Meet the Walzes: Wife Gwen, two kids round out Minnesota’s first family

Gov. Tim Walz often mentions his family in speeches and stories, and they have helped influence the Democratic governor’s policies.

Now Minnesota’s first family ― the governor’s wife, Gwen Walz, and their two kids, Hope and Gus — are landing in the national spotlight after Kamala Harris picked Walz as her vice presidential running mate. His family joined him on stage at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night in Chicago.

Here’s a look at the Walz family.

Gwen Walz, 58, became the first first lady in Minnesota history to have an office down the hall from the governor. She has been a strong voice on criminal justice reform, gun control measures and education during her husband’s tenure at the State Capitol, speaking at news conferences and pushing for change behind the scenes.

She grew up in Ivanhoe, in western Minnesota. Her parents were educators and small business owners, according to her biography on the governor’s website. She graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College and also has a degree from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Her first teaching job was in a small city in Nebraska, where she met Walz. She taught English, he taught social studies. On their first date, they went to a movie, followed by dinner at the only restaurant in town that wasn’t a bar: Hardee’s. Their honeymoon was spent on a school trip to China, which they organized for their students.

The couple ended up in Mankato, where Gwen spent more than two decades working for Mankato Area Public Schools as an administrator and coordinator. When her husband was elected to Congress, a partner of another member of Congress introduced her to the Bard Prison Initiative in New York, which helps people in prison access a college education. She since has been a supporter and advocate for that effort.

After Walz was elected governor and the family moved to the Twin Cities, she began working for Augsburg University as a special assistant to the president for strategic partnerships and as a fellow at the school’s Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship.

Hope, 23, graduated last year from Montana State University. She is a social worker in Montana, a spokeswoman for the governor’s office said.

Last year, amid national concerns over access to in vitro fertilization, the governor shared how he and Gwen went through seven years of fertility treatments before she got pregnant. “It’s not by chance that we named our daughter Hope,” Walz said.

Gus, 17, is headed into his senior year at St. Paul Central High School.

Both Hope and Gus grew up in Mankato before the family moved to the Twin Cities following the 2018 election.

Gus was 12 when his dad was first elected governor, and Hope was in the final months of her senior year of high school. She ended up staying with the principal of Mankato West High School so she could finish the school year there.

When Walz won the 2018 governor’s race, Gus responded to the election news by exclaiming, “I get a dog!” The governor made good on that promise in 2019 when they got a black Lab named Scout. Scout and the governor are big fans of Minneapolis’ Minnehaha Off-Leash Dog Park.

The family also has an orange-and-white cat named Honey, who they adopted after their other cat, Afton, went missing last year. Both Scout and Honey are rescue pets.

This story contains archived reporting from former Star Tribune staff writer J. Patrick Coolican.