Pine Knot News - A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news

On Tuesday, voters in Minnesota State Senate District 11 will head to the polls, just like they did for the primary election exactly two weeks ago, to vote for their favorite candidates for state senate.

It's been a whirlwind since Jan. 4, the day that incoming Gov. Tim Walz announced longtime District 11 Senator Tony Lourey was his choice to lead the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Suddenly there was an open state senate seat, and only 32 days to fill it.

The Jan. 22 primary whittled down two DFL candidates to one, Stu Lourey, who will face Republican candidate Jason Rarick and Legal Marijuana Now candidate John "Sparky" Birrenbach in the special election. Turnout for the primary was low, at about 11 percent for Carlton County and under 10 percent across District 11, which includes all of Carlton and Pine Counties, and parts of St. Louis and Kanabec Counties.

Now it's crunch time. The special election is Tuesday, Feb. 5, and candidates are hoping for a better turnout this time.

For residents who normally go to a polling place to vote, nothing will change. The polls will open at 7 a.m. and remain open until 8 p.m. People who haven't voted before can register at the polls, although they will have to bring proof or residence and address (see http://www.sos.mn.gov for details or call the auditor's office at 218-384-9127).

Citizens who vote by mail-in ballot should have mailed their ballot back by now; otherwise, county auditor Paul Gassert recommends either bringing ballots to the auditor's office - on the second floor of the Carlton County Courthouse at 301 Walnut Ave. in Carlton (entrance at the side door) - by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 5.

Any voter can also vote absentee at the Courthouse during regular office hours today, Friday, Feb. 1, or between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday, or Monday by 5 p.m. People with mail-in ballots can also vote in person at the courthouse on Tuesday, since that is considered their polling place.

Candidates try to get the vote out

Both Stu Lourey and Jason Rarick have traveled to Carlton County over the past week, and both plan to work hard again this weekend to encourage people to get out and vote for them on Tuesday.

On Saturday, Gov. Tim Walz - dressed in black and red flannel - made a special appearance at the Cloquet Labor Temple to speak to the group of supporters there to work phone banks and go door-knocking in Cloquet on Lourey's behalf, despite the cold.

"Obviously public service matters to Stu; he's got the experience and knowledge of policy as well as understanding what community means," Walz told the Pine Knot News. "He's been around this and has seen what it means to invest in community. We have a new generation of leaders coming in and that's just capturing people's imagination. I'm excited about it."

Lourey said he thinks facing Michelle Lee in the DFL primary was good for his campaign and DFL supporters, because it helped them get their message out and start thinking about the election. He's optimistic turnout will be higher Tuesday as a result. On Saturday, he was planning one last listening tour of the district, and hoping to talk to some people while door-knocking Saturday.

There was a healthy and diverse crowd at the Labor Temple Tuesday, including a couple of preteen door-knockers from Sturgeon Lake and Moose Lake as well as a couple pipeline protestors carrying a large sign.

Fond du Lac's Sherry Couture was there to hear what people had to say, she said, adding that she was a water protector.

"I'm just here to listen, as a dual citizen: an American and a sovereign [Native American]," she said.

Cloquet's Patti McPhail, aka "Political Patti," traded in her dazzling red, white and blue outfits for black and red plaid on Saturday; she came to show her support for Lourey and to see the governor and the numerous other politicians who were there, including State Rep. Mike Sundin, Duluth's state senator Erik Simonson, retired St. Louis County Commissioner Frank Jewell, and former and current Carlton County commissioners Susan Zmyslony and Mark Thell.

Lourey mingled with almost everyone, and if he didn't get to them, his grandmother Becky Lourey, a former District 11 State Senator, did.

"It's a short timeline for the special election, so turnout is everything," Lourey said. "Our folks turned out for the primary, and being in the primary helped us get our infrastructure together and our message out to people."

Republican candidate Jason Rarick made a special trip to Cloquet Monday night to appear on the local political talk show, Harry's Gang, where the spotlight was on the current state representative for the entire half-hour show.

(Left) State Senate Distict 11 DFL candidate Stu Lourey addresses a crowd of door-knockers, political dignitaries and other supporters Saturday at the Labor Temple in Cloquet.

The CAT-7 cable access channel is rebroadcasting Monday's Harry's Gang multiple times before the election Tuesday for those who'd like to watch it. For non-Mediacom subscribers, the show is also available online at YouTube.com/thecat7tv.

Stu Lourey is scheduled to appear on Harry's Gang Monday, Feb. 4, the day before the election.

Rarick had to return to work in St. Paul for the rest of the week, but said he planned to come back to northern Carlton County over the weekend to encourage people to get out and vote and try to get to know people here.

Find out more about all three candidates by reading the candidate profiles, featuring answers written by the candidates to questions posed by the Pine Knot News, on pages 12-13 of this week's paper.