The fledgling event of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign in Minnesota centered on reaching out to Asian American voters in St. Paul, hoping to build enthusiasm among voters who might be swayed by a candidate positioned to be the first Black woman and first South Asian woman nominee for president.

“I do think there are people who haven’t been engaged before, who are calling their friends and family members” — including those who see themselves reflected in Harris’s heritage, said Shivanthi Sathanandan, the battleground state director for South Asians for Harris and a vice chair of the Minnesota DFL.

As Harris quickly ascends as the replacement for President Joe Biden to take on former President Donald Trump in November, Democrats in Minnesota and nationwide are seeing an opportunity to revive the kind of grassroots enthusiasm many feared Biden could no longer inspire. It matters not only for the presidential race but up and down the ballot.

Republicans have been gearing up to contest Minnesota on Trump’s behalf this year, and the former president and his running mate, JD Vance, will rally supporters Saturday night in St. Cloud. Any edge in voter enthusiasm will be vital in the event of a close contest.

“Representation matters and people get excited about that,” Sathanandan said. She is hoping Harris capitalizes on that by championing immigrant communities and working people in her run.

Aside from the political considerations, supporters celebrated Harris’ identity as a South Asian woman at the event in St. Paul on Tuesday.

“We have an opportunity to elect the first auntie, the first Asian American president of this country,” said Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, the first Asian American mayor of that city, who visited St. Paul to campaign for Harris.

Pureval urged a group of Asian American activists gathered on a University Avenue rooftop to believe in their political power.

“I am a Midwest Asian. I am proud to be a Midwest Asian,” he said. “We can run and win anywhere.”

The DFL said that Monday and Tuesday, the first two full days after Biden dropped out, delivered record fundraising days for the state party; some $200,000 came in since Harris announced her candidacy, the party said. More than 600 people signed up to volunteer since Harris got in, party officials said, also a record.

Communities of Black activists are also mobilizing, said Michael Minta, a University of Minnesota political science professor whose research includes race and politics. Minta noted his wife was on a fundraising call Sunday night with more than 40,000 other Black women.

“It really reminds me of 2008, of Barack Obama, where people wanted to volunteer and give money,” Minta said. “Democrats are hoping this will not only infuse money but get people active in the campaign.”

Turnout from voters of color will be key in Minnesota and across the Midwest, Minta said. Lower turnout for Hillary Clinton among non-white voters, compared to turnout for Obama, was part of the reason Trump came close to winning the state in 2016. And Minta said lower turnout, coupled with more stringent voter ID laws that blocked some from voting, is part of the reason Wisconsin broke for Trump that year.

On the flip side, Minta said, Harris also has the potential to motivate voters who do not want to see a woman of color become president.

“If it’s close like it is in 2016, you’re talking about thousands of votes” to decide the election, Minta said.

Even small blocs of votes can make a huge difference in down-ballot races, Minta noted, which will be key with control of the state House up for grabs. State senators as a whole are not on the ballot this year, but a one-seat DFL majority in the Senate depends on the race for a vacated seat in the western suburbs.

Minta said he would be watching to see if Harris can motivate suburban women who are passionate about abortion rights, something she has already signaled will be a centerpiece of her campaign.

Democratic activists were looking forward to more interest in the campaign.

“I don’t know that the strategy changes as much as the energy,” Sathanandan said. “The energy around the mobilization continues to grow.”

My 12-year-old daughter and a friend bopped a volleyball around our campsite, a nicely shaded corner beauty at the edge of a meadow. My teenage son and another friend were off exploring on foot. I was pulling together blankets, bug spray and other necessities for our evening at the Long Drive-In, just down the road.

I’d imagined we’d all head down together when the gate opened at 7:30 to stake out a prime spot — only the first three rows have carside speakers — until my son texted.

“mom … people are already lining up … you should go like now.”

The girls and I picked up the pace, and soon we pulled into the line of cars filling the long approach and snaking out the entrance, 10 minutes before gate time. We stalled near the marquee, which advertised the night’s double feature in classic red plastic letters: “Inside Out 2″ and “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.”

Finally, brake lights ahead flashed like fireflies and we inched forward, one car-length at a time, gravel crunching under the tires, to the ticket booth. A tidy green field spread out before us, and at the far end, a giant white screen rose up higher than the trees.

The front rows were filling up, but we still had options. We backed into the second row, mid-screen, directly in front of the concessions building. Perfect.

On the upswing

This is the Long Drive-In’s 68th season. It was built on the outskirts of central Minnesota’s Long Prairie (pop. 3,600) in 1956, when drive-in theaters were America’s latest obsession. Minnesota boasted around 80 drive-ins at peak popularity. In the 1980s, as cars shrunk and movie nights shifted into living rooms, many drive-ins were shuttered. The Long endured. It’s now one of five left in the state.

“It definitely cycles,” said owner Michelle Claseman of the business. She’s run the drive-in alongside her family through peaks and valleys, like her parents before her. Special events helped create the current upswing, she said, like last fall’s “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” screening, when Claseman stocked a big table outside of the concession stand with friendship bracelet-making supplies, or the annual Classic Car Cruise (coming Aug. 24), when the types of vehicles this experience was created for fill the front rows before a retro movie selection.

Another smart move: After Claseman learned that many moviegoers were traveling an hour or more, she cleared some space at the edge of the field for bare-bones campsites that regularly sell out on weekends.

Making a day of it

We’d considered reserving one of the drive-in’s last available sites, but opted instead for Camp S’More a half-mile away. The campground’s bathroom/shower building, pickleball courts, tubing trips and other perks won us over.

