At Wisconsin rally, Democrats laud ‘folksy’ Tim Walz, hope his record will impress those in other states

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EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — “Folksy.” “Down to earth.” Like the “dad Fox News took away.”

Those were just some of the impressions Democratic supporters offered of Vice President Kamala Harris’ new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, at a Wednesday afternoon rally on the outskirts of Eau Claire. Minnesota supporters who made the trip to western Wisconsin said they hope his record will impress voters in other states.

An estimated 10,000 people attended the event, according to area law enforcement who cited information from the U.S. Secret Service. It was Walz and Harris’ first campaign stop in the Midwest just one day after Walz’s debut as vice presidential candidate at a rally in Philadelphia.

Wisconsin is a crucial battleground state in presidential elections, and it’s believed the state is a tossup between Harris and former President Donald Trump.

Harris and Walz continued their “battleground state tour” with a stop in Detroit on Wednesday evening. They’re also scheduled to visit Arizona and Nevada in coming days; events in Georgia and North Carolina have been postponed because of flooding caused by Tropical Storm Debby.

Long lines in the sun

Walz greeted the crowd and kicked off his speech with a nod to his regional tie.

“Hello, Eau Claire!” he said as he took the stage. “Isn’t it good to have a candidate who can pronounce the name correctly?”

Walz then launched into a speech where he hit familiar themes — casting Republican opponents Ohio Sen. JD Vance and former president Trump as “weird,” calling for gun control legislation, and touting Democrats’ defense of abortion and in-vitro fertilization. It was similar to a speech he delivered the day before in Pennsylvania.

Rallygoers in Eau Claire braved hours waiting in line in traffic and in the heat waiting for Walz and Harris to arrive, with some taking shelter under semi-trailers.

Many said they didn’t know much about Walz before this week — and an equal number said they were surprised by the pick.

‘What he brings’

Lisa Herrmann, of Eau Claire, an Army veteran who cast her first presidential vote in 1980, said she didn’t even know Walz was on Harris’ vice presidential shortlist and was under the impression Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro would end up clinching the No. 2 spot on the Democratic Ticket.

Lisa Herrmann, an Army veteran from Eau Claire who cast her first ballot in a presidential election in 1980, called Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz “the quintessential American guy.” (Alex Derosier / Pioneer Press)

Herrmann, 61, said she was excited when she learned Harris opted for a Midwesterner who was a teacher and served in the military, rather than another “guy from out east.”

“I think what he brings is he brings a tone of real America,” she said. “It’s not about politics anymore. It’s about being nice people. It’s about trying to understand people who you don’t agree with. I think that’s what he brings.”

Some attendees said they hope Walz might be able to persuade their undecided friends, but most doubted that a vice-presidential pick would move their conservative or Republican friends any closer to their side.

Many other rallygoers said they felt Walz had a sort of “Midwestern dad vibe” and said they were excited to see their region take the national stage.

“He’s a replacement for my dad that Fox News took away,” said Ruth Rice, of Hudson, Wis., echoing an internet meme that has gained traction since Walz’s selection.

Denise Machack, who drove with her sister nearly two hours from the Wausau, Wis., area, said she didn’t know much about Walz before he gained the nomination, and was initially a fan of U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, of Arizona, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

But she said she’s happy to see her region represented.

“The way he talks. You know, it’s just the way we talk,” she said. “He just says it like it is.”

Denise Machack, left, and her sister, Julie Yirkovsky, at a Kamala Harris-Tim Walz campaign rally in Eau Claire, Wis. on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. Both traveled nearly two hours by car from near Wausau, Wis. to see the vice president and her running mate. (Alex Derosier / Pioneer Press)

Many Minnesotans already familiar with Walz made the drive from Minnesota to attend the rally. Paige Boulger, 33, of West St. Paul, said she thinks the governor’s record will tell people in other states that he cares about people.

“I hope people understand what he’s doing for Minnesotans, and how it appears, at least, that he’s genuinely caring about his citizens,” she said. “I hope it would help other people in swing states or other Midwest states. I would hope that they would look at his record as positive.”

JD Vance also in town

It wasn’t just the Democratic candidates in town on Wednesday: Republican Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance held a separate competing event at a factory in Eau Claire. There, he shot back at Walz’s continued jabs about him being “weird,” the Associated Press reported.

“If those people want to call me weird I call it a badge of honor,” Vance said.

Trump, Vance and other Republican allies have been attempting to paint Harris and Walz as liberal extremists bent on spreading West Coast progressive ideals to the rest of the country.

Earlier in the day, when Vance and Harris arrived at the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport in Eau Claire, Vance reportedly approached Harris’ plane, though the vice president left in her motorcade before Vance reached her.

“I just wanted to check out my future plane,” Vance later said.

This story contains information from the Associated Press. 

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Saints bounce back to beat Clippers 4-2 with four runs in eighth inning

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The St. Paul Saints fell behind 7-0 on Tuesday before rallying in a 7-4 loss to the Columbus Clippers. A day later, it looked much the same as Columbus had a 2-0 lead and rehabbing starter Matthew Boyd dominated the Saints.

