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Capitol View®
Brett Neely

Minnesota tree lights up U.S. Capitol

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Capitol tree
An 88-foot tall tree from the Chippewa National Forest is lit up in front of the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 2, 2014.

WASHINGTON - An 88-foot tall Christmas tree harvested from the Chippewa National Forest and decorated with thousands of ornaments made by Minnesota school children was lit up in front of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday evening to mark the start of the holiday season.

House Speaker John Boehner and the state's congressional delegation welcomed the tree to Capitol Hill.

Sen. Al Franken noted that the tree was just one foot shy of being the tallest Capitol Christmas tree and joked, "second largest doesn't sound much like a brag but in Minnesota, home of Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale, being second is a brag." Both former U.S. senators also served as vice president.

Capitol tree 2
Hundreds braved poor weather to see the lighting of a Minnesota-harvested Christmas tree on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. Brett Neely/MPR News