“It looks like the Microsoft home screen,” one of the kids marveled about the gently rolling meadow topped in blue sky at the edge of our site. He wasn’t wrong. As we set up camp, one of the owners came around on a golf cart with little bags of fresh popcorn. We were happy with our choice.

I stopped to chat with a couple of RV-ing sisters hanging out with their four little dogs inside a portable fence. When I asked what they like to do around here, they didn’t hesitate: the drive-in. “It doesn’t even matter what’s playing,” one said.

Tubing was off the table for us, due to flooding on the Long Prairie River. We were content to explore the tidy campground, and the garage sales around town, until it was time for the movie.

Dinner and a movie

I popped the liftback, laid the third row of seats flat, shook out blankets and unfolded chairs. My daughter and her friend grabbed our Frisbee and joined the crowd of other kids in the green space in front of the screen, with their soccer balls, footballs and ladder toss. The Jackson 5′s “ABC” blared from the concession stand. The groups that scored front-row spots sat at picnic tables and prepped blow-up mattresses. It was opening night for the Disney/Pixar “Inside Out” sequel, bolstering both the attendance and wholesome family vibes.

An announcement over the loudspeaker encouraged ordering pre-show food ASAP, so I hopped into the short line to get dinner for our group. The menu and its prices contributed beautifully to the throwback theme: Hot dogs were $2, root beer floats $3.50 and sno-cones $1.50. I fed the five of us, including the two bottomless teen boys who’d finally caught up, for just under $40. By the time we set our haul down on a table outside the stand, the line was out the door and down the row of cars.

We cozied into our setup as the sky finally darkened enough for the first feature to start. It felt unique and beautiful to make this effort. Not to pluck something off a digital menu in our living room, or even pay a premium to sit in an immersive air-conditioned box, but to instead drive all this way, together, with our blankets and pillows and chairs.

To settle into this communal experience, where pre-show games, crackling vintage speakers, the stars overhead and chirping crickets are all part of the show.

Getting there

The Long Drive-In, outside Long Prairie, Minn., is two hours northwest of the Twin Cities. Showing July 25-28: “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Twisters” (separate admission for each). $8 adults, $5 ages 5-11, free for 4 and younger (thelongdrivein.com).

Where else to stay

The Prairie Ridge Inn in town is a basic option with recently remodeled rooms. The drive-in website and locals recommended the Long Prairie Treehouse, a unique cabin perched in oaks and maples (but sold out until 2025).

More drive-ins

Minnesota’s other four drive-in theaters are the Starlite Drive-In (Litchfield); Elko Drive-In (Elko New Market); Verne Drive-In (Luverne); and Sky-Vu Drive-In (Warren).

Also within road-trip distance: the Stardust Drive-In (Chetek, Wis.); and the Superior 71 Drive-In (Spirit Lake, Iowa).

Berit Thorkelson is a St. Paul-based freelance writer.

(KNSI) — The Initiative Foundation has awarded 19 grants totaling $750,000 to nonprofits in Central Minnesota.

The grants range from $10,000 to $75,000 and are part of a partnership with the Otto Bremer Trust and its Community Responsive Fund. They aim to address basic needs, community asset-building, health and wellbeing, and restorative and responsive services.

Some of the grant funding includes:

Oasis Central Minnesota of Little Falls: $60,000 to help those experiencing homelessness by providing emergency shelter, a pathway to permanent housing, and housing support for those on the verge of homelessness in Morrison County.

Recovery Community Network of St. Cloud: $60,000 to provide peer support, education, advocacy, and prevention strategies to reduce substance use disorder impact and improve health and wellbeing in Benton, Crow Wing, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, and Wright counties, and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.

Feeding Area Children Together of St. Cloud: $50,000 to support a weekend food gap program for students facing food insecurity in Benton, Sherburne, Stearns, and Wright counties.

YES Network of St. Cloud: $50,000 to respond to the youth mental health crisis by providing community-based afterschool and summer health and wellness programming in Benton and Sherburne counties.

Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity of St. Cloud: $45,000 to help low-income families achieve homeownership, focusing on those with generational barriers in Benton, Sherburne, Stearns, and Wright counties.

Central Minnesota Dementia Community Action Network of St. Cloud: $41,000 to support dementia-informed counseling for patients, families, and caregivers in Benton, Sherburne, Stearns, and Wadena counties.

Wright County Community Action of Maple Lake: $40,000 to expand services supporting independent living for low-income older adults in Wright County.

Too Much Talent of St. Cloud: $25,000 to reduce disparities experienced by children and families of color, providing tutoring and community programming in Benton and Stearns counties.

“We are so excited to give these Central Minnesota nonprofits a big boost,” said Nicole Clements, nonprofit development program officer at the Initiative Foundation. “We couldn’t have done this without our partnership with the Otto Bremer Trust. Through this collaboration, organizations are receiving transformative support for their important work.”

The Initiative Foundation serves as the administrative hub for all six Minnesota Initiative Foundations and distributes $3 million in OBT grants across rural Minnesota.

“The Trust’s mission has always been to provide funding to organizations and programs that effectively address challenges and opportunities,” said Frank Miley, OBT co-CEO and trustee. “Working with the Minnesota Initiative Foundations, which are fully integrated into the communities and regions we serve, allows us to have a deeper understanding of these challenges. We look forward to working closely together to increase our impact.”

The Initiative Foundation received nearly 90 applications for this funding opportunity.

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