Gov. Tim Walz typically treats the Minnesota State Fair like his personal Super Bowl — trying new foods (this year the Uncrustaburger), touting one of his favorite rides (the Ye Old Mill) and making the rounds at TV and radio station booths for softball interviews.
Walz’s State Fair interviews this year centered around one question: Will you run for reelection? The governor was coy and reserved. He said he was taking his time assessing what was best for Minnesotans. Also, he said, the June death of his friend and close governing ally Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman weighed on him and delayed his reelection announcement.
“This one about broke me,” Walz told WCCO at the fair on Aug. 24, referring to Hortman’s death.
Nine days later, Walz was speaking in front of Deerwood Elementary School in Eagan. This time, he seemed more determined and animated, promising he was going to make Minnesota safer for children by pushing for gun control measures like a ban on so-called assault weapons.
What happened in those nine days? Yet another crisis that Walz had to manage, this time the killing of two children and wounding of 21 others in the Church of the Annunciation mass