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LA VISTA — Native Nebraskan Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor tapped this month as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, celebrated his first home-state rally Saturday by filling a suburban Sarpy County concert venue and its overflow amphitheater.
The rally emphasized his Nebraska roots, including his time as a teacher and coach in Alliance, Nebraska. His wife, Gwen, and one of his former geography students, Aubrianna Faustman, introduced him.
Walz was born in West Point, grew up in Valentine and graduated from high school in Butte. He got a warm reception from the largely Democratic audience.
Hundreds of people lined up for hours around much of the La Vista City Centre entertainment district near 84th and Harrison Streets before the mid-afternoon event. More than 2,400 were inside the venue, with thousands more waiting and watching outside.
Walz taught in Nebraska, as did his wife, a native Minnesotan, before they moved to Mankato, Minnesota in 1996. He joked that he is caught between Husker football fandom and representing the Gophers.
The Walzes spent much of their talk discussing how the Harris-Walz team is prioritizing public education and economic opportunities for all children. He pushed back against GOP criticism of public education, drawing cheers.
“Wow. Well, hello, Nebraska,” he said, smiling and pointing to the crowd. “I have to admit it feels pretty good to be back home. Things got pretty exciting … over the last 10 days.”
Walz, 60, sharpened his elbows for former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance. Vance will visit Nebraska next week for a fundraiser and might also host a public event. Walz told the crowd not to be fooled by a Yale philosopher who’s backed by venture capital.
“You think J.D. Vance knows one damn thing about Nebraska?” Walz asked the laughing crowd. “You think he’s ever had a Runza. That guy would call it a Hot Pocket. You know it.”
A Runza, for the uninitiated, is a German-style meat and cabbage sandwich sold by a Nebraska-based hamburger chain of the same name. Walz’s caravan stopped at a Runza restaurant, at 77th and L Streets on his way out of town, someone in the caravan shared with the Examiner.
Walz also ducked outside the rally venue to greet and wave to the people who couldn’t get in.
He spent much of his speech focused on the values he said he learned in north-central and western Nebraska, saying that he still doesn’t know the politics of a group of his friends from high school, but they are there for one another when needed.
Faustman, the former student who helped introduce him, said when Harris selected Walz as her running mate, she told her husband that she couldn’t wait for the rest of the country to get to know him, because he is “just a good decent human being.”
She and others who spoke, including Walz, contrasted the Harris-Walz stance on reproductive freedom with the views held by Trump and Vance. Faustman and Walz spoke about their families’ challenges with needing fertility treatments and how they didn’t want to see political restrictions on IVF.
Walz worked out the latest version of his stump speech, in which he called Republicans “weird” for sticking their noses into people’s private exam rooms and libraries and bedrooms. He criticized them for trying to overturn elections.
“Yes, it’s weird,” Walz said. “But it’s much worse than that. It’s dangerous.”
Walz appeared to address some of the GOP criticism he has faced about when he ended his his 24-year career in the Nebraska and Minnesota National Guard. His unit deployed to Iraq shortly after he retired in 2005 to run for Congress. Many who served with him have defended his retirement.
He said he signed up for the Guard after high school graduation and loved his time in service. He called serving a “privilege” and said “the Guard gave me a lot,” including a purpose, as well as the ability to use the GI Bill to attend Chadron State College.
Vance and others have criticized Walz, the highest-ranking enlisted man to serve in Congress. Vance served in the Marine Corps and was deployed as a combat correspondent, or military journalist. He has accused Walz of misrepresenting his own time in the service, which Walz denies.
Walz’s visit Saturday to La Vista, which sits on the border of the 1st and 2nd Congressional Districts in the Omaha area — on the second weekend after joining the Harris campaign — hints at the importance of the 2nd District to the broader presidential race.
A single swing-district vote matters in Republican-heavy Nebraska. Nebraska and Maine are unique nationally in awarding a single Electoral College vote to the winner of the presidential popular vote in each congressional district.
Democrats are trying to win a second-straight stray Electoral College vote in the 2nd District. Former President Barack Obama, a Democrat, won the vote in 2008, followed by Republican Mitt Romney in 2012, Trump in 2016 and Democratic President Joe Biden n 2020.
Gov. Jim Pillen and Republicans in the officially nonpartisan Nebraska Legislature, with urging from Trump and his campaign, have been trying to get state lawmakers to shift the Republican-leaning state to winner-take-all yet this year.
Thus far they lack the votes to change the process this close to an election. A top Maine state lawmaker has said Maine would act if Nebraska games the system to favor a single candidate. One electoral vote could matter in a close race.
