Southern Minnesota is a good example for the country

Southern Minnesota hopefully will forfend what happens elsewhere in the nation. In 2006 it elected a congressman, Rep. Tim Walz, who up August of 2004 was an apolitical high school geography teacher and a 24-year member of the national guard. (To see how Mr. Walz became politically involved, read Nick Coleman's account for the Star-Tribune, republished in "How many terrorists does it take to screw in a light bulb?" on this blog; "Company, Left" in The Atlantic; or "Mr. Walz goes to Washington" at The Twin Cities Daily Planet.)

But Rep. Walz is not alone among "regular folks" — that is, not political operatives — stepping up to represent their fellow citizens in southern Minnesota. There are plenty of them — in fact, too many to mention.

One example is state Rep. Terry Morrow of the small burg of St. Peter, located about 12 miles north of Tim Walz's hometown of Mankato. Heretofore, St. Peter was probably best known for its highly thought-of Lutheran-affiliated college, Gustavus Adolphus. And in fact several of the recent state representatives for the mostly rural district have had ties to the college.

The article below gives a good indication of why southern Minnesota should be a hopeful example for the nation, showing how quality people can become involved in the political process not for the sake of the political "game", for an ideology or for the desire to hold office, but because they truly feel they can can make a positive difference.

Profile: Rep. Terry Morrow

By Frank Jossi, Special to Capitol Report
January 8, 2009

The Ph.D.-holding professor has found a way to connect with rural residents in his swing district

Rep. Terry Morrow, DFL-St. Peter, traces his civic involvement back to the tornado of 1998, when sections of the college town lay in ruins and volunteers arrived from around the Midwest to help with the clean-up.

After buying an elderly neighbor’s home with the assistance of a grant from the Minnesota Historical Society, Morrow decided to start giving back, in part by joining the board of directors of the city’s historical society.

As a member over the next several years, he led a successful effort to add 33 buildings in the city to the National Register of Historic Places. Having enjoyed his first taste of public service, Morrow won election to the school board, where he eventually became chairman and had the decidedly unhappy task of helping cut the budget during his five-year involvement.

The rest is here.