We were in Duluth this weekend, and while Paul was at a meeting Saturday afternoon, the kids spent a good 45 minutes passionately chasing seagulls by the big pier near the lift bridge. I was feeling a bit of melancholy because I remember a time not that long ago when we needed to explain to each of them that this seemingly endless body of water is a lake and not the ocean. Today they are all well aware of the lake and its many attributes (and love swimming in it much more than in any ocean), but I’ll tell you, on a windy day like Saturday, when the waves are just huge and you look ahead and see water as far as the eye can see in all directions, even grownup me has to remind myself that our beautiful Lake Superior is NOT an ocean. P.S. Maybe due to our cool summer, there were already a few beautiful red fall leaves on some of the trees, so plan your fall road trips early this year if you want to catch all the colors!
As always, we look forward to seeing you on the campaign trail.
Karen Wilson Thissen, Paul’s wife, grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. She went to a small Catholic high school where both her mother and grandmother were alumnae, and then headed to Washington, D.C. to attend Georgetown University.
Karen was active in student government, did a lot of volunteer work in the inner city, and worked at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Her passion for community service led to her spend two years in Latin America, doing both social work and human rights research in Argentina and Peru. Karen’s time in Latin America had a lasting impact. She continues to use her proficiency in Spanish on the campaign trail with Paul, sharing ideas and concerns with the Latino communities of Minnesota.
After returning from Peru, she attended the University of Chicago Law School, where she met Paul. They married in 1993, and Karen moved to Minnesota to start their life together. Since then, Karen has spent time involved in both the public and private sector. She spent the first part of her legal career at the Minneapolis law firm Faegre & Benson, where she became a partner in 2001. Like Paul (and sometimes with him), Karen has been involved in numerous community organizations including the Minneapolis Public Library, her neighborhood boards, the James Sewell Ballet Board, and their community school. She joined Ameriprise Financial in 2004 and currently serves as the Assistant General Counsel. Karen spends her “free” time now being a mom and working on the campaign. Paul and Karen make every effort to make this campaign a family affair, and having the kids along at many of the events has made the campaign both more meaningful and more fun.
Karen and Paul have three children, Emily, Griffin, and Evan. Emily, the eldest, a 10 year-old, is an avid swimmer and soccer player. And like her mother, she speaks Spanish. Griffin, an 8 year-old, loves playing basketball and soccer. Evan, age 6, the comedian of the family, is a climber and soccer player and is becoming known for his “knock-knock” jokes on the campaign trail. All three attend Burroughs Community School in Minneapolis.
Consumers can see plan prices for basic procedures
By Bill Salisbury
bsalisbury@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 08/26/2009 11:30:40 PM CDT
Minnesotans can now compare the costs and quality of health care providers on a single Web site under an initiative unveiled Wednesday by Gov. Tim Pawlenty and other health interests involved in the project.
Minnesota is the first state to launch a “one-stop comparison shopping Web site” that lists the average price paid by health insurance plans for 100 of the most common medical procedures, Pawlenty said at a Capitol news conference.
“I find it ironic that the governor is today voicing support for a plan he worked to dismantle last year with his 49 percent funding cut proposal,” Rep. Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, chairman of a House health policy committee, said in a news release. “Fortunately, the House and Senate preserved SHIP by rejecting this cut, keeping intact a plan to help communities reduce obesity and smoking rates.”
A recap of our journey on the campaign trail, summer 2009.
We’re designing our campaign, we’re running our campaign, to make sure that we have this larger conversation about who we are as Minnesotans.
* * *
There are two ways in life you do things you do things the easy way, or you do things the right way. And I think in this state, for too long, our leadership has been taking the easy way out.
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The election, the election we’ve got coming up next year, is a once in a generation opportunity for us.
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I am going to be a candidate to be the next Governor of the state of Minnesota.
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Because as I go around the state it’s very clear that people are looking for a fresh start for Minnesota, and for new ideas and for new energy. I think that new kind of energy, that new kind of thinking, is, absolutely, not just the way we’re going to win the election, but how we have to govern this state going into the future.
* * *
Ability. And the capacity and the energy to take on the complex problems we have coming up and not turn away from them.
We were in Duluth this weekend, and while Paul was at a meeting Saturday afternoon, the kids spent a good 45 minutes passionately chasing seagulls by the big pier near the lift bridge. I was feeling a bit of melancholy because I remember a time not that long ago when we needed to explain to each of them that this seemingly endless body of water is a lake and not the ocean. Today they are all well aware of the lake and its many attributes (and love swimming in it much more than in any ocean), but I’ll tell you, on a windy day like Saturday, when the waves are just huge and you look ahead and see water as far as the eye can see in all directions, even grownup me has to remind myself that our beautiful Lake Superior is NOT an ocean. P.S. Maybe due to our cool summer, there were already a few beautiful red fall leaves on some of the trees, so plan your fall road trips early this year if you want to catch all the colors!
Karen Wilson Thissen, Paul’s wife, grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. She went to a small Catholic high school where both her mother and grandmother were alumnae, and then headed to Washington, D.C. to attend Georgetown University.
After returning from Peru, she attended the University of Chicago Law School, where she met Paul. They married in 1993, and Karen moved to Minnesota to start their life together. Since then, Karen has spent time involved in both the public and private sector. She spent the first part of her legal career at the Minneapolis law firm Faegre & Benson, where she became a partner in 2001. Like Paul (and sometimes with him), Karen has been involved in numerous community organizations including the Minneapolis Public Library, her neighborhood boards, the James Sewell Ballet Board, and their community school. She joined Ameriprise Financial in 2004 and currently serves as the Assistant General Counsel. Karen spends her “free” time now being a mom and working on the campaign. Paul and Karen make every effort to make this campaign a family affair, and having the kids along at many of the events has made the campaign both more meaningful and more fun.
Karen and Paul have three children, Emily, Griffin, and Evan. Emily, the eldest, a 10 year-old, is an avid swimmer and soccer player. And like her mother, she speaks Spanish. Griffin, an 8 year-old, loves playing basketball and soccer. Evan, age 6, the comedian of the family, is a climber and soccer player and is becoming known for his “knock-knock” jokes on the campaign trail. All three attend Burroughs Community School in Minneapolis.
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