The question this fall in NE-02 is whether Democrats can harness the energy of a resurgent campaign in the wake of Biden dropping out, or whether Trump will regain momentum in the districts.
Nebraska Democrats have celebrated Walz being Harris’ running mate by amplifying his ties to rural Nebraska, his ability to make progressive policies more approachable and the importance of adding a Midwestern voice to the ticket.
Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, said the goal of the rally was to motivate and sign up volunteers to knock on voters’ doors, make calls and text them and make sure to “defeat Donald Trump once and for all.”
The Nebraska Republican Party had no immediate comment. A spokeswoman said they were in the middle of a state central committee meeting and would reply soon.
“Tim Walz and Kamala Harris do not represent the commonsense, Midwestern values of those in the Cornhusker State,” said Liz Huston, a regional spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign. She said Nebraskans will re-elect Trump.
“Just like Harris, Walz is dangerously liberal and a champion for the Harris-Biden agenda that has burdened Nebraska families with high prices, higher taxes, and made communities less safe,” Huston said in a statement to the Examiner.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Preston Love Jr., who has spent years organizing voters in North Omaha, said that the presidential race would be close in the 2nd District but that Harris would win and that she is “up to this fight.”
Democratic State Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha, who is running a repeat race against Republican U.S. Rep. Don Bacon in the 2nd District, drew some of the event’s loudest chants when he stepped on stage. He said he would fight for Nebraskans’ economic and reproductive freedom.
Vargas, who represents South Omaha in the Legislature, said his immigrant parents had provided him and his siblings with “the American dream” by securing union jobs that paid wages significant enough to let their children be the first in their family to attend college.
Like Walz, Vargas emphasized his time teaching, which he said helped show him the importance of public service. He previously served on the Omaha Public Schools board and is term-limited from running again for the Legislature.
“I believe Nebraskans deserve someone in Washington who puts people over politics,” Vargas said. “I will work every day for working families. I will fight to protect reproductive freedom and to … keep our communities … safe from gun violence.”
Bacon, in a campaign statement, criticized Vargas for endorsing Harris and Walz, which he called “the most left-wing ticket in U.S. history.” Bacon, who has endorsed Trump three times, said Nebraskans don’t want Harris or her policies.
“Tim Walz and Tony Vargas are both tax and spend, defund the police, and open borders liberals,” Bacon said. “I’ll keep working as the most effective and bipartisan Republican in Congress.”
Vargas said he was excited to spend the next 85 days working, organizing and talking to flip the 2nd District House seat, to help Democrats regain control of the House and to help Harris and Walz win the White House.
“I’m so excited, because I get to join these two next year in Washington, D.C.,” Vargas said.
Other attendees included former U.S. Sen. and Nebraska Gov. Ben Nelson, a Walz friend; Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, the state’s highest-profile elected Democrat; and national gun control activist David Hogg, in town for another event.
Omaha singer Jayde Dorsey, 12, drew some of the day’s highest praise from Walz and members of the crowd for her renditions of “A Change is Gonna Come” and “Rise Up.” Walz said he could see her singing at their inauguration.
As at many other rallies held during the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza, pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside and worked to draw attention to their cause. One person tried to disrupt Walz’s speech.
Political activist MajieAhna Winfrey from North Omaha drew thunderous applause with her statement about the stakes of the November election.
“The path to the White House runs through Nebraska,” she said. “Let’s go win this thing.”
LA VISTA, Neb. (KLKN) – Thousands of voters from across Nebraska rallied in support of vice presidential candidate Tim Walz on Saturday.
Voters, who started lining up for the rally at The Astro in La Vista around 8 a.m., say they support Walz’s Nebraska values.
Walz grew up in the sandhills of Nebraska, graduating high school in Butte before joining the Nebraska National Guard.
Beverly Armstrong says she is excited about the changes he can bring, while also maintaining a level of relatability.
“He’s one of us for sure,” Armstrong said. “We’re here to support this new Democratic Party that has all the energy and enthusiasm and represents all of my views.”
Other voters want to make a difference in Nebraska’s second congressional district, which voted for Joe Biden in 2020.
“I’m the little blue dot. So I’m representing the little blue dot in Nebraska,” Amy O’Connor said.
Among the thousands of voters in attendance were several teachers, who came in support of Walz, a former teacher himself, and his education policies.
“Allowing every student to be able to go to school and have access to books that they want to read, that they would have access to teachers who care for them and places that they can go that are healthy and taken care of,” Kathy Poehling said.
Walz returns on the campaign trail on Sunday in Pennsylvania, just a day ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Next week, Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, is expected to make an appearance at a private fundraiser held by Sen. Pete Ricketts.
