record-setting game animals ever assembled. The 320,000-square foot experience celebrates people who hunt, fish, and act as stewards of the land and water.

It opens to the public Friday, September 22, 2017, in Springfield, MO. It is located next to the Bass Pro Shops flagship store and national headquarters. , the new campus is a centerpiece of America’s Conservation Capital in Missouri’s Ozark Mountains. In addition to the aquarium and wildlife galleries, there will be more than 1.5 miles of trails through immersive exhibits and displays.

According to the museum’s website, “The grand opening also coincides with several significant conservation landmarks in September including the 80th anniversary of President Franklin Roosevelt signed legislation establishing an excise tax on firearms and ammunition to fund wildlife conservation. Referred to as the Pittman- Robertson Act, this little-known bill has generated billions of dollars from sportsmen and women to fund vital state wildlife conservation activities. It also marks the 80th anniversary of Ducks Unlimited, one of the foremost conservation organizations in the world and a key museum partner. Additionally, September 2017 is the 211th anniversary of the completion of the historic Lewis and Clark expedition, which will be one of many milestones featured inside Wonders of Wildlife.”

Key components at Wonders of Wildlife include:

A 1.5 million-gallon aquarium adventure
More than a mile of immersive trails and exhibits spanning 320,000-square feet
35,000 live fish, mammals, reptiles and birds representing 700 species
More than 70,000 square-feet of immersive wildlife galleries and dioramas
The Boone and Crockett Club’s National Collection of Heads and Horns
The International Game Fish Association’s (IGFA) Fishing Hall of Fame
The National Bass Fishing Hall of Fame
The NRA National Sporting Arms Museum
The National Archery Hall of Fame
Partnerships with 34 of the world’s foremost conservation organizations

Learn more at http://www.wondersofwildlife.org.

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Kentucky Headhunters on this week’s “Outside the Barrel” with Flint Rasmussen

November 2, 2016
by RURAL RADIO SiriusXM Channel 147
· Channel 147 · Interview · Music & Entertainment · People · Programming · RFD-TV Programming · Shows · SiriusXM

Kentucky Headhunters are going “On Safari” this weekend to promote tracks from their new album on SiriusXM Outlaw Country Channel 60’s “Hillbilly Jim’s Haunted Hayride.” This week, the group will be featured on RURAL RADIO’s Friday evening show, “Outside the Barrel” hosted by Rodeo Clown Flint Rasmussen.

The group explains to Flint that they originally considered their music part of the “southern rock” genre, but found that country music industry was changing and eager to adopt a new kind of sound. As the Kentucky Headhunters grow older, they improve their songwriting and hone their singing abilities. Thanks to this, their target demographic has expanded from just rural areas into the bigger cities.

Aptly nicknamed “Southern Rock Royalty,” the Kentucky Headhunters have produced 12 studio albums, four consecutive Top 40 Hits, and earned a Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Their 2015 album Meet Me in Bluesland, included the sounds of pianist Johnnie Johnson and Rock N Roll Hall of Famer and legendary keyboardist for Chuck Berry. The album reached the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Blues Album chart the week of its debut.

Kentucky Headhunter’s new album On Safari is a southern rock album that highlights the southern way of life and is available at stores and through digital retailers on November 4^th. For more information on The Kentucky Headhunters, visit KentuckyHeadhunters.net and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

“Outside the Barrel” airs at on Friday 5pm ET and 8pm ET on RURAL RADIO Sirius XM Channel 147, and again at 1pm ET on Sunday.

National FFA Pre-Convention Show

October 19, 2016
by RURAL RADIO SiriusXM Channel 147
· Channel 147 · FFA · Interview · Music & Entertainment · People · Programming · RFD-TV Programming · Schedule · Shows · SiriusXM

Want to keep up with the National FFA Convention & Expo?

Get LIVE coverage on RFD-TV and RURAL RADIO throughout the rest of the week (Oct 19^th-21^st)! Over the last few days, FFA Today has met with important FFA specialists to get an inside look on the exciting things to look forward to throughout the convention.

Hear about all things FFA related on our weekly broadcast, “FFA Today”. The show airs on Saturdays at 7:30am ET and again on Sundays at 5pm ET. Tune in LIVE, online, or via the Sirius XM app to Channel 147.

