Hockert and KARE11 are parting ways; Does Faith Hill have a stake in Prior Lake?

Amy Hockert knew her deal to commute from D.C. to a weekend anchor job at KARE 11 was too good to last.

"We had a really great set-up," she told me Monday. It was especially great for baby Elise, born June 2, who spent weekends with Grandma Sonja while Hockert worked. Hockert is married to a State Department employee, who missed that recent bombing in Pakistan by just one day.

"It was an ideal solution to buy us time until my husband's tour of duty was up and he could start looking for jobs in Minnesota," she said. "But when I came back from maternity leave, the station asked me to go full time, which I can't do while I'm living on the East Coast. So we had no choice but to part ways."

Before Hockert went on maternity leave, KARE11 had re-signed her for a contract that ran from October to October, she said. KARE11 news director Tom Lindner returned my call Tuesday but did not answer the question I left on his voice mail. Hockert is scheduled to end her 6 1/2-year KARE11 career on Oct. 5 during the 5 p.m. newscast.

"I grew up in Minnesota, my whole family [including mom Sonja, dad Dan, brother Daniel] is here and we'd love nothing more than to raise our family here," Hockert said.

"Leaving this job and these people will be the hardest thing I've had to do in my professional career," she added. "But life goes on and I have a lot to look forward to. I have an incredible husband and beautiful healthy baby girl, and I have no doubt we will find happiness wherever we are."

Hockert is looking outside the TV industry for her next job, but she is a fine enough anchor to land a D.C.-area job. Note to whoever at WJLA-TV is reportedly parading blondes through the newsroom as possible co-anchors for Leon Harris: GET HOCKERT'S TAPE. Besides being a great presenter of news, Hockert has been voted "Hottest Local Female News Personality" by no less authority than those hip readers of Vita.mn. Hockert's KARE11 colleague, Julie Nelson -- who must be breathing a sigh of relief at Hockert's departure, according to one of my broadcast sources -- came in No. 4.

I began by telephoning Prior Lake City Manager Frank Boyles. "I don't know if there's any accuracy to it whatsoever," he said.

He also said it would be difficult to verify, "if not impossible." While the property record would be on the Scott County website, he said, ownership could be hidden "under a LLC, a limited liability corporation, with the name of their favorite pet."

Wouldn't there be more sightings of the cute country couple at the MOA, at Lunds or at Cub, if they lived here part time? "You'd think," Boyles said. "On the other hand, I can't say that I've been looking."

There are glorious natural spaces in Prior Lake that remind you of northern Minnesota. "You are driving this dirt road and you say, 'I'm still in Prior Lake, but I feel a thousand miles from civilization,'" Boyles said. "Maybe that plays right into this Faith Hill [gossip], but who knows?"

After that I made a half-dozen phone calls to various people in L.A. and Nashville before Hill's lawyer gave me the name of manager Sandra Westerman.

"No, she does not," Westerman said. She chuckled to hear what sounded like kisses over the phone -- my thanks for putting this tiresome gossip to rest! "You are very welcome," Westerman said.

Miss RNC? Just rewind Don't you miss the Republicans?

I do. But I fill the void by looking at the video I collected of all the celebrities I ran into at St. Paul's RNC. There's NBC's inestimable Andrea Mitchell, Phyllis Schlafly (do not send me e-mail saying she's not alive), NYT's John Harwood (handsome, even in poor lighting), NBC's David Gregory (finally dawned on me what animal he resembles) and CNN's John Roberts.

Reluctantly, I identified myself to Roberts as the person who once ragged on his grammar. Roberts could not have been more gracious. He said that as a Canadian, he takes the Queen's English seriously, so it gives him pause when his grammar is challenged.

Also at startribune.com/video is a short on the silly matter of Fox 9 anchors interviewing Fox News' D.C. correspondent Doug Luzader at the convention via satellite even though he was 10 feet away in the next suite.