Celebs
Warren Zanes was driving to Nashville last fall with his dog Tobey when his phone rang. It was Bruce Springsteen.
“I wasn’t expecting a call. I’m not going to pretend that I get lots of calls from Bruce Springsteen,” Zanes tells me with a laugh from his Montclair, New Jersey home while Toby plays in the background.
Springsteen “was just calling because he wanted to know who was doing what song” on the upcoming PBS special Zanes was driving to Nashville to direct.
“He wanted to know: ‘What are the Lumineers doing? What’s Lyle Lovett doing?’ He wasn’t doing it to be kind. He was doing it because he, too, loves that album,” the Concord, New Hampshire, native tells me.
“At the end of the call, he said, please tell everyone thank you for doing this. But in that call, I was also talking to Bruce about the fact that some producers had reached out to me, interested in making a movie, a biopic about that period in his life.”
In ways, Warren Zanes’ book about “Nebraska” has been as much a ripple in still water as the Bruce Springsteen record he was writing about.
In a lonely moment, you poke a branch into a silent pond. Suddenly, Frogs hop. Fish surface. Reeds sing.
The ripple effect of Zanes’ “Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska” now involves Jeremy Allen White, Noah Kahan, Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, The Lumineers, and director Scott Cooper (“Black Mass,” “Crazy Heart.”)
“Books are funny. You think you’re their master, but when they’re done, they’re the master. It’s almost like they’ve been turned into these living things. They look at you and say: Now it’s my turn,” Zanes tells me.
It was in solitude, in an introspective period, that the Concord, N.H. native wrote a book about an album Springsteen wrote in his own solitude and introspective period.
Poke the water. From it: an ecosystem of buzzing activity.
In the works now: a feature film, directed by Scott Cooper, about Springsteen’s “Nebraska” era with Jeremy Allen White of “The Bear” to play Springsteen — and sing his own songs, apparently. “Succession’s” Jeremy Strong is in talks to star as Springsteen’s manager, Jon Landau, in the 20th Century and Disney movie.
Meanwhile, Zanes just wrote and directed a PBS special, “Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska: A Celebration In Words And Music.” Taped in Nashville last fall, it hits like the coolest non-fiction book talk ever — Zanes reads passages from his book on stage, interspersed with A-listers singing the Springsteen songs he references.
Trailer for Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska_ A Celebration of Words and Music (PBS) from Don Maggi on Vimeo.
Vermonter Noah Kahan does a tremendous “Atlantic City.” Emmylou Harris does her thing on “The Price You Pay,” and “Nebraska.” Lyle Lovett, a friend of Springsteen’s, delivers a heartfelt “Used Cars,” and “My Father’s House.” The Lumineers do a powerful “Mansion on the Hill,” and “State Trooper.” Two rock songs from “Born in the U.S.A.” are given almost haunting interpretations: Eric Church’s “Dancing in the Dark” and Lucinda Williams’s “Born in the U.S.A.”
Set your Roku or DVR to record (or drink a few Red Bulls) to catch an encore performance on GBH at 1:30 a.m. Aug. 19. (Basically late Sunday night.) Meanwhile, you can also catch it Sept. 2 at 10:30 p.m. on New Hampshire PBS or streaming via PBS Passport.
“After we taped, the next day, back in the car with Tobey, I had this feeling of: That was the biggest night of my career,” Zanes told me.
Favorite song? “It changes. Emmylou’s ‘Nebraska’ stunned me. Lyle Lovett doing ‘My Father’s House’ was magical. Lucinda, the spirit she brought to that version of ‘Born in the USA,’ there were tears in people’s eyes.”
I’d talked to Zanes — a former member of Boston-based band The Del Fuegos and Tom Petty biographer — last May about both his book and Springsteen’s 1982 album.
During the “Nebraska” era, Springsteen was going through his own personal hell, Zanes reports in his book. Springsteen recorded “Nebraska” tracks with a home recorder, alone in a bedroom, a “matter of months from a breakdown.”
In ‘82, Zanes was a senior at Phillips Academy in Andover, a scholarship kid, twice asked to leave. “I didn’t feel like I fit in,” Zanes told me previously.
He wrote “Deliver Me” at a time when he felt just as lost: His father died. He lost his job. His second marriage fell apart: “All that happened in one year,” he told me then.
Zanes is far from the only person touched by “Nebraska.”
“The proof is in the pudding,” he said, referring to the musicians who signed up for the PBS special, and the movie interest.
The PBS special grew organically from the format of book-talk Zanes was giving (he reads, stars sing the songs he references), including an event at Pop in Providence, Rhode Island, with Ted Leo, Ian O’Neil from Deer Tick, and Mark Cutler.
