Obama to appear at Target Center

By BOB VON STERNBERG, Star Tribune

Last update: September 9, 2009


President Obama will bring his campaign to overhaul the nation's health care system to the Twin Cities on Saturday with what's being billed as a "health care reform rally" at Target Center.

The event will begin at 12:30 p.m. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. with airport-style security, and seating will be on a first-come, first-seated basis.

No bags, no sharp objects, no umbrellas, no liquids, no strollers, and no signs will be allowed into the venue. Cameras are permitted.

Obama's arrival and departure on Air Force One will not be open to the public.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar said late Tuesday night that she had heard that the president might be in Minnesota but hadn't received confirmation of the trip from White House officials.

But a trip to Minnesota would make sense, she said, because Obama has used Minnesota as a "shining example" of health care services. Specifically, Obama has cited the Mayo Clinic in Rochester as a system that works, praising its integrated system as an example of efficient, coordinated care.

However, Mayo officials have at time been at loggerheads with both the White House and Democratic congressional leaders over health care reform plans being considered.

Earlier this summer, the clinic blasted House Democrats' bill, saying "the proposed legislation misses the opportunity to help create higher quality, more affordable health care for patients."

Nonetheless, a Mayo official was scheduled to be in the audience tonight when Obama makes his case for health care reform before a joint session of Congress.

Jeffrey Korsmo of Mayo's Health Policy Center was invited to the speech by Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., who represents the clinic.

Also attending the speech will be Peter Olsen, a University of Minnesota medical student.

He was invited by Klobuchar after he spoke during a recent roundtable she held to stress the need for more primary care physicians, particularly in rural areas.

He was invited by Klobuchar after he spoke during a recent roundtable she held to stress the need for more primary care physicians, particularly in rural areas.