Hot dish 08/12/24

By Briana Bierschbach

Good morning. Is there a factoid or corner of Gov. Tim Walz’s life story that hasn’t been resurfaced or scrutinized over the last week?

The profiles, takes and fact checks have been flying fast and furious since he was named Kamala Harris’ running mate six days ago. The New York Times even wrote a story about how grammar geeks are melting down about where the put the apostrophes when writing about the Harris-Walz ticket.

You might be overwhelmed by now, but I have a few more from his home state paper for your consideration.

NEBRASKA: This deeply reported piece from Jessie Van Berkel and Reid Forgrave would be worth clicking on for the Butte High School yearbook photo alone. The story also has rich details of the first half of Walz’s life in Nebraska, a time period we don’t hear about as much because it’s long before he stepped into politics.

In his first campaign video, Walz said he’s ready to fight for the “values I learned in Nebraska.” Several people who grew up with him said those include hard work, caring for neighbors and getting along with people who have different interests, beliefs or economic backgrounds. “We learned how to be good and kind to others and developed friendships with so many people so different from us,” said Scott Humpal, one of the 24 students who graduated with Walz from Butte High School in 1982.

They also spoke with Republicans who are considering voting for the Democratic ticket just to support Walz, and others who said they don’t understand how his politics became so liberal with a small-town upbringing. Check it out.

RURAL: That echoes a mixed sentiment in rural Minnesota, where Walz is either the “moderate-turned-progressive fond of buffalo plaid and Diet Mountain Dew, or an ultra-liberal disguised in a Carhartt jacket,” writes Chris Vondracek and Jp Lawrence.

They were reporting from Farmfest this week when Walz was announced as Harris’ running mate. At one point, when his name was mentioned from the stage, boos rang out. Farmfest also drew a number of fans of Walz, but in the end his background and policies may not matter when the nation is so polarized, said Leon Plaetz, a farmer from Wabasso, Minn. “Right now, all people care about is what party someone is affiliated with.”

RIOTS: The 2020 riots in Minneapolis were also brought up by Farmfest attendees. Walz’s Republican rival, JD Vance, has told crowds that Walz “let rioters burn down Minneapolis.” The soundbite appeared in a new campaign ad for Donald Trump’s ticket, cut over footage of rampant fires and looting, followed by more claims on social media that Walz “was nowhere to be found” during the civil unrest.

The Star Tribune has a trove of reporting from this time period, and reporters Andy Mannix and Liz Sawyer pieced together a timeline of Walz’s response to the riots through videos, interviews, data requests, city and state investigative reports and other public documents. It’s an important one-stop resource as this issue will, no doubt, continue to resurface over and over again on the campaign trail.

FLAG: One of the more curious pieces of misinformation floating out there is that Walz personally redesigned Minnesota’s long-standing state flag to look more like the Somali National Flag. It started on social media and has been boosted by conservative podcast host Joe Rogan and X owner and billionaire Elon Musk.

Other than signing a sweeping budget bill that included language to create the independent commission to redesign the flag, Walz had no part in the many (extremely long) meetings the commission held to settle on a new state emblem. I know, because I watched or sat in on every single one. The bill was written to give the commission complete authority to choose the final design without approval from the Legislature or the executive branch.

CD5: Two of DFL Rep. Ilhan Omar’s fellow progressive “Squad” members in the U.S. House, Missouri Rep. Cori Bush and New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman, recently lost their Democratic primary elections to challengers. But Omar, who’s seeking a fourth term, doesn’t think she’ll suffer the same fate in her rematch against former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels, writes Ryan Faircloth.

Omar said she’ll beat Samuels by a larger margin than two years ago. She’s outraised and outspent Samuels, and her campaign has deployed organizers throughout the reliably blue Fifth District. Meanwhile, Samuels says he’s campaigned against Omar for close to a year this time and has seen a last-minute surge of enthusiasm since Omar’s fellow Squad member Bush lost her primary election.

We’ll know what happens on Tuesday, the state’s August primary election. In case you were distracted by other things happening in the world and need a quick primer on how to vote, we’ve got you covered. Here’s our resource to figure out who’s on your primary ballot. We highlight some of the Twin Cities primary races. And bookmark our primary night election dashboard so you can follow the results live after the polls close at 8 p.m.

WHERE’S WALZ: The governor will interview candidates for two vacancies in the Seventh Judicial District this morning, the first gubernatorial duty listed on his public calendar since he was announced as Harris’ running mate. Starting tomorrow, he’ll be back on the trail on a solo cross-country fundraising and campaign swing.

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Keep us posted at hotdish@startribune.com.

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