Garrison Keillor Saves International Falls, Minnesota

In what could have been the plot for A Prairie Home Companion 2, Garrison Keillor sang a plea to save the only clinic in International Falls, Minnesota. International Falls calls itself the "Icebox of the Nation" and is located on the border between Canada and the United States.

The clinic in International Falls is run by SMDC Health System Clinic based in Duluth, MN. Officials have been advertising for new doctors to work at the clinic for two years without success. The loss of one of the clinic's current staff of seven doctors could force it to close. Deciding to take a different tack, the company sent a letter to "A Prairie Home Companion" asking that they play a song about International Falls on the show.

Garrison Keillor decided instead to write a song about the clinic himself. According to Shawn Mason, the mayor of International Falls, she had told Keillor that the town needed "guys and gals of that profession who like to be off work at 5 p.m. and be on their docks at 5:20 with their feet in the water and a fishing pole and a cold beer."

On April 14, 2007, Garrison Keillor went on his Public Radio International show, "A Prairie Home Companion" and sang the praises of International Falls and about the town's shortage of doctors. The first verse began:

"They're looking for doctors
In International Falls
Up on the northern border
Where the loon calls.
They don't need a psychiatrist
They're basically all right.
They need fishhooks removed
And treatment for frostbite...
It gets cold in winter so you cannot feel your face
But for the right kind of person, it could be the perfect place."

Keillor asked interested doctors to search the Internet for International Falls and learn more about the city. It seems that his request was taken to heart. By April 17, 2007, three days after the show had aired, the clinic had been contacted by 16 or 17 doctors interested in their plight.