Two Minnesotans react to seeing their former teacher chosen to run for Vice President

CATHY WURZER: Well, this morning, Governor Tim Walz's account posted on X, quoting now, "Vice President Harris is showing us the politics of what's possible. It reminds me a bit of the first day of school."

Now, he's made that comparison before, and it's a reference to when he started his career as a high school teacher, first in Nebraska, then in Mankato, Minnesota. We wanted to find out what a couple of his former students might be thinking now that someone who taught them history is making it into the history books himself. Joining us on the line, Laura Muhm in White Bear Lake, and Noah Hobbs in Duluth, both former students of Mankato, West High School. Welcome to the program, both of you.

LAURA MUHM: Hello.

NOAH HOBBS: Thanks for having us.

CATHY WURZER: Hi. Thanks for taking the time, by the way. Say, Laura, I'll start with you. What was your first reaction when you learned that Kamala Harris chose your former teacher as a vice presidential candidate?

LAURA MUHM: I was so surprised, because I honestly thought she would go with somebody more from a swing state, but delighted as well. A little sad to lose him as our governor, though.

CATHY WURZER: Now, Noah, you posted on X that you were proud of the governor and you baked a cake.

NOAH HOBBS: Yeah, I baked a cake the night before and had it set in the off chance that Mr. Walz was selected, I was going to just start calling that the Veep cake. And so that's how forever it will be known.

CATHY WURZER: All right. So by the way, Laura, what do you remember about Tim Walz from your time at Mankato West High School?

LAURA MUHM: I have a lot of memories from his class. He taught social studies, and he was really all about exposing kids to different cultures and making sure that we really were cued into current events, be they economic or political. He was very, very engaging with the students. He was just a great teacher who was incredibly supportive.

CATHY WURZER: And Noah, what are your memories?

NOAH HOBBS: Yeah, I was not a great student, probably a C-ish average across the board. And I needed all the extra credit that I could get to make sure I was sport eligible. And he'd do this exercise where we'd have to bring new stories once a week. And if you brought a new story, you get extra credit, and you couldn't repeat your classmate.

And so I just remember that. And having the world experience that he has from traveling and being overseas, it's like having an interactive encyclopedia that's just high energy all the time. And it just made you want to learn more, not only about your community, but the world as a whole.

CATHY WURZER: Teachers tend to have a lasting impact on their students. At least some teachers do, right? So, Noah, what would be the lasting impact that Tim Walz had on you?

NOAH HOBBS: Yeah, I mean, I think the fact that he paid as much attention to me, not a great student, as he did the kids that were A's across the board is something that I certainly carry in my life. And as an assistant baseball coach up here in Duluth to make sure that all of the people interact with and kids that I coach, that you treat them with the same level and respect as anyone else. And that stuck with me for the rest of my life.

CATHY WURZER: And Laura, what kind of impact did Tim Walz have on you as a student?

LAURA MUHM: Well, I have a little story that wasn't so much in the classroom as it was in the hallways. It was one time after school. This was when his wife, Gwen Walz, who was also a teacher at Mankato West, had been out on maternity leave for their upcoming birth of their daughter. And she would occasionally visit and say hi to the teachers and students.

And the halls had cleared. Almost everybody had gone home or to their extracurriculars. And some friends and I were upstairs in the hallway and we saw Mr. Walz just gently walking Mrs. Walz up and down the hallways. They were trying to help her induce labor. And he had his arm around her and one arm on her elbow, just physically supporting her, emotionally supporting her. And it was this very sweet moment that we happened on. And we were about to be bubbly teenagers and run up and say hello, and we realized, oh, that's kind of a personal moment. We better just hold back.

But as a teenage girl, it certainly contributed to my impressions of what a caring and supportive partner should be like. And I always, always have remembered that because to me, he is a genuinely good human being who really cares about everybody around him.

CATHY WURZER: It sounds like it was a very human moment.

LAURA MUHM: It was a very human moment, yeah.

CATHY WURZER: And I'm curious, both of you, I think, Noah, were you on the Duluth City Council?

NOAH HOBBS: I was. Yeah. I served six years and just wrapped up this past ended December of 2023. And certainly having Mr. Walz, and not in a disparaging way, as just the most average person you could imagine going into Congress. He's a public school teacher, doesn't come from a ton of money, doesn't have a historically relevant name. Certainly kind of shaped that I could get involved in a community that I didn't grow up in. And so that's also been an impact that Mr. Walz has had on me as well.

CATHY WURZER: So he kind of spurred you into politics in a sense?

NOAH HOBBS: He at least made it accessible to where I think that I could also do it, as any of my classmates could have as well.

CATHY WURZER: And Laura, are you politically active in any way because of Mr. Walz?

LAURA MUHM: Yeah, a little bit, yeah. I mean, I vote every time. I vote in local elections and national elections, and I'm involved as much as I can be with my schedule, with my kids and family and all that.

CATHY WURZER: So any concerns that you two might have of Tim Walz as a candidate? Because as you know, in fact, we're watching CNN at this point, and the long knives are already out. And I'm wondering what pitfalls might he face with his background? Noah.

NOAH HOBBS: Yeah. I mean, I think I don't have any concerns, having known him for many years. I think that you're going to have a lot of negative press now and folks trying to distort records as they always do once you reach the national level and certainly once you're one of two political parties running for the presidency. I don't have a ton of concerns. I mean, Mr. Walz is genuinely a good, authentic, kind person. And that's what I think makes him so rare in politics these days. And just happy to see him and proud of him to get to this point.

CATHY WURZER: And, Laura, what about you? Same question?

LAURA MUHM: You know, I imagine it might be brought up things about the pandemic response, for instance, which I think he was phenomenal during the pandemic. I know that's controversial, especially when it comes to some of the businesses. I happen to own a small business, and just like everyone else was affected by the pandemic. We all went through that together. And I was very thankful that we had our governor leading the way and keeping us safe and balancing the difficult choices that we all had to make during that very challenging time.

CATHY WURZER: And a final question. Because of his experience as a teacher, how do you think that might come out, perhaps, on the campaign trail? And if the Harris-Walz ticket wins, how might it come out when it comes to governing? Laura, I'm curious.

LAURA MUHM: He has always really been a champion for education. He has done historic investments in the education budget in Minnesota. The free school lunch program that he has implemented here, my child is already benefiting from that. The whole state is benefiting from that. Maybe he will try to do a national free school lunch program. And wouldn't that be wonderful? I think that he will continue to be a champion for education, and I can't imagine that going wrong for him.

CATHY WURZER: And Noah, same question.

NOAH HOBBS: Yeah I mean, he ran on One Minnesota. And I think having that rule and metropolitan focus is important. But also his ability as a teacher to take complex things and make it very simple for 14-year-olds to understand I think is really helpful. And I think hopefully if him and Vice President Harris are successful on de-escalating tensions that feel pretty high right now or the temperature of the national debate, I think Mr. Walz has been able to do that in the classroom and communicate in an effective way and build bridges that matter. So hopefully it decreases the temp a little bit in addition to doing some larger scale programs that he's been successful in with Minnesota.

CATHY WURZER: All right. Well, we're going to see what happens as the campaign gets well underway here. Laura and Noah, thank you for your time.

NOAH HOBBS: Thank you.

LAURA MUHM: Thank you.

CATHY WURZER: Laura Goff, Noah Hobbs, both former students of Governor Tim Walz from when he was a high school social studies teacher in Mankato.