Tuesday evening digest: inaugoblogging edition

The First District Inaugobloggers David and Ellen report that they were Hanging out with Tim and Gwen on Monday when they went to the congressman's office to pick up tickets for today;

We were so delighted when we got to the 7th floor and saw Tim and Gwen Walz cruising down the hall. They shared an hour of time in his office where we talked about their motivation to get into politics, our life stories and surviving eight years of George Bush. We will never forget their generosity and time.

They received the tickets by lottery. Today, they attended the reception for Southern Minnesotans, watching the parade of people coming out of Walz's office while they rested and warmed up.. Go over and check out the photos at he site.

The Owatonna People's Press reports in Time for change:

Today’s swearing in of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States will be, for one Owatonna native, the culmination of what she has been working toward for the past 18 months.

Dena Gleason, a 2000 Owatonna High School graduate, has been in Washington, D.C., the past few weeks working at the inauguration ceremonies and training other volunteers who are helping to keep the inauguration moving smoothly. . . .

. . .Gleason began her work with the Obama campaign in South Dakota last May as a field organizer for state primaries. She then became a regional field director in Northeast Iowa during the general election after Obama won the Democratic nomination. Gleason covered 14 Iowa counties and supervised 10 campaign staffers.

After Obama won the general election, Gleason travelled to Washington, where she is now in charge of the inaugural volunteers. . . .

. . .And Gleason isn’t the only Minnesotan or Owatonnan expected to be at the party. The offices of both U.S. Rep. Tim Walz and Sen. Amy Klobuchar were hosting inaugural open houses during the week. Jonathan Krause from Owatonna was randomly selected to receive two tickets to the inauguration from Klobuchar

The Post Bulletin notes in Obama, nation make history

. . .In Mayo Clinic waiting rooms, Rochester coffeehouses, farm homes and businesses around the region and in places all around the world, people paused to watch the 47-year-old Obama raise his right hand, place his left hand on Abraham Lincoln's Bible and swear to uphold and defend the Constitution.. . .

. . .Hundreds of thousands packed the National Mall to witness the event, the first change of administrations since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Among the crowds filling the Mall from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial were hundreds of Rochester area residents, including Keith Bland of Rochester and his 12-year-old daughter, Arianna. At mid-morning, they were waiting in line to get closer to the area where Obama would speak.

They'd been given tickets by 1st District Rep. Tim Walz and by 8 a.m. had made it through security. "The atmosphere here is amazing," Bland said by cell phone. "There are people from other countries ... thousands and thousands of people are walking by each minute. This has really turned into a global thing."

Congressman Walz tells the Albert Lea Tribune that it 'It really has been an American gathering'. Some highlights:

He said the event was his most memorable experience yet out of all other events he’s been to since he was elected to office. “I can tell you from looking down that mall at an estimated 2 million people, it was definitely historic,” said Walz, a former public school teacher, who is a Democrat. , , ,

, , ,He described the experience of being up on the podium as “amazing” and “surreal” as five former presidents and the U.S. Supreme Court justices walked by. But it struck him profoundly when he looked out over all the people in the National Mall, that what was happening in the mall with all the people. . . .

happening that day was not about what was happening on the podium but instead about what was
KEYC-TV reports Rep. Walz Attends Inauguration.

We wonder if the Walzes loved Aretha Franklin's hat as much as we did.  That and that voice!: