Albers goes to pieces over donkey
10:42 PM 4/16/03
Phil Brinkman State government reporter

She couldn't have fallen off an elephant?

Sheryl Albers, the state representative from Reedsburg who is about as Republican as they come, fell off a donkey - the symbol of the Democratic Party - during a charity donkey basketball game in Mauston Tuesday, breaking her left leg in two places.

"She left a message this morning saying, 'This is no joke. I'm in the hospital. I fell off a donkey. They're going to do surgery later,'" legislative aide Joyce Waldrop said.

Reached Wednesday at her hospital room in Reedsburg, a groggy-sounding Albers said she felt "like I got kicked by a donkey."

Albers, 48, was participating in a fund-raiser for Future Farmers of America at Mauston High School when the mishap occurred in front of some 400 spectators. A former dairy farmer and FFA alumna, Albers has participated in similar events before.

"I was trying to get on the donkey," she said. "He scooted away and I ended up on the floor - in more than one piece."

Once described by her colleague, Assembly Speaker John Gard, R-Peshtigo, as "stubborn as the day is long," Albers is an outspoken advocate of conservative causes, especially on land use issues. She is pursuing a law degree at UW-Madison in part to learn more about property rights.

She's also no stranger to bizarre injuries. In 1985, she broke her neck when a fly flew up her nose and she drove a 1-ton truck loaded with cattle into a berm. In another incident, she escaped with minor injuries when she rolled a combine down an embankment of the Baraboo River.

Albers, who managed to keep a sense of humor about the accident despite the cast that runs from her hip to her ankle, said it may be a while before she can get back on her trademark '98 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic.

Asked whether there was any special significance to her falling off a donkey, Albers said only, "Read into it what you want."