Harris VP pick Tim Walz is still a ‘favorite son’ in rural hometown

by Michelle Griffith for Minnesota Reformer

Jenn Magers, who lives about 20 miles northwest of Mankato in Nicollet, will cast her vote in November for the first time in decades because of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

“The stuff that he’s done — I’m going ‘Yeah, I’ll vote for that,” Magers said, sitting outside of Coffee Hag in downtown Mankato, citing universal free school meals and legalization of cannabis. “I’m going to get off my butt and vote for the first time in 20 years.”

Vice President Kamala Harris’ selection of Walz as her running mate has electrified many Minnesotans, especially those who live in Mankato — the southern city where the two-term governor moved in 1996 to work as a geography teacher and defensive coach of the Mankato West High School football team.