Senator Day may be heading to Alabama to enjoy NASCAR after getting knocked out of the MN-01 congressional race in Tuesday's primary, but Congressman Walz and his opponent are heading to Worthington for the Great Gobbler Gallop at King Turkey Days.
Ever since Trix was a pup, Worthington (the windsurfing capital of Minnesota) has competed with Cuero, Texas, for the title of "Turkey Capital of the World."
While trash talking between the teams is a big part of the run-up to the race, the title is settled by the Gallop. The Texan bird, Ruby Begonia, faces Worthington's Paycheck on the Main Street of the bustling Nobles County metropolis on Saturday, with the second heat occurring in October in the Lone Star State.
Worthington's King Turkey Day will break from tradition by featuring the dueling political candidates as co-speakers for this year’s festival on Saturday. According to the Globe:
“Usually Turkey Day has a tradition of a person already in office speaking, and Tim expressed an interest in speaking in Worthington,” Larson said. “We knew this is a big political year, and we felt we should have a Democrat and Republican both speaking.”
Walz, a Democrat from Mankato, is an educator who surged in November 2006 to a victory over longtime Republican incumbent Gil Gutknecht. He serves the Minnesota’s First District on three House committees — Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure and Veterans Affairs. He also is one of nine House members to serve on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, and was the president of the Democratic Freshman Class.
Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard at the young age of 17, and retired 24 years later as Command Sergeant Major. Before retiring, Walz served overseas with his battalion in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Walz is the highest ranking enlisted soldier ever to serve in Congress.
Davis, who on Tuesday turned back state senator Dick Day in the Republican primary, has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, and worked in nuclear energy before going to medical school. He is now a Mayo Clinic physician in Rochester and was the GOP-endorsed candidate in the primary election against Day.
As we've noted before, Davis spent eight months working as an engineer following his college graduation twenty-five years ago before moving on to get his additional degrees. Maybe it's too complicated for him to clarify.
And it looks like the order of appearance will be age before beauty:
Davis will speak first Saturday afternoon, and will be immediately followed by Walz.
Both candidates have been told to play nice.
The first notable politician to be featured speaker at King Turkey Days was Governor Harold Stassen in 1940. Proximity to all those turkeys must have been an inspiration.
There's more to King Turkey Days than just galloping turkeys and politicians running off at the mouth, however. The Globe editorial board writes in It's almost time to gobble:
King Turkey Day is Saturday, but festivities — in essence — kick off Thursday with the annual dinner and mixer out at Pioneer Village. The Cuero, Texas, representation will also be arriving in Worthington on Thursday — and no doubt there will be plenty of trash talking as to whether Paycheck or Ruby Begonia will capture this year’s Great Gobbler Gallop.
Yes, it’s that time of year again, and it appears that this Turkey Day celebration will be one for the annals. What’s noteworthy about the 2008 event is that all the usual “Turkey trimmings” are in place — the Gallop, the parade, the 10K race, the midway for kids, the pancake breakfast and a plethora of food and drink, plus much more — but there are a couple of additional evening elements. On Friday, a free movie showing of “Spiderman” will take place on a 30-foot video screen on the lawn of the Nobles County Government Center. Then, on Saturday night, a Guitar Hero tournament on the Government Center grounds is bound to appeal to youths and adults alike. Additionally, a Sunday Hispanic celebration is now part of the overall Turkey Day festivities.
Watch the Globe's video of last year's Gallop here. Yes, that's Senator Klobuchar as the ref with Team Paycheck. About 2:50 minutes into the following YouTube from the KTD organizers, Congressman Walz can be seen working it as ref for the hapless Ruby Begonia and her handlers:
We love the spirit of this celebration, right down to the portrait of the artist as a turkey modeler. The photo at the top of this post comes from the Worthington Globe:
King Turkey Day Board of Directors member Brian Almberg, Rushmore, holds one of the new souvenir turkey statues he created that are available at the Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce.
Almberg talked about the creative process with the Globe:
The petite turkey’s personality has come out during the process, resulting in Almberg giving voice to his creations — a cartoonish sound that he characterizes as a cross between his beagle Gracie’s voice and Kitty from the TV show “That 70s Show.”
“That’s what happens when you work by yourself,” Almberg admitted with a grin.
All the more reason to get out of the house and trot down to Worthington this weekend. Among other signs and wonders, the Globe reports that ultra-conservative, principled platform Republican Brian Davis will be having a Meet and Greet with "Override Six" member Rod Hamilton while in Worthington.
Yesterday, the Mankato Free Press reported that Senator Day wondered how Davis will veer to the center after his series of right turns that secured the base:
“I tried to just hold on to being an ordinary guy in the middle and Brian just went to the right and the right and the right,” Day said. “I don’t know how he’s going to get out of being way over there and then come back (to the middle).”
Now we know. No wonder Senator Day looks forward to watching all those race cars taking one big left turn at Talladega.
Somehow I can't imagine Brian Davis chasing a turkey down the street in Worthington, unless the turkey has hundred dollar bills around its neck. Do you suppose he'll wear a suit that day?
Posted by: Chris | September 11, 2008 at 09:14 AM