There’s no stopping the week before causes, and TeamFranken knows it. One week before the big day, we went on a tour of northern Minnesota that took us to eighteen towns. We just got back yesterday - right on time for the biggest GOTC (Get Out The Caucus) drive this state has ever seen.

And Minnesotans are READY. Everywhere we went - from Esko to Park Rapids to Crookston to Wadena - the crowds turned out. And not just to see Al - to get to work putting him in the senate. Hundreds - maybe more - signed up to caucus for Al right there at the events.

We kicked off at 9am last Tuesday in Esko. And despite the ice storm moving in, 110 people braved the cold for coffee, homemade pastries, and politics at Eskomo Pies. The Northland News Center was there with a camera - check out footage from the event here.

Then straight north to the Range - read press from Hibbing and Tower here - and on to Eveleth for a meeting with SOAR (Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees). The men and women who came out to talk with Al shared many of the concerns we’ve been hearing all over Minnesota - the cost of health care, uncertain pension benefits, and job loss - but mostly they were upset that politicians in Washington had lost touch with the realities of their day to day lives.

We pulled into Virginia with enough time to grab a bite - and our 8th Congressional District organizer Mike knew exactly where to go.

Restaurant Review: The Saw Mill

Delicious deep-fried wall-eye is going to make any restaurant an instant favorite for Al. But the Saw Mill also had great, giant sandwiches, a really friendly staff, and a space that seems perfect for a party sometime…

In Virginia that night it was 40 below (with wind chill - no need to exaggerate). But around 70 people came to the Carpenters Hall to meet Al and sign up to caucus. It was late, and no one really wanted to brave the outdoors, so we wound up staying and talking to the last few guests there for more than an hour after the event.

In a coffee shop in Grand Rapids and at the beautiful home of Hope and Mitch Bank in Walker, we heard Minnesotans ready to start changing their state and changing their country. We saw the progressive movement that began in 2006 - but bigger, louder, more excited to get to work.

And off a coffee shop in Park Rapids, we found the 3rd St. Market. Before Al met the hundred and fifty Minnesotans packed into Bella’s Cafe, we stopped in a little place that smelled delicious and promised pie.

Restaurant Review: 3rd St Market

Get the soup. And a sandwich. And then pie. Don’t forget coffee. It’s ALL good - the kind of food where every vegetable is fresh and all the flavors are great. We loved the piled-high turkey sandwiches, the black bean wrap, and the vegetable soup. And we can’t possibly say enough about the Banana Cream Pie!

Thursday morning we drove to Red Lake, where Al met with Red Lake Chairman Floyd Jourdain, Jr., Tribal Secretary Kathryn Beaulieu, and Tribal Treasurer Darrell G. Seki, Sr. The Red Lake News covered the event.

Franken conceded that the Federal government has been remiss in it’s treatment of America’s First Nations. “There’s an original sin, and a debt from the original sin, and we owe it”, said Franken. “Let’s just get that straight. Then we can live up to the obligations that are there and find practical ways to address it. And have patience, but not too much patience.”

Chairman Jourdain pointed how there is a lack of respect for Indian Nations when at the Capitol and how difficult it was to have rushed, cramped conversations in hallways with legislators in Washington who didn’t have time for a real meeting. “I’ve been subject to rushed conversations too, but I’m not the leader of a sovereign nation”, said Franken. “If I’ve had a busy day in Washington, or there were votes that kept me from meeting with you, then we will meet that night. You’ll come over to my house for dinner.”

In Crookston we toured the American Crystal Sugar plant, where BCTGM (Grainmillers) President Mark Froemke and American Crystal Sugar president David Berg explained the co-op that they owned and operated.

That evening Al spoke to a crowd of more than 160 people - many of the same workers he’d met that day.

From the importance of American Crystal Sugar to the Red River Valley, to global warming and the war in Iraq, Franken touched on a whole slate of issues during his speech.

The Crookston Times covered the event - read about it here.

Health care is probably the number one issue that we hear on the trail, no matter where in Minnesota we are. And in Detroit Lakes, Al shared some of the stories he’d heard from Minnesotans struggling to afford the costs of keeping their family healthy. The Becker County Record has the article.

Al’s event in Wadena blew everyone away. 240 people packed into the back of the Pizza Ranch - more than four times the number area residents had seen there before! And Al’s speech was up to the challenge. The Wadena Pioneer Journal has audio of the event - and promises a story to come soon. In Baxter, another 200 Minnesotans waited to meet Al and sign up to caucus.

The day ended after a stop at the AFSCME 5 Holiday Party in Little Falls, and a long drive home. It was early Saturday morning when we got back to Minneapolis, but we were right back out on the trail again when the sun came up - to Alexandria, Fergus Falls, and Little Falls.

Sunday we found ourselves in Winona for a debate. If it hadn’t been for the Super Bowl, the week might never have ended…

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 at 10:54 and is filed under From the Trail, News Clips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.