10 things about Conrad Burns
1. Burns was born Jan. 25, 1935, in Gallatin, Mo.
2. His mother, Mary Burns, was a former Democratic Party chairwoman of Daviess County, Mo.
3. He attended the University of Missouri but left without graduating to join the Marines.
4. Burns has been a radio announcer, livestock auctioneer, and high school football referee.
5. He worked as a field representative for Polled Hereford World magazine and the Polled Hereford Association.
6. He has has been a tobacco chewer since his days as a marine.
7. Montana State University is home to the Burns Telecommunications Center, named after the senator. The center promotes the education of students living off campus and commuting via telephone, modems, and computers.
8. During a campaign in 1999, Burns referred to Arabs as "ragheads" and had to apologize.
9. He considers the book How Scots Invented the Modern World by Arthur Herman, a history of Burns's ancestors, one of the best books he has ever read.
10. He has been named one of the 13 "most corrupt" members of Congress by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics for his alleged role in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal.
advertisement
