Corn, Crop Circle Highlight Omaha 'Idol' Episode

Reaction to Omaha's appearance on "American Idol" Tuesday night was mixed.

Some were happy to see the city get its moment in the spotlight, while others were dismayed at the stereotypical images of corn that are more often associated with the state itself.

Swanson Russell Associates Public Relations Manager Jennifer Windrum told listeners of KFAB's "Good Morning Show" Wednesday that Swanson Russell worked closely with the show's producers to showcase the entire city - in addition to the "American Idol" crop circle Swanson Russell helped create.

"In a sense, we added to the corn," Windrum said. "But we tried to mix (agriculture) with the modern. But we knew they couldn't come here and not show corn."

Windrum said the AI production crew wanted shots of things viewers would recognize - Mutual of Omaha, the Henry Doorly Zoo, etc. - but that not everything made the show.

"We made an itinerary for them and we had four hours with them," Windrum said. "But the rain really hampered things. The day they were shooting it was rainy, so we had to change plans."

One of the original goals of the project - to get show host Ryan Seacrest on a Claas LEXIONClaas LEXION Combine - didn't happen, Windrum said.

"We got them out to the Claas facility but it was raining and they wanted a combine in action," she said.

The crop circle came off much better, despite the rain and a short timetable to get it made.

"Once we mentioned that to the producers, we had two weeks to do it," Windrums aid. "We hired a company from Utah called The MAIZE and they mapped it out with a GPS. The 'Welcome to Omaha' part was hand-carved with machetes.

Swanson Russell's website features a "making of" video of the crop circle. Windrum and SRA Public Relations Associate (and former KETV reporter) Laura Liggett (pictured above) are shown helping cut the crop circle.

Voorhees Wants Your Opinion

KFAB (1110 AM) morning talk show host Scott Voorhees is inviting listeners to cast their vote for the impression left by Tuesday's American Idol episode.

The choices are: "Too much corn, but that's ok," "Too much corn, and that's ignorant," Who cares about the corn? We were featured on the #1 show!," and "I didn't watch it."