Cindy Hefner, program manager for the National Officer Management Team at the National FFA Organization joins us on “FFA Today.” Each year, everyone looks forward to the grand reveal of convention’s theme song to set the energy and tone in the arena for the next four days. This year’s song is based on the convention’s theme, “Transform,” decided by the officers, who had to describe what that word meant to them in the context of developing agriculture.

“FFA Today” contributor and host of the Off-Farm Income Podcast, Matt Brechwald interviews Scott Jacobs, Career Development Events (CDE) education specialist, who manages the CDE competition process at the National FFA Convention. Over 3,000 FFA members participate in 25 different CDEs throughout the convention.

“FFA Today” correspondent Micheal Clements catches up with Keisto Lucero, Education Specialist for National FFA, who gives a behind-the-scenes look into the officer selection process during the National Convention. A selection committee is created through nominations of current National FFA participants, followed by a series of interviews and practice speeches.

Mourning the Loss of Joey Feek

March 7, 2016
by RURAL RADIO SiriusXM Channel 147
· Music & Entertainment · RFD-TV Programming · Uncategorized

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Our RFD-TV family continues to remember Joey Feek. “I, just like thousands of others, have been reading Joey’s story shared by her devoted husband, Rory, often crying. The words he wrote about his precious bride exemplify what true love really is. Joey was one of the most God-fearing, loving, courageous individuals…she makes people – even those who didn’t truly know her – want to be better in this life. Our prayers are with the Feek family forever and always.” –Raquel Gottsch, Executive Vice President, RFD-TV

The hearts of many are going out today for the loss of Joey Feek—one half of perhaps the most beloved country duo of recent memory, Joey+Rory. Both vocalists, their music was heard and loved by countless adoring fans, which led to the release of five albums and won them Top New Vocal Duo at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Most recently, the couple also received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for their rendition of “If I Needed You.” But perhaps even more than their music, Joey and Rory’s story left a legacy that touched lives across the world.

The pair were engaged only a few months after formally meeting, and were wed in 2002. They were lovers first—business partners second. While both Joey and Rory pursued their own individual careers as artists, they found the spotlight in 2008, when the two finished third on the CMT competition series,Can You Duet. However, their rise to fame and superstardom never inhibited their devotion to each other and to their humble lives on the farm, which was captured in the RFD-TV series, The Joey+Rory Show beginning in 2012.

Tragically, Joey’s battle with cancer began in 2014, just after the birth of the couple’s daughter, Indiana. Although she initially beat the cancer, it returned a year later with a vengeance. Joey’s decline this fall was heartbreaking not only for us, but for thousands of fans around the world who wanted to do more than stand by helplessly watching her struggle. At the request of RFD-TV, fans began sending handwritten letters to the Feeks to show love and support.

“I hope Joey knows how much we love her. Prayers go out to Joey and her family. Thanks to Rory for sharing so much,” one fan, Teri Reeves, said.

RFD-TV also broadcast a five-hour marathon special called To Joey+Rory with Love, which included a marathon of ten favorite episodes of The Joey+Rory Show. At the end of the broadcast, stars such as Dolly Parton, Connie Smith, and Marty Stuart gave personal messages to the Feeks. Other country stars, like Reba McEntire, Kix Brooks, and Ronnie Dunn sent their love.

In fact, the outpouring of letters from fans and stars alike were so overwhelming that we could barely keep track of them all. This woman—and this family—truly moved lives, not just in country music, but in America and around the world.

“J+R symbolize the America that millions of us hope is still alive somewhere in this country,” another fan, Mike Joyce, said in his letter.

Although God didn’t grant Joey the miracle that everyone had been praying and hoping for, he did grant her the miracle that was her life —a life that was cut short, but nonetheless a blessing for those she touched during the years she was given. Joey and Rory showed us how to love, how to step out of our comfort zones, how to succeed, how to live humbly, and how to find comfort in music and God. Although Joey may be gone, the echo of her voice will resonate from the stereos and hearts of thousands of fans—and from the family that she leaves behind. She will truly be missed.

Read Rory’s blog HERE: thislifeilive.com

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