What does Owatonna High School have to do with the state of the state of Minnesota?
Gov. Tim Walz can explain. Just give him a few minutes.
In his annual state of the state speech Tuesday, the second term DFL governor traveled to the southern Minnesota city and its new high school and drew a direct line between the building and the accomplishments of the DFL trifecta last year.
The new school came about only after years of discussion and debate among the residents. Should they make do with a century-old historic building or build something new.
“People in the community had been talking about replacing it for decades,” Walz said from the new school’s auditorium. “But it wasn’t until a few years ago that leaders in the public and private sectors came together and decided it was time to stop talking and time to start building. That small window of opportunity — that brief moment when the stars aligned — produced a community institution that you’re in today that will stand for decades and serve tens of thousands of kids.”
And that relates to the state of the state, how?
To Walz, the DFL trifecta delivered by voters in 2022 was another window of opportunity that replaced years of talk and gridlock with five months of activity.
“But every once in a while, you get an opportunity to make a whole lot of progress in a short amount of time. It happened here in Owatonna in 2019. And, after half a century of waiting, it happened again in St. Paul in 2023,” Walz said, referring to a series of reforms dubbed the “Minnesota Miracle” that happened in the early ‘70s. “I couldn’t be more proud of the work that we’ve done together in our window of opportunity to improve education inside the walls of this school, and in every school across the state.”
The state of the state as a listicle?
In the news business, a news story that combines an article with a list is sometimes dubbed a listicle. It is a way to present a lot of information in an easily digestible form. That’s what Walz did to detail all that he is proud of:
- Increases in school funding
- Increased teachers pay and recruitment
- Universal school lunch and breakfast
- New reading curriculum based on the science of reading
- Increased support for special and technical education
- $1 billion in housing infrastructure
- Free college tuition for lower-income families
- Paid family and medical leave
- Outlawing LGBT conversion therapy.
- Green energy investments
- Reductions in state taxes on social security income
- $300 million in public safety grants
- A more generous child tax credit and investments in child care
A legislative agenda? Now?
Coming as it did at the midpoint of the 2024 legislative session and after the first major cutoff for legislation, now would be an awkward time for presenting new proposals. Walz instead restated what he has already laid out for this session: minimum new spending, a bonding bill to pay for construction and implementing the programs created and expanded last year.
“Part of that work includes following up on all of the good work that this incredible Legislature did,” he said. “Things like building a new state agency focused on children, youth, and families to be more efficient in implementing programs. We need to stand up paid family and medical leave.” He said the state needs to get its adult use cannabis program set up and implement the criminal sentence expungement that is part of that law.
On a bonding measure that would borrow nearly a billion dollars, Walz said, “These things might not be that flashy, but these are the initiatives that make an enormous difference in real people’s lives across our state. There’s no reason we can’t get them done this session. And there’s no reason both parties can’t be part of getting it done this session.”
Was it a campaign speech?
While it is hard to separate anything an elected official says from elections, Walz’s connection to this November was at least a bit more subtle than President Biden’s state of the union. But connections he did make.
First, he touched on the messages he has been delivering in his role as chairman of the National Democratic Governors Association. He criticized the agenda of GOP governors — though unlike last year without direct reference to Florida Gov. Rick Desantis now that he’s not going to be the presidential nominee. He paints the Minnesota DFL’s agenda as a model.
He said some politicians from other states “roll their eyes when we talk about the importance of working collectively to educate and feed our children.”
“But instead of working to solve those problems, they’re spending their time and energy and their political capital picking fights with beer companies and librarians.
“Look, speaking on behalf of Minnesotans, we are happy to have people move here. We are happy to have private-sector investment dollars here and we’re happy to have brilliant young people move here from other states,” Walz said. “But what we’re not going to take is radical ideas that make it more difficult for people to live the life that they’re choosing to live.”
He then talked about abortion rights as well as the recent Alabama Supreme Court decision that struck down the state’s in vitro fertilization laws, using he and First Lady Gwen Walz’s story about IVF as an illustration.
“What those judges did was a direct attack on our family. It was a direct attack on children. Gwen and I will not forget it nor will forgive it. And neither will thousands across this state,” he said.
Walz used the school auditorium setting to speak about gun safety.
“When you come into high school, you should be worried about pop quizzes and prom dates — not mass shootings,” he said before citing extreme risk protection orders and strengthened background checks that passed last year. “And make no mistake about it, this keeps guns out of the wrong hands and saves lives.”
He endorsed bills this session that would strengthen laws on safe storage of firearms, mandatory reporting of lost or stolen guns and increasing penalties for straw purchases of guns for those prohibited from owning them.
Walz isn’t on the ballot this fall. His president is, though. And the entire House is as well. This year, he’s not the candidate but the pitch man.
“Look: If Minnesotans want to look at our record of accomplishment and keep sending us back to St. Paul, well, I wouldn’t mind that one bit,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of work yet to do but this window of opportunity is still open. We need to keep working to get the progress done.”
And the state of the state is …
“Tonight, I’m proud to report that the state of our state is strong, Minnesota. And one of the main reasons is because the kids of our state are better equipped to thrive. If you ever doubted that, I would ask everyone, just come on down to Owatonna. Walk through these halls. And join me in dreaming about the futures that will be built right here.”
And the reviews? DFL, yay; GOP, boo
It is a tradition, or perhaps a cliché, that the leaders of the two parties react to the speech in ways that rarely surprise. Both have a role to play.
“The realities of single-party Democrat control don’t match the rosy rhetoric we heard tonight from Governor Walz. Life is still unaffordable for too many families who are struggling with inflation and the billions in tax increases passed by Democrats last session,”said House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth.
“We have serious challenges ahead,” said Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson. “While Walz and Democrats keep bringing up the past, we’re looking to the future and the contrast could not be clearer. Without balance restored to state government, we are on a crash course to even more partisanship, challenging deficits, and a bureaucratic state government bloated with inefficiencies, fraud, and wasteful spending.”
Legislative DFLers, however, loved it, especially his praise of …. legislative DFLers.
“Tonight, Governor Walz laid out how much progress we’ve made in the past 15 months to improve the lives of Minnesotans. More importantly, he outlined a strong vision for the work ahead,” said Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy.
And House Speaker Melissa Hortman? “We made historic progress together in last year’s state budget, and as that budget continues to be implemented, it will ensure Minnesotans have more opportunities and tools to build better lives for themselves and their families.”
Peter Callaghan
Peter Callaghan covers state government for MinnPost. Follow him on Twitter @CallaghanPeter or email him at pcallaghan@minnpost.com.
