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Dan Glessing, a sixth-generation farmer and president of the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation, is a straight-shooter. He represents more than 31,000 members as leader of the state’s largest general farm federation.
I met him at his home near Waverly, about an hour’s drive west from downtown Minneapolis last Wednesday. My colleague Jill Burcum and I had traveled there to introduce ourselves, discuss agriculture concerns and broach anything short of general election politics. Glessing, who runs a small dairy operation in addition to growing alfalfa, corn and soybeans, was happy to oblige.
As he harvested a cornfield near the end of a two-hour visit, Glessing turned to me as I perched next to him in a combine and said something that I hadn’t expected. It broke the boundaries of our politics-free conversation:
”In this election, I hope we’re able to identify issues that connect us more than issues that divide us. At the end of the day, we’re all people who want the same thing.“
I don’t know Glessing’s politics, but I couldn’t agree with him more. Unquestioned loyalty to party or personality marginalizes a voter. He’s correct that there are infinitely more issues that connect us all as Minnesotans than the deeply partisan political divides that have made the coming election often seem like a public exercise in hopeless division.
Ever since mid-August, when we announced that the Minnesota Star Tribune would not offer endorsements in the upcoming election cycle, we have heard from many of you. Some have registered disappointment regarding the decision and others have reacted a bit less charitably. We hear you.
