Watson Coleman: “I want to rise to take the floor for a few moments to reflect and to pause to think about the life and legacy of former…”

“I want to rise to take the floor for a few moments to reflect and to pause to think about the life and legacy of former Senator Paul Wellstone and his wife Sheila. It was 5 years ago today that we suffered the terrible tragedy of Senator Wellstone's death, tragedy for my State, for the entire Nation. Senator Wellstone and I had been engaged in a very hard-fought and vigorous election contest. We were about 10 days from the election. I think everybody in our State reflects on where they were at the moment they heard the news. We were both, Senator Wellstone and myself, on the way to a debate in Duluth, MN. I was up in Grand Rapids flying in on a King Air plane, the same type of plane Senator Wellstone was flying when it went down and caused his death and the death of his wife Sheila, their daughter Marcia, and five others. We heard the news with a great sense of disbelief, we knelt down and said our prayers for the Senator, for his wife, for the others who died. The news was met by disbelief, shock, and sadness. In the hours that followed, it was as if the entire State of Minnesota had stopped. For so many Minnesotans, regardless of where you stood politically or whether you agreed with Senator Wellstone's politics, you admired him and his unwavering commitment to the things he cared about most.”