COMM 209 -- quotes, irony

Associated Press stories are often pretty bland. The AP has so many clients, it's sort of a lowest common denominator. But this quote was well played in an AP story about the current cold weather in the Midwest and Northeast. First, the quote:

It was so cold that Toledo, Ohio — 5 above zero at noon, up from 4 below — even closed its outdoor ice rink. "The irony is not lost on us," said city spokesman Brian Schwartz.

I might have broken that into two 'grafs, to highlight the quote a little more. But I love the way the writer, Roger Petterson of AP in New York, set it up.

Some more quotes in the same story, from northern Minnesota and the Dakotas:

Veterinarian Wade Himes wasn't too concerned as he ate breakfast at the Shorelunch Cafe in International Falls.

"We get up and go to work, and people come and see us. I don't think anything changes that much. (You) just dress warm," said Himes, 69.

Temperatures in Grand Forks, N.D., dipped to 31 below zero early Monday at the airport, 3 degrees lower than the records set in 1982 and 1967, the National Weather Service said. Meteorologist Bill Barrett described the record as "relatively mild."

"It's only 31 below," said Randy Hjelmstad, owner of Randy's Refuse in Grand Forks. "It's not that bad out."

Call it irony, call it understatement, call it typical "Minne-SNOW-ta" humor. But the quotes add a little something to what otherwise would be a routine weather roundup.