Dean Phillips, DFL candidate for Congress in the Third Congressional District, opened his ice house/government repair shack/campaign office on the ice in Excelsior Bay, Lake Minnetonka on February 17, 2018.
Phillips served coffee, hot chocolate, nut goodies, dog biscuits and conversation to interested visitors. All on 29 inches of solid ice. There were even fishing holes cut on the floor of the ice house. It was decorated with all sorts of Phillips memorabilia, his Edina hockey shirt, snow shoes, campaign posters and a roaring wood fire.
When asked about his campaign, Phillips said the recent school shooting in Florida was on everyone’s mind. He recounted, “I was in Wayzata High School yesterday and felt for the first time the anxiety that every student in this country faces every day when they go to school. And that is wrong and the fact that neither party has taken steps, instant steps, right now to at least, at least, enhance the likelihood of preventing some of these tragedies is appalling to me.”
He went on to outline his positions on gun control, health care, women’s rights and other issues that have come up on the campaign trail.
The office will remain on the lake for about another month; it will then be repainted and moved around the district as a campaign office.
Adam Jennings and Brian Santa Maria are also seeking the DFL endorsement in the race. The DFL candidate will face Republican Congressman Erik Paulsen in November’s general election.