Welcome to the Walz Blog!
Welcome to the Walz Blog!
This blog includes comments from Tim Walz and campaign staff members. For more commentary on Minnesota politics, please visit one of the blogs on our blogroll.
Life in southern Minnesota was interrupted last Thursday evening. Instead of sitting down to a peaceful dinner with the family, many residents of southern Minnesota were hurrying to their basements to protect themselves from the dangerous tornados leering overhead. We were safe here in Mankato, but our neighbors in Nicollet and Cleveland were not so lucky. Many homes were destroyed and lives were turned upside down.
However, as soon as disaster hit help was on the way. We have been touched by how quickly these communities reached out to their friends who didn't fair so well in the storm. The Walz campaign staff decided to hit the road on Saturday to join the efforts in Cleveland, and we were amazed by how quickly they set up a volunteer organization. We arrived at the fire hall in Cleveland and within 5 minutes we had gloves and water and were on our way to one of homes. As we were driving through the back-roads of Cleveland it was clear how destructive this storm was; trees and phone poles were down everywhere and random pieces of metal were floating in ponds and stuck in trees. Once we pulled up to the house, and it took my breath away that only a shadow of a home remained.
We spent our time combing through the cornfields looking for remains of the buildings that had blown away. As we talked to the family afterward, I was once again amazed at the strength and courage of this community. They took it all in stride and were looking ahead to building a new life.
Now is a time for all of us to reflect on what we have and we have to look forward to. We can learn from our neighbors experience. We can learn from their great spirit and zest for life. We can pray for their health and new homes. We can help. If you have some time to donate, please contact Cleveland City Hall at 507-931-6380. Or, you can donate money to their efforts. Please send a check to:
Tornado Relief Fund
Cleveland City Hall
PO Box 309
Cleveland, MN 56017
Or to assist Nicollet:
American Red Cross
105 Homestead Rd
Mankato, MN 56001
Posted by Liz M. August 29, 2006
WALZ RECEIVES NETROOTS ENDORSEMENT
(Mankato, Minn.) - Tim Walz received an endorsement today from the Netroots online community. The Walz Netroots endorsement is the result of continuous attention in the blogosphere. Ultimately, decisions about which candidates receive endorsement are made by the authors of three major blogs: MyDD, Swing State Project, and DailyKos.
As a Netroots endorsed candidate Tim Walz will be a part of the Netroots Act Blue fundraising push, which is currently raising money for 18 candidates across the country. Netroots has raised thousands of dollars for other progressive candidates such as John Tester and Eric Massa.
"I'm thrilled to be the recipient of an endorsement from the Netroots community," said Walz. "Netroots is a community of online activists who are eager to see change in their country and I am honored to have their support.
"I would like to thank all the grassroots activists here in the 1st Congressional District and throughout the country who helped me earn this endorsement. The support of the Netroots community, coupled with the support I'm receiving from the citizens of southern Minnesota will make the difference in this race."
National Journal currently ranks the Walz race among the top 40 congressional races in the country.
A number of Minnesota blogs contributed to the grassroots buzz that ultimately earned Walz the endorsement. Those blogs include Bluestem Prairie, MN Publius, Minvolved and Minnesota Campaign Report, as well as others in our blogroll.
Meredith S.August 25, 2006
If you're venturing out to the State Fair tomorrow, stop by the DFL booth on Dan Patch Avenue and meet Tim Walz. Tim will be at the booth Friday afternoon and will speak at 6pm on Friday evening from the DFL stage. If you have questions for Tim on any issue, this is a great time to ask them!
Tim will also be at the fair Tuesday afternoon.
We'd also like to extend our thanks to all the 1st Congressional District volunteers who staffed the DFL booth today at the fair. Extra Walz t-shirts like the ones worn by the 1st CD volunteers can be purchased by e-mailing aaron@timwalz.org or calling 507-388-5382. Walz t-shirts are $10 plus postage.
Posted by Meredith S. August 24, 2006
Yet another DM&E train left the tracks in the 1st District yesterday. According to a DM&E spokesperson, the train derailed near Austin because of "fatigued steel." The train crash tied up traffic at an intersection in Austin for several hours. Thankfully, the train cars were just carrying corn and no one was hurt. This is the fourth derailment for DM&E since the beginning of July.
