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Gov. Dayton often does interviews. For the most part, they (like today's 

 on MPR's The Daily Circuit)  focus on serious policy proposals. But in one recent interview, Dayton was asked whether he would sign a bill into law that would allow people to wear shorts to work.

Dayton agreed to a tongue-in-cheek interview with "The Dude" when he visited Children's Hospital on Valentine's Day.  The broadcast was created for Children's internal TV station that plays in the kid's rooms at the hospital.

The interviewer hosts the Kid's Clubhouse TV show for Children's Hospitals. He wore a t-shirt that said "Proud to be Awesome" for his interview with Dayton.

"The Dude", who is played by improv actor Eriq Nelson, relies on an interviewing style that closely mirrors Wayne and Garth from Saturday Night Live's Wayne's World fame.  He asked mostly basic and humorous questions like "Are you a night owl or an early bird?" (Dayton's response: night owl) and "What would you say to the cat people of Minnesota?"  (Dayton's immediate response: "Meow")

Dayton played along with the interview - suggesting at one point that he was ready to be "grilled like a hamburger." He also had a pretty quick response when asked to list his favorite Selena Gomez song.

An official with Children's Hospital and Clinics says the internal TV show aims to improve the care of the patients at Children's Hospital. The hospital says a growing body of research shows that integrating the arts into health care helps improve overall patient outcomes.

Gettin' Political with The Dude and Governor Mark Dayton

Politics and Government News

Capitol View®

Tom Scheck

Author

Dayton agrees to a tongue-in-cheek interview with "The Dude."

Dayton abides in interview with “The Dude” (Video)

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