Just before Congressman Walz's speech at the Humphrey Institute several weeks ago, we overheard Walz's press secretary mention that her boss was outside talking to a writer from the New York Times. Today, the article's out: Congressman, Teacher, Soldier, and He’s Back in Town for a Visit.
After the Humphrey Institute speech, Walz traveled home to Mankato to visit West high school, where he had taught since 1996. The Free Press wove a light-hearted portrait; the Times' Samuel G. Freedman goes for more substantial fare, relating the tale of one teacher and legislator's journey from West Point, Nebraska to the halls of Congress:
His return to Mankato West, though, was more than nostalgic. Of the 535 members of Congress, Mr. Walz, 43, is the only active schoolteacher, still a tenured faculty member here. As the federal government has grown deeply enmeshed in public education, exemplified by the No Child Left Behind law now up for reauthorization, only Mr. Walz among his colleagues has experienced its effects in his own classroom.
Until he went on leave last April to run for Congress, he was teaching 167 students in five classes a day and meeting individually each week with 40 special-ed pupils. His wife, Gwen, was and remains the administrator in charge of Mankato’s compliance with No Child Left Behind.
MR. WALZ’S former domain, Room 112, contains a geography teacher’s adornments: a Yucatan hammock, an AIDS-prevention poster from Kenya, a full-size replica of a terra cotta soldier from Xian, China. The objects measure the distance he has traveled from his hometown of West Point, Neb., where he graduated from high school in a class of 25 that included 12 cousins.
An interesting read.
RochestePost Bulletin: A couple of fundraisers
Not so much news in the district's papers, other that this invitation in the Post-Bulletin:
DFL Senate district 29 and Dodge County fundraiser, Plumbers & Pipefitters Union Hall, 1470 Industrial Drive N.W., Rochester. 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Meatball dinner with U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, state Rep. Kim Norton, candidates Al Franken and Mike Ciresi. Enter the Death by Chocolate contest. Bring a "blue donkey" item to auction.
Another highly worthy, though nonpartisan, fundraiser takes place the next day in Rochester:
Pancake fundraiser, National Guard Armory, 1715 Marion Road S.E., Rochester. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. The event is a fundraiser for the Family Readiness Group of the 79th Military Police Company. Cost is $5 for pancakes and sausage; $6 to include eggs.
Our friends in the Guard and Reserves talk a lot about how important family groups are for the troops. Fundraisers and community support means a lot for those serving. And as the Pioneer Press pointed out last week while praising the Iraq steak feed coordinated by Mancini's, it's important to keep these events non-partisan:
[St. Paul City Council Member Pat] Harris said he is particularly proud that the events have remained nonpartisan. He said he's worked with the core group of organizers since 2004 and still doesn't know - or want to know - their views on the war itself.
It's a good point. Despite the divisive politics surrounding Iraq, we've been pleased to see that nonpartisan - and bipartisan - outreach to Minnesota troops and their families can flourish.
Efforts like the Minnesota National Guard's "Beyond the Yellow Ribbon" campaign, spearheaded by chaplain John Morris, focus on the long-term implications for soldiers and their families.
Also helpful are initiatives from both sides of the political aisle that focus on the real, long-term needs of Minnesota's volunteer soldiers and their families. Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty's three trips to visit the troops in Iraq and his legislative proposals strike us as sincere efforts to help. Likewise, we welcomed DFL Attorney General Lori Swanson's legislative proposals to supplement the federal GI bill. And the Minnesotans' Military Appreciation Fund, which provides grants to combat soldiers and to the families of those killed in action, is deserving of our support.
The price of war is high. These efforts recognize the individuals who are paying more than the rest of us. They begin to account for that difference by helping to ensure that our broader obligation to soldiers will persist.
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