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As Donald Trump enters his second term in the White House, Minnesota has an opportunity to recapture some of the state mojo evident in a long-ago Time magazine cover featuring former Gov. Wendell Anderson. Doing so could help address one of Minnesota’s most troubling economic concerns: a stubborn workforce shortage.
Readers of a certain age may recall that August 1973 issue. For those who don’t, it prominently features a grinning Anderson lakeside holding up his catch. The headline: “The Good Life in Minnesota.”
There was more to the story, of course, than the northern pike on the governor’s hook. Anderson, a DFLer, had first worked with a Republican Legislature in 1971 to craft the “Minnesota Miracle,” which helped close the gap in services between small and large city governments. In 1972, he enlisted newly elected DFL legislative majorities to boost spending for schools and disability services and enacted powerful new open-meetings laws allowing citizens a new window into government.
The Time piece’s premise: Minnesota was the state that worked. Author Greg Wierzynski lauded its diverse economy, public-minded corporate leadership, flourishing arts community, progressive politics and of course, its abundant hunting and fishing opportunities. (For background on how the story came to be, a 2013 MinnPost interview with Wierzynski has the details.)
Anderson died in 2016. As a young reporter, I had the chance to interview the charming ex-governor. After the election last week, I found myself thinking of “Wendy,” as many Minnesotans called him, and the brash confidence on display in the iconic photo.
Current Gov. Tim Walz, as well as Minnesota businesses and other state boosters, could benefit from a dose of that swagger. There’s an opportunity at hand after Donald Trump’s re-election to attract new residents and employees from around the region. Minnesota’s secret economic sauce has always been its educated workforce. That the state’s support for Kamala Harris now makes it a blue island in a regional sea of political red is a chance to strengthen that advantage.
