Bill Clinton to speak at Humphrey statue dedication
Former President Bill Clinton will be in Minnesota on Saturday to dedicate a statue at the state Capitol in honor of the late Hubert H. Humphrey.
Clinton will also headline an annual fundraiser for the state Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
A 7-foot bronze statue of the Democratic icon known as the "Happy Warrior" will be unveiled on the Capitol Mall in St. Paul. Humphrey served as Minneapolis mayor, senator and vice president before running for president as his party's nominee. He died in 1978.
Former Vice President Walter Mondale, Gov. Mark Dayton, Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, and former Gov. Arne Carlson will also speak at the dedication.
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DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin said he expects the former president to use the private DFL event to set the stage for the upcoming election and his speaking engagement at the Democratic National Convention next month.
"President Clinton has a greater perspective of anyone other than President Obama as to what's at stake at this election cycle and the future of this country and world," Martin says. "I'm really pleased that he's not only going to be addressing the DFL dinner but also the DNC."
Clinton's comments at the Humphrey statue dedication will be open to the public, but only DFL contributors will be able to hear him at the annual Humphrey-Mondale dinner in Minneapolis on Saturday night.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.