Team Dayton’s Updates from the Road!

Team Dayton’s Updates from the Road! (March 3, 2010)

Anyone who has ever worked a campaign knows that the days start early and end very late. Today was no exception. Dana Anderson, our campaign manager and of course gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton, and I hit the road at 7:30 am for a week of talking to voters, working families and business owners  – all of which are vital to helping our economy recover.

As you know, we’ve been having a relatively tame Minnesota winter and our traveling weather has been very cooperative; mild and mostly sunny.  This is a relief since our destinations this week are scattered throughout Northern Minnesota, where the temperature as been known to plunge to dozens of degrees below zero

Mark brings travel mugs full of coffee for Dana and me. He brews a mean pot of coffee and despite my pleas he refuses to make free coffee for every voter a plank in his campaign platform. With coffee in hand, we drive to the sounds of the morning news. The big story today is the remarkable game between the U.S. and Canada in the Gold Medal hockey game. Mark is a former hockey goalie and has been raving about USA goalie Ryan Miller on Twitter since the Winter Games began.

After we get a full dose of the morning news, Dana and I flip between radio stations looking for song we both can sing along to.  I can’t get enough of Broadway show tunes while Dana has been living on a constant diet of Dave Matthews. When neither pops up we resort to singing light rock songs by Billy Joel, Elton John and Rod Stewart. If Mark ever wished he had headphones handy, it’s now!

Our first stop was the Digi-Key distribution center in Thief River Falls.  The company, which distributes electronic components, employs 2,060 people and is looking to hire more.  Rick and Todd gave us an excellent tour of the operation and showed us some of the amazing innovations that have made them a leader in the industry.  Hard to believe the company, which started so small, has grown to be so successful. Digi-Key is a great asset to the community, the region, and the state!

Our trip to Digi-Key was a success and so are the ‘Meet and Greets’ we’ve been holding in every county visited. The best thing about ‘Meet and Greets’ have been hearing from real voters about the concerns they have,  questions about Mark’s campaign and the ideas they’ve shared on how we can collectively build a Better Minnesota. Here in the Northwest region, the people are rightly concerned about flooding, and Mark used this opportunity to relay stories about how he came in to sandbag in Moorhead when the Red River flooded, and in Roseau when the Roseau River flooded.  Hearing directly from the people in the region and their stories on how flooding has impacted their lives has been an eye-opening experience. The residents here build and plan their lives around the possibility of a flood every year – you can’t help but admire their resilience and commitment to their communities.

Shouts-Outs and Accolades

A special thank you to Mark Froemke for helping to organize a breakfast with members of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Local 167G.  We had a great conversation, and we really appreciate Mark’s help in putting this event together.

Melody’s Café in Warren – This Marshall County hotspot has the best caramel rolls.

And a hearty round of handclaps goes out to the Roseau Boys’ hockey team, and the Warroad Boys Hockey Team.  Both are heading to State!

The List

Counties Visited: 48

Days on the Road: 44

Cups of coffee: Too many to count!

Thanks for reading,

Katie Tinucci

Deputy Campaign Manager