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‘He was the right pick for me too’: Former students of Tim Walz react to VP pick
“Given the support that he and Gwen showed all the way back to when I came out, he was the right pick for me too,” former student Jacob Reitan said.
MANKATO, Minn. — Millions across the United States have learned about Tim Walz over the past week, after current Vice President Kamala Harris announced the Minnesota Governor as her running mate for the White House. Long before Walz hoped to walk the halls of the White House, he walked a different hallway – at Mankato West High School.
“He’s Coach Walz, he’s not Governor Walz,” Dan Clement said.
Much has been said about his time as a teacher and coach at Mankato West, after Harris applauded the actions of Walz during their announcement rally in Philadelphia last week. For Clement, those stories aren’t just stories, they’re reality – he lived them.
“He was an amazing coach, he’s, you know, he’s the type of coach that every athlete probably dreams of,” Clement, a 1999 graduate, said.
Walz was a coach on the 1999 team that won a state championship – a team that Clement was on. For Clement, it wasn’t just as a coach that helped him, but as a person too.
“I probably wasn’t a model student growing up and through high school,” he said. “But I made it through, you know, and I credit a lot of that to Coach Walz.”
A few months ago, Clement wanted to say thank you for Walz guidance all those years ago. He reached out through to the Governor’s office, not really expecting to hear back.
“His scheduler there messaged back and said, ‘Tim would love to meet with you,'” Clement said.
That kindness is what Clement said Walz has always been like – and other classmates agree.
“He always made sense as the vice presidential pick,” Jacob Reitan, class of 2000, said.
During that same rally in Philadelphia, Harris discussed Walz time as a sponsor of the Gay Straight Alliance at the high school. Reitan was a member.
“When I decided to come out the next year, I had told my friend, and my sister, and the third person I told was Gwen Walz,” he said.
Reitan said it was a hard time to make that choice, and there needed to be an ally.
“There was a need for the right person to be the advisor to the Gay Straight Alliance,” he said. “It’s not like it is today, and Walz just seemed to be the right pick, and given the support that he and Gwen showed all the way back to when I came out, he was the right pick for me too.”
Of course, there are plenty who don’t agree with Walz politically – including some of these former students.
“If it was just me and Mr. Walz in a room, I’d be like, ‘I’ve got a beef about these three things,” Doug Vose, a 2004 graduate, said.
Even as someone politically opposed to Walz, Vose said there’s still respect.
“When you forget a password, and you have a backup, like, who’s your favorite teacher?” he said. “Everybody’s is Tim Walz.”
“In spite of whatever flaws that he might have in his politics and what people don’t necessarily align with, he wins a lot,” Vose added.
Much will come up in the political dogfight over the next few months, but that’s not what these three are focusing on. To really know someone, they say you have to go back to the beginning.
“I’ll forever be grateful to the Walz for the support that they showed me during that difficult time in my life,” Reitan said.
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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