by Margo Worman
 

I've been interning for the campaign for a little over a month, but this past Saturday was the first opportunity I've had to travel with Matt. That evening, we attended the Crow Wing County DFL and Cass County DFL's dinner in Nisswa. The dinner featured speeches by several local representatives, as well as many of the gubernatorial candidates. It was exciting to see so many people excited about DFL politics and being able to get a Democrat back in the governor's mansion.

Part of what made the event so exciting for me was the opportunity to see Matt campaign in Greater Minnesota. I'm from Moorhead, and a large part of why Matt has my support is his commitment to the rural parts of our state. Not only is he knowledgeable about and dedicated to the issues and concerns of the entire state, but it was clear from his conversations with people at the dinner that he understood the importance of campaigning all over the state. Matt made an effort to talk with most of the attendees before we left for the evening, and I believe he did so because he was eager to hear what they-residents of Greater Minnesota-had to say about the condition of our state.

Last night I had the opportunity to staff Matt for the Senate District 52 DFL Barn Dance in Marine on St. Croix - my hometown. Funny enough, the event was held in the same town hall where I danced across the stage in the 6th grade performance of Oliver!; where my father served on the city council for a number of years in the 80s and 90s; and where my husband and I were married in 2002. It is a picturesque little town that remains quaint, and is chock full of progressives working very hard to get rid of Michele Bachmann. I jumped at the chance to accompany Matt to this event in my old stomping grounds, and it turned out to be quite a bit of fun.

A "caller" stood on stage in the hall, calling out dance moves as a small crowd of people who shifted around in circles. I thought of how funny it would be to see Matt start spontaneously square dancing or doing some sort of Norwegian jig, but alas he did not take me up on that. Small groups of people mingled around the room, and faces began to look familiar. We circled around the hall speaking to various groups of people, my husband (or, for that particular night, my "assistant") in tow, carrying the campaign loot bag. Once Matt took the microphone to state his case, I could tell that people were immediately impressed. He energized the crowd and made them laugh on many occasions; most vigorously at Matt's mention of how "Entenza" means "Governor" in Norwegian.

What most impresses me about Matt is his humble upbringing, peppered with life experiences which have molded him into what he is today. His tremendous knowledge of environmental, educational and health care policy - accented by his 12 years of experience in the Minnesota House - is second to none; and is buoyed by the amazing work that has been produced as a result of his founding of Minnesota 2020, the think tank he founded in 2007 and chaired until early this year.

On the drive home, Matt told us a story about Bob Dylan attending Matt's graduation ceremony at Macalester in the mid 1980's (when Bob's daughter Maria was also graduating). Despite the weather being in the 70's, Mr. Dylan was dressed from head to toe in black leather, seated on the grass a good length away with his back to the ceremonies, trying to be purposefully irrelevant. The rest of the story had us rolling - and I promise to share it sometime in the near future. What I learned from this is that aside from being a stand-up guy, Matt is actually a pretty darn good storyteller.

I'm looking forward to the coming months as the campaign season morphs into caucuses and conventions, the seasons change, and Minnesota gets closer to electing Matt as it's next governor.

Stay tuned for more sort-of-exciting-news-if-you're-a-political-nerd muses from a campaign scheduler.

This evening I received a text message from our campaign finance assistant, Ben Hanson, showing some Matt Entenza support in a Moorhead dorm. 

We love it! Thanks for showing your support!

I wanted to share this piece that one of my campaign co-chairs, Deb Hogenson, contributed to the rural magazine "Bluestem Prairie" this weekend. In it she talks about why she is supporting my candidacy for governor.

Thank you, Deb, for your support and thanks to Bluestem Prairie for giving us the opportunity to hear from candidate supporters.

This Wednesday marks the 48th anniversary of the founding of the Peace Corps, a great organization for which several of my friends have worked overseas.

Here's a little about the Peace Corps's history from the organization's website:

Since 1960, when then Senator John F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michigan to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries, more than 195,000 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in 139 countries all over the globe. They've been teachers and mentors to countless children. They've helped farmers grow crops, worked with small businesses to market products, and shown women how to care for their babies. More recently, they've helped schools develop computer skills and educated entire communities about the threat of HIV/AIDS.

Matt Entenza joined a class of pre-schoolers at Donald Fraser Early Childhood Center for the "Read for the Record" campaign, a national literacy event in which the same book is read by in each state all across the country. This year, Matt helped the students set a world record with their reading of Eric Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." The best part of the day? Every student who participated got a free copy of the classic children's book to take home and read with their family!

by Joe Lalli

by Bridget Cusick

Thanks to Star Tribune reporter Rochelle Olson, whom I got to know while I was Keith Ellison's communication director during the 2006 general election campaign, I read this article today from the New York Times that, among other things, tells the story of a Minnesota woman who is paralyzed as the result of a 2007 bout with a particularly virulent strain of e-coli.

While this deals with some federal issues, in the bigger picture, it illustrates poignantly what happens when big business is allowed to run amok without sufficient regulation: People get hurt.

Taking a cue from Will, I thought I'd write a bit about how I got involved in politics and why I do what I do.