On 17 September 2012, a woman later dubbed "Donna the Deer Lady" called the weekly "vent line" feature of Fargo radio station Y94's "Morning Playhouse" show and stated that she had been in three car accidents involving deer in the last few years, all of which had occurred near deer-crossing signs; she then offered seemingly earnest complaints about officials' "allowing these deer crossings to be in such high-traffic areas" and questioned "why we are encouraging deer to cross the interstate." The following month, a recording of that call received wide circulation on the Internet via YouTube:
However, others such as Tampa radio talk show host Todd Schnitt maintain that "Donna" was actually a fake caller who has been used by Y94's hosts more than once to stage supposedly real, outrageous phone conversations. According to Schnitt, she appeared on the station again in October 2013 claiming that she was going to hand out "fat letters" on Halloween to trick-or-treaters she did not deem thin enough to deserve candy.