I’m a US Army Veteran, who used his GI Bill to earn a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering & Engineering Mechanics at the U of MN. I had transferred in from Iowa State University. I had a Secret Security Clearance for the job I did in the Army.
I am a Packers Shareholder.
I am a straight knitter.
I put my intellectual ideas in a file I keep called Tom’s Bright Ideas.
I’m a writer of sorts started from my letter writing I used to do in the Army at Ft Bliss Texas.
I’m originally from Winona MN and I love maple frosted Long Johns from Bloedow’s Bakery.
What: 2025 National Veterans Wheelchair Games When: July 17th through 22nd, 2025 Where: Minneapolis Convention Center
1301 2nd Avenue S
Minneapolis, MN 55403 Event: Main Hub Lake Minnetonka Regional Park
4610 Country Road 44
Minnetrista, MN 55331 Event: Bass Fishing Mill City Museum
704 South 2nd Street
Minneapolis, MN 55401 Event: Motor Rally Lake Harriet
4135 W Lake Harriet Parkway
Minneapolis, MN 55409 Event: Cycling Bowlero Lanes
7545 Brooklyn Boulevard
Brooklyn Park, MN 55443 Event: Bowling University of Minnesota
Notarium University – Jean K. freeman Aquatic Center
1910 University Avenue SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455 Event: Swimming Volunteers Link: wheelchairgames.org/community/volunteer
Volunteers get a shirt and a meal ticket.
Volunteers under the age of 18 need a parent’s permission or to accompany their parents.
Click on the schedule below to see all the different events on schedule there’s just too many to list in this post
(The following is from the about page on wheelchairgames.org)
MISSION & HISTORY
The National Veterans Wheelchair Games is the world’s largest annual wheelchair sports and rehabilitation event solely for military veterans. The event demonstrates the unstoppable character of veterans and seeks to foster wider respect and opportunities for all people with disabilities.
The National Veterans Wheelchair Games is open to all U.S. veterans with spinal cord injuries, amputations, multiple sclerosis, or other central neurological conditions who require a wheelchair for athletic competition. Every year, hundreds of American heroes from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and the post-9/11 era compete in this celebration of sport, courage and camaraderie.
EMPOWERING VETERANS SINCE 1981!
The Department of Veterans Affairs launched the Wheelchair Games in 1981 with 7 events and 77 athletes. Paralyzed Veterans of America joined the VA in 1985 to help expand the event’s mission and reach. The Wheelchair Games has flourished as more VA therapists turn to adaptive sports to help veterans become more active in their lives and communities – and, in some cases, reach higher levels of national and international competition. Over the years, thousands of veterans with disabilities have gained the skills, confidence, and experience to take on challenges in the spirit of opportunity rather than limitation.
The last time Minneapolis hosted the event was in 2005.
Meet & Greet the St Paul Republican House Candidates
6 of 7 Candidates invited attended the Meet & Greet. from Left to Right, Fadil Jama (HD 66A), Dan Walsh (HD 64A), Mike Hilborn (HD 65B), Scott Hesselgrave (HD 67A), Greg Copeland (HD 66B), present but not pictured, Peter Donahue (HD 64B)
The MN Gun Owners Caucus was invited to help St Paul Republican Candidates to understand what they may be up against in debate/forums and in town halls against DFL career politicians, concerning gun laws and regulations, which are unconstitutional due to the Supremacy of the US Constitution over State Constitutions.
The nonpartisan nature of the MN Gun Owners Caucus was such that if they called this meeting, instead of the HD 66B Republicans, they would be required to invite DFL Candidates to the event. Lawful Gun Ownership is a nonpartisan issue, yet too often DFL legislators and their party are hellbent on adding cumbersome regulations that pose to be “gotcha” laws that will make any law abiding gunowner into a criminal or go insane trying to follow all of them.
Many examples of “gotcha” laws are posed as “Reasonable” Gun laws. One such law that was proposed in a bill by Rep Kaohly Her HD 64A DFL was the Safe Gun Storage Bill where guns would need to be locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition. Thankfully this “Gotcha” bill which was Insane & Unreasonable failed thanks to the MN Gun Owners Caucus. Rep Kaohly Her at the HD 64 A&B Forum on Sept 17th said she was a gun owner and stores her gun separate from her ammunition, unloaded and locked at her home. Hopefully her home isn’t located and invaded by armed criminals as she just stated her home doesn’t have an accessible firearm ready to thwart a crew of career criminals wanting to steal and possibly kill anyone who gets in their way. We pray that day never happens to her, or anyone else.
MN Gun Owners Caucus Explained What they Do
MN Gun Owners Caucus, Comms Director, Nick Majerus explained about how gun laws and what the organization does
Nick Majerus explained about many gun laws that were put into an omnibus anti-2A bill and how the bill failed. It failed because gun ownership is nonpartisan and Rob Doar a full time lobbyist for the organization lobbied legislators to see the insanity of certain laws, and also worked to water down bills that looked like they were headed toward passage due to party line votes and Big Money organizations pushing for gun control.
There are 2 main In-Session Events the MN Gun Owners Caucus invites Law Abiding Gun Owners to the Minnesota State Capitol Building. It is for Rally Day, as well as the Lobby Day. We posted both of those days this year.
