

Pat Kessler Retires - Capitol Reporter 1984-2020
Pat Kessler WCCO-TV political reporter for 36 years is retiring after the 2020 Election. Kessler covered the death of Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, the election of former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura and the plane crash of Senator Paul Wellstone. At the State Capitol, he’s reported on dozens of legislative sessions and eight governors. He’s an Emmy Award winner for his segments of “Reality Check”, fact-checking issues of interest and keeping politicians accountabl


Special Session 5 Columbus Day - Indigenous Peoples Day
On Columbus Day the stone pedestal that honors Christopher Columbus on the Capitol grounds is all that is left of the memorial immigrant Italians had erected to the explorer. Protesters pulled down the statue of Columbus because it was considered a symbol of genocide against Native Americans. Gov. Tim Walz called back lawmakers to the Capitol for the fifth special session of 2020 to extend his peacetime emergency to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Once again the DFL House ga