When I first met Rick Nolan, it was during a live interview on KDAL, where I host a daily talk show from 9-11 a.m.; and it was a genuine breath of fresh air. Northeastern Minnesota has endured some political turmoil recently, as we had become accustomed to Jim Oberstar being our man in Washington, and he had done incredible work for the Northland, a district which now stretches from the Northern ring of Twin Cities suburbs to the Canadian border. Left-leaning voters were caught napping, undoubtedly assuming Oberstar was a cinch for reelection.
 We were plunged into turmoil when Chip Cravaack,  a Republican, with amazingly biased backing by the Duluth News-Tribune, upset Oberstar.  Last election, Rick Nolan was lured back into politics, and, sure enough, beat Cravaack. Many in the Northland may believe party politics are outdated and over-rated. Anyone who would compromise what he or she believes for the bidding of their party is being dishonest in compromising their principles. What impressed me most about Nolan was that his opinions were intelligently obtained, and he was never afraid to voice his opinions. He carried his beliefs to Washington and stood up for them, serving the people in Northeastern Minnesota with his homegrown ideals -- sometimes at odds with the urgings of his own political party. He gave up the home life in Minnesota to work long hours on our behalf. During one of our interviews, I asked Nolan about the breaking news which indicated the Syrian regime had used chemical weapons on its own people, which President Obama had said would be “crossing the line in the sand”.  I asked Nolan what his thoughts were, and if we should send troops to Syria. He said, promptly, that he would never support that. He rattled off three names of Middle Eastern heritage, which I could neither pronounce or spell. I said I had no idea who they were, and he said nobody else did, either, but he knew. “Because I spent four years living over there,” he said. He added that those three each had been in different countries, operating with Al-Queda groups, killing Americans, but they had all been lured to Syria and now all worked with different rebel groups which we (the U.S.) seem to think are now OK because they are working against the Assad government. Nolan is convinced that there are so many rebel factions in Syria that we cannot tell which, if any,  are good guys. We can only be sure that we have no friends in that hassle -- which has been raging for a thousand years. If we were to send  aid or weapons to any rebel faction, we would have no idea if it would be to our benefit, or if those weapons would someday be used against us. Nolan felt it was not worth another billion or trillion to find out. President Obama sent Joe Biden to Minnesota to try to convince Nolan to fall into line behind the administration, but Nolan refused to cave in on his informed belief that we would only be wasting lives and money. I was impressed by Nolan’s forthright stand and his principles, and now find it amusing that Stewart Mills accuses Nolan of being a “Washington politician,” which suggests that if Mills were to win, he wouldn’t go to Washington, which is where all representatives go to work. Others, including the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, say that Nolan is lukewarm on involvement in the Middle East, and went on to claim Mills -- who has no record, no experience, and no background -- “seems” like he is young and bright enough to follow a more forceful course. The Duluth News-Tribune came out for Mills, most likely because the Fargo ownership dictates what “our” Duluth paper’s opinion and endorsements shall be. Rick Nolan has done impressive things for our environment, is a hunter and fisherman, and backs the expansion of mining if there can be assurance of no damage to the environment. He also is prominent in striving to overturn the effects of Citizen United, the outrageous Supreme Court ruling that corporations have the same free speech rights as individuals.  Nolan will do what he feels is best for the people and environment of Northeastern Minnesota, regardless of what pressures may be applied to influence him. We don’t have Jim Oberstar to represent us any longer, but sending Rick Nolan to represent us is the next best thing.

- John Gilbert