Candidates look for gimmicks and an edge as they attempt to woo voters -- even if more than a few people claim to be from Iowa.
August 27, 2006
Star Tribune
Norman Draper
Bruce Kennedy has two big recognition problems as a candidate: Not many people know who he is, and he's running for secretary of state.
"A lot of people do not know what it is," Kennedy, a Roseville attorney who's running as an independent, said Saturday at his booth at the Minnesota State Fair. "Maybe they're confusing me with Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell; I don't know." There's the added confusion of people mistaking him for Mark Kennedy, the Republican congressman running for U.S. Senate.
No matter. The State Fair is a big forum for Kennedy, who with the help of a friend and his wife, Linda, sawed, hammered and painted until they came up with a homemade booth, and even wired up monitors to show campaign commercial spoofs.
For candidates of all stripes, there's no better place to press the flesh, no better way to get your face out there in public than at the fair. But it can also be a tough crowd, while politely so. Look at the competition: cheese curds, livestock, carnival rides and, in the case of Kennedy, a lot of shiny, brand-new Dodges parked next door. And at least one candidate has noticed that when he invites folks over for a chat, unusually large numbers wind up being from out of state.
To read more, go to http://www.startribune.com/611/story/637856.html
August 1, 2006
Minnesota Public Radio
by Mark Steil
The candidates for Minnesota's U.S. Senate seat sparred over agriculture policy today at Farmfest near Redwood Falls. Republican Mark Kennedy and Democrat Amy Klobuchar both said it may be a good idea to extend current federal agriculture programs instead of writing a new farm bill next year. They disagreed over which one is the true friend of the farmer.
Farmfest has become an almost mandatory stop in August for state candidates. It's a place to try and win the rural vote. Joining Kennedy and Klobuchar at Farmfest were Robert Fitzgerald of the Independence Party and Green party nominee Mike Cavlan.
Generous federal farm subsidies have helped farmers stay profitable the past several years. Many farmers think congress should simply extend the current programs rather than write a new agriculture package.
For the full text of this article, go to http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/08/01/ussenateforum/
August 2, 2006
Minnesota Public Radio
Mark Steil
A Minnesota econonmic development program that's the creation of the Pawlenty administration came under fire on Wednesday as the gubernatorial candidates spoke before a farm crowd at the annual agriculture trade show, Farmfest, in Redwood Falls. One candidate called Pawlenty's JOBZ program a give-away. Gov. Tim Pawlenty called it "fantastic." In what may be the candidate's only joint appearance before the September primary, livestock, education and health were also topics of the day.
Redwood Falls, Minn. — The forum between four candidates in the governor's race drew several hundred people to the main tent at the farm trade show near Redwood Falls.
For more of this article, visit http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/08/02/farmfestgovforum/