One of the first to sign on was Vermonter Noah Kahan. “I had no idea the degree to which he was going to blow up from that time forward. He just sold out two nights at Fenway Park,” Zanes says.
Lovett, Zanes tells me, wanted in, in part, because he “had this period in his life where he would ride motorcycles with Bruce. They had this friendship based around many things, but that being at the center.” (Love it, Lovett.)
Two highlights: Lucinda Williams’ goose-bump inducing “Born in the USA” at Eric Church’s almost religious delivery of “Dancing in the Dark.”
“It’s been just amazing seeing how malleable ‘Nebraska’ is as a subject matter,” Zanes said, adding that people “were tearing up at soundcheck” over Williams’s cover.
But back to that drive to Nashville with Tobey in the car and Springsteen on the phone:
“So I was talking to Bruce and saying, ‘Hey, these producers have some good insights about how the book could be adapted. I think they understand the spirit of it. They sent me on a blind date with this director Scott Cooper, and I think he really understands it, too. I think it’s worth you thinking about it,’” Zanes recalls.
(Cooper told Zanes that “Nebraska” is “his favorite record. “It’s almost like being a member of a secret society. If I know you love ‘Nebraska,’ I know a lot about you,” Zanes tells me.)
“There was a one-page description of what the movie could be. [Springsteen] said, ‘Let me go read that again.’ He got back and said, ‘You know, I think you’re right.’ But even at that point, it l seemed like too wild a dream.”
Zanes was cautious. “I’ve had people call me about [other books] — Dusty Springfield, Tom Petty. I say the same thing to everyone: Getting the rights to the book will be your easiest part. You need music rights, life rights. You’re nothing if all you got is Warren Zanes.”
Zanes got a call from LA-based producer Eric Robinson. “Because if all you got is Warren Zanes, you have nothing. I just kept blowing him off. Finally, he said, ‘Look, I’ll come to your town and take you out to dinner.’ If you want my ear, give me some brisket within a mile of my house.”
At that meeting, Robinson told him, “‘For this project, my ideal director would be Scott Cooper, and my ideal actor to play Bruce Springsteen would be Jeremy Allen White.’ I just kind of looked at him like, ‘Well, dare to dream.’ But he called it.”
Cooper met with Springsteen and they “just hit it off. Even at that point, it still seems like a dream,” Zanes said.
“You learn to be a little bit guarded and not to let your expectations run away with you. But at a certain point, the project got sold. Then it got announced that Jeremy Allen White is playing the lead.” At this point, Strong, Kendall Roy himself, is in talks to come on.
And it must feel almost magical, I tell him, that from sitting at his desk at his lowest point, listening to that LP, grew these projects. Ripples so far-reaching.
“I’ve got my LP next to me right now. I just look at it, and go, ‘Man, there’s a lot of power in you.’ This book experience was not just any book experience for me. It kept becoming other things. That’s a testament to the power of what Bruce created.”
Poised to create a radio-hit stadium-rocker, an introspective Springsteen took a sharp left turn and created “a whisper. ‘Nebraska’ was speaking in a confused tongue. People had to sit still to get it. That’s its power: it looks like it’s this quiet affair, but keeps becoming more.”
He pauses. Then he dropped a quote that stayed with me long after we hung up.
“I remember taking a script-writing class, and there was some [rule] that you need to mention something three times so that the quote ‘slow Joe in the back row’ gets it. Sometimes we need something different from culture. Sometimes the deeper mystery of a song or a book or a movie is what drives it. If you lose somebody in the back row, so be it. You have a deeper connection with half the audience.”
Zanes looks around his office. Points out the magnolia trees he sees through the window. The stack of LPs and turntable by his writing desk.
“Writing books is a lonely business. You’re in the room by yourself. ‘Nebraska’ was on that turntable for a year. Just me and ‘Nebraska.’ The point was to get to a finished book. I wasn’t thinking about PBS specials. I wasn’t thinking about a movie directed by Scott Cooper. I was just looking to finish writing a book. And this one has been so good to me. The trick is to just have some gratitude that it happened at all.”
Lauren Daley is a freelance writer. She can be reached at [email protected]. She tweets @laurendaley1, and Instagrams at @laurendaley1. Read more stories on Facebook here.
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, will be in Omaha today.
A West Point, Nebraska, native, Walz is capitalizing on his roots in an effort to swing some electoral votes the Democrats’ way.
Nebraska is one of two states that divide up electoral votes — meaning that despite being a red state, the area surrounding Omaha is in play for both campaigns. Biden won the district in 2020, but Trump won it in 2016.
The rally — one of the final campaign events ahead of the Democratic National Convention — was listed as being “at capacity.”
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