If you go see Tim Slagle's comedy show, he'll be smokin'

 
So, did you hear the one about the Hiawatha light-rail line? Conservative comedian Tim Slagle, below, is in town, hoping to get laughs by making fun of Minnesota's first light-rail line and the wave of smoking bans in the Twin Cities. Tonight, he'll invite smokers at the Acme Comedy Club in Minneapolis to light up with him on stage, an act of defiance that will be filmed by a crew making a documentary on the Twin Cities' smoking bans.

Randy Johnson, chairman of the Hennepin County Board and author of the county's smoking ban, said he hasn't seen Slagle's show, but was interviewed by the filmmakers. "He's a guy trying to make a buck, and he's found a niche," Johnson, a Republican, said of Slagle, who claims he's gone drinking with conservative icons Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly.

We caught up with Slagle -- and Johnson -- for a few questions.

Q You've actually ridden our light-rail line?

Slagle It was a fun ride, you know -- a little slow. I would have liked it if they would have put some, like, high hills and some nice banks on it, and made it go a little faster. There were actually more people on the rollercoaster at Camp Snoopy that day.

Q You aware of the price tag?

Slagle Seven hundred million? If you pretty much divide that among the ridership you could have bought cars for everybody. The truth is, I think it's more important that people have cars than public transit. Because pretty much everybody that was stranded [in New Orleans by Hurricane] Katrina relied on public transit. The people that had the cars got out of there.

Q Are liberals easier to make fun of?

Slagle Yes [laughter]. And it's gotten me into problems before. There was one show [in Minneapolis where] there was 270 people when I started and there was only 27 when I finished. It's no big feat to chase that many people out of a room. The big feat is getting booked back after you've done that.

Q You say you're a Libertarian, but you sound like a Republican. Which is it?

Slagle I have passed for a Republican, too.

Q What impressions do you have of the smoking bans in Hennepin County and Minneapolis?

Slagle It's a strange loophole that you can carry a loaded revolver into a bar, but you can't light a cigarette.

Q When it's time to light up onstage, what will you reach for?

Slagle I'll be smoking a cigar. What do I reach for? The closest one.

Hennepin County, meanwhile, will hold a public hearing on possible amendments to its smoking ban on Nov. 15.

"Maybe I should let all the smokers talk first because they have less time," Johnson said. "See, I can be funny, too."

Mike Kaszuba • 612-673-4388