This time, a four-run rally would pay off.

St. Paul scored four times in the eighth inning and won 4-2 behind a bullpen game from its pitchers, with six pitchers combining to cover the nine innings.

Ronny Henriquez started and allowed one run in 2 2/3 innings. He was followed by Caleb Barager for 2 1/3 innings and eventually Justin Topa, Jeff Brigham, Scott Blewett and Diego Castillo. Blewett (5-2) earned the win with a scoreless eighth and Castillo finished with his seventh save.

Topa allowed a hit and struck out two in an inning in his latest rehab appearance.

Estavan Florial drove in both runs for the Clippers. He had an RBI single off Henriquez in the third and drew a bases-loaded walk from Barager in the fourth.

The Saints’ hitters needed just one inning to erase the deficit.

Diego A. Castillo was hit by a pitch with one out in the eighth. The hit batter led to a pitching change with Minnesota native Sam Hentges, from Mounds View High School, coming in.

Patrick Winkel doubled off Hentges to put runners on second and third. Dalton Shuffield hit a ground ball to third but a throwing error allowed Castillo and Winkel to score and Shuffield to go to second. Payton Eeles followed with an RBI single to chase Hentges (1-1) from the game.

Kyle Farmer, also on a rehab assignment, ended the scoring with an RBI double.

It was just the second win this season for St. Paul when trailing after seven innings.

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Minnesotan Caden Clark to be traded from Loons to CF Montreal

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Caden Clark’s homecoming didn’t last one full season.

Minnesota United is in the process of trading the Wayzata native to CF Montreal, two source confirmed to the Pioneer Press on Wednesday evening. Give Me Sport first reported the news.

The Loons will receive a for-now undisclosed amount of General Allocation Money and a pick in the MLS SuperDraft, one source said.

The 21-year-old was earning $382,000 in guaranteed compensation in 2024, according the the MLS Players Association, so the Loons will also receive some salary cap relief and roster space with the move for subsequent additions either yet this summer transfer window or down the road.

Clark was acquired under former manager Adrian Heath last summer and signed a two-year contract with two club options for 2026-27. The Loons spent what was deemed a smaller transfer fee to bring Clark home.

Clark played 1,032 minutes across 23 MLS games this season, but the attacking midfielder was primarily asked by new coach Eric Ramsay to play out of his preferred positions and as a wingback. It wasn’t a good fit, and Montreal perhaps will return him to a position higher up the pitch.

Clark was also said to have a few minor injuries this season, including at least two that took him out of games just before kickoff.

In 2017, MNUFC didn’t include Clark’s age group when it started its academy, so the 13-year-old went to FC Barcelona’s academy in Arizona and then signed with New York Red Bulls, where he scored some wonderful goals. He then went to sister club RB Leipzig in 2022. But his acclimation to the German Bundesliga and life abroad wasn’t smooth, and he sought a return to Minnesota.

Instead of comfort, Clark had another bump in the road and will get yet another fresh start.

Ryan Wright vs. Seth Vernon: Vikings have a punting competition on their hands

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Though rookie Will Reichard won the kicking competition with relative ease, the Vikings still have a punting competition on their hands. It features the incumbent Ryan Wright, who struggled at times last season, taking on the challenger Seth Vernon, who has turned heads throughout training camp at TCO Performance Center.

Both players should get a chance to prove themselves on Saturday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium when the Vikings host the Las Vegas Raiders in a preseason game.

Asked how he planned to split up the reps between Wright and Vernon, special teams coordinator Matt Daniels noted that rotating every other punt is probably the best way to go about it. That reduces the chances of either player getting a majority of the reps if the Vikings punt a lot during a particular stretch.

“The idea is to give each guy equal opportunity,” Daniels said. “It’ll be good throwing different situations at guys and seeing how they respond to them.”

The main reason the Vikings have instituted a punting competition in training camp is because Wright left something to be desired last season. He had a very hard time keeping the ball out of the end zone, finishing with a touchback percentage of 11.9 percent, which was among the worst in the NFL.

There were a few times last season that the Vikings had the option of going for it, attempting a long field goal, or trying to pin an opposing team deep in the shadow of their own goal post.

“We just didn’t show up in those situations,” Daniels said. “That’s something we’ve been really focusing on.”

As for Vernon, he comes to the Vikings after spending some time with the Atlanta Falcons earlier in his career.

“He’s got unbelievable leg talent,” Daniels said. “I think for him it’s about becoming better with situations. He’s raw in terms of, ‘What type of situation is it? What type of ball do I truly need to hit?’ Because each situation requires guys to hit a specific ball.”

There’s also the layer of which player is going to be holding for Reichard on field goal attempts moving forward. Most of the reps have gone to Wright so far in training camp with Daniels vowing to let Vernon do some holding in the very near future.

“I’m kind of doing a disservice to him,” Daniels said. “I need to give him more opportunities to allow him to gain some confidence and develop a good chemistry with Will being that holder. Obviously punting is important. I also think being a holder for a rookie kicker is of the utmost importance.”

It will be interesting to see how everything plays out this weekend.

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