KARE 11 announced Friday that it has fired popular meteorologist Sven Sundgaard after he called opponents of the ongoing economic shutdowns “Nazi sympathizer gun fetishist miscreants.”
“Due to the continued violations of KARE 11’s news ethics and other policies, we have made the decision to part ways with Sven Sundgaard. We hope you continue to turn to KARE 11 for your news, traffic, weather and more,” the station said in a statement posted to Facebook.
Sundgaard has yet to publicly comment on his departure from the network, which he joined in 2006. The longtime fixture at the station sparked controversy late last month after he re-posted and then deleted a statement from Minneapolis Rabbi Michael Adam Latz on his Facebook page.
“I understand that the press has an obligation to cover the rallies at state capitols by the ‘liberate the state’ white nationalist Nazi sympathizer gun fetishist miscreants. We must pay attention to armed extremists,” the post said, according to Alpha News.
Sundgaard shared the comments to his Facebook page just two days after hundreds of Minnesotans gathered outside the Governor’s Residence in St. Paul to protest Gov. Tim Walz and his stay-at-home order.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jason Lewis criticized Sundgaard for the comments and called on KARE 11 to fire him.
“Today’s forecast: mostly sunny with a chance of idiocy,” said Lewis. “COVID-19 models are about as accurate as his forecasts. KARE 11 should fire him.”
Today’s forecast: mostly sunny w/ a chance of idiocy.
First ‘sports reporter’ @KFANRosen attacks the right to peaceably assemble.
Now ‘weatherman’ @svensundgaard does this. #Covid_19 models are about as accurate as his forecasts.@kare11 should fire him!https://t.co/awo2Wiesfo
— Jason Lewis (@LewisForMN) April 30, 2020
In a 2015 interview with The Star Tribune, Sundgaard compared people who fly Confederate flags to Germans who want to fly the Nazi flag.
“Hate and racism. That infuriates me when I see it on a car here, even,” he said of a group of protesters who greeted former President Barack Obama while waving Confederate flags.
“Actually what I’ve likened it to, and I don’t think it’s an exaggeration, let’s pretend that Germany were a state in the U.S. and they still wanted to fly the Nazi flag. Get real,” he added.
KARE 11 has declined to comment on Sundgaard’s departure beyond its public statement.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Sven Sungaard” by Sven Sungaard. Background Photo “Kare 11 Logo” by Kare 11.
