Update from Wadena, MN
Intent & Effort
Hangin’ out with our supporters at the Kandiyohi County Convention.
Intent & Effort
THANK YOU, KANDIYOHI, REDWOOD, RENVILLE, & CLAY COUNTIES!
7 DFL Conventions down, 29 to go. Super proud of our Team effort across Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District on Saturday. Thanks to an “all hands on deck/the work is the reward” mindset, we had a strong presence at all 4 DFL County Conventions held this past Saturday and had team members on hand to answer questions, provide info & hand out swag.
Kandiyohi County Convention Delegates at work.
I personally attended the conventions in Kandiyohi County & Clay County and got to experience the amazing outpouring of support for this campaign in both locations. We also got to experience a convention first when we observed the “walking sub-caucus” in action at the Clay County Convention.
Great turnout at the Clay County Convention.
The Rural Revival is real. Thanks to team members Dan Peterson & Andy Evenson for representing our campaign in Redwood & Renville Counties. HUGE thanks to everyone who showed up to support this campaign and to our supporters who became delegates to the CD7 Convention in April. We had strong showings in all 4 locations and believe this campaign is on course to earn the DFL endorsement in April & be on the ballot in November.
Thanks to Andy Evenson & Dan Peterson for representing the campaign in Renville & Redwood Counties.
Our Commitment to You
“One fights without the guarantee of victory, hopes without the certainty of fulfillment… This tragic sensibility is what contemporary democracy most needs and most lacks. It can sustain commitment through defeat. It can resist both the euphoria of victory and the despair of loss.”
A Pastor friend of mine recently shared a piece of writing with me called: “The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness” by Dr. Tripp Fuller, Professor of Systematic Theology, Luther Theological Seminary, St. Paul, MN. To over simplify, it was a critical analysis of the left & the right. It talked about the importance of Democracy and attacks against it. My takeaway was the need for sustainability & balance in the battle for power, and the admission that this struggle is unavoidable. Dr. Fuller warns the conflict is more of a long slog than a flashy sprint when he writes, “It is the slow, grinding work of building power to check power.”
We are confident we have put together a team that is capable of doing that slow, grinding work of building power to check power. Our team is committed to building a process that is scalable & sustainable and to recruiting people from all across western Minnesota in a united cause: To flip Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District and restore checks & balances, to restore a commitment to the Constitution, to restore federal funding to programs and services that serve our rural communities, and to restore oversight and bring a balance of power back to Washington, D.C.
Supporters at the Redwood County Convention this past Saturday.
We continue to be blown away by the amount of people willing to volunteer to help get someone elected. Our pledge to our supporters is WHEN elected, we will maintain our commitment to our core values: Integrity, Empathy, and Hard Work.
To put it another way, we will use the same process to represent as we use to campaign: Every voice matters. All are welcome. Earned, not given. Forever grateful for everyone who is showing up and showing out. Keep up the good work everyone.
Grateful for the support in Clay County this weekend.
Making Time
A couple of weekends ago, I made time to drop a line. I was setting a bobber in a fish house, dropped the minnow/hook combo down the hole & whatya know? I caught a crappie.
Made time to go fishing a couple weekends ago.
In a previous life, I produced outdoor based content – fishing, hunting, outdoor recreation, etc. When I worked as a TV sports reporter/anchor “the outdoors” was my beat. Eventually I started a brand called The Outdoor Report. We made some YouTube videos, had a website & were active on social media. Five years later, we had our own TV show that aired at 8:30 am, Saturday mornings, on what was then called Fox Sports North & Fox Sports Wisconsin. The reason I share this story is twofold:
- Part of politics is building a brand, whether we like it or not. I’m pretty good at building brands. I was asked recently if I had enough “name recognition” to win. I feel like we aren’t at the “winning” stage in the general election yet. However, I believe we will get there.
- Our motto at The Outdoor Report was “it’s not about having time, it’s about making time” – the idea is that we all get 24 hours in a day, except our first day & our last. For the most part, we choose how to spend our time. I have chosen to MAKE TIME to do my best to flip Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District.
We attended 5 events across the district in the past 7 days, and the road ahead is just as busy. But if you think about the work as the reward, it’s worth it. Kinda like fishin’. Thanks to everyone out there making time in your own way to do the work.
Upcoming Events
Gonna be another busy week with conventions in every corner of the district – starting in the south in Lincoln County on Tuesday, Feb. 24th, heading to Kittson/Roseau at the northern edge of the district on Thursday, Feb 26th, and 3 more conventions on Saturday, Feb. 28th. Looking ahead there are an additional 4 conventions on Saturday, March 7th. Check out our Mobilize page here to sign up to help represent our campaign at these or other upcoming conventions as we continue on our quest to earn the CD7 DFL endorsement.
Schedule of upcoming county conventions through March 7th.
Please share our Path to Victory Video