May Lor Xiong Addresses the Audience
May Lor Xiong, the Endorsed Republican Candidate in CD 4, running against Betty McCollum
May Lor Xiong talked about the importance of being safe and defending oneself and your family. She cited how despots and Communists will tell people who they want to protect you while they take some of your money, but after they take your guns away they might take you away and no one will ever see you again. All Communist regimes do this.
Questions and Answers with Nick Majerus
Nick Majerus answered questions from Candidates and from the audience at the event room at the American Legion Post 577.
One of the questions was about the most recent obscene MN Supreme Court Ruling in MN v Blevins. Mr Blevins had been threatened with a knife on the Light Rail Station near the US Bank Stadium. Blevins pulled a machete in self defense. He then gets charged with second degree assault-fear using a weapon. They said from the camera footage on the platform Blevins did not retreat. Yet there is no such law or requirement by anyone wishing to defend themselves. The Majority opinion was that Blevins didn’t retreat and he caused fear with his machete and thus guilty. The dissenting opinion by Justice Thissen and the case can be read here.
St Paul Republican Candidates Address the Audience
Each of the Endorsed Candidates that attended the event got up and addressed the audience. There were 7 candidates who were running, only Sharon Anderson who beat the endorsed Republican Candidate AJ Plehal, did not attend the event.
Those in attendance were HD 64A Dan Walsh, HD 64B Peter Donahue, HD 65B Mike Hilborn (there was no candidate filing for HD 65A), HD 66A Fadil Jama, HD 66B Greg Copeland, and HD 67A Scott Hesselgrave.
American Legion Post 577, 1129 Arcade St, St Paul MN 55106
Thanks to the American Legion Post 577
HD 66B Republicans would like to thank the American Legion Post 577, at 1129 Arcade St, Saint Paul MN 55106, for having a real nice establishment for us to hold our event at. They are having a Booya on Saturday October 19th. They have a beautiful building, and a great atmosphere inside.
This post was a write up about an event planned by HD 66B Republicans for the sole purpose of educating the public, candidates, and anyone interested in lawful gun ownership. We thank all the invited Republican Candidates of St Paul for the MN House. We are glad to bring attention to some really great candidates other than our own endorsed candidate Greg Copeland, and May Lor Xiong.
Thanks to the MN Gun Owners Caucus to help educate those who attended our event. We are not associated with them, though some of our BPOU delegates are members of their organization. — Admin
Waffle Day is a tradition that is celebrated in Sweden, and to a lesser extent elsewhere, on March 25. Waffles are usually eaten on this day. The name comes from Vårfrudagen (“Our Lady’s Day“), which in vernacular Swedish sounds almost like Våffeldagen (waffle day).
Our Lady’s Day is celebrated on March 25 (nine months before Christmas), the Christian holiday of Annunciation. It is the day that the Virgin Mary found out that she was to be Jesus’ mother. The Archangel Gabriel told her this. We believe that Jesus was not born in December due to a number of factors like how the shepherds were herding their flock, and that there was no mention of Hanukkah, which had been practiced for about 150 years or so. Until the actual day is determined we err on the day as being December 25 as Jesus’ birthday, and the Immaculate Conception on March 25th.
Here is the American Swedish Institute’s Recipe for some great waffles.
Try their recipe to make your waffles extra crispy and delicious. Serve with jam in lightly whipped cream.
Recipe for Waffles
1.25 cups cold water
1.5 cups flour
1 pinch of salt
2 cups of whipping cream
butter for the waffle iron
whipping cream
jam
Mix water, flour and salt until smooth. Whip cream until stiff and fold together with batter. Bake with butter in a waffle iron at full power and put them on a grid to cool. If you don’t have a waffle iron or sandwich press, cook them as you would pancakes. Beat the cream and place on waffles with raspberry, strawberry or cloudberry jam.
Wikipedia was used and the SC Times, and American Swedish Institute websites for this article. I am half Swedish and I enjoy this holiday. ~~ Publius Jr.
Simon Sinek’s book “Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Action,” will be our book club, 66Books, second book to be discussed on March 6, 2021
What: 66Books Book Club Discussion of Simon Sinek’s Book, “Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Action.”
When: Saturday March 6, 2021, 6:00 pm
Where: On Zoom
Cost: FREE (though we take at will donations $20 and under)
Why do you do the activities you do? Why do you think the way you do?
Once you know your Why Statement you can start to connect to people to inspire them to action.
So why do people keep doing the same activities over and over again expecting different results? The answer is they don’t know their why.
Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle (Why How What) shows that if you communicate your why you grab your audience’s attention as you touch their emotions and the how and what will be heard fully. Whereas if you lead with What and How your audience might not stick around for your why. He uses Apple as an example on how they sell their computers and other devices. They sell their why and after seeing their How they do it they entice you to What they are selling.
Why is powerful and it can break down barriers you’ve set up in your organization. There is a follow up book called, “Find Your Why,” aimed at helping groups and organizations find out their Why, there are group activities in discovering the group’s Why.
Here is a resource to help you read the book:
Youtube Audiobook:
Sign Up For 66Books Book Club
Since we don’t currently have a list to send out to notify Book Club Members of the upcoming book, you’ll need to send an email to mnhd66brepublicans@gmail.com with the subject line of “66Books Sign Up List.” When we get a couple of days out from March 6th, an email will be sent out to those who sign up to confirm, and a link will be sent. Your email will be only used for the Book Club unless you opt-in to our other activities.
Minnesota House District 66B Republicans 