Jim Heffernan Column: Farewell to a Fine Musician and Politician – Duluth News Tribune

I hate politics. I love politics. It depends on the day and the politician.

I spent the last few decades of my full-time career at this newspaper working on the op-ed/editorial page. In this job, you meet all the area and state politicians who hold elected office or run for one – Congress, state government, county government, city government, school boards. I’ve never met a dog catcher I didn’t like.

They all come to the newspaper at the invitation of the newspaper to undergo what we call endorsement interviews. This results in the newspaper, just before the election, telling readers which candidates the editors think would best fit the jobs they are seeking, and not telling readers how to vote.

You knew this – at least I hope you did – but I wanted to reiterate it to explain how I met virtually every politician in the Upper Midwest (we also covered northern Wisconsin) in the last two decades of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. .

One of my favorites was Florian Chmielewski, who recently died at the age of 97. Florian used to stop by the paper and talk to us quite often when he was a DFL state senator representing a district south of Duluth.

I call him by his first name because that’s how we relate to most politicians until they get elected to a really important office like governor, although I’m not sure if we didn’t call Governor Perpich “Rudy” or Congressman Oberstar “Jim .”

Of course, most people remember Chmielewski as an accomplished accordionist and leader of a family polka band with a popular television show. A man of many talents.

Almost everyone has seen him perform at one time or another, in person or on TV. Not everyone had the opportunity to talk to him about public policy when he was a state senator. He learned especially in the health area, among other topics that I remember discussing with him. Very dedicated.

Serious stuff, but that wide smile rarely left his face. That’s how I prefer to remember him. That and how he tied his ties. No knot, but a normal tie arranged like a cravat.

I was once visiting the hilltop studios of WDIO-TV when they were taping a segment of their TV show “Chmielewski Funtime,” with Florian up front playing the accordion.

Suddenly, one of the technicians said that something was wrong with the recording equipment – ​​they were filming the band, but they weren’t picking up any sound. What were they going to do? I was told that it didn’t matter, they would just fill the soundtrack with previous recordings of the group, without trying to match the particular song to what was being filmed. Hmmm.

I’m not a big fan of polka, but I hope they include “Just Because”. It’s a classic: “Just because you think you’re so beautiful, / Just because you think you’re so smart, / Just because you think you have something / That no one else has. / You make me spend all my money, / You laugh and call me Old Santa Claus; / Well, I’m telling you, baby, I’m done with you, / Because, just because.

Smile, you are on “Chmielewski Funtime”.

I remember often seeing the “Funtime” ensemble driving by on a flatbed truck in the annual Moose Lake 4th of July parade. (“I don’t want her, / You can have her / She’s too fat for me…” – another old non-PC polka they might have played.)

I almost did Florian a disservice once when he was running for reelection to the Minnesota Senate, where he served for just over a quarter of a century. All of the candidates we interviewed for various positions would emphasize in their endorsement interviews that they were “committed” to various things: committed to lower taxes, committed to better roads, committed to education, and so on.

One election cycle, when Florian appeared for an interview, he emphasized that he was looking to help the city of Moose Lake with its plans for a new high school, among many other things.

People of a certain age will remember that Moose Lake was once best known for what might politely be called the mental health facility located there, although for years it was often indelicately referred to as an “asylum,” which today seems Politically Incorrect. Since then, it has taken on an entirely different role.

Anyway, when writing a journalistic endorsement of Florian, I emphasized his efforts to help Moose Lake, but inadvertently included the headline: “Chmielewski Committed to Moose Lake.”

Fortunately, this was never printed. Until today.

It’s sad to see Florian gone. He continued with music until he was 90, always smiling and appearing to be singing: “Roll out the barrel, and let’s have a great time, / roll out the barrel, we’ve got the blues on the run.”

But not this week: His funeral will be Tuesday, May 7, in Sturgeon Lake, where he lived.

Jim Heffernan is a former news and opinion writer and columnist for the Duluth News Tribune. He blogs at jimheffernan.org and can be reached by email at jimheffernan@jimheffernan.org.