A week ago before this national ticket became reality, I turned to my colleague Briana Bierschbach and said, “If she picks him, we’re going to have to relive all of it — including stolen valor.” I have to say I was surprised at the speed with which we revisited Gov. Tim Walz’s military record. Until I recycled the one-page document in a burst of decluttering a month ago, I had Walz’s military discharge paper in the slush pile of *super important stuff to save* by my back door. It had been there since the 2022 gubernatorial campaign when I wrote the initial story.

Here’s the new Fact Check I wrote on Thursday and here’s the original story when former state Sen. Scott Jensen raised the issue during the governor’s race. GOP vice presidential candidate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps, including in Iraq doing communications. Former GOP President Donald Trump did not, but they’re going after the guy who served 24 years.

If you’re wondering: Hey, Rochelle, is it fun to have the world digging through your work for the past two years? Not exactly, no. There’s not one story I’ve written in my life that I didn’t want to redo a sentence, add or drop a quote or insert another detail. I wrote a benign travel story about Berlin swimming pools in 2012 that I regularly think about ripping up and rewriting.

Also, in Friday’s newspaper, a story about Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan on the precipice of history. When I talked to always-insightful former Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch, she lamented that if Flanagan succeeds Walz, she will be the first female governor but with an asterisk because she wasn’t elected at the top of the ticket and whoa be unto Minnesota for not electing a woman outright. Alas, Flanagan was sanguine about the prospect of succeeding Walz if he and Vice President Kamala Harris are elected in November. Much work ahead to make that happen, Flanagan said. Nonetheless, Koch noted that Flanagan could be looking at a rocky transition if Walz decamps to Number One Naval Observatory because he will be busy with his own transition and likely take key staff. If it comes to that, we’ll no doubt write about Flanagan’s key advisers, including neighbor and longtime close pal Andrea Mokros, veteran of the Obama White House and Super Bowl 52 who is now a health care executive and bon vivant who hangs out with Biden-busting movie superstar George Clooney. Mokros said her pal is — in one word — ready. I’m just happy we were able to reuse the photo of Flanagan’s fabulous Prince earrings from the bill signing at Paisley Park because more Prince is always a good thing.

I haven’t even had time to read all the stories national media are doing on Walz, but I will make time for Paul Krugman’s take on the “weird politics of free lunches.” And I definitely found time for this story (gift link) about the year of planning and calculation that went into Walz’s ascension. Did colleagues and I discuss who the numerous anonymous sources are and might be? You bet we did and we’re not done yet. Read it closely because this story and its unnamed sources show the extent to which Team Walz was ready, willing and able to shift focus and dance on a national stage. As far-fetched as it may have seemed two weeks ago, Walz’s place on a national ticket was not aw-shucks serendipity.

Reporter Elliot Hughes was in Chaska on Thursday night for Lara Trump’s appearance. He reports that Republicans remain optimistic about turning Minnesota red in November. State GOP chair David Hann said at a news conference after the event the party was in the process of opening eight campaign offices throughout Minnesota. “We’re going to be all over the state,” he said.

You’ve got the weekend to make a plan to vote in Tuesday’s primary if you haven’t already. Bierschbach has the who-what-where of it all in this story. Secretary of State Steve Simon, seen this week chowing down on beef at Farmfest, said, “This is the opportunity for every voter in Minnesota to help determine who or what is on the menu.”

Colleague Josie Albertson-Grove checked in on the action in the First Congressional District where U.S. Rep. Brad Finstad, recently seen smiling with Trump in St. Cloud, is seeking re-election. Walz represented the southeastern Minnesota district, but Albertson-Grove reports it’s going to be tough for a Democrat to win there again. DFL candidate Rachel Bohman is hoping for coattails from the top of the ticket. “I think it brings a lot of excitement to this race,” she said.

If you’re up for more Walz to Walz coverage, read this here story about his record with the “hook and bullet” crowd as reported by Tony Kennedy. Former U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson talks about welcoming Walz into the congressional clay pigeon shooting contest.

And then read Mike Rand’s look into Walz as a football coach. Rand talked to coach Rick Sutton about Walz’s role on the 1999 Mankato West championship team. “In coaching, X’s and O’s obviously are important, but it’s more about the relationships that you can build and the trust that you foster with your team,” Sutton said. “That’s obviously always been one of Tim’s biggest strengths. That dedication, that enthusiasm, that ability to get to know students on an individual basis is all a big part of that success.”

WHERE’S WALZ:

Not here in Minnesota.

Why do we still have this section in our Hot Dish newsletter?

He’s with Harris in Phoenix on Friday and Las Vegas on Saturday at the tail of their weeklong tour. I wonder if we will ever see him again.

READING LIST

There’s a bumper crop of candidates for the St. Cloud City Council, colleague Jenny Berg writes. It’s the most in half a century and they’re all here.
Albertson-Grove has a story about how internet fame is coloring the race to replace retiring state Rep. Frank Hornstein, DFL-Minneapolis. It’s district 61A which includes Uptown and Downtown.
Always read Walker Orenstein. He’s got a story about Grand Meadow being saddled with a pile of wind turbine blades.
No paywall for this story about Walz’s clothing by menswear writer Derek Guy in Politico. Walz is definitely a casual guy. He’s often wearing slouchy jeans around the state Capitol and not the fancy expensive kind. Then check out these photos our own Glen Stubbe took in 2020 while Walz hit the campaign trail for Sen. Amy Klobuchar in Iowa. Note that the gentleman to Walz’s left in a black jacket with the epaulets is the governor’s comms director and right-hand guy Teddy Tschann, who does a hilarious impersonation of his Walz that I’m guessing the governor has never seen.
Don’t miss Minnesota marathoner Dakotah Lindwurm making her Olympic debut on Sunday on the hilly, cobbled streets of Paris. To that I say, you go girl.
Reminder that your eyes may deceive you when you see those gorgeous lives on Instagram. Gift link to this NYT story about a couple living the life until they weren’t. I shall think of this as I look across the verdant creeping Charlie that I call a lawn before I slid into my shuddering, 2014 VW to go to the public pool for a swim.
GOING ROGUE: Remember how Sarah Palin would go rogue on Sen. John McCain? I wonder if Walz will go rogue on Harris? I’ve been thinking a lot about when Walz joined Harris at Planned Parenthood for a visit in March. Well-versed Hot Dish readers will recall I was not thrilled with the logistics. For the past week, I’ve been asking myself if I saw chemistry between the two and no, I can’t point to a single thing. I mean these short stops are very controlled so not a lot to go on here and we only saw them in the same room for about 15-20 minutes, taking turns answering questions. The concept of a Harris-Walz ticket wasn’t a topic that was discussed. What I do remember, for what it’s worth, is that Walz called out to me in my spot at the back of the press scrum to offer condolences on what was then the recent death of my mother. He said he’d come down to the press room the day prior but I wasn’t there. What does this story tell you about Walz that he took a beat when he was about to stand next to the VP? That’s for you to decide. I do know that was some excellent work by his staff.
Now I’m going to ponder how the hell Walz will be able to attend the State Fair this summer because he can’t possibly skip it or can he?