Tim Walz: “I, too, rise to ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the great State of Minnesota, the 32nd State. It is our…”

“I, too, rise to ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the great State of Minnesota, the 32nd State. It is our sesquicentennial, 150 years. From the natural beauty of the Mississippi River, across to the plains near South Dakota, this is a State that amongst the stark beauty has planted the seeds, as you heard my previous colleague talk about, of innovation, from health care to computer technology to agriculture. I am especially proud to represent the southern area of the State, the First District, those many towns, like Winona along the Mississippi River, which were the stopping points near the upper end of the paddle boats that brought our forebearers to Minnesota. The courthouses and the city halls still represent that long heritage, that rich tradition and that sense of community that had people staking out a new life in the 'big woods,' in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. I am proud to have the City of New Ulm in my district. New Ulm is, as you might expect, a very, very German town. It boasts the 'Herman the German' statue that is the second largest brass statue behind only the Statue of Liberty in the United States.”