Al vs. Norm: Brace yourself for a photo finish

Star Tribune

Last update: June 24, 2009 - 7:54 PM

While most Minnesotans are waiting for their never-ending U.S. Senate race to be decided by the Supreme Court in St. Paul, folks in the hamlet of Nevis, Minn., have taken matters into their own hands.

During the Hubbard County town's July 4th celebration, a pair of piglets named Norm Coleman and Al Franken will race through downtown to determine the winner of the still-vacant Senate seat.

Tongue firmly in cheek, Mayor Dave McCumin explained: "I'm thinking, geez, this thing has taken eight months and a gazillion dollars, and we can decide this in 15 seconds. And it'll probably be as accurate as anything the Supreme Court decides. And we'll be done with it."

The Coleman-Franken swine showdown is one heat of nine piglet races that will be held July 5.

The idea of pig races, cribbed from another small Minnesota town, is strictly a gimmick "to fill up the town with people," McCumin said. "I mean, the economy's bad and we're an itty-bitty town -- 364 people -- and could use the business."

One resident who has demanded anonymity already has sponsored the Coleman piglet. None has yet sponsored the Franken surrogate, "but I'm going to try to get ahold of Rush Limbaugh and see if he'll do it, since he's such a fan of Franken," McCumin said.

Although a state Supreme Court ruling on the case is expected any day, McCumin said he's confident the justices won't pre-empt his race.

"After this long, I doubt that they will," he said. "The secret's going to be to convince them to go along with our results."

BOB VONSTERNBERG

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