Former governor Elmer Andersen's 100th birthday celebrated at U
Former Minnesota governor Elmer Andersen’s 100th birthday will be celebrated at the University of Minnesota on June 17, 7:30 p.m., in Willey Hall with music, remarks from the university librarian — Andersen, asuccessful businessman, had a special love of books and libraries — and with Julian Andersen, who now oversees ECM Publishers, a company his father founded, and Star Tribune columnist and Andersen admirer Lori Sturdevant, also speaking.
A new TPT public television documentary on Andersen will be shown.
Andersen in a famous gubernatorial contest in the early 1960s lost reelection by a mere 91 votes.
Not long before his death in 2004, Andersen appeared before the Minnesota Senate, a body in which he served, and from his wheelchair and without notes spoke to the senators about governing, the beauty of the state capitol, and how the lessons of the past can be applied to the future.
Andersen, whose childhood was less than ideal, graduated from the University of Minnesota.