Tim Walz has repeatedly cited DM&E safety concerns as one of the main reasons why he believes the proposed loan package for the DM&E railroad expansion needs to be reconsidered. Read the Walz DM&E whitepaper here.
Railroad expansion is not the issue here; safety is. Some would argue that the loan would improve the tracks, thereby improving DM&E's safety record. Yet DM&E's last derailment (just a few short weeks ago,) took place on new track. This implies that the problem lies not with the railroad ties, but with the railroad owners who set safety standards for their company. Public tax dollars should not be used to subsidize private risk for private companies that have a proven record of not meeting basic safety standards. It's that simple.
Remember that we're not talking about chump change with DM&E. $2.5 billion is a lot of money. To put it in perspective, in 2004, Olmsted County received a total amount of $738 million in federal funds. This is money for social security payments, education grants, VA disability and business grants. If DM&E gets its way, all of this will be dwarfed by a single loan to a private company whose safety record puts the residents of Olmsted County and the citizens of southern Minnesota at risk.
Look at what is going on with the oil pipeline in Alaska right now. For years, private oil companies have ignored basic maintenance and safety guidelines that, had they been paid attention to, would have kept the pipes safe and running. Because they failed to take these basic measures, they are now stuck with the cost of repairing the damage. Yes, the DM&E expansion would increase rail capacity in the 1st, but until they can show that they are different than companies like BP they have no right to ask the taxpayers for funding.
See Tim Walz and Gil Gutknecht debate the proposed DM&E expansion here.
Posted by Meredith S. August 22, 2006
Slowly but surely we're getting the video from the debate posted to the Web. Check out video of the opening statements and the first two questions asked of the candidates online at YouTube.
Our friends over at EvilBobby were kind enough to post Tim Walz's closing statement as well. See there footage here.
More to come very soon . .
.
Posted by Meredith S. August 21, 2006
Video from yesterday's exciting Walz-Gutknecht debate at the Steele County Free Fair is coming soon.
In the mean time, please check out www.bluestemprairie.com for coverage of the events.
Posted by Meredith S. August 20, 2006
Thanks for taking the time to follow our campaign for Congress here in southern Minnesota!
I have always stated that a congressional campaign is not about the candidates involved, but rather about the people and the issues affecting the district. Over the past year and a half I have traveled over 90,000 miles, crisscrossing the district and meeting wonderful people everywhere I go. Their stories are always heartfelt and engaging. The goodness of the people of southern Minnesota makes me optimistic for our nation's future.
On a recent trip to Austin I had the opportunity to speak with a group of volunteers building a Habitat for Humanity home in their community. There story clearly illustrates the goodness of America and the disconnect between those volunteers and their Representative in Congress.
As many of you know, Habitat for Humanity is an incredible organization that partners local communities, private industry, and government into an extremely cost efficient delivery system of affordable housing. Home ownership is the foundation of the "American dream" and research shows the positive social benefits that happen when families have the opportunity to own their own homes. Some examples include: higher school completion rates, lower community crime rates and better household health.
In Austin, Thrivent Financial has been a key partner in financing the projects and Americorp volunteers have provided the sweat equity to complete these homes. Last week I had the opportunity to speak with former President Carter and we talked about the positive impact of Habitat for Humanity. His humbleness and optimism about this program was contagious.
We also spoke of the shortsightedness of some members of Congress like my opponent here in the First Congressional District. Gil Gutknecht voted multiple times to cut funding for Americorp, thus jeopardizing many of these wonderful community initiatives. What we need in America is leadership that is as visionary and compassionate as the people they profess to represent. My opponent's shortsightedness will have far reaching negative consequences for many families and communities.
I look forward to being the next Representative from the First Congressional District and I will strive every day to match the optimism, vision, and compassion of the people of southern Minnesota. We truly are living in America's heartland and it is high time that we put a lot more Minnesota in Washington!
http://www.timwalz.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={78175A09-AC3A-4C03-960B-D4EA2F1CF149}