Newspaper prank adored and abhorred

April Fuhl struck again.

The annual spoof from the fictitious fingertips of the reporter who writes just one article a year snared a good many Press readers Friday, April Fool’s Day.

Some laughed.

Others threatened to sue.

“The first thing I thought was, ‘Oh, lordy! When were they going to tell us this?’ followed by ‘We really need height restrictions downtown,’” said City Councilman Dan Gookin. “Then I laughed because I was fooled. And I began to dread all the calls City Hall was going to receive. Good one!”

Indeed, City Hall caught the brunt of widespread anxiety over the 120-story skyscraper - housing headquarters for the Communist Party, Antifa and Black Lives Matter - that was purported to be going up where the Third Street boat launch is now.

“The City has been receiving some angry phone calls,” acknowledged Hilary Anderson, Community Planning Director, mid-morning Friday. “I don’t believe any came to Planning but they came through the main number at City Hall and the Building Department, and one call was forwarded to the Legal Department.”

The tidal wave of terror wasn’t completely unexpected.

“I believe all City Hall departments that would normally receive those calls have been informed of the article to hopefully reassure people that it was an April Fool’s Day joke (typical of the CDA Press staff writer, April Fuhl, each year),” Anderson said.

Criticism came from both ends of the spectrum.

“I can't believe you would put BLM in a catagory with communists and antifa,” one reader emailed the editor. “Shame on you. Racist.”

“Your lame attempt at humour reveals what your publication is really all about,” wrote another. “Another left wing, liberal hack, mouthpiece. Maybe CNN and MSNBC will send some thank you money your way.”

Even the mayor wasn’t spared blowback. Here’s an excerpt from an email to Jim Hammond’s mayoral account:

“the tower is everything we the people do not want. Khrushchev said it's free , paid for by FEDERAL money. We are the money , the tax payers. WE DONT WANT the American Communist party , Blm . Antifa.We sure the he'll don't want 15 thousand exes and administrative people. The nerve of this Fool bring this CRAP FEST is only going to be sweeter! The 1 800 number to call was on page A9, paper only has A8. Please don't let this happen!”

Calls also clogged Press phone lines, from the front desk to the Circulation Department. Receptionist Mary Moore had a busy morning, handling dozens of calls from dazed readers.

“Most of them are like, ‘You got me,’” she said of the reactions after she explained it was a joke. “The majority are positive and think it’s funny.”

She added: "A customer just came in, buying papers and passing them out. She absolutely loved the story and wanted to say kudos."

Moore noted a demographic trend.

“More men are accepting of the fact that it was a joke than women,” she said.

And there was another consistent thread woven throughout many calls: “A lot are saying, ‘Oh, good - we don’t have to pack our bags and move!’”

April Fuhl’s annual spoofs have blessed or besmirched - depends upon your viewpoint - the newspaper every April 1 since 2005. The first installment was about a money tree being discovered out on the prairie.

In what would become a tradition, the story was continued on a page that doesn’t exist. In that case, it was the location of the money tree - and hundreds of readers called in, wanting to know the exact address.

According to The Press editor, who’s rumored to know April Fuhl intimately, the traditional prank has two main purposes: To remind people to question what they read, and to offer an opportunity to laugh at ourselves.

Sometimes it actually works.