Posted in From the Trail on February 19th, 2007
Good idea: setting up a meet and greet with activists in Rochester and inviting DFLers from all over Olmsted County to come hear from Al.Bad idea: trying to fit that meet and greet in the basement of a restaurant that only holds 75 people.
That’s what we learned in Rochester. Once it became apparent that we were going to have more of a crowd than Dos Amigos Mexican Restaurant could handle, our new friend Russell Hess from the Southeast Labor Council saved the day, offering us space in the Labor Temple across the street. No margaritas were available at the Labor Temple, but it allowed us to fit 300 people in to hear from Al.
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Posted in Press Releases on February 17th, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
MINNEAPOLIS–Award-winning satirist and Minnesota native Al Franken announced today that he would challenge Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) for his U.S. Senate seat in the 2008 election.
Franken made the announcement on the final edition of his Air America Radio program, “The Al Franken Show.”
“I’ve spent the last year traveling all around this state, talking to Minnesotans–and listening to them,” said Franken. “They told me they’re sick of politics as usual, and they’re sick of the usual politicians.
“I grew up in a hard-working middle-class family in Minnesota, and while I may have spent my career as a comedian, I’m serious about making government work better for families like the one I grew up in.”
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Posted in From the Trail on February 16th, 2007
Our little mini-tour started off on a cold and (thankfully not too) snowy Friday morning in Nashwauk, which, as we enjoyed explaining to national reporters trying to cover the race, is halfway between Grand Rapids and Hibbing.Nashwauk’s population is 935. So imagine our surprise when we saw the crowd starting to form at the AFSCME Council 65 office (thanks again for hosting us, AFSCME Council 65!). We thought we were going to have between 75 and 100 folks in attendance, but when the room started to overflow, we started wondering if a town of 935 had its own fire marshal.
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Posted in From the Trail on February 16th, 2007
Al was a little late getting to our next stop, so we TeamFrankeners in the advance car had some crowd control to do in Duluth, where an estimated 800 people packed into Wellstone Hall at the Duluth Labor Temple. It’s always a special treat to be speaking anywhere with the word “Wellstone” attached to it, and Al really blew the roof off the place (which is good, because people could sure use the breathing room).Worth noting: Al stuck around all night taking pictures with supporters and meeting new friends in the hall. Have you ever been to a political event where the candidate is the last person in the room at the end of the night? Us either.
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