Publisher’s Perspective

By Tim Douglass, Publisher of the Pope County Tribune

There has been a lot of national political talk about Minnesota recently.  The impetus behind the talk has been about Governor Tim Walz being considered as a Vice-President candidate to run with Kamala Harris.

Walz’s fortunes were on the rise as he continued an aggressive campaign to be Kamala Harris’ running mate and his credentials are scrutinized by social media influencers and political insiders.

So far, there’s been little criticism from Democratic power brokers about a Walz candidacy, according to a report by Minnpost.com, but the governor does have drawbacks in a competition that includes Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and other Democratic officeholders.

One highlight about Walz, one that helped propel him into the spotlight, was his denigration of Donald Trump and GOP vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as “weird,” a characterization embraced by the Harris campaign that has frustrated the Trump campaign and GOP.

Harris is expected to name the VP this week.

Two other Minnesotans have served as vice president, Walter Mondale and Hubert Humphrey. Both were U.S. Senators who were more likely to have a national profile, while most governors — including Walz — don’t have that kind of national recognition.

Meaning that the Harris campaign would have to spend time and money introducing Walz to the nation.

But that is going to happen with anyone who is selected.

We would think the bigger concern to the Harris campaign is that Minnesota is not a swing state, and Walz mere selection would not likely give Harris a “home-state bounce.”  That could be in play if another governor Pennsylvania, Kentucky  were selected.

Still, Walz is a former high school teacher and football coach who served in the National Guard and was elected to Congress where he served a more “Red” constituency before being elected Minnesota Governor.

It makes for some interesting reading in Minnesota these days.

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Although difficult to believe, summer is quickly fading into fall and that means the Minnesota State Fair is just weeks away.  I was reading in the StarTribune recently that the fair will unveil a new app for those attending.

The Official MN State Fair App offers interactive finders and searchable daily schedules. It includes an integrated Food Finder and Shopping Finder that are searchable by vendor names, menu items and map area. Once a fair guest has made their way onto the fairgrounds, they will be able to find fair favorites closest to them in real time. This app replaces the previous web-based version of the State Fair app; users will need to download it rather than update the previous version.

According to Minnesota State Fair officials, the app is available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.