Minnesota Governor Tim Walz reiterated Friday that he fully intends to honor the request made by the family of fallen Pope County Sheriff's Deputy Josh Owen by not attending Owen's funeral services this weekend.
Alpha News reported earlier this week that Deputy Owen’s wife, Shannon, told Walz over the phone not to show up to the funeral Saturday because, "he does not support law enforcement."
The Governor spoke about the situation during a lengthy interview Friday with WCCO Radio's Chad Hartman.
"I will respect the family's wishes. I don't want to do or say anything that adds to any pain they already have," Walz said. "Gwen and I are keeping them in our thoughts."
Hartman asked Walz directly about his support of law enforcement, pointing to the response after the murder of George Floyd, crime issues in the Twin Cities, and legislation supported by lawmakers in St. Paul.
"Over my career and in six of my races I've been enthusiastically endorsed by all of the police," Walz said. "The funding requests have never been in question. I'm proposing the largest increase and have been in two years. I think politics plays into this. People perceive where they want to go and I certainly support our law enforcement folks and our first responders."
Hartman covered a number of topics with Walz during the nearly 20 minute interview, which can be found its entirety in this article, including the Southwest Light Rail project.
The Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor found that the cost of the project had more than double to over $2.767 billion. The project's also incredibly behind schedule, with a finish date of 2027.
Walz said he believed the project would get done, but raised concerns he had moving forward.
"I think the biggest thing you can do is we'll see changes happening at Met Council making sure we get the transparency in there," Walz said. "I share their concerns. We have to continue to strive to do better."
Hartman then asked if firings should take place due to how the project's been handled.
"I think there will be people that have different jobs," Walz replied. "We have to have proposals that accurately reflect where the costs are. We always know there's going to be change orders, but this is unacceptable. It certainly should have an accountability."
