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Walz won’t say if Harris campaign is vetting him as running mate
Gov. Tim Walz said he won’t discuss details of phone conversation with Vice President Kamala Harris.
MINNEAPOLIS — Governor Tim Walz Tuesday wouldn’t say whether he’s being vetted by Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign as a possible running mate.
Gov. Walz told reporters he spoke to the Vice President Harris Sunday afternoon, shortly after President Biden dropped out of the race and threw his support to Harris.
“What I’ll say is I talked to the Vice President Sunday afternoon early,” Walz explained. “She made it clear that she was going to earn the support of folks. She was going to continue to run and continue an agenda that was going to help the middle class. And I said I’ll be there to do whatever I can to help. And that’s where we’re at, at this point, it seems.”
While Walz hasn’t dismissed the idea of joining the Harris ticket, he definitely downplayed the notion of being on the short list of potential running mates.
“I’m not going to talk about the specifics that were in on that. At this point in time, we’re just going to leave it at that.”
Walz has been mentioned as a Veep candidate alongside Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, and four other Democrat governors, including Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Roy Cooper of Virginia, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, and Andy Beshear of Kentucky.
The political calculus for the Harris Campaign includes electoral college strategy, geographical balance, name recognition, the ability of her vice-presidential candidate to provide a counterbalance to former President Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio.
Walz’s work as a Biden surrogate on the campaign trail, and chair of the Democratic Governors Association, has raised Walz’s national profile. And he’s scored points with progressives with the legislative successes he’s had in this state.
At the same time, he’s taken hit from Republicans over the response to the riots after the murder of George Floyd, and for the massive Feeding Our Future fraud scandal that robbed a federal nutrition program operated under the auspices of the Minnesota Department of Education.
Walz said he’s excited about enthusiasm the Harris campaign has injected into the Democrat cause.
“Look, President Biden has been an incredible president, best in my lifetime,” Walz remarked. “But we were struggling to get a message out. Now we’ve got that opportunity and there was an explosion of it. I’m looking forward to the next 104 days, and I think for all of us it feels like there’s a burst of new energy.”
Harris made history March 14 when she visited Planned Parenthood in St. Paul, making her the highest-ranking government leader to ever visit an abortion clinic. She spent that stop thanking Minnesota providers and leaders for their efforts to preserve abortion access for women in this state, as well as those traveling here from places where it was now barred.
Walz said the surge of excitement around Harris’s entry into the race reminds him of the reaction she received when she made a surprise stop the same day at a softball practice Saint Paul Central High School.
“To watch the word filter down, when the young women who were practicing softball said, ‘Oh my God, it’s the Vice President!’ and to see them gather around and hear her talk about, ‘Look, you can do anything you want. I’m the Vice President of the United States,’ was for me, energizing.”
MINNEAPOLIS — How much do you know about your grandma’s upbringing?
“The Stories From My Grandmother’s Hands” is a book that aims to show young Black children how their grandmas lived through beautiful illustrations and descriptions.
KARE 11 News at Noon shared more on Thursday about the impact that this book will have.
Gary Peterson and his friends are collecting donations to help people in their community.
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — A St. Louis Park pumpkin display is raising money for their local food shelf.
Gary Peterson started carving and painting three pumpkins over a decade ago. It’s now grown to over 100.
“I’ve heard people say they’ve come from Hutchinson,” he said.
Peterson along with two of his neighbors have spent the last 14 years growing their display, turning it into a neighborhood event.
“It’s been incredible, I just can’t believe how much this has expanded,” he said. “We did it just because we like to and then people were asking to give us money to cover the cost.”
The trio refused to take people’s money, but then one of them had an idea.
“My neighbor, Steve Leensvaart, just mentioned how about we just do it for the STEP program and the STEP program is our local food shelf in St. Louis Park,” he said.
So, they started to collect donations to help families in need. They’ve raised hundreds of dollars and donated hundreds of pounds of food over the last few years, carving for a cause.
“It is more gratifying every year,” Peterson said.
He estimated they have over 100 unique pumpkins in their yard. They’ve created the displays and come up with new family-friendly concepts for people to enjoy. Peterson said about 30 of their neighbors carved their own pumpkins to be put on display, and it’s been a big hit.
“It’s great. In the last couple of years, it’s turned into more of a neighborhood event,” said Sarah Durch.
“We love this Halloween display, we come every year to see it. We love that the whole community gets involved to craft and carve the pumpkins,” said Jami Gordon-Smith.
“The shading and the details are unbelievable,” said Elizabeth Hanson.
Hanson hopes to take her 2-year-old son trick or treating for the first time but is worried the cold temperatures might keep them indoors.
“We’re going trick or treating hopefully,” she said. “He’s going to be a firefighter, but we’re probably going to have sweatshirts maybe like two pairs of sweatpants underneath. We’re going to be bundled up.”
Gordon-Smith said her family will be out Halloween night no matter the weather.
“Halloween only comes once a year, so you really have to take advantage and enjoy the evening no matter what the weather brings,” she said. “Guess it’s not totally unheard of in Minnesota to have a cold Halloween, but we are going to try and modify and do a lot of layers underneath our costumes and then we might add some hats and maybe some warmer socks.”
Durch also isn’t surprised they’re in for another chilly night.
“Well, what would Halloween be without Minnesota cold? I feel like every time you plan a costume you have to plan for how you can make this work if it’s snowing,” she said.
Peterson said they will have a bonfire and some hot chocolate and cider on Halloween to keep trick-or-treaters warm while they look at their pumpkins.
Click here to learn where you can see the pumpkins and how you can donate.
Jeremy Jourdain was 17 when he was last seen on Halloween 2016.
BEMIDJI, Minn. — The search for Jeremy Jourdain, who was last seen on Halloween in 2016, continues now eight years later.
Jourdain was last seen at a family member’s house in Bemidji, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs. He left the residence near the 500 block of Wood Avenue after midnight and while people followed him, no one was able to find him.
Jourdain was 17 at the time.
Officials said he was wearing a blue and grey sweatshirt, and blue jeans when last seen. He is Native American and is described as 6 foot 5 and 175 pounds.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, you can contact the Bemidji Police Department at (218) 333-9111. Tips can also be sent to 1-833-560-2065, or you can email ojs_mmu@bia.gov.
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