Star Tribune
Mankato hosts dueling watch parties for Tim Walz and JD Vance vice presidential debate
Dan Feehan, a surrogate for the Harris-Walz campaign, narrowly lost a congressional race to replace Walz in the House in 2018 to GOP Rep. Jim Hagedorn. He said the first call his family got the morning after that election came from Gwen Walz, who asked about Feehan and his wife, Amy, and invited them to visit.
“This is the chance for the rest of the country to know who he is as a person,” Feehan said.
DFLers were in high spirits as the night kicked off. “We are going to kick butt in this debate and then moonwalk out of here!” State Sen. Nick Frentz, DFL-North Mankato, said to a cheering audience before the debate.
When the back-and-forth commenced, attendees at the Democratic event clapped as Walz attacked Trump over Iran’s nuclear weapon capabilities and booed when Vance critiqued the President Joe Biden administration’s stance on Iran. Applause erupted when Walz said, “We trust women; we trust doctors,” while boos rang out as Vance talked about earning trust on abortions.
Attendees at the Republican event jeered when Walz spoke about his stances on health care and immigration policy. Annette Pruitt-Rogers, who came to Mankato from Le Sueur, Minn., yelled “Don’t go there!” when Walz quoted a Bible verse on stage. She said she disapproved of Walz’s invocation of scripture, calling it a touchy subject because she opposes his stances on same-sex marriage and abortion.
Walz and Vance debated at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York, with no audience.
Gov. Tim Walz referenced publicly for the first time Tuesday night during the national vice presidential debate that his 17-year-old son Gus had witnessed a shooting while playing volleyball at a rec center.
The shooting outside the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center occurred Jan. 18 and was widely reported, but Gus Walz’s presence that day wasn’t widely known until August when he became a sensation for standing up and tearfully supporting his dad, who was onstage at the Democratic National Convention at Chicago’s United Center.
After Gus Walz’s moment went viral, St. Paul Parks Aquatics Supervisor and coach David Albornoz posted on social media about his friendship with the governor’s son. Albornoz talked about how he came to know Gus Walz through his love of volleyball and post-match tacos.
He also talked about how Gus Walz was in the building when the shooting occurred in the parking lot at the Jimmy Lee, which sits on the corner of Selby Avenue across Lexington from Central High School. Albornoz wrote that Gus “helped keeping everyone safe and calm, looking after the kids in the gym with us as I rushed out.”
Gus was a sophomore then but is now a senior at Central High. A Walz spokesman confirmed that Gus Walz was present.
Last year, Exavir D. Binford Jr., a 27-year-old employee of the recreation center and a St. Paul resident, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in the shooting. He was sentenced earlier this year to ten years in prison.
According to a criminal complaint:
Binford said a teenager, identified as J.T., and his group fought at Central and at Jimmy Lee. Binford said that Central staff had called to warn recreation center employees about trouble at the school and rec center staff locked the doors as a precaution, but a fight among girls began.
Gov. Tim Walz got the first question Tuesday night in the only vice presidential debate with Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, and came out looking nervous when asked whether the United States should back a pre-emptive military strike by Israel on Iran.
Neither Walz nor Vance answered that question with a direct answer, although both agreed the United States must support Israel.
“What’s fundamental here is that steady leadership is going to matter,” Walz said, saying that former President Donald Trump is seen as “fickle” on the world stage. He brought up last month’s presidential debate, saying that when it comes to stability, a “nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes is not that.”
In his response to the Israel question, Vance also talked about support for Israel and described Trump as a leader who delivered stability. “I know that a lot of you are worried about the chaos in the world and the feeling that the American dream is unattainable,” the senator said.
Vance and Walz shook hands on the stage before the debate began and as expected, the freshman senator appeared much more comfortable and polished than the second-term Minnesota governor. Whether intentional or accidental, Vance mispronounced the governor’s last name throughout the 90-minute discussion, calling him “Waltz” and occasionally referring to him simply as Tim.
Walz grew more comfortable when the debate turned to domestic issues with a question to Vance about whether and how a Trump administration would carry out the promised mass deportations, separating parents in the country illegally from children born in the United States.
Vance said, “The people that I’m most worried about in Springfield, Ohio, are the American citizens who’ve had their lives destroyed by Kamala Harris’ open border policy.”
Walz faulted Trump for encouraging his allies in Congress to spike a deal for border patrol reinforcements. “This is what happens when you don’t want to solve it, you demonize it,” he said.
Murdock continues to ask the officers, “Why did you shoot me?”
The officers turn Murdock onto his stomach and place him in handcuffs. As the officers begin asking him, “Where were you hit, buddy?” Murdock does not respond as the officers pull the sweatshirt up on his torso. The officers then yell for medics to be brought in. Murdock was airlifted to HCMC in Minneapolis, where he died from his injuries.
Along with the footage, St. Paul police sent out a news release, in which St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry said it’s a “very sad time for our city and the families of those impacted by the loss of a loved one.”
“We stand committed to being transparent and accountable for our actions and we hope the release of these videos will help answer some of the questions people have,” Henry said. “The families, our community, and our officers will continue to be our priority as this independent investigation moves forward.”
The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is conducting an investigation into the shooting of Murdock. Asked about why officers decided to fire, spokesperson Jill Oliveira said “any information about motive is part of the BCA’s active investigation.”
