This was the big kahuna of parades this week. Over three miles and, rumor has it, over 12,000 people. Hundreds of floats stretching well out of sight. Mid-afternoon sun blazing. And Crow Wing County is a very purple part of the state – it wasn’t necessarily DFL territory. But we had a great (if sweaty) time.

We were positioned behind a promotional float for a place that serves chicken wings, so there was a guy wearing a giant chicken suit and, we could only presume, boiling in the heat.

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4th of July week is the height of parade season, so TeamFranken was ready for action. We covered the hybrid in campaign chum (that’s campaign-speak for “signs”), gathered some volunteers (including some of our friends from the Steelworkers), and headed to the Aurora parade.
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We got to Gilbert just in time for the “line-up,” and quickly found our place in the packed queue. This time, we got to march right behind Sen. Tomassoni and Rep. Rukavina’s pick-up truck.

This was the parade at which TeamFranken-er Dusty Trice led an informal tutorial on the art of candy distribution. The trick is to launch enough candy so that every kid clamoring for a Tootsie Roll gets one without blowing your entire supply in the first five blocks. And don’t forget: every street has two sides! It was tricky enough that some of us decided to stick with stickers.
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Those of us who spent much of our childhood fascinated by big, loud machines had plenty to gawk at when our friends at USW Local 2705 took us on a tour of Hibbing Tac. We donned hard hats and got dirty checking out all the machinery and technology that goes into continuing the Iron Range tradition.
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The pride parade was simply unbelievable. The crowds were just as pumped to see Al as he was to be there – and boy did they turn out! Thousands of people lined Hennepin Ave. in Minneapolis. Between the music, the colors, the costumes and the floats, it was almost more carnival than parade.

Al didn’t seem to notice the heat. Groups on either side of the street organized together to yell his name – as soon as they figured out that a loud enough “AL!” would send him sprinting over to say hi.

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Down Central Ave. in Northeast Minneapolis, Al and TeamFranken marched in the first parade of the season. A good time was had by all, and more than a couple important lessons were learned.

1. Al is surprisingly fast.

(He insists that he is not “fast,” he simply “accelerates quickly,” but the distinction is lost on the members of TeamFranken tasked with keeping up with him through the parade route.)

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Al, Franni and Team Franken started Grandma’s Marathon a little early – 6:00 AM to be exact. After enjoying some hot coffee on the shores of Lake Superior, Al and crew headed up to the marathon route to say hi to the folks manning the first water station – somewhere around mile 5.

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Al’s son Joe graduates from Princeton U next month, but until then there’s only one Princeton on our map. And Friday night that’s where TeamFranken was headed. It was the Senate District 16 fundraiser, featuring an absolutely beautiful introduction by Jeff Lundgren, some of the best pot luck we’ve had yet, and a keynote from our own Al Franken. Despite the gorgeous spring evening, nearly 200 people packed inside the little hall to meet Al and hear him lay out his vision for the state.

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Last Saturday, we made our weekly trip to Duluth (it really feels like that these days!) for the fifth annual Solon Munger Dinner, a fundraiser for the 7th senate district DFL.

And this party was worth the trip. The company was exciting and excited to be there. The peppercorn pork was delicious. MC Kathy Heltzer quite simply rocked.

Al spoke to a room packed full of DFLers celebrating last year’s successes. Despite the nail-biter re-elections of Sen. Yvonne Prettner-Solon, Rep. Tom Huntley and Rep. Mike Jaros (with just 97% of the vote), Congressman Jim Oberstar sailed to an easy 17th term and the chairmanship of the House Transportation Committee. And all that makes it an excellent time to live in Minnesota’s 7th senate district.

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Al meets with local activists

Every year in Mankato, DFLers gather in the name of Dan and Verona Burton. Speeches are given, local leaders are honored, and fajitas are served. (I’m not actually sure that the fajitas are an 11 year tradition, but this year they were a featured guest.) And this year there was a ton to celebrate.

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